Struggle with Venice and Byzantium in 1202 by the Crusaders and Venetians. By 1107 King Coloman controlled most of
former Byzantine coastal cities in Dalmatia. Since those cities were important,
Hungarians and
Croats often fought with Venice and the
Byzantines for the region. In 1116, after the death of Coloman, Venice attacked the Dalmatian coast, defeated the army of Croatian Ban Cledin and seized Biograd, Split, Trogir, Šibenik, Zadar and several islands. King
Stephen II, Coloman's successor, unsuccessfully tried to regain the lost cities in 1117, although the Doge of Venice
Ordelafo Faliero was killed in a battle near Zadar. A five-year truce was signed, confirming the
status quo. In 1124 Stephen II again attacked the Venetian holdings and regained Biograd, Split, Šibenik and Trogir, but Zadar and the islands remained under Venetian control. However, in 1125 Doge
Domenico Michele reconquered those cities and razed Biograd. In 1131
Béla II succeeded to the throne and in 1133 won back the lost cities except Zadar. In 1167 a part of Croatia south of
Krka River, as well as Bosnia, was conquered by the Byzantines and remained under their control until the death of Emperor
Manuel I Komnenos in 1180, when the Byzantine Empire
relinquished the acquired lands. After 1180 area under the administration of ban increased, but his domain and scope of activities were not yet fully formulated. Following the death of Emperor Manuel I Komnenos the Byzantine Empire was no longer able to maintain its power consistently in Dalmatia. Soon Zadar rebelled against Venice and became a constant battleground until 1202 when, during the
Fourth Crusade, the Venetians under Doge
Enrico Dandolo and the Crusaders
sacked Zadar (Zara), despite the fact that King Emeric pledged himself to join the Crusade. It was the first attack against a Catholic city by the Crusaders. Venice demanded this as a compensation for their transport further east towards Constantinople, where they later founded the
Latin Empire.
Feudalisation and relations between nobles , a Croatian law code in
Glagolitic script from 1288. In the 12th century, under the influence of the
feudal system that flourished in medieval Europe and prevailed in Hungary and Croatia, a layer of powerful noble families was formed in Croatia. Those families were mostly descendants of the original
twelve noble Croatian tribes. Nobility created by the monarchs or based upon royal service never existed in Croatia. Those nobles held and administered whole counties, presided over local courts and enforced their decisions, therefore local population was entirely separated from any state organisation. Most prominent Croatian noble families of the 12th and early 13th century were the
Šubić (or Princes of Bribir), divided among various branches of the family and ruling over inland Dalmatia with their seat in
Bribir; the
Babonić in western Slavonia and along the right bank of the Kupa River; the
Kačić between the Cetina and Neretva rivers with their seat in Omiš, known for practicing piracy; and the
Frankopan (then known as the Princes of Krk), ruling over the island of
Krk, Kvarner and the County of Modruš in northern Lika. Besides these main noble families, there were other less powerful ones, such as the families of
Gusić (later with prominent branch
Kurjaković),
Kukar,
Lapčan and Karinjan,
Mogorović, and
Tugomirić. During this period and as result of the
Second Crusade (1145–1149), the
Knights Templar and the
Knights Hospitaller gained considerable property and assets in Croatia. The first grants in favor of the Christian orders were given by
Bosnian Ban Borić. By the end of the 12th century the Templars had possessions in
Vrana, Senj,
Nova Ves near Zagreb, etc. In 1221 a war broke out between
Domald, who was then Prince of Split and Count of Cetina, and the Šubić family over the ownership of Split. Domald's family ties are unknown, but he was probably from the Snačić or the Kačić family. Domald also held Šibenik and Klis fortress and briefly took Zadar from Venice in 1209. The citizens of Split expelled Domald in 1221 and elected Višan Šubić from Zvonigrad near Knin as their prince. Although the Šubić family was victorious, another war started among its members,
Gregory III Šubić of Bribir and Višan. Gregory Šubić won, executed Višan and took his lands, thus securing supremacy in the Šubić family. Domald was still in possession of Klis and had ambitions to retake Split. In the course of the war Domald lost Klis and then allied himself with the Kačić family. In 1229 Domald managed to defeat Gregory's deputy in Split and was re-elected as the prince of Split. However, by 1231 Gregory returned to his position in Split. After Gregory died Domald took advantage of the new situation and for the second time reclaimed Split in 1235, but lost it 2 years after to Gregory's son Marko I Šubić of Bribir. War with Domald was finally over when Stjepko Šubić defeated and captured him in Klis.
