Jelena Balšić

Jelena was born in 1411 as the daughter of Balša III of Zeta and Mara Thopia of Albania.^[1][2][3] She was named after her grandmother Jelena.^[4][5] Jelena's lineage is traced back to the Balšić and Thopia noble families. In 1424, at the age of 13, Jelena married Stjepan Vukčić Kosača, a significant political figure of the time.^[6] The union between Jelena and Stjepan Vukčić played a crucial role in shaping the political landscape of the region. Jelena was not only a wife and mother but also a central figure in the complex power dynamics of the time. Through her marriage to Stjepan Vukčić, she became the mother of several notable children, each leaving a mark on the history of the Balkans.^[7] Jelena died in 1453.^[8]

• Catherine of Bosnia^[9] (1424–1478), in 1446 she married King Tomaš of Bosnia, and leaving Bosnian Church converted to Catholicism;
• Vladislav Hercegović (c. 1427–1489), Grand Duke of Bosnia, Lord of Krajina,^[10] married Kyra Ana, daughter of Georgios Kantakuzenos in 1455;
• Vlatko Hercegović (c. 1428–1489), Herceg of St. Sava, married an Apulian noblewoman;
• Hersekzade Ahmed Pasha (c. 1430–1515), baptized Stjepan; the youngest son of Stjepan Vukčić, whom Sultan Mehmed II took to his court, became a Muslim in the Sultan's service. He became the Grand Vizier and Grand Admiral to the Sultan, married Sultan Bayezid II's daughter, Fatima, in 1482; and had descendants by her.