Petar Snačić
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Petar Snačić (very commonly misspelt Petar Svačić) was a feudal lord, notable for being one of the claimants of the Croatian throne between c. 1093 and 1097. It is assumed that he began as a ban serving under king
Demetrius Zvonimir of Croatia Demetrius Zvonimir (, ; Old Church Slavic: ⰸⱏⰲⱏⱀⰻⰿⰻⱃⱏ; died 1089) was a King of Croatia and Dalmatia from 1075 or 1076 until his death in 1089. Prior to that, Zvonimir also served as Ban of Croatia (1064/1070–1074). His n ...
and was then elected king by the Croatian feudal lords in 1093. Petar's seat of power was based in
Knin Knin () is a city in the Šibenik-Knin County of Croatia, located in the Dalmatian hinterland near the source of the river Krka (Croatia), Krka, an important traffic junction on the rail and road routes between Zagreb and Split, Croatia, Split. ...
. His rule was marked by a struggle for control of the country with
Coloman of Hungary Coloman the Learned, also the Book-Lover or the Bookish (; ; ; 10703February 1116), was King of Hungary from 1095 and King of Croatia from 1097 until his death. Because Coloman and his younger brother Álmos were underage when their father Gé ...
, dying at 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.


Background

Early scholars, specifically
Franjo Rački Franjo Rački (25 November 1828 – 13 February 1894) was a Croatian historian, politician, writer, and Catholic priest. He compiled important collections of old Croatian diplomatic and historical documents, wrote some pioneering historical works ...
, misread the letter "n" as a "v", creating a mistake which is common until today. There never existed a Svačić family, yet there was the Snačić family who were one of the
twelve noble tribes of Croatia The twelve noble tribes of Croatia (), also known as twelve noble families of Croatia, was a medieval institution of nobility, alliance, or narrow noble community in the Croatia in union with Hungary, Kingdom of Croatia, which can be traced back at ...
, and certain Petar Snačić is mentioned in ''
Supetar Cartulary Supetar cartulary or Sumpetar cartulary () is a 12th-century cartulary which contains charters from the years 1080 to 1187. Although the cartulary itself just lists the possessions of the monastery of St. Peter in Selo on the territory of the ...
'' (14th century addition) as Croatian ban during the rule of King Zvonimir. The connection between Petar Snačić with Petar also serving as Ban of Croatia (son of Rusin and nephew of Slavac who was also a pretender to the Croatian throne and titled as king, per ''Supetar Cartulary''), and king Petar of Croatia (per ''
Gesta Hunnorum et Hungarorum The ''Gesta Hunnorum et Hungarorum'Reader's encyclopedia of Eastern European literature'', 1993, Robert B. Pynsent, Sonia I. Kanikova, p. 529. (Latin: "Deeds of the Huns and Hungarians") is a medieval chronicle written mainly by Simon of K ...
'' by
Simon of Kéza Simon of Kéza () was the most famous Hungarian chronicler of the 13th century. He was a priest in the royal court of king Ladislaus IV of Hungary. In 1270–1271, bearing the title "master" (''magister''), Simon was part of a diplomatic mission ...
) is disputable, but arguably all of them are referring to the same person.


Struggle for the succession

He assumed the throne amid deep tension throughout the Kingdom. His predecessor, Stephen II (1089–1091) died without leaving an heir, sparking a major political crisis. Jelena or Ilona, the widow of King Dmitar Zvonimir (1074–1089) supported her brother, King
Ladislaus I of Hungary Ladislaus I (, , , ; 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 Richeza of Poland, Queen of Hungary, Richeza (or Adela ...
, in the inheritance of the throne of Croatia. Croatia was invaded in 1091 by Ladislaus I, encountering opposition only upon reaching mountain Gvozd, where he successfully engaged in warfare with the local nobility. Meanwhile, as a part of Croatia's dignitaries and clergy did not support Ladislaus' claim, they elected nobleman Petar as king. Shortly after his army's success, Ladislaus died (1095), leaving his nephew Coloman to continue the campaign. In 1097, Petar departed from Knin to meet Coloman in
battle A battle is an occurrence of combat in warfare between opposing military units of any number or size. A war usually consists of multiple battles. In general, a battle is a military engagement that is well defined in duration, area, and force co ...
, resulting in Coloman's victory and Petar's death. According to
Pacta conventa ''Pacta conventa'' (Latin for "articles of agreement") was a contractual agreement entered into between the "Polish nation" (i.e., the szlachta (nobility) of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth) and a newly elected king upon his "free electi ...
, whose authenticity is debated, a historic settlement was subsequently reached by which the Croats agreed to recognize Coloman as king. In return, he promised to guarantee Croatia's self-governance under a ban (royal governor), and to respect all the rights, laws and privileges of the Croatian Kingdom. Petar was the last native king of
Croatia Croatia, officially the Republic of Croatia, is a country in Central Europe, Central and Southeast Europe, on the coast of the Adriatic Sea. It borders Slovenia to the northwest, Hungary to the northeast, Serbia to the east, Bosnia and Herze ...
, and the personal union with Kingdom of Hungary lasted until 1918.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Svacic, Petar Petar Snacic Petar Snacic Roman Catholic monarchs Military personnel killed in action Monarchs killed in action Year of birth unknown Bans of Croatia 11th-century Croatian monarchs