Stjepan Držislav
Encyclopedia
Stephen Držislav (died 997) was a King of Croatia
from 969 AD until his death in 997. He was a member of the Trpimirović dynasty
. He ruled from Biograd with Godemir as his Ban
.
and his wife, queen Jelena of Zadar
. Jelena acted as a regent for the young king from 969 until her death in 976. In a war of Byzantine
emperor Basil II
against Tsar
Samuil of Bulgaria
, Stjepan Držislav allied with the Byzantines
. After the Byzantine Emperor Basil II
managed to defend every single coastal Adriatic City during Samuil's rampage towards Zadar
in 986, the cities were returned to Croatian control. Samuil, however, conquered the territories of Bosnia
between the rivers of Drina
and Bosna
. Samuil pursued some of his cousins during the war and they often sought help in Croatia. King Držislav had taken fourteen of them, gave them hospitality and a residence near Klis. According to the Archbishop of Split Martin, in 994. they collected money for the construction of St. Michael church in Solin
.
The Eastern Roman Emperor eventually promoted Stjepan Držislav to a Patriarch
and an Exarch
of Dalmatia
(the Dalmatian cities in particular). Stjepan Držislav received royal insigia as an act of recognition from the Byzantine Emperor. He was crowned by the Archbishop of Split in Biograd in 988.
Držislav built on his parents' feats and secured sovereignty over the Dalmatia
n thema, lost to Byzantium
under Trpimir II. The thema of Dalmatia at that time included the towns (but not the hinterland) of Krk
, Osor
, Rab
, Zadar
, Trogir
and Split
. He also delegated much of his authority to his powerful governors (bans
). He also invested considerable effort integrating the Latin
minority with the Croatian majority.
by Thomas the Archdeacon
, when describing the regin of Croatian king Stephen Držislav in late 10th century, notes that Duchy of Hum
(Chulmie) was a part of the Kingdom of Croatia
, before and after Stjepan Držislav.
In 996, Venetian Doge
Pietro II Orseolo
stopped paying tax for safe to the Croatian King after a century of peace, renewing old hostilities. Stjepan Držislav, together with the Neretvians, restored naval conflicts with the Venetian ships, but with little success. He sent delegates demanding the tribute to be paid, but the Doge was again reluctant and continued the war. Držislav died shorly after, leaving the country separated among his sons, which was used in advance for Venice. Before the end of his reign, Stjepan Držislav gave Svetoslav, his oldest son, the title of Duke
and Svetoslav became his co-ruler. Držislav was preparing Svetoslav to be his successor. It is probable that Svetoslav ruled concurrently with his father during the 990s. Stone panels from the altar of a 10th century church in Knin
, reveal the following inscription in Latin: CLV DUX HROATOR IN TE PUS D IRZISCLV DUCE MAGNU. In English, this means: Svetoslav, Duke of the Croats at the time of Drzislav the Great Duke . The stone panels are kept at the Museum of Croatian Archaeological Monuments in Split
.
Držislav's rule was one of the longest of Kings in Croatia, spanning nearly three decades. He had three sons: Svetoslav
, Krešimir
, and Gojslav
, and all three of them were to hold the title of King of Croatia over the following decades. Stjepan Držislav died in 997, leaving his descendants to struggle for control over the Croatian Kingdom.
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...
from 969 AD until his death in 997. He was a member of the Trpimirović dynasty
Trpimirovic dynasty
Trpimirović dynasty was a native Croat dynasty that ruled, with interruptions, from 845 until 1091 in Croatia and was named after Trpimir I, the first member and the founder...
. He ruled from Biograd with Godemir as his Ban
Ban (title)
Ban was a title used in several states in central and south-eastern Europe between the 7th century and the 20th century.-Etymology:The word ban has entered the English language probably as a borrowing from South Slavic ban, meaning "lord, master; ruler". The Slavic word is probably borrowed from...
.
Early period
Stjepan Držislav was a son of king Mihajlo Krešimir IIMihajlo Krešimir II
Michael Krešimir II was a King of Croatia from 949 to his death in 969. He was a member of the House of Trpimir. Krešimir II was a son of Krešimir I and the younger brother of Miroslav, who preceded him as King of Croatia in 945....
and his wife, queen Jelena of Zadar
Jelena of Zadar
Helen I , also known as Helen of Zadar or Helen the Glorious, was the queen consort of the Kingdom of Croatia, the wife of King Michael Krešimir II. They jointly ruled from 946 to 969, a period which was allegedly marked by "peace, order and expeditious growth"...
