In 1421, before his death and under the influence of his mother Jelena, Balša III passed the rule of Zeta to Serbian Despot Stefan Lazarević.

The most important roles in establishing this family's rule in Zeta were played by Stefan I Crnojević (1451–1465) and his son Ivan (1465–1490).

[citation needed] Capitalising on the weak position of Despot Đurađ, the Venetians and Herzog Stjepan Vukčić Kosača of St. Sava (the region of Herzegovina is named after him) conquered parts of his territory.

He had some success, gaining increasing support from the coastal Slavic tribes of Grbalj and Paštrovići in his quest to assert control over the Bay of Kotor.

But when the Ottoman campaign in northern Albania and Bosnia convinced him that the main source of danger to his country was to the East, he sought a compromise with Venice.

Ivan had aspirations to organise an anti-Turkish alliance consisting of Napolitan, Venetian, Hungarian, and Zetan forces.

Knowing that the Ottomans would try to punish him for fighting on the Venetian side, and to preserve his independence, in 1482 he moved his capital from Žabljak on Lake Skadar to the mountainous area of Dolac, under Mount Lovćen.

Đurađ managed the printing of the books, wrote prefaces and afterwords, and developed sophisticated tables of Psalms with the lunar calendar.

After the rule of Zeta was handed to Đurađ, his youngest brother, Staniša, with no chance to succeed his father, Ivan, went to Constantinople and converted to Islam, receiving the name of Skender.

The historical facts are unclear and disputed, but it seems that the Venetians, frustrated by their inability to subdue the House of Crnojević to their interests, managed to kill Stefan II and deceitfully sent Đurađ to Constantinople.

Principally, Đurađ visited Venice to work on the wide anti-Ottoman campaign but was kept in captivity for some time while Stefan II was defending Zeta against the Ottomans.

It is likely that upon his return to Zeta, Đurađ was kidnapped by the Venetian agents and sent to Constantinople under the accusation that he had been organizing a Holy War against Islam.

The link between church and state elevated it in the eyes of the peasantry, gave it an institutionalized form of succession that prevented its becoming a matter of contest between minor chieftains, and excluded the possibility of compromising alliances with the Ottomans.

Indeed, access to the region was only possible by way of the perilous Steps of Cattaro that twist their way steeply into the dark, forbidding mountains above the town.