Littoral Croatian Duchy
Encyclopedia
Littoral Croatia or Dalmatian Croatia is a name for a region
of what used to be a medieval Croatia
n principality
which was established in the former Roman province
of Dalmatia
. Throughout its time, the Principality
had several capital cities, namely Klis
, Solin, Biograd, Knin
, Biaći
and Nin
, comprised the littoral, or coastal part of today's Croatia
and included a big part of the mountainous hinterland
. The Principality had the House of Trpimirović as the ruling dynasty, with interruptions by the House of Domagojević
(864-878 and 879-892).
) called sklavinije (sqlaviniah), were settled along the Adriatic coast. The nearest one, Pagania (also called Neretvanian state), which stretched from the rivers Cetina
to Neretva
, had the islands of Brač
, Hvar
, Korčula
, Mljet
, Vis and Lastovo
in its possession. In the southern part of Dalmatia
, there was Zahumlje
(Zachumlia), Travunia
and Dioclea
(today Montenegro
). The central part of the Littoral state consisted partially of Bosnia. North of the state there was the Principality of Pannonian Croatia.
(also knez, translated as duke or prince) as a head of state, territorially in the basins of the rivers Cetina
, Krka
and Zrmanja
. It was administered in 11 župa
(Županije).
The earliest recorded prince, referred to by the Emperor
Constantine Porphyrogenitus, was Porga, who was believed to have been invited into Dalmatia
by the Byzantium Emperor Heraclius
.
was succeeded around 845 by Trpimir I
, who continued the formal legacy of being the vassal
of the Frankish king
Lothair
(840–855), although he managed to strengthen his personal rule in Croatia. Arabian campaigns thoroughly weakened the Byzantine Empire
and Venice
, which was used in the advance of the Croatian prince in 846 and 848. Between 854 and 860, he successfully defended his land from the Bulgaria
n invasion, and defeated them finally in eastern Bosnia.
In a Latin
charter preserved in a rewrite from 1568, that dates, according to newer research, to about 840), Trpimir refers to himself as dux Croatorum iuvatus munere divino (leader of the Croats with the help of God); his land, called regnum Croatorum, "Kingdom of the Croats
", can simply be interpreted as the land of the Croats
, since the theory of an early kingdom
is largely disputed. This charter also documents his ownership of castle Klis
, from where his rule was centered. He is more expressly remembered as the founder of the House of Trpimirović, which was the first and the only native dynasty
throughout the history of the Croats
.
Region
Region is most commonly found as a term used in terrestrial and astrophysics sciences also an area, notably among the different sub-disciplines of geography, studied by regional geographers. Regions consist of subregions that contain clusters of like areas that are distinctive by their uniformity...
of what used to be a medieval Croatia
Croatia
Croatia , officially the Republic of Croatia , is a unitary democratic parliamentary republic in Europe at the crossroads of the Mitteleuropa, the Balkans, and the Mediterranean. Its capital and largest city is Zagreb. The country is divided into 20 counties and the city of Zagreb. Croatia covers ...
n principality
Principality
A principality is a monarchical feudatory or sovereign state, ruled or reigned over by a monarch with the title of prince or princess, or by a monarch with another title within the generic use of the term prince....
which was established in the former Roman province
Roman province
In Ancient Rome, a province was the basic, and, until the Tetrarchy , largest territorial and administrative unit of the empire's territorial possessions outside of Italy...
of Dalmatia
Dalmatia
Dalmatia is a historical region on the eastern coast of the Adriatic Sea. It stretches from the island of Rab in the northwest to the Bay of Kotor in the southeast. The hinterland, the Dalmatian Zagora, ranges from fifty kilometers in width in the north to just a few kilometers in the south....
. Throughout its time, the Principality
Principality
A principality is a monarchical feudatory or sovereign state, ruled or reigned over by a monarch with the title of prince or princess, or by a monarch with another title within the generic use of the term prince....
had several capital cities, namely Klis
Klis
Klis is a village located around a mountain fortress bearing the same name. It is located in central Dalmatia, Croatia, located just northeast of Solin and Split near the eponymous mountain pass...
, Solin, Biograd, Knin
Knin
Knin is a historical town in the Šibenik-Knin county of Croatia, located near the source of the river Krka at , in the Dalmatian hinterland, on the railroad Zagreb–Split. Knin rose to prominence twice in history, as a one-time capital of both the Kingdom of Croatia and briefly of the...
