The Glagolitic script is the oldest known Slavic alphabet. It is generally agreed to have been created in the 9th century by Saint Cyril, a monk from Thessaloniki. He and his brother, Saint Methodius, were sent by the Byzantine Emperor Michael III in 863 to Great Moravia to spread Christianity among the West Slavs in the area. The brothers decided to translate liturgical books into the contemporary Slavic language understandable to the general population. As the words of that language could not be easily written by using either the Greek or Latin alphabets, Cyril decided to invent a new script, Glagolitic, which he based on the local dialect of the Slavic tribes from the Byzantine theme of Thessalonica.
Bosnian Cyrillic, widely known as Bosančica is an extinct variant of the Cyrillic alphabet that originated in medieval Bosnia. The term was coined at the end of the 19th century by Ćiro Truhelka. It was widely used in modern-day Bosnia and Herzegovina and the bordering areas of modern-day Croatia. Its name in Bosnian-Croatian-Serbian is Bosančica and Bosanica the latter of which can be translated as Bosnian script. Serb scholars call it Serbian script, Serbian–Bosnian script, Bosnian–Serb Cyrillic, as part of variant of Serbian Cyrillic and the term "bosančica" according to them is Austro-Hungarian propaganda. Croat scholars also call it Croatian script, Croatian–Bosnian script, Bosnian–Croat Cyrillic, harvacko pismo, arvatica or Western Cyrillic. For other names of Bosnian Cyrillic, see below.
Tomislav was the first king of Croatia. He became Duke of Croatia in c. 910 and was elevated to kingship in 925, reigning until 928. During his rule, Croatia forged an alliance with the Byzantines against the Bulgarian Empire. Croatia's struggles with the Bulgarian Empire eventually led to war, which culminated in the decisive Battle of the Bosnian Highlands in 926. To the north, Croatia often clashed with the Principality of Hungary; the state retained its borders and to some extent expanded on the disintegrated Lower Pannonia.
The Catholic Church in Croatia is part of the worldwide Catholic Church that is under the spiritual leadership of the Pope, Roman Curia and the Croatian Bishops' Conference. Its administration is centered in Zagreb, and it comprises five archdioceses, 13 dioceses and one military ordinariate. Cardinal Josip Bozanić is the Roman Catholic Archbishop of Zagreb.
The Kingdom of Dalmatia was a crown land of the Austrian Empire (1815–1867) and the Cisleithanian half of Austria-Hungary (1867–1918). It encompassed the entirety of the region of Dalmatia, with its capital at Zadar.
The Archdiocese of Vrhbosna is an ecclesiastical archdiocese of the Catholic Church. Its territorial remit includes the eastern parts of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the entirety of the Republic of North Macedonia. Its episcopal see is the city of Sarajevo (Vrhbosna), the capital of Bosnia and Herzegovina. The archdiocese has the following suffragans: in North Macedonam the Diocese of Skopje; in Bosnia, the dioceses of Banja Luka, Mostar-Duvno and Trebinje–Mrkan.
Peter Krešimir IV, called the Great was King of Croatia and Dalmatia from 1059 until his death in 1074 or 1075. He was the last great ruler of the Krešimirović branch of the Trpimirović dynasty.
The Kingdom of Croatia, or Croatian Kingdom, was a medieval kingdom in Southern Europe comprising most of what is today Croatia, as well as most of the modern-day Bosnia and Herzegovina. The Croatian Kingdom was ruled for part of its existence by ethnic dynasties, and the Kingdom existed as a sovereign state for nearly two centuries. Its existence was characterized by various conflicts and periods of peace or alliance with the Bulgarians, Byzantines, Hungarians, and competition with Venice for control over the eastern Adriatic coast. The goal of promoting the Croatian language in the religious service was initially introduced by the 10th century bishop Gregory of Nin, which resulted in a conflict with the Pope, later to be put down by him. In the second half of the 11th century Croatia managed to secure most coastal cities of Dalmatia with the collapse of Byzantine control over them. During this time the kingdom reached its peak under the rule of kings Peter Krešimir IV (1058–1074) and Demetrius Zvonimir (1075–1089).
