The
Kingdom of Croatia or the
Croat Kingdom (
Croatian:
Kraljevina Hrvatska or
Hrvatsko Kraljevstvo;
Latin:
Regnum Croatiae or
Regnum Croatorum) was a medieval kingdom covering most of what is today
Croatia and
Bosnia and Herzegovina in the
Balkans. Established in
925, it ruled as a
sovereign state for
150 years; its participation was marked in various conflicts with the
Venetians,
Bulgarians,
Magyars and, occasionally in an opposition against the
Pope. The goal of injecting the
Slavic language in the religious service was initially brought and
introduced by a
10th century native
bishop Gregory of Nin.
1102, after a period of time definded as a
succession crisis for the
Trpimirović Dynasty, the kingdom lost its full-scale sovereignity and eventually later, it became a
province.
Early Croatian states
Arrival of Croats
thumb|200px|left|The Coming of the Croats to the Adriatic by Oton IvekovićNo contemporary written records about the
migration have been preserved, especially not about the events as a whole and from the area itself. Instead, historians rely on records written several centuries after the facts, and even those records may be based on
oral tradition.
The
Croats were a
Slavic tribe, coming into the Balkans from an area in and around today's
Poland or western
Ukraine. Many modern scholars believe that the early Croat people, as well as other early Slavic groups, were agricultural populations that were ruled by the nomadic Iranian-speaking
Alans. It is unclear whether the Alans contributed much more than a ruling caste or a class of warriors; the evidence on their contribution is mainly
philological and
etymological.
The book
De Administrando Imperio, written in the
10th century, is the most referenced source on the migration of
Slavic peoples into southeastern Europe. It states that they migrated first around or before year 600 from the region that is now (roughly)
Galicia and areas of the
Pannonian plain, led by the
Avars, to the province of Dalmatia ruled by the Roman Empire.
De Administrando Imperio reports a folk tradition that the Croats were led into the Roman province of Dalmatia by a group of five brothers, Klukas, Lobel, Kosenc, Muhlo and Hrvat, and their two sisters, Tuga and Buga.
The second wave of migration, possibly around year 620, began when the
Croats were invited by the Emperor
Heraclius to counter the Avar threat on the
Byzantine Empire.
De Administrando Imperio also mentions an alternate version of the events, where the Croats weren't actually invited by Heraclius, but instead defeated the Avars and settled on their own accord after migrating from an area near today's
Silesia. This record is supported by the writings of one Thomas the archdeacon,
Historia Salonitana from the
13th century.
Archdeacon Thomas, as well as the
Chronicle of the Priest of Duklja from the 12th century, state that the Croats remained after the
Goths (under a leader referred to as "
Totila") had occupied and pillaged the Roman province of Dalmatia. The Chronicle of Dioclea speaks of a Gothic invasion (under a leader referred to as "Svevlad", followed by his descendants "Selimir" and "Ostroilo").
Christianization
thumb|200px|left|The stone inscription of Prince [[Branimir of Croatia|Branimir,
ca. 880]]
The earliest record of contact between the Roman Pope and the Croats dates from a mid-7th century entry in the
Liber Pontificalis.
Pope John IV (John the Dalmatian, 640-642) sent an abbot named Martin to
Dalmatia and
Istria in order to pay ransom for some prisoners and for the remnants of old Christian martyrs. This abbot is recorded to have travelled through Dalmatia with the help of the Croatian leaders, and he established the foundation for the future relations between the Pope and the Croats.
The
Christianization of the Croats began after their arrival, probably in the
7th century, influenced by the proximity of the old Roman cities in Dalmatia. The process was completed in the north by the beginning of the
9th century. The beginnings of the
Christianization are also disputed in the historical texts: the Byzantine texts talk of duke Porin who started this at the incentive of emperor
Heraclius, then of Prince Porga who mainly Christianized his people after the influence of missionaries from Rome, while the national tradition recalls Christianization during the rule of Dalmatian Prince
Borna. It is possible that these are all renditions of the same ruler's name.
Curiously enough, the Croats were never obliged to use
Latin -- rather, they held
masses in their own language and used the
Glagolitic alphabet. This was officially sanctioned in 1248 by
Pope Innocent IV, and only later did the Latin alphabet prevail.
