Kingdom of Croatia (and Dalmatia)
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| c. 925a–1102 | |||||||||||
 Croatia during the reign ofKing Tomislav in purple and vassal states in light purple | |||||||||||
| Capital | Varied through time Nin Biograd Solin Knin | ||||||||||
| Common languages | Old Croatian Old Church Slavonic Latin | ||||||||||
| Religion | Chalcedonian Christianity (925–1054) Roman Catholicism (from 1054) | ||||||||||
| Demonyms | Croatian,Croat | ||||||||||
| Government | Feudal Monarchy | ||||||||||
| King | |||||||||||
• 925–928(first) | Tomislava | ||||||||||
• 1093–1097(last) | Petar Snačić | ||||||||||
| Ban (Viceroy) | |||||||||||
| Pribina | |||||||||||
| Petar Snačić | |||||||||||
| Historical era | Middle Ages | ||||||||||
• Elevation to kingdom | c. 925 | ||||||||||
| 1102 | |||||||||||
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TheKingdom of Croatia (ModernCroatian:Kraljevina Hrvatska, Hrvatsko Kraljevstvo;Latin:Regnum Croatiæ), and since 1060 known asKingdom of Croatia and Dalmatia (Latin:Regnum Croatiae et Dalmatiae), was a medieval kingdom inSouthern Europe comprising most of what is todayCroatia (without westernIstria, someDalmatian coastal cities, and the part ofDalmatia south of theNeretva River), as well as most of the modern-dayBosnia and Herzegovina. The Croatian Kingdom was ruled for part of its existence by ethnic dynasties, and the Kingdom existed as asovereign state for nearly two centuries. Its existence was characterized by various conflicts and periods of peace or alliance with theBulgarians,Byzantines,Hungarians, and competition withVenice for control over the easternAdriatic coast. The goal of promoting theCroatian language in the religious service was initially introduced by the 10th centurybishopGregory of Nin, which resulted in a conflict with thePope, later to be put down by him.[2] In the second half of the 11th century Croatia managed to secure most coastal cities ofDalmatia with the collapse of Byzantine control over them. During this time the kingdom reached its peak under the rule of kingsPeter Krešimir IV (1058–1074) andDemetrius Zvonimir (1075–1089).
The state was ruled mostly by theTrpimirović dynasty until 1091. At that point the realm experienced asuccession crisis and after a decade of conflicts for the throne and the aftermath of theBattle of Gvozd Mountain, the crown passed to theÁrpád dynasty with the coronation of KingColoman of Hungary as "King of Croatia and Dalmatia" inBiograd in 1102, uniting the two kingdoms under one crown.[3][4][5][6]
The precise terms of the relationship between the two realms became a matter of dispute in the 19th century.[7][8][9] The nature of the relationship varied through time, with Croatia retaining a large degree of internal autonomy overall, while the real power rested in the hands of the local nobility.[7][10][11] Modern Croatian and Hungarian historiographies mostly view the relations between the Kingdom of Croatia and the Kingdom of Hungary from 1102 as a form of unequalpersonal union of two internally autonomous kingdoms united by a common Hungarian king.[12]
The first official name of the country was "Kingdom of the Croats" (Latin:Regnum Croatorum;Croatian:Kraljevstvo Hrvata),[13] but over the course of time the name "Kingdom of Croatia" (Regnum Croatiae;[14]Kraljevina Hrvatska) prevailed.[13] Although alreadyTomislav, King of Croatia in 925 "ruled in the province of the Croats and in the Dalmatian regions" (in provincia Croatorum et Dalmatiarum finibus),[15] only from 1060 when kingPeter Krešimir IV gained control over theDalmatian city-states of theTheme of Dalmatia, formerly under the Byzantine Empire, the official and diplomatic name of the kingdom became "Kingdom of Croatia and Dalmatia" (Regnum Croatiae et Dalmatiae;Kraljevina Hrvatska i Dalmacija), with which title of "Rex Chroatie atque Dalmatie" was crownedDemetrius Zvonimir in 1075/1076.[16] Another often Hungarian synonym, as used byLadislaus I of Hungary in his 1091 diplomatic letter, wasSclavoniam iam fere totam (acquisivi) ("Whole of S(c)lavonia").[17][18] In other European documentsSclavonia was also a common synonym for Croatia and Dalmatia.[19][20]
TheSlavs arrived in southeastern Europe in the early 7th century and established several states, including theDuchy of Croatia. TheChristianization of the Croats began soon after their arrival and was completed by the beginning of the 9th century. The rule over the duchy alternated between the rivalDomagojević andTrpimirović dynasties. The duchy was rivaled by the neighbouringRepublic of Venice, fought and allied with theFirst Bulgarian Empire, and went through periods ofvassalage to theCarolingian Empire and theByzantine Empire. In 879,Pope John VIII recognizedDuke Branimir as an independent ruler.
