Ljudevit Posavski
Encyclopedia
Ljudevit Posavski was a Croatian
Duke
of Pannonian Croatia
from 810 to 823. The capital of his realm was in Sisak
. As the ruler of the Pannonian Slavs, he led an unsuccessful resistance to Frankish
domination. He held close ties with the Carantanian and Carniola
n tribes and with the Serbian tribe of Timočani
, named after the Timok
river. He is often regarded as a national hero in Croatia
n and Slovenia
n history.
Louis
in Heristal. They described the horrors conducted by Cadolah and his men in Pannonia
, but the King of Franks
refused to make peace.
Ljudevit raised a rebellion against his Frankish rulers in 819 after he was seriously accused by the Frankish court. The Emperor Louis the Pious
(814-840) sent Margrave
Cadolah of Friuli
(800-819) to quell the rebellion. The Frankish Frontier forces led by Cadolah have raided the land and tortured the population, most notably the children.
As the Pannonian Slavs were amassing forces, so did the Franks
led by Cadolah return in 819. But the Frankish forces were soon defeated; and Cadolah himself had to retreat back to his home Friuli
, where soon he died of disease.
In July 819 on the Council in Ingelheim Ljudevit's emissaries offered truce conditions, but Emperor Louis refused; demanding more concessions to him. Ljudevit started to gather allies for his plight. His original ally was Duke Borna of Dalmatia
(Dux Dalmatiae et Liburniae) - the leader of the Guduscani
(Gačani), but the Frankish ruler had promised Borna that he would make him Prince of Pannonia if he helped the Franks to crush Ljudevit's rebellion; so Borna accepted. Ljudevit found assistance among the Karantanian and Carniolan
Slavs who, as neighbours of the margravate of Friuli
, were jeopardized the same as the Pannonians. The Serbs
around the valley of Timok
- Timočani
also joined him, because they were jeoperdized by the neighbouring Bulgars
.
The Franks sent a large army led by the new Margrave of Friuli, duke Baldric of Friuli
to meet Ljudevit in autumn, the same year while he was conscripting more Carantanian troops along the river of Drava
. The Frankish forces had numerical advantage, so they pushed Ljudevit and his men from Carniola
across the Drava
. Ljudevit had to fall back to central parts of his realm. Balderic didn't push to chase Ljudevit, since he had to pacify the Karantanians. Duke Borna moved with Ljudevit's father-in-law Dragomuž and their forces from the south-west. At the heat of the Battle of Kupa, near the river Kupa
, his own Guduscani abandoned Borna and crossed to Ljudevit's side; while Dragomuž was killed. Borna escaped from the battlefield with the help of his bodyguards.
Ljudevit seized the opportunity and breached into Dalmatia
in December. His forces raided Dalmatia. Borna was too weak, so the Dalmatian Croats defended themselves through sneaky tactics and used attrition
as their best ally to exhaust the Pannonian forces. Harsh winter came to the hill areas, so Ljudevit was forced to return. According to Borna's reports to the Frankish Emperor, Ljudevit suffered heavy casualties: 3,000 soldiers, over 300 horses and lots of food.
. The plan was to crush Ljudevit's realm with a joint-attack from three sides. As soon as the winter retreated, massive Frankish armies were being amassed in Italia
, East Francia, Bavaria
, Saxony
and Alemannia
that were going to simultaneously invade Ljudevit's lands in the spring
. The northern Frankish group moved from Bavaria across Pannonia to make an invasion across the river of Drava. Ljudevit's forces successfully stopped this Army
at the river. The southern group moved across the Noric Alps
, using the road from Aquileia
to Emona
. Ljudevit was successful again, as he stopped them before crossing the Alps. The central group moved from Tyrol
to Carniola
. Ljudevit attempted to halt its advance three times, but every single time would the Franks win, using numerical advantage. When this Army reached the Drava
, Ljudevit had to fall back to the heart of his realm.