Coloman, brother of King Béla, was severely wounded and was taken south to Croatia, where he died of his wounds.
Batu Khan sent his cousin
Kadan with an army of 10,000–20,000 to pursue King Béla, who fled to Croatia. In 1242 the Mongols crossed the Drava river and started plundering the Slavonian counties of
Požega and
Križevci. They sacked the towns of
Čazma and
Zagreb, whose
cathedral was burned. The nobility, together with King Béla, moved south to the
fortress of Klis,
Split,
Trogir and the surrounding islands. In March 1242 the Mongols were near Split and started attacking
Klis, since they thought King Béla, who was at the time in Trogir, was hiding there, but failed to capture its fortress. The later kings sought to restore their influence by giving certain privileges to the towns, making them
free royal cities, thus separating them from the authority of the local nobles.
Varaždin acquired the status of a free city in 1220,
Vukovar in 1231 and
Virovitica in 1234 from King Andrew II.
Petrinja gained that status in 1240, Gradec (excluding
Kaptol, where the
bishop of Zagreb resided, that was under its own administration) in 1242,
Samobor in 1242,
Križevci in 1252, and
Jastrebarsko in 1257. Free cities elected their own councils, had their own administration and courts, collected their own taxes and managed their economies and trade. In Zagreb, the bishop's town, Kaptol, supported Charles Martel, while Gradec supported Andrew, which led to bitter fighting in the area. After Charles Martel died in 1295 his rights to the throne passed to his son,
Charles I (also known as Charles Robert). Croatian and Hungarian nobles eventually accepted Andrew III as King, but a new revolt started when in 1299 Andrew named his uncle, Albertino Morosini as heir, since he had no sons. Paul sent his brother, George I Šubić, to Rome to gain papal approval for their requests and bring Charles I to Croatia, where he arrived in August 1300. Andrew III died in January 1301 and brought the Árpád dynasty to an end. Ban Paul Šubić accompanied Charles I to Zagreb, where he was recognized as king. In March 1301 the Archbishop crowned him with a provisional crown King of Hungary and Croatia in
Esztergom. In 1304 Ban Mladen I was killed in Bosnia. Paul carried out a campaign against Bosnia to reaffirm his authority, bringing more of its lands under his rule, as Paul referred to himself from 1305 as "lord of all Bosnia" (). He appointed his second son,
Mladen II, Ban of Bosnia, and in 1305 his third son,
Paul II, became the Prince of Split. Paul issued his own money and was for all practical purposes an independent ruler. In 1311 Paul triggered a successful rebellion in Zadar against Venetian rule. War with Venice continued after Paul's death on 1 May 1312, who was succeeded by his son Mladen II. With Paul's death began a gradual decline of the Bribir Princes. Venice eventually restored their rule in Zadar in 1313. After the decline of the Šubić family,
Ivan Nelipić had risen to become the dominant figure in Croatia. He seized the royal city of Knin, which led to the removal of John Babonić from his banship and the appointment of
Nicholas Felsőlendvai and later Mikcs Ákos, whose army was defeated in 1326 by Ivan Nelipić. Thus all of Croatia from Lika and Krbava to the Cetina River was in fact outside the king's authority. Nelipić had tense relations with the Šubići and had frequent conflicts with them. During these conflicts Venice took control over Split in 1327 and Nin in 1329, gaining most of the coast from Zrmanja River to the mouth of the Cetina. At the same time,
Stephen II Kotromanić, Ban of Bosnia, annexed the territory between Cetina and Neretva, as well as Imotski, Duvno, Livno i Glamoč. Over the remainder of Croatia Ivan Nelipić ruled independently from Knin until his death in 1344. Following that Louis I restored royal power in Croatia and pacified the country by the end of 1345.
Nicholas Hahót was the first appointed royal official in decades, who styled himself Ban of Slavonia, Croatia and Dalmatia, merging the two positions and extending his influence to the Croatian territories as well to represent the royal authority.