Croatia was elevated to the status of kingdom somewhere around 925.Tomislav was the first Croatian ruler whom the papal chancellery honoured with the title "king".[21] It is generally said thatTomislav was crowned in 925, but it is not known when or by whom he was crowned, or, indeed, if he was crowned at all.[1] Tomislav is mentioned as a king in two preserved documents published in theHistoria Salonitana. First in a note preceding the text of the conclusions of the Council of Split in 925, where it is written that Tomislav is the "king" ruling "in the province of the Croats and in the Dalmatian regions" (in prouintia Croatorum et Dalmatiarum finibus Tamisclao rege),[22][23][24] while in the 12th canon of the Council conclusions the ruler of the Croats is called "king" (rex et proceres Chroatorum).[24] In a letter sent byPope John X, Tomislav is named "King of the Croats" (Tamisclao, regi Crouatorum).[22][25] The Chronicle of the Priest of Duklja titled Tomislav as a king and specified his rule at 13 years.[22] Although there are no inscriptions of Tomislav to confirm the title, later inscriptions and charters confirm that his 10th century successors called themselves "kings".[23] Under his rule, Croatia became one of the most powerful kingdoms in the Balkans.[26][27]
Tomislav, a descendant ofTrpimir I, is considered one of the most prominent members of the Trpimirović dynasty. Sometime between 923 and 928, Tomislav succeeded in uniting the Croats ofPannonia andDalmatia, each of which had been ruled separately by dukes. Although the exactgeographical extent of Tomislav's kingdom is not fully known, Croatia probably covered most of Dalmatia, Pannonia, and northern and westernBosnia.[28] Croatia at the time was administered as a group of eleven counties (županije) and onebanate (Banovina). Each of these regions had a fortified royal town.
Croatia soon came into conflict with the Bulgarian Empire underSimeon I (called Simeon the Great in Bulgaria), who was already in a war with the Byzantines. Tomislav made a pact with theByzantine Empire, for which he may have been rewarded by the Byzantine EmperorRomanos I Lekapenos with some form of control over the coastal cities of the ByzantineTheme of Dalmatia and with a share of the tribute collected from them.[23] After Simeon conquered thePrincipality of Serbia in 924, Croatia received and protected the expelled Serbs with their leaderZaharija.[29] In 926, Simeon tried to break the Croatian-Byzantine pact and afterwards conquer the weakly defended Byzantine Theme of Dalmatia,[30] sending DukeAlogobotur with a formidable army against Tomislav, but Simeon's army was defeated in theBattle of the Bosnian Highlands. After Simeon's death in 927 peace was restored between Croatia and Bulgaria with the mediation of the legates ofPope John X.[31] According to the contemporaryDe Administrando Imperio, the Croatian army and navy at the time could have consisted of approximately 100,000infantry units, 60,000 cavaliers, and 80 larger (sagina) and 100 smallerwarships (condura),[32] but these numbers are generally taken as a considerable exaggeration.[28] According to thepalaeographic analysis of the original manuscript ofDe Administrando Imperio, the population of medieval Croatia was estimated at between 440,000 and 880,000 people, while the military force was most probably composed of 20,000–100,000 infantrymen and 3,000–24,000 horsemen organized into 60allagions.[33][34]
Croatian society underwent major changes in the 10th century. Local leaders, thežupani, were replaced by the retainers of the king, who took land from the previous landowners, essentially creating afeudal system. The previously free peasants becameserfs and ceased being soldiers, causing the military power of Croatia to fade.