The
Latin Rite prevailed over the
Byzantine Rite rather early due to numerous interventions from the
Holy See. There were numerous church synods held in Dalmatia in the 11th century, particularly after the
East-West Schism, during the course of which the use of the Latin rite was continuously reinforced until it became dominant.
Rise of Croats
thumb|right|200px|The Adriatic Sklaviniae c. 800 AD, according to Klaićthumb|right|200px|The Croatian Dukedom c. 850. Savia was probably under direct Frankish ruleCroatian lands in the
Dark Ages were located between three major entities: the
Eastern Roman Empire which aimed to control the Dalmatian city-states and islands, the
Franks which aimed to control the northern and northwestern lands, and the
Avars, later
Magyars, and other fledgling states in the northeast. The fourth relevant group, but not so powerful with regard to the Croatian state, were the nearby Slavs in the southeast, the
Serbs and the
Bulgarians.
The north became subject to the
Carolingian Empire around
800, when in
796 a Croatian Pannonian prince Vojnomir switched sides between the
Avars and the
Franks. The Franks established control over the region between
Sava,
Drava and
Danube which was under the
Margrave of Furlania. The patriarchy of
Aquileia was then allowed to Christianize the remaining Slavs in the region.
Charlemagne invaded the Dalmatian portion of Croatia in
799, contesting its Byzantine suzerainty, and after a lengthy war, conquered it in 803. The prince who headed the Croats in the south at the time was called
Višeslav.
Charlemagne's invasion of the Dalmatian cities provoked a war with the Eastern Roman Empire — after a peace deal was signed, the Byzantium restored the city-states and islands while Charlemagne kept Istria and inland Dalmatia. After the death of
Charlemagne in 814, the Frankish influence decreased, and the Croatian prince
Ljudevit Posavski raised in Pannonia a rebellion (819). The
Frankish Margraves sent armies in 820, 821 and 822, but each time they failed to crush the rebels until finally Ljudevit's forces withdrew to
Bosnia. Most of the Pannonian Croatia would remain in Frankish suzerainty until the end of the 9th century. What is today eastern
Slavonia and
Srijem fell to the
Bulgarians in 827 after a border dispute with the Franks. By a peace treaty in
845, the Franks were confirmed as rulers over Slavonia, whilst Srijem remained under Bulgarian clientage.
In the meantime, the Dalmatian Croats were recorded to have been subject to the Kingdom of
Italy under
Lothair I, since 828. The Croatian Prince
Mislav (835–845) built up a formidable navy, and in 839 signed a peace treaty with
Pietro Tradonico,
doge of Venice. The Venetians soon proceeded to battle with the independent Slavic pirates of the
Pagania region, but failed to defeat them. The Bulgarian king
Boris I (called by the
Byzantine Empire Archont of Bulgaria after he made
Christianity the official religion of Bulgaria) also waged a lengthy war against the
Dalmatian Croats, trying to expand his state to the
Adriatic.
The Croatian Prince
Trpimir I (845–864) succeeded Mislav and managed to finally win the war against the Bulgarians and their
Rascian subjects. Trpimir I expanded his realm to include the whole of
Bosnia up to the
Drina river.
Trpimir I managed to consolidate power over Dalmatia and much of the inland regions towards
Pannonia, while instituting counties as a way of controlling his subordinates (an idea he picked up from the Franks). The first known written mention of the Croats, dates form
March 4,
852, in
statute by Trpimir. Trpimir is remembered as the initiator of the
Trpimirović dynasty, that ruled in Croatia, with interruptions, from
845 until
1091.
In the meantime, the
Saracens, a group of
Arab pirates, invaded
Taranto and
Bari in the 840s. The extent of their piracy forced the Byzantium to increase its military presence in the southern Adriatic. In 867 a Byzantine fleet lifted the
Saracen siege over
Dubrovnik (then known as
Ragusa) and also defeated the pirates of Pagania.
Facing a number of naval threats, the Croatian Prince
Domagoj (864–876) built up the Croatian navy again and helped the Franks conquer
Bari in 871. The Croatian vessels also forced the Venetians to start paying tribute for sailing near the eastern Adriatic coast. Domagoj's son, of unknown name, ruled Dalmatian Croatia between 876 and 878. His forces attacked the western Istrian towns in 876, but were subsequently defeated by the Venetian navy. His ground forces defeated the Pannonian duke
Kocelj (861–874) who was suzerain to the Franks, and thereby shed the Frankish vassal status. Wars of Domagoj and his son liberated Dalmatian Croats from supreme Franks rule.