Territorial changes in Dalmatia (1358). In 1345 Zadar again rebelled against Venice, but after a lengthy siege in late 1346 the Venetians regained the city. In retaliation for the rebellion Venice destroyed Zadar's sea walls, confiscated weapons from its citizens and sent a Venetian to be the town's governor. King Louis I signed an eight-year peace treaty with Venice in 1348. In 1356, after the end of the peace treaty, King Louis invaded Venetian territories without a former declaration of war. The Croatian army was led by Ban John Csúz of
Ludbreg. Split, Trogir, and Šibenik soon got rid of the Venetian governors, while Zadar fell after a short siege. As Louis at the same time fought successfully in northern Italy, Venice was forced to sign the
Treaty of Zadar on 18 February 1358. With the Treaty King Louis gained power over the entire area of Dalmatia, from the island of
Cres to
Durrës in Albania, including Dubrovnik (Ragusa), which acted as an independent unit. The Doge of Venice had to renounce its title "Duke of Croatia and Dalmatia".
Anti-court movement Following the death of Louis I in 1382 his wife
Elizabeth of Bosnia acted as
regent of the eleven-year-old
Queen Mary. Her accession was denied by some noblemen who considered that King
Charles III of Naples was the lawful heir to the throne. In Croatia
John of Palisna, prior of Vrana, was the first to rise against Elizabeth. He was mainly opposed to the centralizing policy which Elizabeth's husband had enforced. He was accompanied by
Tvrtko I of Bosnia, who was crowned as
King of Bosnia in 1371. John was ultimately defeated by Elizabeth's army that seized his town of Varna and forced him to flee to Bosnia. After a brief period of peace a new movement against Queen Mary and Elizabeth emerged in 1385 that was led by
John Horvat,
Ban of Macsó, and his brother
Paul Horvat, Bishop of Zagreb. in the early 15th century. The two brothers were joined by John of Palisna, who had been named Ban of Croatia, Dalmatia, and Slavonia in 1385 by Charles III. They assisted Charles in deposing Queen Mary who renounced the crown without resistance in late 1385, but Elizabeth soon had him murdered in February 1386. The Horvat brothers rose up in open rebellion on behalf of the murdered king's son,
Ladislaus of Naples. On 25 July 1386 they attacked Queen Mary, Elizabeth and their retinue at Gorjani and captured the queens. Mary and her mother were imprisoned and held in captivity at the bishop of Zagreb's castle of Gomnec. Elizabeth and Mary were soon sent to
Novigrad Castle, with John of Palisna as their new jailer. Elizabeth was tried and found guilty of inciting Charles' murder. In January 1387
Sigismund of Luxemburg, husband of Queen Mary, marched towards Novigrad to rescue the queens. When news of Sigismund's approach reached Novigrad, Elizabeth was strangled in her prison in Mary's presence. As the throne could no longer be left vacant, Sigismund was crowned king on 31 March 1387 at Székesfehérvár. ,
Grand Duke of Bosnia as depicted in
Hrvoje's Missal (1404) The situation changed in 1393, when Tvrtko's successor,
Stephen Dabiša, made peace with Sigismund. He returned Tvrtko's recent acquisitions, but was allowed to keep the territories in western Bosnia that had been conquered in 1385. Hrvoje Vukčić also submitted in 1393. In July 1394 Sigismund took
Dobor in Bosnia and captured John Horvat, thus ending the uprising of the Horvats. On Queen Mary's orders, as a revenge of her mother's death, John was tortured to death in
Pécs. Sigismund had an unsuccessful campaign against the Kingdom of Bosnia in 1398, after which new Bosnian King
Stephen Ostoja and Hrvoje moved onto the offensive. Zadar submitted to Hrvoje in 1401 and with the help of
Ivaniš Nelipčić, who controlled most of the Cetina county, Hrvoje gained control over Split in 1403. During these years Sigismund lost support from the Frankopans, but retained the loyalty of
Kurjakovići (branch of Gusić's), the Berislavići and the
princes of Zrin. However, Ladislaus' passivity and hesitation to move towards Buda distressed his followers, so Sigismund offered an amnesty to all those who had opposed him. Many Hungarian and Croatian nobles, including the Frankopans, accepted it and sided with Sigismund. Due to a conflict with Hrvoje Vukčić, Bosnian nobility ousted Stephen Ostoja in 1404 and put on the throne
Tvrtko II who reigned as Hrvoje's puppet king. Ostoja fled to Hungary and sided with Sigismund. Hrvoje was able to withstand several Sigismund's military interventions until 1408 when the Bosnian nobility was severely defeated in the
Battle of Dobor. In January 1409 it was announced that Hrvoje had submitted to Sigismund and that Ostoja was restored to the Bosnian throne. By this Sigismund had put an end to the unrest in Hungary, Bosnia and Croatia. Eventually in 1409 Ladislaus sold his rights in Dalmatia to Venice for 100,000 ducats in an attempt to gain allies in the upcoming war against the
Republic of Florence.