Tomislav was succeeded byTrpimir II (c. 928–935) andKrešimir I (c. 935–945), who each managed to maintain their power and keep good relations with both the Byzantine Empire and the Pope. This period, on the whole, however, is obscure. The rule of Krešimir's sonMiroslav was marked by a gradual weakening of Croatia.[35] Various peripheral territories took advantage of unsettled conditions to secede.[36] Miroslav ruled for 4 years when he was killed by his ban,Pribina, during an internal power struggle. Pribina secured the throne toMichael Krešimir II (949–969), who restored order throughout most of the state. He kept particularly good relations withDalmatian city-states, he and his wifeHelen donating land and churches toZadar andSolin. Michael Krešimir's wife Helen built the Churches of Saint Mary and Saint Stephen in Solin that served as the tomb of Croatian rulers (seeChurch of Saint Stephen on Otok). Helen died on 8 October 976 and was buried in that church, where a royal inscription on her sarcophagus was found that called her "Mother of the Kingdom".[37][38]
Michael Krešimir II was succeeded by his sonStephen Držislav (969–997), who established better relations with the Byzantine Empire and their Theme of Dalmatia. According toHistoria Salonitana, Držislav received royal insignia from the Byzantines, together with the title of eparch and patricius. Also, according to this work, from the time of Držislav's reign his successors called themselves "kings of Croatia and Dalmatia". Stone panels from the altar of a 10th-century church in Knin with the inscription of Držislav, possibly when he was the heir to the throne, show that there was a precisely defined hierarchy regulating the matters of succession to the throne.[38]
As soon as Stjepan Držislav had died in 997, his three sons,Svetoslav (997–1000),Krešimir III (1000–1030), andGojslav (1000–1020), opened a violent contest for the throne, weakening the state and allowing the Venetians underPietro II Orseolo and the Bulgarians underSamuil to encroach on the Croatian possessions along theAdriatic. In 1000, Orseolo led the Venetian fleet into the eastern Adriatic and gradually took control of the whole of it,[39] first the islands of theGulf of Kvarner and Zadar, thenTrogir andSplit, followed by a successful naval battle with theNarentines upon which he took control ofKorčula andLastovo, and claimed the titledux Dalmatiæ. Krešimir III tried to restore the Dalmatian cities and had some success until 1018, when he was defeated by Venice allied with theLombards. The same year his kingdom briefly became a vassal of theByzantine Empire until 1025 and the death ofBasil II.[40] His son,Stjepan I (1030–1058), only went so far as to get the Narentine duke to become his vassal in 1050.
During the reign ofKrešimir IV (1058–1074), the medieval Croatian kingdom reached its territorial peak. Krešimir managed to get the Byzantine Empire to confirm him as the supreme ruler of the Dalmatian cities,i.e., over theTheme of Dalmatia, excluding the theme ofRagusa and the Duchy ofDurazzo.[41] He also allowed theRoman curia to become more involved in the religious affairs of Croatia, which consolidated his power but disrupted his rule over theGlagolitic clergy in parts ofIstria after 1060. Croatia under Krešimir IV was composed of twelve counties and was slightly larger than in Tomislav's time. It included the closest southern Dalmatian duchy of Pagania, and its influence extended overZahumlje,Travunia, andDuklja. The župans (heads of counties) had their own private armies. The names of court titles in their vernacular form appear for the first time during his reign, such asvratar ("door-keeper") Jurina,postelnik ("chamberlain") and so on.[42] The Roman Catholic Church reforms, which imposed a ban on the use of Slavonic liturgy and introduced Latin as obligatory, were confirmed byPope Alexander II in 1063. This led to a rebellion in the kingdom by the counter-reform camp, primarily in the Kvarner region. While King Krešimir IV sided with the Pope, expecting a victory of the pro-Latin clergy, support for the counter-reform clergy was provided byAntipope Honorius II. The rebellion was led by a priest named Vulfo on the island of Krk. Although the rebels were quickly suppressed, Slavonic liturgy held out in the Kvarner region, as well as the use of Glagolitic script.[43]
However, in 1072, Krešimir assisted the Bulgarian and Serb uprising against their Byzantine masters. The Byzantines retaliated in 1074 by sending theNorman countAmico of Giovinazzo to besiegeRab. They failed to capture the island, but did manage to capture the king himself, and the Croatians were then forced to settle and give away Split, Trogir, Zadar,Biograd, andNin to the Normans. In 1075, Venice expelled the Normans and secured the cities for itself. The end of Krešimir IV in 1074 also marked thede facto end of the Trpimirović dynasty, which had ruled the Croatian lands for over two centuries.