The next Prince
Zdeslav (878–879) owerthrew Domagoj's son, but reigned briefly, only to see the Byzantine Empire conquer large portions of Dalmatia. He was then overthrown by Prince
Branimir (879–892), who was supported by the Western Church, and the country was recognized by
Pope John VIII as an independent principality under Branimir in 879 (Branimir was dubbed
dux Chroatorum). Branimir proceeded to repel the Byzantine incursion and strengthen his state under the ægis of Rome. After Branimir's death, Prince
Muncimir (892–910), Zdeslav's brother, took control of Dalmatia and ruled it independently of both Rome and Byzantium as
divino munere Croatorum dux (with God's help, duke of Croats).
The last Prince of the Pannonian Croats under the Franks was
Braslav (died in 897?), mentioned in 896, who died in a war with the
Magyars, who then migrated to the Pannonian plain. In Dalmatia, Duke
Tomislav (910–928) succeeded Muncimir. Tomislav successfully repelled Magyar attacks, expelled them up to the
Drava River on north, and united Pannonian and Dalmatian Croats into one state.
Independent realm
Establishment
thumb|left|200px|Crowning of King Tomislav by Oton IvekovićThe Slavs arrived in the early seventh century in what is Croatia today. The first Croatian ruler recognized by the
Pope was duke
Branimir, whom
Pope John VIII called
dux Croatorum ("duke of Croats") in
879.
[Stjepan Antoljak, Pregled hrvatske povijesti, Split 1993., str. 43.] Croatia was elevated to the status of
Kingdom around 925, when King
Tomislav received the crown from the
Papal legate. He united the Slavs of Dalmatia and Pannonia into a single Kingdom in 925. Tomislav's state extended from the Adriatic Sea to the
Drava river, and from the
Raša river to the
Drina river. Under his rule, Croatia became one of the most powerful kingdoms in the Balkans.
The state was ruled mostly by native
Croats of
Trpimirović dynasty until
1102, when the crown passed into the hands of the Hungarian
Árpád dynasty. The act of unions was dealed in
Pacta conventa. Kingdom of Croatia and Hungary was from 1102, a
personal union of two kingdoms,
Kingdom of Croatia and
Kingdom of Hungary, united under the Hungarian king.
At first, they were united under
Arpad dynasty, and after its extinction, under
Anjou dynasty. Croatia retained its chief institutions such as the
Parliament () and the
ban (viceroy) responsible to the
King of Hungary and Croatia.
In addition, the Croatian nobles retained their lands and titles.
Croatia remained a distinct crown attached to that of Hungary until the abolition of the
Austro-Hungarian Empire in
1918.
thumb|right|200px|Map of Europe c. 1000 AD
thumb|200px|right|The [[Croatian wattle|wattle (
pleter) with inscription "King
Držislav",
10th century]]
right|200px|thumb|A font, with an engraving of a [[List of Croatian rulers|Croatian ruler, originates from the
11th century.]]
thumb|right|200px|Baška tablet, 1100 AD
Tomislav, a descendant of
Trpimir I, is considered the founder of the Trpimirović dynasty. Sometime between
923 and
928, Tomislav succeeded in uniting the Croats of
Pannonia and
Dalmatia, each of which had been ruled separately by dukes, and was crowned as king in the
Duvno field (the central town in the Duvno field is still named
Tomislavgrad ("Tomislav's city") in his honour). The chief piece of evidence that Tomislav was crowned king comes in the form of a letter dated 925, surviving only in 16th-century copies, from
Pope John X calling Tomislav
rex Chroatorum. Tomislav's state covered most of Pannonia, Dalmatia,
Bosnia, and
Slavonia. He administered his
kingdom as a group of eleven counties (
županija) and one
banate (
Banovina). Each of these regions had a fortified royal town.