The Franks have opened ways for the southern and northern Armies, so they launched a total invasion. Ljudevit concluded that all resistance would be futile, so he retreated to a stronghold that he built on top of hill that was heavily fortified; while his people took shelter in local forest
and swamps. Ljudevit did not negotiate with the Franks. The Franks eventually retreated from his lands, with their ranks thinned by disease which the northern forces caught in the marshes of Drava
. The Slavs from Carantania lost their internal independence and were forced to recognize the Friulian margrave Balderic as their ruler, while some remained loyal to Ljudevit. Prince Borna died in 821, and was succeeded by Ljudevit's nephew, Vladislav
. Emperor Louis recognized as Prince of Dalmatia and Liburnia in February 821 at the Council of Aachen
.
The Emperor discussed again about war plans against Ljudevit on that Council. The Franks decided to repeat the progress, and push towards Ljudevit from three sides again. Ljudevit saw that it was obvious that he couldn't fight the Franks on open field, so he began to construct massive fortifications. He was helped by the Venetian Patriarch
Fortunat who sent him architects and masons from Italy
.
During the last and final Frankish invasion of 822, the Patriarch from Grad, Fortunat, who was a supporter of Ljudevit, fled to Zadar
into exile with the Byzantines
.
, in 822, Ljudevit went from his seat in Sisak
to the Serbs
somewhere in western Bosnia
who controlled a great part of Dalmatia (Roman province)
. Some Croatian historians (f.e. Nada Klaić
) claim that the place Ljudevit fled to was Srb
on the mouth of Una (in Lika
, Croatia
) but other historians dispute this as unfounded. Another array of historians reject the possibility that Ljudevit went to the Serbs at all - but to the actual city of Srb and the Lord whom he killed was a local nobleman - although this is an ongoing controversy. Ljudevit was welcomed at the local Serbian ruler's court, but he tricked him, killing him and then taking the power for himself. Some believe the Serbian ruler was an ally of the Franks
and Ljudevit thought that he was about to betray him. Ljudevit soon sent an envoy to the Frankish court, claiming that he is ready to recognize the Frankish Emperor Louis the Pious as his supreme ruler.
Ljudevit's reign was not very well accepted amongst the Serbs, so he fled to Borna's uncle, Ljudemisl of Dalmatia. Ljudemisl had Ljudevit killed in 823.
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...
Duke
Duke
A duke or duchess is a member of the nobility, historically of highest rank below the monarch, and historically controlling a duchy...
of Pannonian Croatia
Pannonian Croatia
Pannonian Croatia was a medieval duchy from the 7th to the 10th century located in the Pannonian Plain approximately between the rivers Drava and Sava in today's Croatia, but at times also considerably to the south of the Sava. Its capital was Sisak...
from 810 to 823. The capital of his realm was in Sisak
Sisak
Sisak is a city in central Croatia. The city's population in 2011 was 33,049, with a total of 49,699 in the administrative region and it is also the administrative centre of the Sisak-Moslavina county...
. As the ruler of the Pannonian Slavs, he led an unsuccessful resistance to Frankish
Franks
The Franks were a confederation of Germanic tribes first attested in the third century AD as living north and east of the Lower Rhine River. From the third to fifth centuries some Franks raided Roman territory while other Franks joined the Roman troops in Gaul. Only the Salian Franks formed a...
domination. He held close ties with the Carantanian and Carniola
Carniola
Carniola was a historical region that comprised parts of what is now Slovenia. As part of Austria-Hungary, the region was a crown land officially known as the Duchy of Carniola until 1918. In 1849, the region was subdivided into Upper Carniola, Lower Carniola, and Inner Carniola...
n tribes and with the Serbian tribe of Timočani
Timocani
The Timočani or Timochani were a medieval South Slavic tribe that lived in the territory of present-day eastern Serbia, west of the Timok River, as well as in the regions of Banat, Syrmia and west Moesia....
