Višeslav was one of the first dukes ( Croatian: '' knez'') in

Dalmatian Croatia The Duchy of Croatia (; also Duchy of the Croats, hr , Kneževina Hrvata; ) was a medieval state that was established by White Croats who migrated into the area of the former Roman province of Dalmatia 7th century CE. Throughout its existence ...

.''Hrvatski leksikon'' (1996-1997) He ruled with the support of the

Pope The pope ( la, papa, from el, πάππας, translit=pappas, 'father'), also known as supreme pontiff ( or ), Roman pontiff () or sovereign pontiff, is the bishop of Rome (or historically the patriarch of Rome), head of the worldwide Cathol ...

and

Byzantium Byzantium () or Byzantion ( grc, Βυζάντιον) was an ancient Greek city in classical antiquity that became known as Constantinople in late antiquity and Istanbul today. The Greek name ''Byzantion'' and its Latinization ''Byzantium'' cont ...

. 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 ...

warred against the

Franks The Franks ( la, Franci or ) were a group of Germanic peoples whose name was first mentioned in 3rd-century Roman sources, and associated with tribes between the Lower Rhine and the Ems River, on the edge of the Roman Empire.H. Schutz: Tools, ...

during his rule and avoided defeat until 803, a year after his death. During the

siege of Trsat The siege of Trsat ( hr, Opsada Trsata) was a battle fought over possession of the town of Trsat ( la, Tarsatica)The city of Tarsatica, where the siege happened, was probably located at the present Old Town in Rijeka, not at Trsat itself, which i ...

in the autumn of 799 between the defending forces under his leadership and the invading Frankish army of the

Carolingian Empire The Carolingian Empire (800–888) was a large Frankish-dominated empire in western and central Europe during the Early Middle Ages. It was ruled by the Carolingian dynasty, which had ruled as kings of the Franks since 751 and as kings of the Lom ...

, the Frankish commander Eric of Friuli was killed. Ultimately, his duchy did accept Frankish overlordship through the ''

Pax Nicephori ''Pax Nicephori'', Latin for the "Peace of Nicephorus", is a term used to refer to both a peace treaty of 803, tentatively concluded between emperors Charlemagne, of the Frankish empire, and Nikephoros I, of the Byzantine empire, and the outcome ...

''.

Višeslav left behind a

baptismal font A baptismal font is an article of church furniture used for baptism. Aspersion and affusion fonts The fonts of many Christian denominations are for baptisms using a non-immersive method, such as aspersion (sprinkling) or affusion (pouring). ...

( Croatian: ''Višeslavova krstionica''), surviving to this day, which remains an important symbol of early Croatian history and the people's conversion 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 ...

. The inscription is in

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

and mentions the name of a priest named John (''Ivan'') who baptized people during "the time of Duke Višeslav" in the honor of

John the Baptist John the Baptist or , , or , ;Wetterau, Bruce. ''World history''. New York: Henry Holt and Company. 1994. syc, ܝܘܿܚܲܢܵܢ ܡܲܥܡܕ݂ܵܢܵܐ, Yoḥanān Maʿmḏānā; he, יוחנן המטביל, Yohanān HaMatbil; la, Ioannes Bapti ...

References

External links

* http://www.croatia-in-english.com/images/maps/800s.jpg {{DEFAULTSORT:Viseslav Dukes of Croatia 9th-century rulers in Europe 8th-century rulers in Europe Christian monarchs 9th-century Croatian people Year of birth unknown 802 deaths Slavic warriors