Tomislav soon came into conflict with the
Bulgars under Emperor
Simeon I (called Simeon the Great in Bulgaria). Tomislav made a pact with the
Byzantine Empire, which allowed him to control the Byzantine cities in Dalmatia as long as he curbed Bulgarian expansion. In 926, Simeon tried to break the Croatian-Byzantine pact, sending duke
Alogobotur with a formidable army against Tomislav, but Simeon's army was defeated in the
Battle of the Bosnian Highlands. According to the contemporary
De Administrando Imperio, Tomislav's army and navy could've consisted of approximately 100,000 infantry, 60,000 cavaliers, and 80 larger and 100 smaller warships, but generally isn't taken as credible.
10th century
Croatian society underwent major changes in the tenth century. Local leaders, the
župani, were replaced by the retainers of the king, who took land from the previous landowners, essentially creating a
feudal system. The previously free peasants became
serfs and ceased being soldiers, causing the military power of Croatia to fade.
Tomislav was succeeded by
Trpimir II (928–935) and
Krešimir I (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.
Miroslav (945–949) was killed by his ban,
Pribina, during an internal power struggle, and Croatia again lost the islands of
Brač,
Hvar, and
Vis to the dukes of
Pagania. The Dalmatian city-states and the Duchy of Bosnia were lost to Byzantium and eastern Slavonia and
Srijem were taken by the
Magyars.
Krešimir II (949–969) restored order throughout most of the state. He kept particularly good relations with the Dalmatian cities, he and his wife
Jelena donating land and churches to
Zadar and
Solin. A 976 inscription is preserved the Church of Saint Mary in Solin that names the Croatian royalty. Krešimir II was succeeded by his son
Stjepan Držislav (969–997), who established better relations with the Byzantine Empire from which he has received a royal
insignia.
11th century
As soon as Stjepan Držislav had died in 997, his three sons,
Svetoslav (997–1000),
Krešimir III (1000–1030), and
Gojslav (1000–1020), opened a violent contest for the throne, weakening the state and allowing the Venetians under
Pietro II Orseolo and the Bulgarians under
Samuil to encroach on the Croatian possessions along the
Adriatic. In 1000, Orseolo led the Venetian fleet into the eastern Adriatic and gradually took control of the whole of it , first the islands of the
Gulf of Kvarner and Zadar, then
Trogir and
Split, followed by a successful naval battle with the
Narentines upon which he took control of
Korčula and
Lastovo, and claimed the title
dux Dalmatiæ. Krešimir III tried to restore the Dalmatian cities and had some success until 1018, when he was defeated by Venice allied with the
Lombards. 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 of
Krešimir IV (1058–1074), the medieval Croatian kingdom reached its territorial peak. Kresimir managed to get the Byzantine Empire to confirm him as the supreme ruler of the Dalmatian cities. He also allowed the
Roman curia to become more involved in the religious affairs of Croatia, which consolidated his power but disrupted his rule over the
Glagolitic clergy in parts of
Istria 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 over
Zahumlje,
Travunia, and
Duklja.
However, in 1072, Krešimir assisted the Bulgarian and
Serb uprising against their Byzantine masters. The Byzantines retaliated in 1074 by sending the
Norman count Amik to besiege
Rab. 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, and
Nin to the Normans. In 1075, Venice banished the Normans and secured the cities for itself. The end of Kresimir IV in 1074 also marked
de facto end of the Trpimirović dynasty, which had ruled the Croatian lands for over two centuries.
Krešimir was succeeded by a rival, but also a relative, a Svetoslavić (Trpimirović junior line):
Dmitar Zvonimir (1075–1089). He was previously a ban in Slavonia. He gained the title of king with the support of
Pope Gregory VII, after which he aided the Normans under
Robert Guiscard in their struggle against the Byzantine Empire and Venice between 1081 and 1085. Zvonimir helped to transport their troops through the
Strait of Otranto and to occupy the city of
Durrës. His troops assiated 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 the
Baška Tablet, preserved to this day as one of the oldest written Croatian texts, kept in the archæological museum in
Zagreb. 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, with
comes and
baron used for the župani and the royal court nobles, and
vlastelin for the noblemen. The Croatian state was edging closer to western Europe and further from the east.
