The principality changed hands between the Thopia dynasty and the Balsha dynasty, until 1392, when Durrës was annexed by the Republic of Venice.
The Principality of Zeta refers to the period when Zeta, was ruled by the families of Balšić, Lazarević/Branković, and Crnojević, respectively, from the second half of the 14th century until the Ottoman vassalage in 1514.
After Nikola Altomanović, the holder of a large province during the fall of the Serbian Empire, was defeated in 1373, his estates were divided between Prince Lazar Hrebeljanović of Serbia, Đurađ I Balšić of Zeta, and Ban Tvrtko I Kotromanić of Bosnia.