- Medieval Croatian state
The
Croatia n people trace their origins toSlavic peoples which moved into the territory of the formerRoman province sPannonia andDalmatia between the 7th and 8th centuries, and formed principalities. In the10th century , these were joined into a unified kingdom which persisted until the turn of the12th century .Origin of the Croatians
The origin of the Croatian tribe before the great migration of the Slavs is uncertain. One theory suggests they are descended from ancient Persia (cf.
Alans ). This theory is, however, disputed by more recent Y-DNA research that traces the origins of the original Croat tribe to northern Central Asia about 10,000 years ago. The lack of common genetic lineage markers with modern-day populations that descend from the ancient Persians makes a Persian origin unlikely.The earliest mention of the Croatian name, "Horovathos", can be traced on two stone inscriptions ("
Tanais stone ") inGreek language and script, dating from around the year 200 AD, found in the seaportTanais on theAzov sea ,Crimea peninsula (near theBlack Sea ). The inscription reads: "Horoathos archon Tanaiton" (= Croat Mayor of Tanais) and "Synodos Horouathon“ (=Convention of Croats). Both tablets are kept in the Archaeological museum inSaint Petersburg , Russia.One theory suggests the name "Horovathos" originated from the Old Persian province of "Harahwati". We find this name on three stone monuments of the Persian King Darius I (522-496 BC). The Old Persian sacred script Awesta speaks of the "Harahwaiti".
In the
7th century , the Croatian tribe moved from the area north of the Carpathians and east of the riverVistula (what was referred to as the "White Croatia ") and migrated into the westernDinaric Alps .Migration of the Croatians
No 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 most commonly accepted facts about the origin of the
Croats are that they originate fromSlavic tribes that lived in and around today'sPoland or westernUkraine . 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-speakingAlans . 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 ofSlavic 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 thePannonian plain , led by the Avars, to the province of Dalmatia ruled by the Roman Empire. "De Administrando Imperio" says 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 EmperorHeraclius to counter the Avar threat on theByzantine 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.However, the record of archdeacon Thomas, as well as the
Chronicle of the Priest of Duklja from the 12th century, state that the Croats did not arrive the same way that the Byzantine texts say. Instead, these works claim that the Croats were a group of Slavs that remained after theGoths (under a leader referred to as "Totila ") had occupied and pillaged the Roman province of Dalmatia. The Chronicle of Dioclea, on the other hand, speaks of a Gothic invasion (under a leader referred to as "Svevlad", followed by his descendants "Selimir" and "Ostroilo") after which the Slavs merely took over.Regardless of the different interpretations, the Croat tribes eventually settled in the area between the
Drava river and theAdriatic sea , the western Roman provincesPannonia andDalmatia ; westernBalkans in modern usage. The Croat tribes had been organized into twoprincipality s; thePannonia n duchy in the north and theDalmatia n duchy in the south.Christianity
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 the7th century , influenced by the proximity of the old Roman cities in Dalmatia. The process was completed in the north by the beginning of the9th 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 PrinceBorna . 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 heldmass es in their own language and used theGlagolitic alphabet . This was officially sanctioned in1248 byPope Innocent IV , and only later did the Latin alphabet prevail.The
Latin Rite prevailed over theByzantine Rite rather early due to numerous interventions from theHoly See . There were numerous church synods held in Dalmatia in the11th century , particularly after theEast-West Schism , during the course of which the use of the Latin rite was continuously reinforced until it became dominant.Rise of Croats
Croatian lands in the
Dark Ages were located between three major entities: theEastern Roman Empire which aimed to control the Dalmatian city-states and islands, theFranks which aimed to control the northern and northwestern lands, and the Avars, laterMagyars , 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, theSerbs and theBulgarians .The north became subject to the
Carolingian Empire around 800, when in796 a Croatian Pannonian prince Vojnomir switched sides between the Avars and theFranks . The Franks established control over the region betweenSava ,Drava andDanube which was under theMargrave ofFurlania . The patriarchy ofAquileia was then allowed to Christianize the remaining Slavs in the region.Charlemagne invaded the Dalmatian portion of Croatia in799 , contesting its Byzantine suzerainty, and after a lengthy war, conquered it in803 . 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 in814 , the Frankish influence decreased, and the Croatian princeLjudevit Posavski raised in Pannonia a rebellion (819 ). TheFrankish Margraves sent armies in820 ,821 and822 , 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 easternSlavonia andSrijem fell to theBulgarians in827 after a border dispute with the Franks. By a peace treaty in 845, the Franks were confirmed as rulers over Slavonia, whilst Srem remained under Bulgarian clientage.In the meantime, the Dalmatian Croats were recorded to have been subject to the Kingdom of
Italy underLothair I , since828 . The Croatian Prince Mislav (835 –845 ) built up a formidable navy, and in839 signed a peace treaty withPietro Tradonico ,doge of Venice . The Venetians soon proceeded to battle with the independent Slavic pirates of thePagania region, but failed to defeat them. The Bulgarian duke Boris I 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 theirRascia n subjects. Trpimir I expanded his realm to include the whole of Bosnia up to theDrina 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 formMarch 4 852 , instatute by Trpimir. Trpimir is remembered as the initiator of theTrpimirović dynasty , that ruled in Croatia, with interruptions, from845 until1091 .In the meantime, the
Saracens , a group ofArab pirates, invadedTaranto andBari in the840s . The extent of their piracy forced the Byzantium to increase its military presence in the southern Adriatic. In867 a Byzantine fleet lifted the Saracen siege overDubrovnik (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 conquerBari in871 . 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 and878 . His forces attacked the western Istrian towns in 876, but were subsequently defeated by the Venetian navy. His ground forces defeated the Pannonian dukeKocelj (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 byPope 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 in896 , who died in a war with theMagyars , who then migrated to the Pannonian plain. In Dalmatia, DukeTomislav (910 –928 ) succeeded Muncimir. Tomislav successfully repelled Magyar attacks, expelled them up to theDrava River on north, and united Pannonian and Dalmatian Croats into one state.ee also
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List of rulers of Croatia
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