, named after the Timok
Timok
-Places:*Timočka Krajina, a region in Serbia*Timok , a river in Serbia and Bulgaria**Beli Timok, a river in Serbia**Trgoviški Timok, a river in Serbia**Svrljiški Timok, a river in Serbia**Crni Timok, a river in Serbia-Other:...
river. He is often regarded as a national hero in 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 and Slovenia
Slovenia
Slovenia , officially the Republic of Slovenia , is a country in Central and Southeastern Europe touching the Alps and bordering the Mediterranean. Slovenia borders Italy to the west, Croatia to the south and east, Hungary to the northeast, and Austria to the north, and also has a small portion of...
n history.
Rebellions against the Franks
In 818 Ljudevit sent his emissaries to EmperorEmperor
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...
Louis
Louis the Pious
Louis the Pious , also called the Fair, and the Debonaire, was the King of Aquitaine from 781. He was also King of the Franks and co-Emperor with his father, Charlemagne, from 813...
in Heristal. They described the horrors conducted by Cadolah and his men in Pannonia
Pannonia
Pannonia was an ancient province of the Roman Empire bounded north and east by the Danube, coterminous westward with Noricum and upper Italy, and southward with Dalmatia and upper Moesia....
, but the King of Franks
Franks
The Franks were a confederation of Germanic tribes first attested in the third century AD as living north and east of the Lower Rhine River. From the third to fifth centuries some Franks raided Roman territory while other Franks joined the Roman troops in Gaul. Only the Salian Franks formed a...
refused to make peace.
Ljudevit raised a rebellion against his Frankish rulers in 819 after he was seriously accused by the Frankish court. The Emperor Louis the Pious
Louis the Pious
Louis the Pious , also called the Fair, and the Debonaire, was the King of Aquitaine from 781. He was also King of the Franks and co-Emperor with his father, Charlemagne, from 813...
(814-840) sent Margrave
Margrave
A margrave or margravine was a medieval hereditary nobleman with military responsibilities in a border province of a kingdom. Border provinces usually had more exposure to military incursions from the outside, compared to interior provinces, and thus a margrave usually had larger and more active...
Cadolah of Friuli
Cadolah of Friuli
Cadolah was the Duke of Friuli from 817 to his death. He was a son of Count Berthold and an Ahalolfinger....
(800-819) to quell the rebellion. The Frankish Frontier forces led by Cadolah have raided the land and tortured the population, most notably the children.
As the Pannonian Slavs were amassing forces, so did the Franks
Franks
The Franks were a confederation of Germanic tribes first attested in the third century AD as living north and east of the Lower Rhine River. From the third to fifth centuries some Franks raided Roman territory while other Franks joined the Roman troops in Gaul. Only the Salian Franks formed a...
led by Cadolah return in 819. But the Frankish forces were soon defeated; and Cadolah himself had to retreat back to his home Friuli
Friuli
Friuli is an area of northeastern Italy with its own particular cultural and historical identity. It comprises the major part of the autonomous region Friuli-Venezia Giulia, i.e. the province of Udine, Pordenone, Gorizia, excluding Trieste...
, where soon he died of disease.
In July 819 on the Council in Ingelheim Ljudevit's emissaries offered truce conditions, but Emperor Louis refused; demanding more concessions to him. Ljudevit started to gather allies for his plight. His original ally was Duke Borna 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....
(Dux Dalmatiae et Liburniae) - the leader of the Guduscani
Guduscani
The Guduscani were an indetermined tribe on the then western border with the Avar Khaganate, around present day Gacka , between upper Kupa river and the Dalmatian coast...
(Gačani), but the Frankish ruler had promised Borna that he would make him Prince of Pannonia if he helped the Franks to crush Ljudevit's rebellion; so Borna accepted. Ljudevit found assistance among the Karantanian and Carniolan
March of Carniola
The March of Carniola was a southeastern state of the Holy Roman Empire in the High Middle Ages, the predecessor of the Duchy of Carniola. It corresponded roughly to the central Carniolan region of present-day Slovenia...