. Jelena acted as a regent for the young king from 969 until her death in 976. In a war of Byzantine
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...
emperor Basil II
Basil II
Basil II , known in his time as Basil the Porphyrogenitus and Basil the Young to distinguish him from his ancestor Basil I the Macedonian, was a Byzantine emperor from the Macedonian dynasty who reigned from 10 January 976 to 15 December 1025.The first part of his long reign was dominated...
against Tsar
Tsar
Tsar is a title used to designate certain European Slavic monarchs or supreme rulers. As a system of government in the Tsardom of Russia and Russian Empire, it is known as Tsarist autocracy, or Tsarism...
Samuil of Bulgaria
Samuil of Bulgaria
Samuel was the Emperor of the First Bulgarian Empire from 997 to 6 October 1014. From 980 to 997, he was a general under Roman I of Bulgaria, the second surviving son of Emperor Peter I of Bulgaria, and co-ruled with him, as Roman bestowed upon him the command of the army and the effective royal...
, Stjepan Držislav allied 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...
. After the Byzantine Emperor Basil II
Basil II
Basil II , known in his time as Basil the Porphyrogenitus and Basil the Young to distinguish him from his ancestor Basil I the Macedonian, was a Byzantine emperor from the Macedonian dynasty who reigned from 10 January 976 to 15 December 1025.The first part of his long reign was dominated...
managed to defend every single coastal Adriatic City during Samuil's rampage towards 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...
in 986, the cities were returned to Croatian control. Samuil, however, conquered the territories of Bosnia
Bosnia (region)
Bosnia is a eponomous region of Bosnia and Herzegovina. It lies mainly in the Dinaric Alps, ranging to the southern borders of the Pannonian plain, with the rivers Sava and Drina marking its northern and eastern borders. The other eponomous region, the southern, other half of the country is...
between the rivers of Drina
Drina
The Drina is a 346 kilometer long river, which forms most of the border between Bosnia and Herzegovina and Serbia. It is the longest tributary of the Sava River and the longest karst river in the Dinaric Alps which belongs to the Danube river watershed...
and Bosna
Bosna
The Bosna is the third longest river in Bosnia and Herzegovina, and is considered one of the country's three major internal rivers, along with the Neretva and Vrbas Rivers; the other three major rivers of Bosnia and Herzegovina are the Una, to the northwest, the Sava, to the north, and the Drina,...
. Samuil pursued some of his cousins during the war and they often sought help in Croatia. King Držislav had taken fourteen of them, gave them hospitality and a residence near Klis. According to the Archbishop of Split Martin, in 994. they collected money for the construction of St. Michael church in Solin
Solin
Solin is a town in Dalmatia, Croatia. It is situated northeast of Split, on the Adriatic Sea and the river Jadro.Solin developed on the location of ancient town of Salona which was the capital of the Roman province of Dalmatia and the birthplace of Emperor Diocletian...
.
The Eastern Roman Emperor eventually promoted Stjepan Držislav to a 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...
and an Exarch
Exarch
In the Byzantine Empire, an exarch was governor with extended authority of a province at some remove from the capital Constantinople. The prevailing situation frequently involved him in military operations....
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....
(the Dalmatian cities in particular). Stjepan Držislav received royal insigia as an act of recognition from the Byzantine Emperor. He was crowned by the Archbishop of Split in Biograd in 988.
Držislav built on his parents' feats and secured sovereignty over the 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....
n thema, lost to Byzantium
Byzantium
Byzantium was an ancient Greek city, founded by Greek colonists from Megara in 667 BC and named after their king Byzas . The name Byzantium is a Latinization of the original name Byzantion...
under Trpimir II. The thema of Dalmatia at that time included the towns (but not the hinterland) of Krk
Krk
Krk is a Croatian island in the northern Adriatic Sea, located near Rijeka in the Bay of Kvarner and part of the Primorje-Gorski Kotar county....
, Osor
Osor
Osor is a village and a small port on the Cres island in Primorje-Gorski Kotar County in western Croatia.Osor lies at a narrow channel that separates islands Cres and Lošinj. The channel was built in Roman times to make sailing possible. Now the islands are connected with a rotating bridge.The...
, Rab
Rab
Rab is an island in Croatia and a town of the same name located just off the northern Croatian coast in the Adriatic Sea.The island is long, has an area of and 9,480 inhabitants . The highest peak is Kamenjak at 408 meters...
, 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...