, Biaći
Biaći
Biaći are a village in Croatia, 5 km northeast of Trogir, at the contact point between the Trogir part and the Lower Kaštela part of the Velo field. It was first mentioned in two old Croatian documents from AD 852 and AD 892. At the locality of Stombrate are the remains of an early Croatian church...
and Nin
Nin, Croatia
Nin is a town in the Zadar county of Croatia, population 1,256 , total municipality population 4,603 .Nin was historically important as a centre of a Christian Bishopric in the Middle Ages. Up to the abolition and Latinization imposed by King Tomislav in the first half of the 10th century, Nin was...
, comprised the littoral, or coastal part of today's Croatia
Croatia
Croatia , officially the Republic of Croatia , is a unitary democratic parliamentary republic in Europe at the crossroads of the Mitteleuropa, the Balkans, and the Mediterranean. Its capital and largest city is Zagreb. The country is divided into 20 counties and the city of Zagreb. Croatia covers ...
and included a big part of the mountainous hinterland
Hinterland
The hinterland is the land or district behind a coast or the shoreline of a river. Specifically, by the doctrine of the hinterland, the word is applied to the inland region lying behind a port, claimed by the state that owns the coast. The area from which products are delivered to a port for...
. The Principality had the House of Trpimirović as the ruling dynasty, with interruptions by the House of Domagojević
House of Domagojević
Domagojević dynasty was a native Croat dynasty that ruled in Croatia, precisely in Dalmatia, probably from 864 until 892, with interruptions....
(864-878 and 879-892).
Geography
Within the defined Littoral Croatia, some other states, which are sometimes (by the ByzantinesByzantine Greeks
Byzantine Greeks or Byzantines is a conventional term used by modern historians to refer to the medieval Greek or Hellenised citizens of the Byzantine Empire, centered mainly in Constantinople, the southern Balkans, the Greek islands, Asia Minor , Cyprus and the large urban centres of the Near East...
) called sklavinije (sqlaviniah), were settled along the Adriatic coast. The nearest one, Pagania (also called Neretvanian state), which stretched from the rivers Cetina
Cetina
Cetina is a river in southern Croatia. It has a length of and its basin covers an area of . Cetina descends from an altitude of 385 m at its source to the sea level when it flows into the Adriatic Sea. It is the most water-rich river in Dalmatia....
to Neretva
Neretva
Neretva is the largest river of the eastern part of the Adriatic basin. It has been harnessed and controlled to a large extent by four HE power-plants with large dams and their storage lakes, but it is still recognized for its natural beauty, diversity of its landscape and visual...
, had the islands of Brač
Brac
Brač is an island in the Adriatic Sea within Croatia, with an area of 396 km², making it the largest island in Dalmatia, and the third largest in the Adriatic. Its tallest peak, Vidova Gora, or Mount St. Vid, stands at 778 m, making it the highest island point in the Adriatic...
, Hvar
Hvar
- Climate :The climate of Hvar is characterized by mild winters and warm summers. The yearly average air temperature is , 686 mm of precipitation fall on the town of Hvar on average every year and the town has a total of 2800 sunshine hours per year. For comparison Hvar has an average of 7.7...
, Korčula
Korcula
Korčula is an island in the Adriatic Sea, in the Dubrovnik-Neretva County of Croatia. The island has an area of ; long and on average wide — and lies just off the Dalmatian coast. Its 16,182 inhabitants make it the second most populous Adriatic island after Krk...
, Mljet
Mljet
Mljet is the most southerly and easterly of the larger Adriatic islands of the Dalmatia region of Croatia. The National Park includes the western part of the island, Veliko jezero, Malo jezero, Soline Bay and a sea belt 500 m wide from the most prominent cape of Mljet covering an area of...
, Vis and Lastovo
Lastovo
Lastovo is an island municipality in the Dubrovnik-Neretva County in Croatia. The municipality consists of 46 islands with a total population of 792 people, of which 93% are ethnic Croats, and a land area of approximately . The biggest island in the municipality is also named Lastovo, as is the...
in its possession. In the southern part of Dalmatia
Dalmatia
Dalmatia is a historical region on the eastern coast of the Adriatic Sea. It stretches from the island of Rab in the northwest to the Bay of Kotor in the southeast. The hinterland, the Dalmatian Zagora, ranges from fifty kilometers in width in the north to just a few kilometers in the south....