Slavs who, as neighbours of the margravate of Friuli
Friuli
Friuli is an area of northeastern Italy with its own particular cultural and historical identity. It comprises the major part of the autonomous region Friuli-Venezia Giulia, i.e. the province of Udine, Pordenone, Gorizia, excluding Trieste...
, were jeopardized the same as the Pannonians. The Serbs
Serbs
The Serbs are a South Slavic ethnic group of the Balkans and southern Central Europe. Serbs are located mainly in Serbia, Montenegro and Bosnia and Herzegovina, and form a sizable minority in Croatia, the Republic of Macedonia and Slovenia. Likewise, Serbs are an officially recognized minority in...
around the valley of Timok
Timok
-Places:*Timočka Krajina, a region in Serbia*Timok , a river in Serbia and Bulgaria**Beli Timok, a river in Serbia**Trgoviški Timok, a river in Serbia**Svrljiški Timok, a river in Serbia**Crni Timok, a river in Serbia-Other:...
- Timočani
Timocani
The Timočani or Timochani were a medieval South Slavic tribe that lived in the territory of present-day eastern Serbia, west of the Timok River, as well as in the regions of Banat, Syrmia and west Moesia....
also joined him, because they were jeoperdized by the neighbouring Bulgars
Bulgars
The Bulgars were a semi-nomadic who flourished in the Pontic Steppe and the Volga basin in the 7th century.The Bulgars emerge after the collapse of the Hunnic Empire in the 5th century....
.
The Franks sent a large army led by the new Margrave of Friuli, duke Baldric of Friuli
Baldric of Friuli
Baldric or Balderic was the Duke of Friuli from 819, when he replaced Cadolah according to Thegan of Trier in his Vita Hludowici imperatoris, until 828, when he was removed from office: the last Duke of Friuli.Baldric was an imperial legate in 815, when he crossed into Zealand with an army of...
to meet Ljudevit in autumn, the same year while he was conscripting more Carantanian troops along the river of Drava
Drava
Drava or Drave is a river in southern Central Europe, a tributary of the Danube. It sources in Toblach/Dobbiaco, Italy, and flows east through East Tirol and Carinthia in Austria, into Slovenia , and then southeast, passing through Croatia and forming most of the border between Croatia and...
. The Frankish forces had numerical advantage, so they pushed Ljudevit and his men from Carniola
Carniola
Carniola was a historical region that comprised parts of what is now Slovenia. As part of Austria-Hungary, the region was a crown land officially known as the Duchy of Carniola until 1918. In 1849, the region was subdivided into Upper Carniola, Lower Carniola, and Inner Carniola...
across the Drava
Drava
Drava or Drave is a river in southern Central Europe, a tributary of the Danube. It sources in Toblach/Dobbiaco, Italy, and flows east through East Tirol and Carinthia in Austria, into Slovenia , and then southeast, passing through Croatia and forming most of the border between Croatia and...
. Ljudevit had to fall back to central parts of his realm. Balderic didn't push to chase Ljudevit, since he had to pacify the Karantanians. Duke Borna moved with Ljudevit's father-in-law Dragomuž and their forces from the south-west. At the heat of the Battle of Kupa, near the river Kupa
Kupa River (Croatia)
The Kupa or Kolpa river forms a natural border between north-west Croatia and southeast Slovenia.The Kupa originates in Croatia in the mountainous region of Gorski kotar, northeast of Rijeka, in the area of Risnjak National Park...
, his own Guduscani abandoned Borna and crossed to Ljudevit's side; while Dragomuž was killed. Borna escaped from the battlefield with the help of his bodyguards.
