The Kingdom of Croatia entered a personal union with the Kingdom of Hungary in 1102, after a period of rule of kings from the Trpimirović and Svetoslavić dynasties and a succession crisis following the death of king Demetrius Zvonimir. With the coronation of King Coloman of Hungary as "King of Croatia and Dalmatia" in 1102 in Biograd, the realm passed to the Árpád dynasty until 1301, when the (male) line of the dynasty died out. Then, kings from the Capetian House of Anjou, who were also cognatic descendants of the Árpád kings, ruled the kingdoms. Later centuries were characterized by conflicts with the Mongols, who sacked Zagreb in 1242, competition with Venice for control over Dalmatian coastal cities, and internal warfare among Croatian nobility. Various powerful nobles emerged in the time period, like Paul I Šubić of Bribir and Hrvoje Vukčić Hrvatinić, that secured de facto independence for their realms. The Ottoman incursion into Europe in the 16th century significantly reduced Croatian territories and left the country weak and divided. After the death of Louis II in 1526 during the Battle of Mohács and a brief period of dynastic dispute, both crowns passed to the Austrian House of Habsburg, and the realms became part of the Habsburg Monarchy.
Tomislav was the first king of Croatia. He became duke in c. 910, was elevated to kingship by 925 and reigned until 928. At the time of his rule, Croatia forged an alliance with the Byzantines during their struggle with the Bulgarian Empire, with whom Croatia eventually went to war, culminating in the decisive Battle of the Bosnian Highlands in 926. To the north there were often conflicts with the Principality of Hungary. Croatia kept its borders and to some extent expanded on the disintegrated Lower Pannonia.
The Battle of Sisak was fought on 22 June 1593 between Ottoman regional forces of Telli Hasan Pasha, the military Governor (Beglerbeg) of the Eyalet of Bosnia, and a combined Christian army from the Habsburg lands, mainly Kingdom of Croatia and Inner Austria. The battle took place at Sisak, central Croatia, at the confluence of the rivers Sava and Kupa.
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 Central 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 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.
Zdeslav was a duke in Croatia from 878 until his death in 879. He was from the Trpimirović dynasty.
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.
Ferdo Šišić was a Croatian historian, the founding figure of the Croatian historiography of the 20th century. He made his most important contributions in the area of the Croatian early Middle Ages.
Grga Novak was a distinguished Croatian historian, archaeologist and geographer, and President of the Yugoslav Academy of Sciences and Arts from 1958 to 1978. Born on the island of Hvar, he was Professor of Ancient History in the University of Zagreb, where he was also Rector between 1946 and 1947. He is best known for pioneering archaeology in Croatia, and his publications on the history of Dalmatia, Split, Dubrovnik, Hvar and the Adriatic Islands.
This is a timeline of Croatian history, comprising important legal and territorial changes and political events in Croatia and its predecessor states. Featured articles are in bold. To read about the background to these events, see History of Croatia. See also the list of rulers of Croatia and years in Croatia.
The Hundred Years' Croatian–Ottoman War is the name for a sequence of conflicts, mostly of relatively low intensity, between the Ottoman Empire and the medieval Kingdom of Croatia, and the later Habsburg Kingdom of Croatia.
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.
The following is a timeline of the history of the city of Split, Croatia.
Trpimir Macan is a Croatian historian and lexicographer.
The Duke of Slavonia, also Duke of Dalmatia and Croatia and sometimes Duke of "Whole Slavonia", Dalmatia and Croatia was a title of nobility granted several times in the 13th and 14th centuries, mainly to relatives of Hungarian monarchs or other noblemen. The title of duke signified a more extensive power than that of the Ban of Slavonia or Ban of Croatia.
The Battle of Una was fought on 29 and 30 October 1483 between the regional Ottoman forces, mostly from the Sanjak of Bosnia, and the Kingdom of Croatia near Brod Zrinski at the Una River crossing and was one of the first major Croatian victories against the Ottoman Empire. The Croatian army was led by the Ban of Croatia Matthias Geréb and several members of the House of Frankopan, joined by other Croatian nobles and the Despot of Serbia, Vuk Grgurević. Their goal was to intercept the Ottomans that were moving towards the Una River. In the battle that lasted for 2 days the Ottomans were defeated and soon a 7-year truce was signed with Sultan Bayezid II.
There have been several church councils held in the town of Split in the early Middle Ages, and whose conclusions have significance for the whole territory of the early Croatian Kingdom.
Neven Budak is a Croatian historian and professor at the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, University of Zagreb.