The Triune Kingdom () or Triune Kingdom of Croatia, Slavonia and Dalmatia () was the concept—advocated by the leaders of the 19th-century Croatian national revival—of a united kingdom between

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 ...

Slavonia Slavonia (; ) is, with Dalmatia, Croatia proper, and Istria County, Istria, one of the four Regions of Croatia, historical regions of Croatia. Located in the Pannonian Plain and taking up the east of the country, it roughly corresponds with f ...

and

Dalmatia Dalmatia (; ; ) is a historical region located in modern-day Croatia and Montenegro, on the eastern shore of the Adriatic Sea. Through time it formed part of several historical states, most notably the Roman Empire, the Kingdom of Croatia (925 ...

, which were already within the

Austrian Empire The Austrian Empire, officially known as the Empire of Austria, was a Multinational state, multinational European Great Powers, great power from 1804 to 1867, created by proclamation out of the Habsburg monarchy, realms of the Habsburgs. Duri ...

under one king, who was also the

Emperor of Austria The emperor of Austria (, ) was the ruler of the Austrian Empire and later the Austro-Hungarian Empire. The hereditary imperial title and office was proclaimed in 1804 by Francis II, Holy Roman Emperor, a member of the House of Habsburg-Lorr ...

, but were politically and administratively separate entities. This concept had roots in the high medieval period, as a successor to the historical Kingdom of Croatia which was made up of those regions. After 1867, Croatia and Slavonia were within the Hungarian half of

Austria-Hungary Austria-Hungary, also referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Dual Monarchy or the Habsburg Monarchy, was a multi-national constitutional monarchy in Central Europe#Before World War I, Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. A military ...

and were united in 1868 as the

Kingdom of Croatia-Slavonia The Kingdom of Croatia-Slavonia (; or ; ) was a nominally autonomous kingdom and constitutionally defined separate political nation within the Austro-Hungarian Empire. It was created in 1868 by merging the kingdoms of Kingdom of Croatia (Habs ...

, where the name ''Triune Kingdom of Croatia, Slavonia and Dalmatia'' became official. However, Dalmatia, being located in the Austrian half, still remained de facto separate. Until the end of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, several Croatian political parties and groups sought recognition of the Triune Kingdom and the incorporation of Dalmatia into Croatia-Slavonia. The Croatian

intelligentsia The intelligentsia is a status class composed of the university-educated people of a society who engage in the complex mental labours by which they critique, shape, and lead in the politics, policies, and culture of their society; as such, the i ...

, especially lawyers and historians, played a key role in interpreting historical sources so as to legitimize the demand for the Triune Kingdom.

History

The unification among the three Kingdoms started gaining popularity in the 14th century and was originally used in the title of the Ban of Croatia, Slavonia and Dalmatia in the medieval Croatian Kingdom. The first usage of the term ''Triune Kingdom'' was in 1527 by the Habsburgs, to make the title of the Croatia, Dalmatia and Slavonia seem grander, this can be seen in titles given to Krsto Frankopan, as well as other examples from 1527. In 1895 Ivan Bojničić, a member of the Croatian Independent People's Party, wrote about this, saying the recognition of the Triune Kingdom was their primary goal. The Croatian Sabor was, in 1681, officially named the ''Congregatio Croatiae, Dalmatiae et Slavoniae'' Later In the 18th century,

Maria Theresa Maria Theresa (Maria Theresia Walburga Amalia Christina; 13 May 1717 – 29 November 1780) was the ruler of the Habsburg monarchy from 1740 until her death in 1780, and the only woman to hold the position suo jure, in her own right. She was the ...

founded the ''Royal Council for the Kingdom of Croatia, Dalmatia and Slavonia''. However, only in the early 19th century, in parallel with the demands for the unification of the three Croatian Kingdoms and modern nation building, did the use of the name "''Triune Kingdom''" intensify. Prior to 1848, the Croatians had claimed territories which had been contested by both the

Hungarians Hungarians, also known as Magyars, are an Ethnicity, ethnic group native to Hungary (), who share a common Culture of Hungary, culture, Hungarian language, language and History of Hungary, history. They also have a notable presence in former pa ...

and the Vienna Court War Council within the

, and also by the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empire, was an empire, imperial realm that controlled much of Southeast Europe, West Asia, and North Africa from the 14th to early 20th centuries; it also controlled parts of southeastern Centr ...

. 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 revolutions throughout Europe over the course of more than one year, from 1848 to 1849. It remains the most widespre ...