Ljudevit seized the opportunity and breached 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....
in December. His forces raided Dalmatia. Borna was too weak, so the Dalmatian Croats defended themselves through sneaky tactics and used attrition
Attrition warfare
Attrition warfare is a military strategy in which a belligerent side attempts to win a war by wearing down its enemy to the point of collapse through continuous losses in personnel and matériel....
as their best ally to exhaust the Pannonian forces. Harsh winter came to the hill areas, so Ljudevit was forced to return. According to Borna's reports to the Frankish Emperor, Ljudevit suffered heavy casualties: 3,000 soldiers, over 300 horses and lots of food.
War continues
In January of 820, Borna made an alliance with the Frankish Emperor in AachenAachen
Aachen has historically been a spa town in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. Aachen was a favoured residence of Charlemagne, and the place of coronation of the Kings of Germany. Geographically, Aachen is the westernmost town of Germany, located along its borders with Belgium and the Netherlands, ...
. The plan was to crush Ljudevit's realm with a joint-attack from three sides. As soon as the winter retreated, massive Frankish armies were being amassed in Italia
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
, East Francia, Bavaria
Bavaria
Bavaria, formally the Free State of Bavaria is a state of Germany, located in the southeast of Germany. With an area of , it is the largest state by area, forming almost 20% of the total land area of Germany...
, Saxony
Saxony
The Free State of Saxony is a landlocked state of Germany, contingent with Brandenburg, Saxony Anhalt, Thuringia, Bavaria, the Czech Republic and Poland. It is the tenth-largest German state in area, with of Germany's sixteen states....
and Alemannia
Alamanni
The Alamanni, Allemanni, or Alemanni were originally an alliance of Germanic tribes located around the upper Rhine river . One of the earliest references to them is the cognomen Alamannicus assumed by Roman Emperor Caracalla, who ruled the Roman Empire from 211 to 217 and claimed thereby to be...
that were going to simultaneously invade Ljudevit's lands in the spring
Spring (hydrosphere)
A spring—also known as a rising or resurgence—is a component of the hydrosphere. Specifically, it is any natural situation where water flows to the surface of the earth from underground...
. The northern Frankish group moved from Bavaria across Pannonia to make an invasion across the river of Drava. Ljudevit's forces successfully stopped this Army
Army
An army An army An army (from Latin arma "arms, weapons" via Old French armée, "armed" (feminine), in the broadest sense, is the land-based military of a nation or state. It may also include other branches of the military such as the air force via means of aviation corps...
at the river. The southern group moved across the Noric Alps
Noric Alps
The Noric Alps are a mountain range in the Eastern Alps located mostly in Austria with a small area in Slovenia...
, using the road from Aquileia
Aquileia
Aquileia is an ancient Roman city in what is now Italy, at the head of the Adriatic at the edge of the lagoons, about 10 km from the sea, on the river Natiso , the course of which has changed somewhat since Roman times...
to Emona
Emona
Emona or Aemona, short for Colonia Iulia emona, was a Roman castrum founded in 14-15 AD, possibly by the Legio XV Apollinaris , on a territory already populated by ancient settlers of uncertain origin...
. Ljudevit was successful again, as he stopped them before crossing the Alps. The central group moved from Tyrol
County of Tyrol
The County of Tyrol, Princely County from 1504, was a State of the Holy Roman Empire, from 1814 a province of the Austrian Empire and from 1867 a Cisleithanian crown land of Austria-Hungary...
to Carniola
Carniola
Carniola was a historical region that comprised parts of what is now Slovenia. As part of Austria-Hungary, the region was a crown land officially known as the Duchy of Carniola until 1918. In 1849, the region was subdivided into Upper Carniola, Lower Carniola, and Inner Carniola...
. Ljudevit attempted to halt its advance three times, but every single time would the Franks win, using numerical advantage. When this Army reached the Drava
Drava
Drava or Drave is a river in southern Central Europe, a tributary of the Danube. It sources in Toblach/Dobbiaco, Italy, and flows east through East Tirol and Carinthia in Austria, into Slovenia , and then southeast, passing through Croatia and forming most of the border between Croatia and...