Krešimir was succeeded byDemetrius Zvonimir (1075–1089) of the Svetoslavić branch of theHouse of Trpimirović. He was previously a ban of Croatia in the service ofPeter Krešimir IV and later theDuke of Croatia. He gained the title of king with the support ofPope Gregory VII and was crowned atHollow Church in Solin as King of Croatia inSolin on 8 October 1075. Zvonimir aided the Normans underRobert Guiscard in their struggle against the Byzantine Empire and Venice between 1081 and 1085. Zvonimir helped to transport their troops through theStrait of Otranto and to occupy the city ofDyrrhachion. His troops assisted the Normans in many battles along the Albanian and Greek coast. Due to this, in 1085, the Byzantines transferred their rights in Dalmatia to Venice.
Zvonimir's kinghood is carved in stone on theBaška Tablet, preserved to this day as one of the oldest written Croatian texts, kept in the archæological museum inZagreb. Zvonimir's reign is remembered as a peaceful and prosperous time, during which the connection of Croats with the Holy See was further affirmed, so much so that Catholicism would remain among Croats until the present day. In this time the noble titles in Croatia were made analogous to those used in other parts of Europe at the time, withcomes andbaron used for the župani and the royal court nobles, andvlastelin for the noblemen. The Croatian state was edging closer to western Europe and further from the east. Demetrius Zvonimir marriedHelen of Hungary in 1063. Queen Helen was a Hungarian princess, the daughter of KingBéla I of the HungarianÁrpád dynasty, and was the sister of the future Hungarian KingLadislaus I. Zvonimir and Helen had a son, Radovan, who died in his late teens or early twenties. King Demetrius Zvonimir died in 1089. The exact circumstances of his death are uncertain. According to a later, likely unsubstantiated legend, King Zvonimir was killed during a revolt in 1089.
There was no permanentstate capital, as the royal residence varied from one ruler to another; five cities in total reportedly obtained the title of a royal seat: Nin (Krešimir IV), Biograd (Stephen Držislav, Krešimir IV),Knin (Zvonimir, Petar Snačić),Šibenik (Krešimir IV), andSolin (Krešimir II).[44]
According to theProvinciale Vetus (published in late 12th century), in the Kingdom of Croatia and Dalmatia around 1075 existed 20 bishopriccivitas, including civitas Salona (Solin-Split), Jadera (Zadar), Scandona (Skradin), Tragurium (Trogir), Belgradum (Biograd na Moru), Arbum (Rab), Absara (Osor), Vecla (Krk), Sissia (Sisak), Ragusium (Dubrovnik), Catara (Kotor), Stagnum (Ston), Mucrona (Muccur,Makar), Bosna (Visoko), Dulcinium (Ulcinj), Suacium (Svač), Antibarum (Bar), Delmenia (Omiš) and Nona (Nin).[45] Roughly similar boundaries are reproduced in the 14th century Croatian redaction of theChronicle of the Priest of Duklja (the Hungarian king "gained possession of all the parts of the [Croatian] kingdom:Bosnia, Croatia, Dalmatia,Narona. But the Croats, as rebels and parricide of their lord, he oppressed with labor and servitude. Moreover, when after this the kingdom was divided into parts, the Bosnians got their lord, theNarentines theirs, only the Croats a foreigner"),[46] andCatalogus ducem et regum Dalmatie et Croatie ("after this, as the holy king had prophesied, the Croats were ruled by the Hungarians, and the Bosnians and also the Neretva people obeyed their own prince").[47]
Stephen II (reigned 1089–1091) of the main Trpimirović line came to the throne at an old age. Stephen II was to be the last king of theHouse of Trpimirović. His rule was relatively ineffectual and lasted less than two years. He spent most of this time in the tranquility of the Monastery of St. Stephen beneath the Pines nearSplit. He died at the beginning of 1091, without leaving an heir. Since there was no living male member of the House of Trpimirović, civil war broke out shortly afterward.[48]