Decline and war
thumb|200px|left|Death of King Peter on Gvozd Mountain in the year 1097 by Oton IvekovićDemetrius Zvonimir (died 1089) was the
King of Croatia of the Svetoslavić branch of the
House of Trpimirović. He began as the
Ban of Slavonia in the service of King
Stephen I and then as
Duke of Croatia for his successor King
Peter Krešimir IV. Peter declared him his heir and, in late 1074 or early 1075, Demetrius Zvonimir succeeded to the Croatian throne. Demetrius Zvonimir married in 1063 to his distant relative
Jelena Lijepa ("Jelena the Beautiful"). Queen Jelena (Ilona) was a
Hungarian princess, the daughter of King
Bela I of the Hungarian
Árpád dynasty, and was the sister of the future King
Ladislaus I of
Hungary. Demetrius Zvonimir and Jelena 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 unknown, but according to a later, likely unsubstantiated legend, King Zvonimir was killed during the revolt of the
Sabor in 1089.
[ ] With no direct heir to succeed him,
Stephen II (reigned 1089–1091) of the main Trpimirović line came to the throne at an old age and reigned for two years. This succession was contested by a faction of nobles from northern Croatia (Pannonia). The nobles offered the Croatian throne to King
Ladislaus I of
Hungary, who claimed the Croatian crown through his sister Queen
Jelena, King Demetrius Zvonimir's widow. The Queen enjoyed significant influence in northern Croatia and apparently used it to bolster her brother's claim.
Stephen II was to be the last King of the
House 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 Sv. Stjepan pod Borovima (St. Stephen beneath the Pines) near
Split. 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 and unrest broke out shortly afterward. At the same time (1091), with the death of Stephen II setting the stage, King
Ladislaus I of Hungary at last accepted the nomination of northern nobles and claimed the Croatian crown. He entered the Croatian Kingdom with an army in 1094, and established his rule in northern Croatia (Pannonia) with little resistance. During the same year (1094) he founded the
Zagreb bishopric, which later became the ecclesiastical center of Croatia. However, Ladislaus' claim was rejected by the nobles of southern Croatia, who resisted his forces successfully in the mountainous southern terrain and maintained their independence. At this time, the Byzantine Emperor
Alexius I Comnenus sent the
Cumans to attack Hungary and forced the Hungarian army to retreat from Croatia. Alexius did, however, allow the Hungarian
Prince Álmos to rule over norhern Croatia (Pannonia).
In 1093, the southern Croatian feudal lords, struggling to remain independent of Hungary, elected a new ruler, King
Peter Svačić (reigned 1093–1097). He managed to unify the Kingdom around his capital of
Knin and force the Hungarian Prince Álmos from northern Croatia in 1095. With this he restored Croatian rule up to the river
Drava, reclaiming nearly all territory lost to Ladislaus I, who soon died in 1095.
Ladislaus' successor and nephew was King
Coloman, and he resolved to press the Hungarian claim on the Croatian crown and continue the campaign. He made peace with
Pope Urban II and led a large army into the Croatian Kingdom in 1097. Under his leadership, a Hungarian army quickly defeated King Peter's defenses along the river
Drava and regained control over the Pannonian Croatian plains (northern Croatia). His forces were stopped however, as they approached the mountainous southern regions which resisted the Hungarian claim. He therefore reassembled his forces in Croatia and advanced on
Gvozd Mountain, where he met the main Croatian army assembled under King
Peter. In the ensuing
Battle of Gvozd Mountain, King Peter was killed and the Croats were decisively defeated (because of this, the mountain was with time renamed to
Petrova Gora, "Peter's Mountain"). As a consequence of the battle, King Coloman gained control of most of Croatia without resistance. However, when in 1099 Coloman and his forces were called back to the northeast to fight the
Ruthenians and
Cumans in
Galicia, the Croatian nobles took the opportunity to liberate themselves from Hungarian rule once again. In 1102, Coloman returned to the Kingdom of Croatia in force, and negotiated with the Croatian feudal lords from a position of power. As a consequence, King Coloman was crowned and the Hungarian and Croatian crowns were joined (with the crown of Dalmatia held separate from that of Croatia). The title now claimed by Coloman was "King of Hungary, Dalmatia, and Croatia".
Controversies
thumb|right|220px|Coin of Louis II of Hungary with the inscription in Latin: "Louis by the grace of God King of Hungary, Dalmatia, Croatia"
The events surrounding the union of Croatia and Hungary are the source of a major historical controversy. Croatian historians argue that the union was a personal one in the form of a shared king, while Hungarian historians insist that Croatia was conquered.
