Ban of Croatia ( hr, Hrvatski ban) was the title of local rulers or office holders and after 1102,

viceroy A viceroy () is an official who reigns over a polity in the name of and as the representative of the monarch of the territory. The term derives from the Latin prefix ''vice-'', meaning "in the place of" and the French word ''roy'', meaning " ...

s of Croatia. From the earliest periods of the Croatian state, some provinces were ruled by bans as a ruler's representative (viceroy) and supreme military commander. In the 18th century, Croatian bans eventually became the chief government officials in Croatia. They were at the head of the Ban's Government, effectively the first

prime ministers of Croatia , type = Head of Government , member_of = , reports_to = Croatian Parliament , appointer = Croatian Parliament , nominator = President of Croatia , termlength = At the pleasure of the parliamentary majority. Parliamentary elections must be h ...

. The institution of ban persisted until the first half of the 20th century, when it was officially superseded in function by that of a parliamentary

prime minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister i ...

Origin of title

South Slavic ''ban'' (, with a long ), is directly attested in 10th-century

Constantine Porphyrogenitus Constantine VII Porphyrogenitus (; 17 May 905 – 9 November 959) was the fourth Emperor of the Macedonian dynasty of the Byzantine Empire, reigning from 6 June 913 to 9 November 959. He was the son of Emperor Leo VI and his fourth wife, Zoe Ka ...

' book '' De Administrando Imperio'' as ', in a chapter dedicated to Croats and the organisation of their state, describing how their ban "has under his rule

Krbava Krbava (; ) is a historical region located in Mountainous Croatia and a former Catholic bishopric (1185–1460), precursor of the diocese of Modruš an present Latin titular see. It can be considered either located east of Lika, or indeed as t ...

, Lika and

Gacka Gacka is a river located in the Lika region in central Croatia. Because for a large part of its course it is a subterranean river, estimates on its length vary. The overground part has undergone substantial human intervention - before it was long ...

Bans during the Trpimirović dynasty

References from the earliest periods are scarce, but history recalls that the first known Croatian ban is Pribina from the 10th century. In the early Middle Ages, the ban was the royal district governor of Lika,

and

. Later, the meaning of the title was elevated to that of provincial governor in the Kingdom of Croatia. King Demetrius Zvonimir was originally a ban serving under King Peter Krešimir IV.

Croatian bans after 1102

After the Croats elected King Coloman of Hungary as King of Croatia 1102, the title of ban acquired the meaning of

. Bans were appointed by the Hungarian king as his representatives in Kingdom of Croatia, heads of the

parliament In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: representing the electorate, making laws, and overseeing the government via hearings and inquiries. Th ...

(''sabor'') and also as supreme commander of Croatian Army. Croatia was governed by the viceregal ban as a whole from 1102 until 1225, when it was split into two separate regions of

Slavonia Slavonia (; hr, Slavonija) is, with Dalmatia, Croatia proper, and Istria, one of the four historical regions of Croatia. Taking up the east of the country, it roughly corresponds with five Croatian counties: Brod-Posavina, Osijek-Baran ...

and Croatia. Two different bans were occasionally appointed until 1476, when the institution of a single ban was resumed. Most bans were native nobles but some were also of Hungarian ancestry. Most notable bans from this period were Pavao Šubić and Peter Berislavić.

Bans of Croatia, Slavonia and Dalmatia

Bans of Croatia and Dalmatia

From 1225 to 1476, there were parallel Bans of Croatia and Dalmatia and of "Whole Slavonia". The following is the list of the former, the latter are listed at the article

Ban of Slavonia Ban of Slavonia ( hr, Slavonski ban; hu, szlavón bán; la, Sclavoniæ banus) or the Ban of "Whole Slavonia" ( hr, ban cijele Slavonije; hu, egész Szlavónia bánja; la, totius Sclavoniæ banus) was the title of the governor of a territor ...

. During the period of separate titles of ban, several persons held both titles, which is indicated in the notes. After the death of King Louis I of Hungary, his daughter

Mary Mary may refer to: People * Mary (name), a feminine given name (includes a list of people with the name) Religious contexts * New Testament people named Mary, overview article linking to many of those below * Mary, mother of Jesus, also calle ...

succeeded to the throne, which led to kings

Charles III Charles III (Charles Philip Arthur George; born 14 November 1948) is King of the United Kingdom and the 14 other Commonwealth realms. He was the longest-serving heir apparent and Prince of Wales and, at age 73, became the oldest person t ...

and

Ladislaus of Naples Ladislaus the Magnanimous ( it, Ladislao, hu, László; 15 February 1377 – 6 August 1414) was King of Naples from 1386 until his death and an unsuccessful claimant to the kingdoms of Hungary and Croatia. Ladislaus was a skilled political and m ...

claiming the

Kingdom of Hungary The Kingdom of Hungary was a monarchy in Central Europe that existed for nearly a millennium, from the Middle Ages into the 20th century. The Principality of Hungary emerged as a Christian kingdom upon the coronation of the first king Stephen ...

