The Trpimirović dynasty () was a native
Croatian dynasty
A dynasty is a sequence of rulers from the same family, usually in the context of a monarchy, monarchical system, but sometimes also appearing in republics. A dynasty may also be referred to as a "house", "family" or "clan", among others.
H ...
that ruled in the
Duchy
A duchy, also called a dukedom, is a country, territory, fiefdom, fief, or domain ruled by a duke or duchess, a ruler hierarchically second to the king or Queen regnant, queen in Western European tradition.
There once existed an important differe ...
and later the
Kingdom of Croatia, with interruptions by the
Domagojević dynasty from 845 until 1091. It was named after
Trpimir I, the first member and founder. The most prominent rulers of the Trpimirović Dynasty include
Tomislav (first king of Croatia),
Petar Krešimir IV and
Demetrius Zvonimir. The house gave four
dukes, thirteen
king
King is a royal title given to a male monarch. A king is an Absolute monarchy, absolute monarch if he holds unrestricted Government, governmental power or exercises full sovereignty over a nation. Conversely, he is a Constitutional monarchy, ...
s and a
queen
Queen most commonly refers to:
* Queen regnant, a female monarch of a kingdom
* Queen consort, the wife of a reigning king
* Queen (band), a British rock band
Queen or QUEEN may also refer to:
Monarchy
* Queen dowager, the widow of a king
* Q ...
.
History
Since its mid-9th century foundation, the house reached independent rule at some later point and dissolved at the end of the 11th century. During that time, the state had slight territorial changes, most notably in
Bosnia and southern
Dalmatia, where the wars against
Venetians and others were waged.
Dukes and Kings of Croatia
The Trpimirović dynasty was a ruling dynasty 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 ...
from the 9th to the 11th century. The ruling estate () of the Trpimirović dynasty was located in the area between
Trogir and
Split (today
Kaštela,
Solin area and
Klis from where they ruled), and
Split and
Omiš and later in other parts of the land. After the death of
Duke Trpimir I, the power was temporarily assumed by Domagoj, a member of the assumed
Domagojević dynasty. In 878, Trpimir I's son
Zdeslav overthrew Domagoj, but he was overthrown by
Branimir and then around 892, Zdeslav's brother
Muncimir became duke, restoring the dynasty to power.
The rulers of the dynasty initially ruled as vassals of the
Franks
file:Frankish arms.JPG, Aristocratic Frankish burial items from the Merovingian dynasty
The Franks ( or ; ; ) were originally a group of Germanic peoples who lived near the Rhine river, Rhine-river military border of Germania Inferior, which wa ...
. They fought with the
Venetian Republic and
Byzantine Empire
The Byzantine Empire, also known as the Eastern Roman Empire, was the continuation of the Roman Empire centred on Constantinople during late antiquity and the Middle Ages. Having survived History of the Roman Empire, the events that caused the ...
for control of the coast, and at the end of the 9th century achieved greater autonomy. In the first half of the 10th century, the first King of Croatia,
Tomislav united
Lower Pannonia ("Pannonian Croatia") and
Dalmatian Croatia and created the
Kingdom of Croatia. According to scarce and disputed historical sources, Croatia was a powerful state under his rule. King Tomislav maintained an alliance with the pope and successfully defended Croatia from the invading
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 ...
, while at the local level he participated at the
Church Councils of Split in 925 and 928. The struggle with the Byzantines and the Venetians over Dalmatian coastal cities continued after his death.
Tomislav's successors failed to maintain a stable kingship and the country was affected by a dynastic crisis in the middle of the 10th century. Even
Pribina, the Croatian ban (viceroy), got involved in the dispute between brothers
Miroslav and
Michael Krešimir II. Pribina took the side of Michael Krešimir which resulted in the murder of King Miroslav in 949. Political and social recovery of Croatia occurred during the reign of Michael Krešimir II and his son
King Stephen Držislav.
Split chronicler
Thomas the Archdeacon (1200–1268) wrote that Stephen Držislav had received royal honours and that since then, Croatian rulers were verifiably referred to as the "Kings of Dalmatia and Croatia".
After the death of King Stephen Držislav in 997, he was succeeded by three sons:
Svetoslav Suronja,
Krešimir III and
Gojslav. The two younger brothers rebelled against Svetoslav Suronja, which started a new dynastic conflict that ended with the dethroning of Svetoslav. On thus the rulership was jointly taken over by Krešimir III and Gojslav. From Svetoslav and his offspring the Svetoslavić branch was created. The descendants of Krešimir III were part of the Krešimirović branch that continued to rule Croatia.
The dynasty reached its peak during the reign of
King Petar Krešimir IV, who consolidated and expanded the kingdom. The dynasty ended in 1091 with the death of Petar Krešimir IV's nephew
Stephen II, the successor to
King Demetrius Zvonimir who did not leave a male heir.
Chronology
As stated in the ''
Croatian Encyclopedia'', "due to the lack of sources, some genealogical questions related to the dynasty cannot be definitively resolved, nor can the exact years of the reign be determined for most of the rulers".
The common chronology of the dukes and kings of Croatia was conceptualized by
Franjo Rački and
Ferdo Šišić, but although generally accepted, has several controversial claims about the 9th and 10th century line of the Trpimirović dynasty.
In their interpretation of the ''
De Administrando Imperio'' (which is mentioning in chronological order prince Terpimer father of Krasimer, prince Krasimer father of Miroslav who was killed by ban Pribina) the rulers, including Trpimir known from other sources as ruling cca. 845–864, have actually ruled in the first part of the 10th century and invented Trpimir II whose not mentioned in historical sources. Due to such discrepancies and historiographical inventions, there were proposed revised chronologies.
Rulers
Dukes of Croatia
*
Trpimir I (845–864)
*
Zdeslav (878–879)
*
Muncimir (892–910)
*
Tomislav (910–925)
Kings of Croatia
*
Tomislav (925–928)
*
Trpimir II (928–935)
*
Krešimir I (935–945)
*
Miroslav (945–949)
*
Michael Krešimir II (949–969)
*
Stephen Držislav (969–997)
*
Svetoslav Suronja (997–1000)
*
Krešimir III (1000–c. 1030)
*
Gojslav (1000–c. 1020)
*
Stephen I (c. 1030–1058)
*
Peter Krešimir IV (1058–1074)
*
Demetrius Zvonimir (1075–1089)
*
Stephen II (1089–1091)
See also
*
List of rulers of Croatia
*
History of Croatia
*
House of Domagojević
A house is a single-unit residential building. It may range in complexity from a rudimentary hut to a complex structure of wood, masonry, concrete or other material, outfitted with plumbing, electrical, and heating, ventilation, and air ...
*
Trpimirović Royal Family Tree
References
* Hrvatski leksikon (1997, A-Ž, 2 volume, in Croatian
External links
The Earliest Croatian Dukes and Kings
{{DEFAULTSORT:Trpimirovic, House Of
Medieval Croatian nobility
Kings of Croatia
Croatian royal families
History of Dalmatia