This is a complete list of rulers of

Croatia , image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg , anthem = "Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland") , image_map = , map_caption = , capit ...

under domestic ethnic and elected dynasties during the Croatian Kingdom (925–1918). This article follows the monarch's title number according to Hungarian succession for convenience. For example, the Hungarian monarch Béla IV is according to Croatian succession correctly titled Béla III. This is because Hungarians had a king named Béla prior to the incorporation of Croatia under the Hungarian Crown but the Croats did not.

Early history

The details of the arrival of the

Croats The Croats (; hr, Hrvati ) are a South Slavic ethnic group who share a common Croatian ancestry, culture, history and language. They are also a recognized minority in a number of neighboring countries, namely Austria, the Czech Republic, G ...

in the

Balkans The Balkans ( ), also known as the Balkan Peninsula, is a geographical area in southeastern Europe with various geographical and historical definitions. The region takes its name from the Balkan Mountains that stretch throughout the who ...

are sparsely documented by reliable historical sources. Around 626 CE, Croats migrated from

White Croatia White Croatia (also Great Croatia or Chrobatia; hr, Bijela Hrvatska, also ) is the region from which part of the White Croats emigrated to the Balkans#Western Balkans, Western Balkans. Some historians believe that, after the migration of the Whit ...

(around present-day Galicia) at the invitation of the Byzantine Emperor

Heraclius Heraclius ( grc-gre, Ἡράκλειος, Hērákleios; c. 575 – 11 February 641), was List of Byzantine emperors, Eastern Roman emperor from 610 to 641. His rise to power began in 608, when he and his father, Heraclius the Elder, the Exa ...

. According to a legend recorded in the 10th-century ''

De Administrando Imperio ''De Administrando Imperio'' ("On the Governance of the Empire") is the Latin title of a Greek-language work written by the 10th-century Eastern Roman Emperor Constantine VII. The Greek title of the work is ("To yown son Romanos"). It is a domes ...

'', the Croats came to their present region under the leadership of five brothers (called Kloukas, Lobelos, Kosentzis, Mouchlo, and Chrobatos) and of two sisters (called Touga and Bouga). It is theorized that one of the brothers, Chrobatos ( hr , Hrvat) gave his name to the Croats ( hr , Hrvati) as a whole, although mainstream historians dismiss this notion as not verifiable. The Croats started gradually converting to

Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. It is the world's largest and most widespread religion with roughly 2.38 billion followers representing one-third of the global pop ...

under the rule of Porga in the 7th century.

Dukes of Lower Pannonia (7th century–896)

The areas of modern-day Croatia located in the Pannonian plain had also been settled by Slavic tribes in the early Middle Ages, and history recorded some of their rulers.

Dukes of Croatia (7th century–925)

Slavic tribes known as the Croats migrated to areas of present-day Croatia in the 7th century, and their rulers started to be recorded in historical records in the late 7th century.

Kings of Croatia (925–1102)

In his letter from 925,

Pope John X Pope John X ( la, Ioannes X; died 28 May 928) was the bishop of Rome and nominal ruler of the Papal States from March 914 to his death. A candidate of the counts of Tusculum, he attempted to unify Italy under the leadership of Berengar of Friuli, ...

refers to Tomislav I as ''Rex Chroatorum'' (King of the Croats). All Croatian rulers after Tomislav I held the title of King of Croatia.

Hungarian Kings of Croatia (1102–1527)

From 1102, the reigning King of Hungary was also the ruler of the Kingdom of Croatia in agreement with the Croatian nobles.

Catholic Encyclopedia The ''Catholic Encyclopedia: An International Work of Reference on the Constitution, Doctrine, Discipline, and History of the Catholic Church'' (also referred to as the ''Old Catholic Encyclopedia'' and the ''Original Catholic Encyclopedia'') i ...

Croatia was governed on his behalf by a viceroy ('' ban'') and a parliament (''

sabor The Croatian Parliament ( hr, Hrvatski sabor) or the Sabor is the unicameral legislature of the Republic of Croatia. Under the terms of the Croatian Constitution, the Sabor represents the people and is vested with legislative power. The Sabo ...

'').

Under the Habsburgs (1527–1918)

On 1 January 1527, the Croatian Parliament met in Cetin to elect

Ferdinand I of Habsburg Ferdinand I ( es, Fernando I; 10 March 1503 – 25 July 1564) was Holy Roman Emperor from 1556, King of Bohemia, Hungary, and Croatia from 1526, and Archduke of Austria from 1521 until his death in 1564.Milan Kruhek: Cetin, grad izbornog sabo ...

as the new King of Croatia.

Kings of Yugoslavia (1918–1941)

After the

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 ...

and the breakup 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 ...

, Croatia joined a newly formed

State of Slovenes, Croats and Serbs The State of Slovenes, Croats and Serbs ( sh, Država Slovenaca, Hrvata i Srba / ; sl, Država Slovencev, Hrvatov in Srbov) was a political entity that was constituted in October 1918, at the end of World War I, by Slovenes, Croats and Serbs ( ...

. Following a brief period of self-rule, that state became part of the

Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes Kingdom commonly refers to: * A monarchy ruled by a king or queen * Kingdom (biology), a category in biological taxonomy Kingdom may also refer to: Arts and media Television * ''Kingdom'' (British TV series), a 2007 British television drama s ...

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 ...

