Kingdom of Croatia
Croatia, 925 CE–1102. Draft, not yet reviewed
The Kingdom of Croatia was a medieval kingdom in Southern Europe comprising most of what is today Croatia. Croatia was elevated to the status of kingdom somewhere around 925. In 1102 the crown passed to the Árpád dynasty with the coronation of King Coloman of Hungary as King of Croatia and Dalmatia, uniting the two kingdoms under one crown.
Seat of power: Nin
Rulers
Tomislav of Croatia
King of Croatia, 925 CE–928 CE
During Tomislav's rule, Croatia forged an alliance with the Byzantine Empire against Bulgaria. Tomislav attended the 925 Council of Split, convened by Pope John X, to discuss the use of Slavic languages in liturgy.
Portrait of Tomislav of Croatia: Ralf Roletschek, GFDL 1.2, file
Krešimir I of Croatia
King of Croatia, 935 CE–945 CE
Little is known about his reign. According to De Administrando Imperio, Krešimir managed to maintain Croatia's military power.
Michael Krešimir II of Croatia
King of Croatia, 945 CE–969 CE
Ban Pribina rebelled against King Miroslav and brought Michael Krešimir II to the throne, and his reign began restoring the glory of the realm. He and his wife Helen of Zadar had good relations with, and possibly even ruled over, the Dalmatian cities.
Miroslav of Croatia
King of Croatia, 945 CE–949 CE
During his reign, Croatia suffered a civil war and the Croatian navy was reduced to only 30 ships, while the infantry and cavalry also had losses. Miroslav was killed by Pribina, Ban of Croatia, and his younger brother Michael Krešimir II succeeded him as king.
Portrait of Miroslav of Croatia: Hxseek at English Wikipedia, CC BY 3.0, file
Stephen Držislav of Croatia
King of Croatia, 969 CE–997 CE
His mother Helen acted as regent for the young king until her death on 8 October 976. In the war between Byzantine emperor Basil II and Tsar Samuil of Bulgaria, he actively allied with the Byzantines. Since his period, the official title of Croatian kings changed from gentile (king of Croats) to territorial (king of Croatia and Dalmatia).
Portrait of Stephen Držislav of Croatia: Prof saxx at English Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0, file
Svetoslav of Croatia
King of Croatia, 997 CE–1000
He reigned with the help of his ban, Varda. His brothers Krešimir III and Gojslav rebelled against him and, with Bulgarian aid, overthrew him and became rulers of Croatia.
Krešimir III of Croatia
King of Croatia, 1000–1030
Until 1020, he co-ruled with his brother Gojslav. In the summer of 1018 the war between Venice and Croatia was renewed, when Krešimir launched a campaign against the Dalmatian cities in an attempt to retake the lost territories.
Gojslav of Croatia
King of Croatia, 1000–1020
He co-ruled the Kingdom of Croatia with his brother Krešimir III from 1000 until his death in 1020. Gojslav and Krešimir III spent their reign attempting to restore rule over the Dalmatian cities.
Demetrius Zvonimir of Croatia
King of Croatia, 1075–1089
His reign is characterized as relatively peaceful, with no extensive war campaigns, focused instead on Croatia's economic and cultural development. He inherited the Croatian state at its height and ruled from the city of Knin.
Portrait of Demetrius Zvonimir of Croatia: Samuel Wein, CC BY-SA 4.0, file
Stephen II of Croatia
King of Croatia, 1089–1090
Stephen II was the last member of the Trpimirović dynasty and last native king of Croatia to rule the entire medieval Croatian Kingdom. His rule was relatively ineffectual and lasted less than two years.
Portrait of Stephen II of Croatia: Unknown authorUnknown author, Public domain, file
Culture
- The goal of promoting the Croatian language in the religious service was initially introduced by the 10th century bishop Gregory of Nin.
- On the tablet the Croatian ethnonym and King Demetrius Zvonimir are mentioned for the first time in its native form. The inscription is written in the Glagolitic script.
Picture
The Baška tablet is one of the first monuments containing an inscription in the Croatian recension of Church Slavonic, dating from c. 1100 AD.
Image: Hrvatska enciklopedija, CC BY-SA 4.0, file
Sources
Text adapted from the Wikipedia articles listed as sources, CC BY-SA 4.0.