, Ljudevit had to fall back to the heart of his realm.
The Franks have opened ways for the southern and northern Armies, so they launched a total invasion. Ljudevit concluded that all resistance would be futile, so he retreated to a stronghold that he built on top of hill that was heavily fortified; while his people took shelter in local forest
Forest
A forest, also referred to as a wood or the woods, is an area with a high density of trees. As with cities, depending where you are in the world, what is considered a forest may vary significantly in size and have various classification according to how and what of the forest is composed...
and swamps. Ljudevit did not negotiate with the Franks. The Franks eventually retreated from his lands, with their ranks thinned by disease which the northern forces caught in the marshes of Drava
Drava
Drava or Drave is a river in southern Central Europe, a tributary of the Danube. It sources in Toblach/Dobbiaco, Italy, and flows east through East Tirol and Carinthia in Austria, into Slovenia , and then southeast, passing through Croatia and forming most of the border between Croatia and...
. The Slavs from Carantania lost their internal independence and were forced to recognize the Friulian margrave Balderic as their ruler, while some remained loyal to Ljudevit. Prince Borna died in 821, and was succeeded by Ljudevit's nephew, Vladislav
Vladislav of Croatia
Vladislav was a nephew and successor of Duke Borna of Littoral Croatia. He reigned, as Duke of Littoral Croatia, from February 821 to ca. 835.Most information about Vladislav is carried by the Royal Frankish Annals when it speaks about Borna's death...
. Emperor Louis recognized as Prince of Dalmatia and Liburnia in February 821 at the Council of Aachen
Council of Aachen
A number of significant councils of the Roman Catholic Church were held at Aachen in the early Middle Ages.In the mixed council of 798, Charlemagne proclaimed a capitulary of eighty-one chapters, largely a repetition of earlier ecclesiastical legislation, that was accepted by the clergy and...
.
The Emperor discussed again about war plans against Ljudevit on that Council. The Franks decided to repeat the progress, and push towards Ljudevit from three sides again. Ljudevit saw that it was obvious that he couldn't fight the Franks on open field, so he began to construct massive fortifications. He was helped by the Venetian Patriarch
Patriarch
Originally a patriarch was a man who exercised autocratic authority as a pater familias over an extended family. The system of such rule of families by senior males is called patriarchy. This is a Greek word, a compound of πατριά , "lineage, descent", esp...
Fortunat who sent him architects and masons from Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
.
During the last and final Frankish invasion of 822, the Patriarch from Grad, Fortunat, who was a supporter of Ljudevit, fled to Zadar
Zadar
Zadar is a city in Croatia on the Adriatic Sea. It is the centre of Zadar county and the wider northern Dalmatian region. Population of the city is 75,082 citizens...
into exile with the Byzantines
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...
.
Flight to the Serbs
According to the Royal Frankish AnnalsRoyal Frankish Annals
The Royal Frankish Annals or Annals of the Kingdom of the Franks ,are annals covering the history of early Carolingian monarchs from 741 to 829. Their composition seems to have soon been taken up at court, providing them with markedly official character...
, in 822, Ljudevit went from his seat in Sisak
Sisak
Sisak is a city in central Croatia. The city's population in 2011 was 33,049, with a total of 49,699 in the administrative region and it is also the administrative centre of the Sisak-Moslavina county...
to the Serbs
Serbs
The Serbs are a South Slavic ethnic group of the Balkans and southern Central Europe. Serbs are located mainly in Serbia, Montenegro and Bosnia and Herzegovina, and form a sizable minority in Croatia, the Republic of Macedonia and Slovenia. Likewise, Serbs are an officially recognized minority in...
somewhere in western Bosnia
History of Bosnia and Herzegovina (until 958)
Within the boundaries of today’s Bosnia and Herzegovina, there have been many layers of prehistoric cultures whose creation and disappearance are linked to migrations of unidentified ethnic groups.-Prehistory:...
who controlled a great part of Dalmatia (Roman province)
Dalmatia (Roman province)
Dalmatia was an ancient Roman province. Its name is probably derived from the name of an Illyrian tribe called the Dalmatae which lived in the area of the eastern Adriatic coast in Classical antiquity....