The widow of the late King Zvonimir, Helen, probably tried to keep power in Croatia during the succession crisis.[49][50] According to some sources, several Dalmatian cities also asked King Ladislaus for assistance, and Petar Gusić with Petarde genere Cacautonem presented themselves as "White Croats" (Creates Albi), on his court.[51][52] Thus the campaign launched by Ladislaus was not purely a foreign aggression,[53] nor did he appear on the Croatian throne as a conqueror, but rather as hereditary successor.[54] In 1091 Ladislaus crossed theDrava river and conquered the entire province ofSlavonia (Messia, meaning middle province, whileSclavonia denoted Kingdom of Croatia and Dalmatia[55]) without encountering opposition, but his campaign was halted near theGvozd Mountain (Mala Kapela).[56] Since the Croatian nobles were divided, Ladislaus had some success in his campaign, yet he wasn't able to establish his control over the entirety of Croatia, although the exact extent of his conquest is not known.[51][53] At this time the Kingdom of Hungary was attacked by theCumans, who were likely sent byByzantium, so Ladislaus was forced to retreat from his campaign in Croatia.[51] Ladislaus appointed his nephewPrince Álmos to administer the controlled area of Croatia, established theDiocese of Zagreb as a symbol of his new authority and went back to Hungary. In the midst of the war,Petar Snačić was elected king by Croatian feudal lords in 1093. Petar's seat of power was based in Knin. His rule was marked by a struggle for control of the country with Álmos, who wasn't able to establish his rule and was forced to withdraw to Hungary in 1095.[57]
Ladislaus died in 1095, leaving his nephewColoman to continue the campaign. Coloman, as well as Ladislaus before him, wasn't seen as a conqueror but rather as a pretender to the Croatian throne.[58] The written experiences ofRaymond of Aguilers, and laterWilliam of Tyre, of theFirst Crusaders, specifically the passage of thearmy ofRaymond IV, Count of Toulouse from "Istria nearAquileia and at length reached Dalmatia" a land which "extends longitudinally between Hungary and the Adriatic sea" with "four large cities: Zara, Salona, also called Spalato, Antivari, and Ragusa", was through forest and marshes of Lika and Dalmatia in late 1096, and show that in the country calledSclavonia orDalmatia i.e. Kingdom of Croatia and Dalmatia,[19] was no authority to agree the terms of passage and relations with the people.[59][60][61][62] This indicates "state of anarchy".[63] In the Crusader's accounts (of Raymond of Aguilers), described with biblical expression, the army travelled for 40 days through the mountains, forests and fog without trade and guide from "barbaric" and "fierce" native population who avoided them, leaving strongholds and villages desolate and attacked army's rearguard.[19][64] In retaliation and to discourage further attacks, count Raymond of Toulouse ordered mutilation of six captured Slavs.[64]Peter Tudebode inHistoria de Hierosolymitano itinere wrote that Raymond "lost many noble knights while passing throughSclavonia".[20] After passing acrossSclavonia they arrived toShkodër the capital of the kingdom ofDuklja where Raymond came in contact withConstantine Bodin.[64]
Coloman eventually assembled a large army to press his claim on the throne and in 1097 defeated King Petar's troops in theBattle of Gvozd Mountain, where the latter was killed. Since the Croatians didn't have a leader any more andDalmatia had numerous fortified towns that would be difficult to defeat, negotiations started between Coloman and the Croatian feudal lords. It took several more years before the Croatian nobility recognised Coloman as the king. Coloman was crowned inBiograd in 1102 and the title now claimed by Coloman was "King of Hungary, Dalmatia, and Croatia". Some of the terms of his coronation are summarized inPacta Conventa by which theCroatian nobles agreed to recognise Coloman as king. In return, the 12 Croatian nobles that signed the agreement retained their lands and properties and were granted exemption from tax or tributes. The nobles were to send at least ten armed horsemen each beyond the Drava River at the king's expense if his borders were attacked.[65][66] Despite the fact that the Pacta Conventa is not an authentic document from 1102, there was almost certainly some kind of contract or agreement between the Croatian nobles and Coloman which regulated the relations in the same way.[53][67][68]
