Stephen II ( hr, Stjepan II) was the last member of the

Trpimirović dynasty Trpimirović dynasty ( hr, Trpimirovići) was a native Croatian dynasty that ruled in the Duchy and later the Kingdom of Croatia, with interruptions by the Domagojević dynasty from 845 until 1091. It was named after Trpimir I, the first membe ...

and last native

king of Croatia This is a complete list of rulers of Croatia 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 ...

to rule the entire medieval Croatian Kingdom.Stjepan II (1089 - 1091)
/ref>List of Croatian rulers
PDF, University of Michigan Stephen's father was Gojslav II, the younger brother of

Peter Krešimir IV of Croatia Peter Krešimir IV, called the Great ( hr, Petar Krešimir IV. Veliki) was King of Dalmatia and Croatia from 1059 until his death in 1074 or 1075. He was the last great ruler of the Krešimirović branch of the Trpimirović dynasty. Under Peter ...

. Stephen was duke of Croatia under Krešimir around 1066. He was due to succeed Peter Krešimir IV but was sidelined by the people and clergy in 1075 who instead bestowed the title of king on Demetrius Zvonimir, previously a ban in Slavonia. Stephen II was forced to live in the monastery of St Stephen Beneath the Pines (''Sv. Stjepan pod borovima'') on the peninsula of

Sustipan Sustipan () is a small peninsula located in the southwestern part of Split. In Middle Ages there was a Benedictine , image = Medalla San Benito.PNG , caption = Design on the obverse side of the Saint Benedict Medal ...

, near

Split Split(s) or The Split may refer to: Places * Split, Croatia, the largest coastal city in Croatia * Split Island, Canada, an island in the Hudson Bay * Split Island, Falkland Islands * Split Island, Fiji, better known as Hạfliua Arts, enterta ...

. The formal reason for life in the monastery is an alleged illness, so in his charter from 1078, Stephen writes:

''I, Stephen, once glittering Prince of the Croats, devastated by a bad illness, call upon the honorable priests of the Croatian kingdom to find a remedy for my sins. Of their advice I took heed, and let myself be brought to the monastery of St Stephen. Here I was relieved of all my honours and had choosen the grabe, recommending the monastery's leader to mention me in his prayers.''

King Demetrius Zvonimir was a member of the junior Svetoslavić branch of the House of Trpimirović (descendants of

Svetoslav Suronja Svetoslav Suronja (), was King of Croatia from 997 to 1000. A member of the Trpimirović dynasty, he reigned with the help of his '' ban'', Varda. John the Deacon (d. 1009) called him "Surinja" ( la, "Surigna"), adopted in Croatian historiograph ...

). By the time Demetrius Zvonimir died in 1089, Stephen was old and seriously affected by ill health. Nevertheless, he assumed the throne after being persuaded by the aristocracy and clergy. Stephen's rule was relatively ineffectual and lasted less than two years. He spent most of this time in the tranquility of the monastery near

, where he stayed before becoming king. Zvonimir's widow, Queen Jelena, reportedly plotted the inheritance of the Croatian Crown for her brother, King

Ladislaus I of Hungary Ladislaus I ( hu, László, hr, Ladislav, sk, Ladislav, pl, Władysław; 1040 – 29 July 1095), also known as Saint Ladislas, was King of Hungary from 1077 and King of Croatia from 1091. He was the second son of King Béla I of Hungary and ...

. Stephen II died peacefully in December 1090, or at the beginning of 1091, without leaving an heir. War and unrest broke out in Croatia shortly afterward, with the southern nobility electing

Petar Svačić Petar ( sr, Петар, bg, Петър) is a South Slavic masculine given name, their variant of the Biblical name Petros cognate to Peter. Derivative forms include Pero, Pejo, Pera, Perica, Petrica, Periša. Feminine equivalent is Petra. ...

as King of Croatia in 1093, immediately entering into conflict with the Hungarian king

Ladislaus Ladislaus ( or according to the case) is a masculine given name of Slavic origin. It may refer to: * Ladislaus of Hungary (disambiguation) * Ladislaus I (disambiguation) * Ladislaus II (disambiguation) * Ladislaus III (disambiguation) * L ...

. The war culminated in the

Battle of Gvozd Mountain The Battle of Gvozd Mountain took place in 1097 and was fought between the army of Petar Snačić and King Coloman I of Hungary. It was a decisive Hungarian victory, which ended the War of the Croatian Succession and served as a turning point ...

in 1097 leading to a

personal union of Croatia and Hungary The Kingdom of Croatia ( la, Regnum Croatiae; hr, Kraljevina Hrvatska, ''Hrvatsko kraljevstvo'', ''Hrvatska zemlja'') entered a personal union with the Kingdom of Hungary in 1102, after a period of rule of kings from the Trpimirović and Svetosl ...

in 1102, ruled by Coloman.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Stephen 02 Of Croatia Kings of Croatia Trpimirović dynasty 1091 deaths 11th-century monarchs in Europe 11th-century Croatian people Year of birth unknown Burials at the Church of St. Stephen, Solin

See also

References