. A war erupted between forces loyal to Mary, and later to her husband and successor Sigismund of Luxembourg, and those loyal to Ladislaus. During this time, Sigismund appointed

Nicholas II Garai Nicholas II Garai ( hu, Garai II Miklós, hr, Nikola II Gorjanski; c. 1367 – December 1433) was a powerful Hungarian baron who served as the Palatine of Hungary from 1402 until 1433 and the ban of Macsó, Usora, Só, Slavonia, Croatia and Da ...

(who was also

count palatine A count palatine (Latin ''comes palatinus''), also count of the palace or palsgrave (from German ''Pfalzgraf''), was originally an official attached to a royal or imperial palace or household and later a nobleman of a rank above that of an or ...

) the Ban of Croatia and Dalmatia in 1392, Butko Kurjaković in 1394, and then again Garai in the period from 1394 to 1397. Nicholas II Garai was also at the time the Ban of Slavonia, succeeded by Ladislav Grđevački (1402–1404), Paul Besenyő (1404), Pavao Peć (1404–1406), Hermann II of Celje (1406–1408). Ladislaus in turn appointed his own bans. In 1409, this dynastic struggle was resolved when Ladislaus sold his rights over Dalmatia to the

Republic of Venice The Republic of Venice ( vec, Repùblega de Venèsia) or Venetian Republic ( vec, Repùblega Vèneta, links=no), traditionally known as La Serenissima ( en, Most Serene Republic of Venice, italics=yes; vec, Serenìsima Repùblega de Venèsia, ...

Bans of Croatia, Slavonia and Dalmatia

From 1476 onwards, the titles of Ban of Dalmatia and Croatia, and Ban of "Whole Slavonia" are again united in the single title of Ban of Croatia, Slavonia and Dalmatia.

Habsburg-era bans

The title of ban persisted in Croatia after 1527 when the country became part of the Habsburg monarchy, and continued all the way until 1918. Among the most distinguished bans in Croatian history were the three members of

Zrinski family Zrinski () was a Croatian- Hungarian noble family, a cadet branch of the Croatian noble tribe of Šubić, influential during the period in history marked by the Ottoman wars in Europe in the Kingdom of Croatia's union with the Kingdom of Hungar ...

Nikola Šubić Zrinski Nikola IV Zrinski or Miklós IV Zrínyi ( hu, Zrínyi Miklós, ; 1507/1508 – 7 September 1566), also commonly known as Nikola Šubić Zrinski (), was a Croatian nobleman and general, Ban of Croatia from 1542 until 1556, royal master of the tr ...

and his great-grandsons

Nikola Zrinski Nikola () is a given name which, like Nicholas, is a version of the Greek ''Nikolaos'' (Νικόλαος). It is common as a masculine given name in the South Slavic countries (Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, North Macedonia, Montene ...

and

Petar Zrinski Petar IV Zrinski ( hu, Zrínyi Péter) (6 June 1621 – 30 April 1671) was Ban of Croatia (Viceroy) from 1665 to 1670, general and a writer. A member of the Zrinski noble family, he was noted for his role in the attempted Croatian-Hungarian Mag ...

. Also there are two notable Erdődys: Toma Erdődy, great warrior and statesman, and Ivan Erdődy, to whom Croatia owes much for protecting her rights against the Hungarian nobility, his most widely known saying in Latin is ''Regnum regno non praescribit leges'' (A kingdom may not proscribe laws to another kingdom.) In the 18th century, Croatian bans eventually became chief government officials in Croatia. They were at the head of Ban's Government, effectively the first

s of Croatia. The most known bans of that era were Josip Jelačić,

Ivan Mažuranić Ivan Mažuranić (; 11 August 1814 – 4 August 1890) was a Croatian poet, linguist, lawyer and politician who is considered to be one of the most important figures in Croatia's political and cultural life in the mid-19th century. Mažuranić se ...

and

Josip Šokčević Baron Josip Šokčević (german: Joseph Freiherr von Sokcsevits; 7 March 1811 – 16 November 1896), was a Croatian lieutenant marshal in the Austro-Hungarian Army who served as the ban of Croatia and as the governor of the Voivodeship of Serbia ...

Bans in the Habsburg Monarchy

The

Habsburg dynasty The House of Habsburg (), alternatively spelled Hapsburg in Englishgerman: Haus Habsburg, ; es, Casa de Habsburgo; hu, Habsburg család, it, Casa di Asburgo, nl, Huis van Habsburg, pl, dom Habsburgów, pt, Casa de Habsburgo, la, Domus Hab ...

ruled Kingdom of Croatia and

Kingdom of Slavonia The Kingdom of Slavonia ( hr, Kraljevina Slavonija, la, Regnum Sclavoniae, hu, Szlavón Királyság, german: Königreich Slawonien, sr-Cyrl, Краљевина Славонија) was a kingdom of the Habsburg monarchy and the Austrian Empi ...

between 1527 and 1918.