. The name of the kingdom was changed in 1929, amid unitarianist reforms, to the

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

. In 1941, Yugoslavia was occupied by the Axis powers along with the rest of Yugoslavia. The Axis set up the Independent State of Croatia as a puppet state, while many Croats fought for the

Yugoslav Partisans The Yugoslav Partisans,Serbo-Croatian, Macedonian, Slovene: , or the National Liberation Army, sh-Latn-Cyrl, Narodnooslobodilačka vojska (NOV), Народноослободилачка војска (НОВ); mk, Народноослобод ...

King of the Independent State of Croatia (1941–1943)

During the

Axis occupation of Yugoslavia World War II in the Kingdom of Yugoslavia began on 6 April 1941, when the country was swiftly conquered by Axis forces and partitioned between Germany, Italy, Hungary, Bulgaria and their client regimes. Shortly after Germany attacked the US ...

, a puppet state under Italian protection called the

Independent State of Croatia The Independent State of Croatia ( sh, Nezavisna Država Hrvatska, NDH; german: Unabhängiger Staat Kroatien; it, Stato indipendente di Croazia) was a World War II-era puppet state of Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy (1922–1943), Fascist It ...

was created, with

Ante Pavelić Ante Pavelić (; 14 July 1889 – 28 December 1959) was a Croatian politician who founded and headed the fascist ultranationalist organization known as the Ustaše in 1929 and served as dictator of the Independent State of Croatia ( hr, l ...

as its leader. Soon after its creation, the state government passed three laws on the creation of the Crown of Zvonimir, which made the country ''de jure'' a kingdom.Hrvatski Narod (newspaper)16.05.1941. no. 93. p.1.,Public proclamation of the''Zakonska odredba o kruni Zvonimirovoj'' (Decrees on the crown of Zvonimir), tri članka donesena 15.05.1941.Die Krone Zvonimirs, Monatshefte fur Auswartige Politik, Heft 6(1941)p.434. Three days later the

Treaties of Rome The Treaty of Rome, or EEC Treaty (officially the Treaty establishing the European Economic Community), brought about the creation of the European Economic Community (EEC), the best known of the European Communities (EC). The treaty was sig ...

were signed. The Italian

Prince Aimone of Savoy-Aosta Prince Aimone, 4th Duke of Aosta (''Aimone Roberto Margherita Maria Giuseppe Torino''; 9 March 1900 – 29 January 1948) was a prince of Italy's reigning House of Savoy and an officer of the Royal Italian Navy. The second son of Prince Emanuel ...

was designated King of Croatia. He abdicated in 1943.

After WWII

List of heads of state of Yugoslavia This article lists the heads of state of Yugoslavia from the creation of the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes (Kingdom of Yugoslavia) in 1918 until the breakup of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia in 1992. The Kingdom of Yugoslav ...

(1945–1991) * List of presidents of Croatia (1991–present) *

List of 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 ...

(1991–present)

Gallery

File:Croatian coa 1527.png, The seal of the Kingdom of Croatia and Dalmatia was affixed in 1527 to the

Cetin Charter The 1527 election in Cetin ( hr, Cetinski / Cetingradski sabor, meaning Parliament on Cetin(grad) or Parliament of Cetin(grad), or ) was an assembly of the Croatian Parliament in the Cetin Castle in 1527. It followed a succession crisis in the Kin ...

that confirmed the Habsburg to be the rulers of Croatia File:Coat of arms of the Lands of the Holy Hungarian Crown (1915-1918, 1919-1946; angels).svg, Coat of arms of the

Lands of the Crown of Saint Stephen The Lands of the Crown of Saint Stephen ( hu, a Szent Korona Országai), informally Transleithania (meaning the lands or region "beyond" the Leitha River) were the Hungarian territories of Austria-Hungary, throughout the latter's entire exis ...

under the

House of Habsburg 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 ...

(note the symbols of Croatia, Dalmatia and Slavonia). The Habsburgs ruled the Kingdom of Croatia for just under 470 years, longer than any other dynasty. File:Coat of arms of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia.svg, Coat of arms of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia. Note the Croatian chequy which forms a part of the coat of arms along with the Slovenian and Serbian symbols.

"Duke of Croatia"

The title Duke of Croatia has been used widely: *The

Doges of Venice The Doge of Venice ( ; vec, Doxe de Venexia ; it, Doge di Venezia ; all derived from Latin ', "military leader"), sometimes translated as Duke (compare the Italian '), was the chief magistrate and leader of the Republic of Venice between 726 a ...

used it, with Byzantine approval, from c. 1100, when Hungary was in the process of absorbing the Kingdom of Croatia, until the

Treaty of Zadar The Treaty of Zadar, also known as the Treaty of Zara, was a peace treaty signed in Zadar, Dalmatia on February 18, 1358 by which the Venetian Republic lost influence over its Dalmatian holdings. The Treaty of Zadar ended hostilities between Lo ...

with Hungary in 1358. *The Dukes of Merania, whose territory bordered Croatia, were sometimes called Dukes of Croatia in contemporary chronicles. *Various Hungarian noblemen granted authority in the South Slav lands added Croatia to their title of

Duke of Slavonia The Duke of Slavonia ( hr, slavonski herceg; la, dux Slavoniae), also Duke of Dalmatia and Croatia ( hr, herceg Hrvatske i Dalmacije; la, dux Dalmatiae et Croatiae) and sometimes Duke of "Whole Slavonia", Dalmatia and Croatia ( hr, herceg cijele S ...

in the 13th and 14th centuries.

References

External links

Monarchs of Croatia from Everything2
* The History Files

List of Croatian rulers
PDF, University of Michigan

{{DEFAULTSORT:List of Rulers of Croatia Kingdom of Croatia *