, Croatian nationalists in the Sabor proposed the unification of the Triune Kingdom, which would be an autonomous Croatian cultural and political union within the Habsburg Empire. Political representatives of Croatia advocated the notion to the Emperor, and demanded the unification of the three Croatian kingdoms. During the revolutions,

was temporarily under the control of Ban Josip Jelačić of Croatia. However, the Italian-speaking elite dominating the

Diet of Dalmatia The Diet of Dalmatia (, ) was the regional assembly of the Kingdom of Dalmatia within the Austro-Hungarian Empire. It was founded in Zadar in 1861 and last convened in 1912, before being formally dissolved in 1918, with the demise of the Empire. ...

urged autonomy for the Kingdom as an Austrian crown land against the Croatian national revival movement's demand for a Triune Kingdom. Following the

Austro-Hungarian Compromise of 1867 The Austro-Hungarian Compromise of 1867 (, ) established the dual monarchy of Austria-Hungary, which was a military and diplomatic alliance of two sovereign states. The Compromise only partially re-established the former pre-1848 sovereign ...

and the Croatian–Hungarian Settlement of 1868, the Hungarian claims on

and the Austrian claims on the

Military Frontier The Military Frontier (; sh-Cyrl-Latn, Војна крајина, Vojna krajina, sh-Cyrl-Latn, Војна граница, Vojna granica, label=none; ; ) was a borderland of the Habsburg monarchy and later the Austrian and Austro-Hungari ...

were formally relinquished. Croatia and Slavonia were unified into the autonomous

. However, a unification with Dalmatia was denied and while Croatia-Slavonia was incorporated into the

Lands of the Crown of Saint Stephen The Lands of the Crown of Saint Stephen (), informally Transleithania (meaning the lands or region "beyond" the Leitha River), were the Hungarian territories of Austria-Hungary, throughout the latter's entire existence (30 March 1867 – 16 ...

(Hungarian half), Dalmatia remained a crown land of the '' Cislethanian'' (Austrian) half of the Dual Monarchy. Croatia-Slavonia nevertheless formally called itself the "Triune Kingdom of Croatia, Slavonia and Dalmatia", pressing its claims on Dalmatia. Sections of the Croatian–Hungarian Settlement of 1868 became contentious issues, as the Croatian version defined the territory of the "Lands of the Crown of Saint Stephen" as "''a state union of the Kingdom of Hungary and the Kingdoms of Dalmatia, Croatia and Slavonia''". The Hungarian version of the same settlement meanwhile, referred to it as ''Croatia, Slavonia and Dalmatia'', withholding the word "Kingdom" and changing the order of the countries names. Documents issued by Austria put the order as "Dalmatia, Croatia and Slavonia", after instructions from Friedrich Ferdinand von Beust to distinguish Dalmatia from Croatia and Slavonia in order to emphasize its membership of the Austrian half of the Empire. During the Croatian National Revival and the second half of the 19th century, Croatian

, especially lawyers and historians, in the struggle for a united Triune Kingdom, were involved in interpreting historical sources seeking to legitimize and politically argue the full meaning of the name of the Triune Kingdom. By the end of the 19th century, recognition of the Triune Kingdom was the primary goal of the Independent People's Party, as well as the People's Party of Dalmatia. In 1874,

Ivan Kukuljević Sakcinski Ivan Kukuljević Sakcinski (; 29 May 1816 – 1 August 1889) was a Croatian historian, politician, and writer, most famous for delivering the first speech in Croatian before Parliament. Considered a renowned patriot, Kukuljević was a proponent ...

published various findings from archival collections—in his work ''Codex Diplomaticus'',Codex diplomaticus regni Croatiae, Dalmatiae et Slavoniae, Volumes 1–2, Tiskom D. Albrechta, 1874

/ref> now kept in the

Croatian State Archives The Croatian State Archives () are the national archives of Croatia located in its capital, Zagreb. The history of the state archives can be traced back to the 17th century. There are also regional state archives located in Bjelovar, Dubrovnik ...

—documents from all periods that speak of the ''Kingdom of Croatia, Dalmatia and Slavonia'', consisting of: * Privileges – ''Privilegia Regnorum Croatiae, Dalmatiae et Slavoniae'', dated 1377 * Protocols – ''Protocolla Congregationis generalis Regnorum Croatiae, Dalmatiae et Slavoniae'', dated 1557 * Minutes – ''Acta Congregationum Regni'', dated 1562 * Minutes – ''Transumpta documentorum iura Croatica tangentium'', dated 1249

References

Sources

* * * * * * * * * * * * * {{ISBN missing, date=September 2023 Political terminology of Croatia 19th century in Croatia 20th century in Croatia Politics of Austria-Hungary

History

See also

References

Sources