[ The significance of the debate lies in the Croatian claim to an unbroken heritage of historical statehood which is clearly compromised by the other claim.][Bellamy, p.37] The Hungarian claim was made in the 19th century during the Hungarian national reawakening, while the same argument could also be levelled about the idea of a personal union first articulated in the fourteenth century.[Bellamy, p. 38] The actual nature of the relationship is inexplicable in modern terms because it varied from time to time.[ Sometimes Croatia acted as an independent agent and at other times as a vassal of Hungary.][ However, Croatia retained a large degree of internal independence.][ The degree of Croatian autonomy fluctuated throughout the centuries as did its borders. ]
According to the research of the Library of Congress a faction of Croatian nobles contesting the succession after the death of Zvonimir offered the Croatian throne to King Ladislaus I.[ In 1091 Ladislaus accepted, and in 1094 he founded the Zagreb bishopric, which later became the ecclestical center of Croatia.][ King Coloman of Hungary crushed opposition after the death of Ladislaus I and won the crown of Dalmatia and Croatia in 1102.][ The crowning of King Coloman forged a link between the Croatian and Hungarian crowns that lasted until the end of World War I (1918). The status of the Croatian Kingdom in this new situation is disputed, however. Croats have maintained for centuries that, despite the voluntary union of the two crowns, the Kingdom of Croatia remained a sovereign state in a personal union with the Kingdom of Hungary. Hungarians, however, claim that Hungary annexed Croatia outright in 1102. In either case, Hungarian culture permeated northern Croatia, the Croatian-Hungarian border shifted often, and at times Hungary treated Croatia as a vassal state. Croatia, however, had its own local governor, or Ban; a privileged landowning nobility; and an assembly of nobles, the Sabor.]
Other sources say King Coloman established a personal union of the Kingdom of Croatia and the Kingdom of Hungary by an alleged agreement called Pacta conventa. Although, the precise time and terms of Pacta Conventa later became a matter of dispute; nonetheless there was at least a non-written agreement that regulated the relations between Hungary and Croatia in approximately the same way.[ in the name of the king. A single ban governed all Croatian provinces until 1225, when the authority was split between one ban of The Whole of Slavonia and one ban of Dalmatia and Croatia. The positions were intermittently held by the same person after 1345, and officially merged back into one by 1476.] Union with Hungary
200px|thumb|right|The Saint Ladislaus legend, detail with the cavalier-king saint
In the union with Hungary, institutions of separate Croatian statehood were maintained through the Sabor (an assembly of Croatian nobles) and the ban (viceroy). In addition, the Croatian nobles retained their lands and titles. 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 in Biograd na Moru until the time of Bela IV. In the 14th century a new term arose to describe the collection of de jure independent states under the rule of the Hungarian King: Archiregnum Hungaricum (Lands of the Crown of Saint Stephen). Feudalism
[[Image:Bribir6 2.JPG|thumb|200px|left|"Paulus de Breberio banus Croatorum D[omi]n[u]s et Bosnae".]]
The Hungarian king also introduced a variant of the feudal system. Large fiefs were granted to individuals who would defend them against outside incursions thereby creating a system for the defence of the entire state.
However, by enabling the nobility to seize more and more economic and military power, the kingdom itself lost influence to the Frankopan, Šubić, Lacković, Nelipčić, Kačić, Kurjaković, Drašković, Babonić and other families. During this period, the Knights Templar and the Knights Hospitaller also acquired considerable property and assets in Croatia.
The later kings sought to restore their influence by giving certain privileges to the towns, making them Royal Boroughs or Free Royal Towns (similar to the Free Cities in the Holy Roman Empire), which the kings defended from the feudal lords in return for the town's support.
The princes of Bribir from the Šubić family became particularly influential during the time of Pavao Šubić Bribirski (1272-1312) who asserted control over large parts of Dalmatia, Slavonia and Bosnia during an internal conflict between the Árpád and Anjou ruling dynasties. Later, however, the Anjouvines intervened and scattered the Šubić and Babonić (1322 ad) families across the country (an important offspring being the Zrinski family). During that time, Angevian kings won a full control over Slavonia and Croatia. Hungarian power was restored in Dalmatia in 1358 AD by the Treaty of Zadar (later, in the time of reign king Sigismund I Luxembourg this province was sold to the Republic of Venice in 1409. Ottoman wars
As the Turkish incursion into Europe started, Croatia was once again a border area between two major forces in this part of the world. While Croats under Italian Franciscan priest fra John Capistrano contributed to the Christian victory over the Ottomans in the siege of Belgrade of 1456, they suffered a major defeat in the battle of Krbava field (in Lika, Croatia) in 1493 and gradually lost increasing amounts of territory to the Ottoman Empire.