, there was Zahumlje
Zahumlje
Zachlumia or Zahumlje was a medieval principality located in modern-day regions of Herzegovina and southern Dalmatia...
(Zachumlia), Travunia
Travunia
Travunia was a medieval region, administrative unit and principality, which was part of Medieval Serbia , and in its last years, the Bosnian Kingdom . The county became hereditary in a number of noble houses, often kin to the ruling dynasty. The region came under Ottoman rule in 1482...
and Dioclea
Dioclea
Dioclea is a genus of flowering plants in the pea family, Fabaceae, that is native to the Americas. The seeds of these legumes are buoyant drift seeds, and are dispersed by rivers....
(today Montenegro
Montenegro
Montenegro Montenegrin: Crna Gora Црна Гора , meaning "Black Mountain") is a country located in Southeastern Europe. It has a coast on the Adriatic Sea to the south-west and is bordered by Croatia to the west, Bosnia and Herzegovina to the northwest, Serbia to the northeast and Albania to the...
). The central part of the Littoral state consisted partially of Bosnia. North of the state there was the Principality of Pannonian Croatia.
Early
In the 9th century, Croatia emerged as a political entity with a dukeDuke
A duke or duchess is a member of the nobility, historically of highest rank below the monarch, and historically controlling a duchy...
(also knez, translated as duke or prince) as a head of state, territorially in the basins of the rivers Cetina
Cetina
Cetina is a river in southern Croatia. It has a length of and its basin covers an area of . Cetina descends from an altitude of 385 m at its source to the sea level when it flows into the Adriatic Sea. It is the most water-rich river in Dalmatia....
, Krka
Krka (Croatia)
Krka is a river in Croatia's Dalmatia region, famous for its numerous waterfalls. It is long and its basin covers an area of .Possibly the river called Catarbates by the ancient Greeks, it was known to the ancient Romans as Titius, Corcoras, or Korkoras.The river has its source near the border...
and Zrmanja
Zrmanja
Zrmanja is a river in southern Lika and northern Dalmatia, Croatia. It is long and its basin covers an area of .It was known to the ancient Romans as Tedanius. The spring of Zrmanja is located in southern part of Lika under Postak - the southern peak of Pljesevica mountain, and close to south end...
. It was administered in 11 župa
Župa
A Župa is a Slavic term, used historically among the Southern and Western branches of the Slavs, originally denoting various territorial and other sub-units, usually a small administrative division, especially a gathering of several villages...
(Županije).
The earliest recorded prince, referred to by the Emperor
Emperor
An emperor is a monarch, usually the sovereign ruler of an empire or another type of imperial realm. Empress, the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife or a woman who rules in her own right...
Constantine Porphyrogenitus, was Porga, who was believed to have been invited into Dalmatia
Dalmatia
Dalmatia is a historical region on the eastern coast of the Adriatic Sea. It stretches from the island of Rab in the northwest to the Bay of Kotor in the southeast. The hinterland, the Dalmatian Zagora, ranges from fifty kilometers in width in the north to just a few kilometers in the south....
by the Byzantium Emperor Heraclius
Heraclius
Heraclius was Byzantine Emperor from 610 to 641.He was responsible for introducing Greek as the empire's official language. His rise to power began in 608, when he and his father, Heraclius the Elder, the exarch of Africa, successfully led a revolt against the unpopular usurper Phocas.Heraclius'...
.
Trpimir I
Duke MislavMislav of Croatia
Mislav was the Duke of Littoral Croatia in 835–845.Mislav succeeded Vladislav as the Duke of Littoral Croatia. He ruled from Klis in central Dalmatia, when he made Klis Fortress seat to his throne. Mislav was pious ruler. He built the Church of Saint George in Putalj . Today's Kaštel Sućurac...
was succeeded around 845 by Trpimir I
Trpimir I of Croatia
Trpimir I was a duke of Croatia in 845–864, and the founder of the Croatian House of Trpimirović. Although he was formally vassal of the Frankish Emperor Lothair I, Trpimir used Frankish-Byzantine conflicts to rule on his own.-Reign:...
, who continued the formal legacy of being the vassal
Vassal
A vassal or feudatory is a person who has entered into a mutual obligation to a lord or monarch in the context of the feudal system in medieval Europe. The obligations often included military support and mutual protection, in exchange for certain privileges, usually including the grant of land held...
of the Frankish king
King
- Centers of population :* King, Ontario, CanadaIn USA:* King, Indiana* King, North Carolina* King, Lincoln County, Wisconsin* King, Waupaca County, Wisconsin* King County, Washington- Moving-image works :Television:...