Demetrius Zvonimir was a King of Croatia and Dalmatia from 1076 until his death in 1089. He was crowned as king in Solin on 8 October 1076. Zvonimir also served as Ban of Croatia (1064–1074), and was named Duke of Croatia in around 1075. His native name was Zvonimir; he adopted the forename Demetrius at his coronation.
Branimir was a ruler of Croatia who reigned as duke from 879 to 892. His country received papal recognition as a state from Pope John VIII on 7 June 879. During his reign, Croatia retained its sovereignty from both Frankish and Byzantine rule and became de jure independent.
Domagoj was Duke of Croatia from 864 to 876, and the founder of the Domagojević dynasty. He usurped the Croatian throne after the death of Trpimir I and expelled his sons. He took a more active role in the Adriatic Sea than his predecessors, encouraged the use of force and waged many wars, specifically with the Arabs, Venice and the East Francia. Domagoj's belligerence and the tolerance and support of piracy caused bad relations with Pope John VIII, which was further worsened after Domagoj showed no mercy to his conspirators. Formally a Frankish vassal, he used to his advantage the Frankish succession crisis and started a successful revolt against Carloman of Bavaria. After his death in 876, Domagoj was succeeded by his son who was deposed and expelled by Zdeslav in 878.
Gregory of Nin was a medieval bishop of Nin who strongly opposed the pope and official circles of the Church and introduced the Croatian language in the religious services after the Great Assembly in 926, according to traditional Croatian historiography. Until that time, services were held only in Latin, not being understandable to a majority of the population. Not only was this important for Croatian language and culture, but it also made Christianity stronger within the Croatian kingdom.
The Duchy of Croatia was a medieval state that was established in the former Roman province of Dalmatia. Throughout its time it had several seats – namely, Klis, Solin, Knin, Bijaći and Nin. It comprised the littoral – the coastal part of today's Croatia –, except Istria, and included a large part of the mountainous hinterland, as well. The duchy was in the center of competition between the Carolingian Empire and the Byzantine Empire for rule over the area. Rivalry with Venice emerged in the first decades of the 9th century and was to continue for the following centuries. Croatia also waged battles with the Bulgarian Empire, with whom the relations improved greatly afterwards, and the Arabs and sought to extend its control over important coastal cities under the rule of Byzantium. Croatia experienced periods of vassalage to the Franks or Byzantines and de facto independence until 879, when Duke Branimir was recognized as an independent ruler by Pope John VIII. The duchy was ruled by the Trpimirović and Domagojević dynasties. Around 925, during the rule of Tomislav, Croatia became a kingdom.
Supetar cartulary or Sumpetar cartulary is a 12th-century cartulary which contains charters from the years 1080 to 1187.
Ervin Šinko was a Hungarian-Yugoslavian writer, publisher and poet.
Croatian Vukovians refers to a group of Croatian linguists that were active at the end of the 19th and the beginning of the 20th century. Their work focused on the standardization of the Croatian variety of Serbo-Croatian language. They were led by Tomislav Maretić, and the most prominent members were Franjo Iveković, Ivan Broz, Pero Budmani, Armin Pavić, Vatroslav Rožić and others.
Petar Šimun "Šime" Budinić Zadranin was a 16th-century Venetian-Croatian Catholic priest and writer from Zadar, Venetian Dalmatia. He was a translator of psalms and catechetical texts, promoter of post-Tridentine Catholicism, and a poet.
Rafael Levaković, O.F.M. was a Franciscan prelate who served as Archbishop of Achrida (1647–1650); and Glagolitic writer who set foundations for Slavic liturgy based on the missionary concept of the Roman Catholic Church. Levaković actively worked on religious conversion of the Orthodox Serbs in Croatia.
Mihovil Pavlinović was a Croatian Roman Catholic priest, politician, and writer who led Croatian National Revival in the Kingdom of Dalmatia. He is known as a keen promoter of Croatian political thought in Dalmatia, one of the founders of the liberal People's Party and consistent advocate of unification of Kingdom of Dalmatia and Kingdom of Croatia-Slavonia.
Bazilije Stjepan Pandžić was a historian, archivist and orientalist. He entered the Franciscan Order in 1935 and was ordained for a priest in 1941. From 1947 to 1985 he was the general archivist and analyst of the Franciscan Order in Rome. In 1958 he was elected vice-president of the International Association of Church Archives. He turned 100 in January 2018, and in April 2019, died at the age of 101.
