Stephen II (died 1091) was the last 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...

 and last native 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 king to rule the entire medieval 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...

. Stephen's father was Častimir, the younger brother of Peter Krešimir IV of Croatia.

He was due to succeed Peter Krešimir IV, but was sidelined by the people and clergy in 1075 who instead bestowed the title of king to Demetrius Zvonimir, previously a 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...

 in Slavonia

Slavonia

Slavonia is a geographical and historical region in eastern Croatia...

. Demetrius Zvonimir was a member of the junior Trpimirović branch the Svetoslavić's (descendants of Svetoslav Suronja

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....

). By the time Dmitar Zvonimir died in 1089, Stephen was old and seriously affected by ill health. Nevertheless, he assumed the throne after being persuaded by the aristocracy and clergy.

Stephen's rule was relatively ineffectual and lasted less than two years. He spent most of this time in the tranquility of the monastery of Sv. Stjepan pod Borovima (St. Stephen beneath the Pines) near 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...

. Zvonimir's widow, Queen Jelena

Jelena Lijepa

-Biography:Helen was born a Hungarian princess and was the daughter of Árpád dynasty's King Bela I, sister to King Ladislaus I of Hungary, granddaughter of Polish King Mieszko II Lambert, and a great-granddaughter of Tsar Samuil of Bulgaria....

, reportedly plotted the inheritance of the Croatian Crown for her brother, King Ladislaus I of Hungary.

Stephen II died peacefully in December 1090, or at the beginning of 1091, without leaving an heir. War and unrest broke out in Croatia shortly afterward, with the southern nobility electing Petar Svačić

Petar Svacic

Petar Svačić was the last king of Croatia. It is assumed that he began as a ban serving under king Demetrius Zvonimir of Croatia and was then elected king by the Croatian feudal lords in 1093. Petar's seat of power was based in Knin. His rule was marked by a struggle for control of the country...

 as King of Croatia in 1093, immediately entering into conflict with the Hungarian king Ladislaus.