. Some Croatian historians (f.e. Nada Klaić
Nada Klaic
Nada Klaić was a Croatian historian. She was influential and controversial Croatian medievalist of the 20th century.-Academic career:...
) claim that the place Ljudevit fled to was Srb
Srb
Srb is a village located in the southeastern part of Lika, in Croatia, administratively divided into Donji Srb and Gornji Srb . Srb lies in the Una River valley, on the road from Donji Lapac to Knin, and is east of Gračac. It is currently part of the Gračac municipality.In the census of 1991, when...
on the mouth of Una (in Lika
Lika
Lika is a mountainous region in central Croatia, roughly bound by the Velebit mountain from the southwest and the Plješevica mountain from the northeast. On the north-west end Lika is bounded by Ogulin-Plaški basin, and on the south-east by the Malovan pass...
, 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 ...
) but other historians dispute this as unfounded. Another array of historians reject the possibility that Ljudevit went to the Serbs at all - but to the actual city of Srb and the Lord whom he killed was a local nobleman - although this is an ongoing controversy. Ljudevit was welcomed at the local Serbian ruler's court, but he tricked him, killing him and then taking the power for himself. Some believe the Serbian ruler was an ally of the Franks
Franks
The Franks were a confederation of Germanic tribes first attested in the third century AD as living north and east of the Lower Rhine River. From the third to fifth centuries some Franks raided Roman territory while other Franks joined the Roman troops in Gaul. Only the Salian Franks formed a...
and Ljudevit thought that he was about to betray him. Ljudevit soon sent an envoy to the Frankish court, claiming that he is ready to recognize the Frankish Emperor Louis the Pious as his supreme ruler.
Ljudevit's reign was not very well accepted amongst the Serbs, so he fled to Borna's uncle, Ljudemisl of Dalmatia. Ljudemisl had Ljudevit killed in 823.
See also
- History of CroatiaHistory of CroatiaCroatia 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...
- History of SerbiaHistory of SerbiaThe history of Serbia, as a country, begins with the Slavic settlements in the Balkans, established in the 6th century in territories governed by the Byzantine Empire. Through centuries, the Serbian realm evolved into a Kingdom , then an Empire , before the Ottomans annexed it in 1540...
- History of SloveniaHistory of SloveniaThe history of Slovenia chronicles the period of the Slovene territory from the 5th Century BC to the present times. In the Early Bronze Age, Proto-Illyrian tribes settled an area stretching from present-day Albania to the city of Trieste. The Holy Roman Empire controlled the land for nearly 1,000...
- List of rulers of Croatia
- List of Serbian rulers
- Royal Frankish AnnalsRoyal Frankish AnnalsThe Royal Frankish Annals or Annals of the Kingdom of the Franks ,are annals covering the history of early Carolingian monarchs from 741 to 829. Their composition seems to have soon been taken up at court, providing them with markedly official character...
of the FrankishFranksThe Franks were a confederation of Germanic tribes first attested in the third century AD as living north and east of the Lower Rhine River. From the third to fifth centuries some Franks raided Roman territory while other Franks joined the Roman troops in Gaul. Only the Salian Franks formed a...
historian EinhardEinhardEinhard was a Frankish scholar and courtier. Einhard was a dedicated servant of Charlemagne and his son Louis the Pious; his main work is a biography of Charlemagne, the Vita Karoli Magni, "one of the most precious literary bequests of the early Middle Ages."-Public life:Einhard was from the eastern...