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In 1102, after the succession crisis, the crown passed into the hands of theÁrpád dynasty, with the crowning of KingColoman of Hungary as "King of Croatia and Dalmatia" inBiograd. The precise terms of the union between the two realms became a matter of dispute in the 19th century.[9] The two kingdoms were united under theÁrpád dynasty either by the choice of theCroatian nobility or by Hungarian force.[70] Croatian historians hold that the union was a personal one in the form of a shared king, a view also accepted by a number of Hungarian historians,[6][12][53][58][71][72] while Serbian and Hungarian nationalist historians preferred to see it as a form of annexation.[8][9][73] The claim of a Hungarian occupation was made in the 19th century during the Hungarian national reawakening.[73] Thus in older Hungarian historiography Coloman's coronation in Biograd was a subject of dispute and their stance was that Croatia was conquered. Although these kinds of claims can also be found today, since theCroatian-Hungarian tensions are gone, it has generally been accepted that Coloman was crowned in Biograd as king.[74] Today, Hungarian legal historians hold that the relationship of Hungary with the area of Croatia and Dalmatia in the period till 1526 and the death of Louis II was most similar to apersonal union,[12][75] resembling the relationship of Scotland to England.[76][77]
According to theWorldmark Encyclopedia of Nationsand theGrand Larousse encyclopédique, Croatia entered apersonal union with Hungary in 1102, which remained the basis of the Hungarian-Croatian relationship until 1918,[3][78] whileEncyclopædia Britannica specified the union as adynastic one.[67] According to the research of theLibrary of Congress,Coloman crushed opposition after the death of Ladislaus I and won the crown of Dalmatia and Croatia in 1102, thus forging a link between the Croatian and Hungarian crowns that lasted until the end of World War I.[79] Hungarian culture permeated northern Croatia, the Croatian-Hungarian border shifted often, and at times Hungary treated Croatia as a vassal state. Croatia had its own local governor, or Ban; a privileged landowning nobility; and an assembly of nobles, theSabor.[79] According to some historians, Croatia became part of Hungary in the late 11th and early 12th century,[80] yet the actual nature of the relationship is difficult to define.[73] Sometimes Croatia acted as an independent agent and at other times as a vassal of Hungary.[73] However, Croatia retained a large degree of internal independence.[73] The degree of Croatian autonomy fluctuated throughout the centuries as did its borders.[10]
The alleged agreement calledPacta conventa (English:Agreed accords) orQualiter (first word of the text) is today viewed as a 14th-century forgery by most modern Croatian historians. According to the document King Coloman and the twelve heads of the Croatian nobles made an agreement, in which Coloman recognised their autonomy and specific privileges. Although it is not an authentic document from 1102, nonetheless there was at least a non-written agreement that regulated the relations between Hungary and Croatia in approximately the same way,[53][67] while the content of the alleged agreement is concordant with the reality of rule in Croatia in more than one respect.[69]
The official entering of Croatia into a personal union with Hungary, later becoming part of theLands of the Crown of St. Stephen,[81] had several important consequences. Institutions of separate Croatian statehood were maintained with the Sabor (parliament) and the ban (viceroy)[67] in the name of the king. A single ban governed all Croatian provinces until 1225, when the authority was split between oneban of the whole of Slavonia and oneban of Croatia and Dalmatia. The positions were intermittently held by the same person after 1345, and officially merged back into one by 1476.
In the union with Hungary, the crown was held by theÁrpád dynasty, and after its extinction, under theAnjou dynasty. Institutions of separate Croatian statehood were maintained through the Parliament (Croatian:Sabor – an assembly of Croatian nobles) and the ban (viceroy) responsible to theKing of Hungary and Croatia. In addition, the Croatian nobles retained their lands and titles.[67] Coloman retained the institution of the Sabor and relieved the Croatians of taxes on their land. Coloman's successors continued to crown themselves as Kings of Croatia separately inBiograd na Moru until the time ofBéla IV.[82] In the 14th century a new term arose to describe the collection ofde jure independent states under the rule of the Hungarian King:Archiregnum Hungaricum (Lands of the Crown of Saint Stephen).[83] Croatia remained a distinct crown attached to that of Hungary until the abolition of theAustro-Hungarian Empire in 1918.
In March 2024, Sabor proclaimed 2025 as "The year of marking the 1100th anniversary of the Kingdom of Croatia" (Croatian:Godina obilježavanja 1100. obljetnice hrvatskoga kraljevstva).[84]
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