The son of Ivan Crnojević and the Albanian noblewoman Goisava Arianiti, he was the founder of the first Serbian printing house.

During his short-term reign he became famous for making efforts to spread the cultural heritage rather than for his political successes.

In Istanbul Crnojević officially ceded his possessions to the sultan who granted him an estate (timar) in Anatolia[6] [7] to govern it as its sipahi.

[8] Although he was removed from the historical scene, his books remained as a great contribution to the Serbian culture.

This made Đurađ Skanderbeg's grandnephew and through his mother he was the grandson of Gjergj Arianiti and nephew of Scanderbeg's wife Donika Kastrioti .