, Trogir
Trogir
Trogir is a historic town and harbour on the Adriatic coast in Split-Dalmatia County, Croatia, with a population of 12,995 and a total municipality population of 13,322 . The historic city of Trogir is situated on a small island between the Croatian mainland and the island of Čiovo...
and Split
Split (city)
Split is a Mediterranean city on the eastern shores of the Adriatic Sea, centered around the ancient Roman Palace of the Emperor Diocletian and its wide port bay. With a population of 178,192 citizens, and a metropolitan area numbering up to 467,899, Split is by far the largest Dalmatian city and...
. He also delegated much of his authority to his powerful governors (bans
Ban (title)
Ban was a title used in several states in central and south-eastern Europe between the 7th century and the 20th century.-Etymology:The word ban has entered the English language probably as a borrowing from South Slavic ban, meaning "lord, master; ruler". The Slavic word is probably borrowed from...
). He also invested considerable effort integrating the 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...
minority with the Croatian majority.
Rule
The historical work Historia SalonitanaHistoria Salonitana
Historia Salonitana by Thomas the Archdeacon is a historic chronicle from the 13th century which contains significant information about the early history of the Croats.It was first published by Ivan Lučić Lucius...
by Thomas the Archdeacon
Thomas the Archdeacon
Thomas the Archdeacon was a medieval Dalmatian historian and Archdeacon of Split most remembered for Historia Salonitana, a chronicle of the Bishops and Archbishops of Split until 1266....
, when describing the regin of Croatian king Stephen Držislav in late 10th century, notes that Duchy of Hum
Zachlumia
Zachlumia or Zahumlje was a medieval principality located in modern-day regions of Herzegovina and southern Dalmatia...
(Chulmie) was a part of the Kingdom of Croatia
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...
, before and after Stjepan Držislav.
In 996, Venetian Doge
Doge of Venice
The Doge of Venice , often mistranslated Duke was the chief magistrate and leader of the Most Serene Republic of Venice for over a thousand years. Doges of Venice were elected for life by the city-state's aristocracy. Commonly the person selected as Doge was the shrewdest elder in the city...
Pietro II Orseolo
Pietro II Orseolo
Pietro II Orseolo was the Doge of Venice from 991 to 1009.He began the period of eastern expansion of Venice that lasted for the better part of 500 years...
stopped paying tax for safe to the Croatian King after a century of peace, renewing old hostilities. Stjepan Držislav, together with the Neretvians, restored naval conflicts with the Venetian ships, but with little success. He sent delegates demanding the tribute to be paid, but the Doge was again reluctant and continued the war. Držislav died shorly after, leaving the country separated among his sons, which was used in advance for Venice. Before the end of his reign, Stjepan Držislav gave Svetoslav, his oldest son, the title of Duke
Duke
A duke or duchess is a member of the nobility, historically of highest rank below the monarch, and historically controlling a duchy...
and Svetoslav became his co-ruler. Držislav was preparing Svetoslav to be his successor. It is probable that Svetoslav ruled concurrently with his father during the 990s. Stone panels from the altar of a 10th century church in 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...
, reveal the following inscription in Latin: CLV DUX HROATOR IN TE PUS D IRZISCLV DUCE MAGNU. In English, this means: Svetoslav, Duke of the Croats at the time of Drzislav the Great Duke . The stone panels are kept at the Museum of Croatian Archaeological Monuments in Split
Split (city)
Split is a Mediterranean city on the eastern shores of the Adriatic Sea, centered around the ancient Roman Palace of the Emperor Diocletian and its wide port bay. With a population of 178,192 citizens, and a metropolitan area numbering up to 467,899, Split is by far the largest Dalmatian city and...
.
Držislav's rule was one of the longest of Kings in Croatia, spanning nearly three decades. He had three sons: Svetoslav
Svetoslav Suronja
Svetoslav Suronja was King of Croatia from 997 to 1000. He was a member of House of Trpimirović. He reigned with the help of his Ban, Varda. His name was Svetoslav, but because of his physiology and, probably, his temper, he was nicknamed Suronja which could be translated as dark man or cold man....
, Krešimir
Krešimir III of Croatia
Krešimir III was a King of Croatia in 1000–1030 from the House of Trpimirović and founder of its cadet line House of Krešimirović. He was the middle son of former King Stjepan Držislav. Until 1020, he co-ruled with his brother Gojslav.-Reign:...
, and Gojslav
Gojslav of Croatia
Gojslav was a monarch who co-ruled the Kingdom of Croatia with his brother Krešimir III from 1000 to his death in 1020. He was the youngest son of the former Croatian King Stjepan Držislav and a member of royal House of Trpimirović.- Revolt and reign :...
, and all three of them were to hold the title of King of Croatia over the following decades. Stjepan Držislav died in 997, leaving his descendants to struggle for control over the Croatian Kingdom.