Lothair
Lothair
Lothair is a Germanic given name, derived from the older form Clotaire .- People :It can refer to these people:*Lothair I , a King of Italy and Holy Roman Emperor...
(840–855), although he managed to strengthen his personal rule in Croatia. Arabian campaigns thoroughly weakened the Byzantine Empire
Byzantine Empire
The Byzantine Empire was the Eastern Roman Empire during the periods of Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, centred on the capital of Constantinople. Known simply as the Roman Empire or Romania to its inhabitants and neighbours, the Empire was the direct continuation of the Ancient Roman State...
and Venice
Republic of Venice
The Republic of Venice or Venetian Republic was a state originating from the city of Venice in Northeastern Italy. It existed for over a millennium, from the late 7th century until 1797. It was formally known as the Most Serene Republic of Venice and is often referred to as La Serenissima, in...
, which was used in the advance of the Croatian prince in 846 and 848. Between 854 and 860, he successfully defended his land from the Bulgaria
Bulgaria
Bulgaria , officially the Republic of Bulgaria , is a parliamentary democracy within a unitary constitutional republic in Southeast Europe. The country borders Romania to the north, Serbia and Macedonia to the west, Greece and Turkey to the south, as well as the Black Sea to the east...
n invasion, and defeated them finally in eastern Bosnia.
In a Latin
Latin
Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...
charter preserved in a rewrite from 1568, that dates, according to newer research, to about 840), Trpimir refers to himself as dux Croatorum iuvatus munere divino (leader of the Croats with the help of God); his land, called regnum Croatorum, "Kingdom of the Croats
Kingdom of Croatia (medieval)
The Kingdom of Croatia , also known as the Kingdom of the Croats , was a medieval kingdom covering most of what is today Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina in the Balkans.Established in 925, it ruled as a sovereign state for almost two centuries...
", can simply be interpreted as the land of the Croats
Croats
Croats are a South Slavic ethnic group mostly living in Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and nearby countries. There are around 4 million Croats living inside Croatia and up to 4.5 million throughout the rest of the world. Responding to political, social and economic pressure, many Croats have...
, since the theory of an early kingdom
Monarchy
A monarchy is a form of government in which the office of head of state is usually held until death or abdication and is often hereditary and includes a royal house. In some cases, the monarch is elected...
is largely disputed. This charter also documents his ownership of castle Klis
Klis Fortress
The Klis Fortress is a medieval fortress situated above a village bearing the same name, near the city of Split, in central Dalmatia, Croatia. From its origin as a small stronghold built by the ancient Illyrian tribe Dalmatae, becoming a royal castle that was the seat of many Croatian kings, to...
, from where his rule was centered. He is more expressly remembered as the founder of the House of Trpimirović, which was the first and the only native dynasty
Dynasty
A dynasty is a sequence of rulers considered members of the same family. Historians traditionally consider many sovereign states' history within a framework of successive dynasties, e.g., China, Ancient Egypt and the Persian Empire...
throughout the history of the Croats
History of Croatia
Croatia first appeared as a duchy in the 7th century and then as a kingdom in the 10th century. From the 12th century it remained a distinct state with its ruler and parliament, but it obeyed the kings and emperors of various neighboring powers, primarily Hungary and Austria. The period from the...
.
Sources
- Rudolf Horvat, Povijest Hrvatske I. (od najstarijeg doba do g. 1657.), Zagreb 1924.
- Nada Klaić, Povijest Hrvata u ranom srednjem vijeku, Zagreb 1975.
External links
- Croatia — an independent principality (Richard C. Frucht: Eastern Europe, Edition 2005 /Santa Barbara, California, USA/)
- http://books.google.hr/books?id=qtgotOF0MKQC&pg=PA385&lpg=PA385&dq=Principality++Croatia&source=bl&ots=zxhQ-_rLSy&sig=xnuJFc-EozINflhXHeW-I6SzmtY&hl=hr#v=onepage&q=Principality%20%20Croatia&f=falsePrince Branimir put the Principality of Croatia "permanently beneath the wing of the Roman Church and Western Christian civilization (879)" (Richard Barrie Dobson: Encyclopedia of the Middle Ages, Edition 2000 /Cambridge, England, UK/)]