Pope Leo X called Croatia the forefront of Christianity (Antemurale Christianitatis) in 1519, given that several Croatian soldiers made significant contributions to the struggle against the Turks. Among them there were ban Petar Berislavić who won a victory at Dubica on the Una river in 1513, the captain of Senj and prince of Klis Petar Kružić, who defended the Klis Fortress for almost 25 years, captain Nikola Jurišić who deterred by a magnitude larger Turkish force on their way to Vienna in 1532, or ban Nikola Šubić Zrinski who helped save Pest from occupation in 1542 and fought in the Battle of Szigetvar in 1566.
The 1526 Battle of Mohács was a crucial event in which the rule of the Jagiellon dynasty was shattered by the death of King Louis II. The defeat emphasized the overall inability of the Christian feudal military to halt the Ottomans, who would remain a major threat for centuries. The Croatian historical narrative insists that the decision to join the Habsburg Empire was the result of a free choice made by the Sabor.[ Austrian historians never claimed they conquered Croatia by force and there appears to be little reason to doubt Croatian claims about the events of 1526.] Union after 1526
The 1526 Battle of Mohács and the death of King Louis II meant the end of Hungarian authority over Croatia. Hungarian parliament has in 1526 elected János Szapolya for new king of Hungary. On other side Croatian parliament sitting at Cetin on January 1, 1527, unanimously elected Ferdinand Habsburg of Austria for King of Croatia . Few years afterward both crown will be again united in Habsburgs hands and union will be restored. The Ottoman Empire further expanded in the 16th century to include most of Slavonia, western Bosnia and Lika.
Later in the same century, Croatia has been so weak that it's parliament has authorized Ferdinand Habsburg to carve out large areas of Croatia and Slavonia adjacent to the Ottoman Empire for creation of Croatian Krajina (Vojna Krajina, German Militaergrenze) which will be ruled directly from Vienna military headquarters . The area became rather deserted and was subsequently settled by Serbs, Vlachs, Croats and Germans and others. As a result of their compulsory military service to the Habsburg Empire during conflict with the Ottoman Empire, the population in the Military Frontier was free of serfdom and enjoyed much political autonomy unlike the population living in the other parts ruled by king.
After the Bihać fort finally fell in 1592, only small parts of Croatia remained unconquered. The Ottoman army was successfully repelled for the first time on the territory of Croatia following the battle of Sisak in 1593. The lost territory was mostly restored, except for large parts of today's Bosnia and Herzegovina.
By the 1700s, the Ottoman Empire was driven out of Hungary , and Austria brought the empire under central control. Empress Maria Theresa of Austria was supported by the Croatians in the War of Austrian Succession of 1741–1748 and subsequently made significant contributions to Croatian matters.
With the fall of the Venetian Republic in 1797, its possessions in eastern Adriatic became subject to a dispute between France and Austria. The Habsburgs eventually secured them (by 1815) and Dalmatia and Istria became part of the empire, though they were in Cisleithania while Croatia and Slavonia were under Hungary.
Croatian romantic nationalism emerged in mid-19th century to counteract the apparent Germanization and Magyarization of Croatia. The Illyrian movement attracted a number of influential figures from 1830s on, and produced some important advances in the Croatian language and culture.
In the Revolutions of 1848 Croatia, driven by fear of Magyar nationalism, supported the Habsburg court against Hungarian revolutionary forces. However, despite the contributions of its ban Jelačić in quenching the Hungarian war of independence, Croatia, not treated any more favourably by Vienna than the Hungarians themselves, lost its domestic autonomy. In 1867 the Dual Monarchy was created; Croatian autonomy was restored in 1868 with the Croatian–Hungarian Agreement which was not particularly favourable for the Croatians but which recognised Croatia as a state within the Hungary. See also