Bans during the Revolutions of 1848

Croatia was a Habsburg crown territory during the

Revolutions of 1848 The Revolutions of 1848, known in some countries as the Springtime of the Peoples or the Springtime of Nations, were a series of political upheavals throughout Europe starting in 1848. It remains the most widespread revolutionary wave in Europea ...

and up until 1867.
/ref>

Bans in Austria-Hungary

Croatia was returned to Hungarian control in 1867 when the Habsburg Empire was reconstituted as the dual monarchy of

Austria-Hungary Austria-Hungary, often referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire,, the Dual Monarchy, or Austria, was a constitutional monarchy and great power in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. It was formed with the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of ...

. Between then and 1918 the following bans were appointed:

Croatian bans in the Kingdom of Yugoslavia

Ban was also the title of the governor of each province (''banovina'') of the

Kingdom of Yugoslavia The Kingdom of Yugoslavia ( sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Kraljevina Jugoslavija, Краљевина Југославија; sl, Kraljevina Jugoslavija) was a state in Southeast and Central Europe that existed from 1918 until 1941. From 1918 ...

between 1929 and 1941. The weight of the title was far less than that of a medieval ban's feudal office. Most of Croatian territory was divided between the Sava and Littoral Banovina, but also some parts were outside this provinces. In 1939 Banovina of Croatia was created with Cvetković-Maček agreement as a unit of limited autonomy. It consisted of the Sava and Littoral Banovinas along with smaller parts of Vrbas, Zeta, Drina and Danube Banovina's.

Ivan Šubašić Ivan Šubašić (; 7 May 1892 – 22 March 1955) was a Yugoslav Croat politician, best known as the last Ban of Croatia and prime minister of the royalist Yugoslav Government in exile during the Second World War. Early life He was born in Vuk ...

was appointed for the Ban of Banovina of Croatia until the collapse of Kingdom of Yugoslavia in 1941. Šubašić was also the last person who held the position of Croatian Ban.

Bans within the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes

Following a brief period of self-rule at the end of

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, Croatia was incorporated into the

Kingdom of the Serbs, Croats and Slovenes The Kingdom of Yugoslavia ( sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Kraljevina Jugoslavija, Краљевина Југославија; sl, Kraljevina Jugoslavija) was a state in Southeast and Central Europe that existed from 1918 until 1941. From 1918 ...

in 1918, under the

Karađorđević dynasty The Karađorđević dynasty ( sr-Cyrl, Динасија Карађорђевић, Dinasija Karađorđević, Карађорђевићи / Karađorđevići, ) or House of Karađorđević ( sr-Cyrl, Кућа Карађорђевић, Kuća Karađ ...

Bans of the Sava Banovina

In 1929, the new Constitution of the Kingdom renamed it

and split up the country into banovinas.

Bans of the
Littoral Banovina The Littoral Banovina or Littoral Banate ( hr, Primorska banovina; sr, Приморска бановина, italics=no / ''Primorska banovina''), was a province ( banovina) of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia between 1929 and 1939. This province consis ...

Bans of the Banovina of Croatia

In 1939, the Banovina of Croatia was created with Cvetković-Maček agreement as a unit of limited autonomy within Kingdom of Yugoslavia. It consisted of the Sava and Littoral Banovinas along with smaller parts of Vrbas, Zeta, Drina and Danube Banovinas.

References

{{Reflist

External links

"Bans of Croatia and Dalmatia (style ''Ban Hrvatske i Dalmacije'')"
at World Statesmen.org Barons of the realm (Kingdom of Hungary) Kingdom of Croatia Croatia history-related lists 1941 disestablishments in Croatia

Origin of title

Bans during the Trpimirović dynasty

Croatian bans after 1102

Bans of Croatia, Slavonia and Dalmatia

Bans of Croatia and Dalmatia

Bans of Croatia, Slavonia and Dalmatia

Habsburg-era bans

Bans in the Habsburg Monarchy

Bans during the Revolutions of 1848

Bans in Austria-Hungary

Croatian bans in the Kingdom of Yugoslavia

Bans within the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes

Bans of the Sava Banovina

Bans of the Littoral Banovina The Littoral Banovina or Littoral Banate ( hr, Primorska banovina; sr, Приморска бановина, italics=no / ''Primorska banovina''), was a province ( banovina) of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia between 1929 and 1939. This province consis ...

Bans of the Banovina of Croatia

See also

References

External links

Bans of the
Littoral Banovina The Littoral Banovina or Littoral Banate ( hr, Primorska banovina; sr, Приморска бановина, italics=no / ''Primorska banovina''), was a province ( banovina) of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia between 1929 and 1939. This province consis ...