Principality of Dalmatian Croatia

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      Principality of Dalmatian Croatia
      Dalmatinska Hrvatska
      c. 8th century–925 →
      The Croatian Principality c. 850. Savia was probably under direct Frankish rule
      Capital Not specified
      Languages Latin
      Religion Christian, later Roman Catholic
      Government Monarchy
      Knez
      =Prince (Duke)
       -  803-821 Borna (first) de jure
       -  845-864 Trpimir I
       -  910–925 Tomislav
      Historical era Medieval
       -  Establishment c. 8th century
       -  Tomislav crowned as king 925
      Today part of  Croatia
       Bosnia and Herzegovina

      Dalmatian Croatia (Croatian: Dalmatinska Hrvatska), also Littoral Croatia (Primorska Hrvatska),[note 1] is a name for a region of what used to be a medieval Croatian 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[2] 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).

      Geography

      Within the defined Littoral Croatia, various tribal groupings, which were called sclaviniae by the Byzantines, were settled along the Adriatic coast. The nearest one, the land of the Narentines, 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.

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      History

      Early

      Delegation of Croats and Serbs to Basil I, in the Madrid Skylitzes.
      “ From that point on, they were independent, and demanded to be baptised from the bishop of Rome, and was sent to them to be baptised in the time of their duke Porga. Their land was divided in eleven županija, which are: Hlebiana, Tzenzena, Emota, Pleba, Pesenta, Parathalassia, Brebere, Nona, Tnena, Sidraga, Nina, and their ban (boanos) has Kribasan, Litzan, Goutzeska ”

      —Constantine Porphyrogenitus in De Administrando Imperio

      In the 9th century, Croatia emerged as a political entity with a duke (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.

      The Croatian noble tribes that had a right to choose Croatian duke were from Dalmatia: Karinjani and Lapčani, Polečići, Tugomirići, Kukari, Snačići, Gusići, Šubići (from which later developed very powerful noble family Zrinski), Mogorovići, Lačničići, Jamometići and Kačići.

      Trpimir I

      Duke Mislav 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 Bulgarian 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)[citation needed], 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.[citation needed] 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.

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      See also

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      Notes

      1. ^ The term "Littoral Croatia" (Primorska Hrvatska), has been used by older Croatian historians to describe this entity in a manner that emphasizes its Croatian nature, but contemporary sources did not actually use the Croatian name as such until the latter half of the 9th century, rendering the name anachronistic before then.[1]
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      References

      1. ^ Goldstein, 1985, pp. 241–242
      2. ^ Ferdo Šišić, Povijest Hrvata; pregled povijesti hrvatskog naroda 600. - 1918., Zagreb ISBN 953-214-197-9
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      Sources

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      External links

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      Last modified on 20 February 2013, at 05:57