Ottoman wars monument in
Trogir. in 1493. After the conquest of the Byzantine Empire in 1453 the Ottomans quickly expanded westward and also threatened the Kingdom of Croatia. Following the fall of the Kingdom of Bosnia in 1463, King
Matthias Corvinus strengthened the defense system by establishing the Banate of
Jajce and Banate of
Srebrenik. Although the Ottomans had trouble in breaching the defense lines, they regularly conducted plundering raids into Croatia and southern Hungary. During one such raid in 1463 Croatian Ban Pavao Špirančić was captured in Senj. The
Ottoman Empire quickly expanded to the southern areas, where they conquered large parts of Herzegovina in 1482 and Croatian strongholds in the Neretva valley. First major Croatian victory over the Ottomans was achieved by Count Petar Zrinski in 1478 near
Glina. In 1483 an army led by Croatian Ban
Matthias Geréb and the Frankopans defeated a force of around 7,000 Ottoman cavalry (known as the
Akıncı) at the
Battle of Una River crossing near modern-day
Novi Grad. The same year a peace treaty was signed that spared Croatia from larger Ottoman raids. Local conflicts on the border did continue, but with lesser intensity. The truce ended with the death of Matthias Corvinus in 1490. 10,000 Ottoman light cavalrymen crossed the Una River in 1491 and advanced into
Carniola. On their way back they were defeated in the
Battle of Vrpile. 2 years later a war started between the new Ban of Croatia,
Emerik Derenčin, and the Frankopan family. The Frankopans were initially more successful and started to besiege the town of Senj, but the siege was lifted after an army led by Ban Derenčin was sent against them. However, the incoming Ottoman army led by Hadim Yakup Pasha (bey of the
Sanjak of Bosnia), that was returning from a raid in Carniola through Croatia, forced them to make peace. Croatian nobles gathered around 10,000 men and decided to face them in an open battle, although some insisted that an ambush would be a better option. on 9 September 1493 the Croatian army intercepted Ottoman forces near Udbina in Lika and suffered a huge defeat in the
Battle of Krbava Field. Croatian population from the war-affected areas gradually started to move into safer parts of the country, while some refugees fled outside Croatia to
Burgenland,
Southern Hungary and the
Italian coast. On 16 August 1513 Ban
Petar Berislavić defeated an Ottoman army of 7,000 men at the
battle of Dubica on the Una river. In February 1514 the Ottomans besieged Knin with 10,000 men, burned the town's outskirts, but failed to capture it and lost 500 troops.
Pope Leo X called Croatia the
forefront of Christianity (Antemurale Christianitatis) in 1519, given that several Croatian soldiers made significant contributions to the struggle against the Ottoman Empire. Petar Berislavić spent 7 years in constant fighting with the Ottomans, faced with continuous money shortages and an insufficient number of troops, until he was killed in an ambush during the battle of Plješevica on 20 May 1520. After two failed attempts in 1513 and 1514, Ottoman forces led by
Gazi Husrev-beg laid the final
siege of Knin and captured it on 29 May 1522. They also
besieged Klis on several occasions, but the captain of
Senj and prince of Klis
Petar Kružić defended the
Klis Fortress for almost 25 years. On 23 April 1526 Sultan
Suleiman the Magnificent left Istanbul with 80,000 regular troops and a crowd of irregular auxiliaries, beginning his invasion of Hungary. He reached the Sava on 2 July, took Petrovaradin on 27 July after a two-week siege, and Ilok on 8 August. By 23 August his troops had crossed the Drava at Osijek without meeting resistance. On the same day King
Louis II arrived at Mohács with about 25,000. Count Christopher Frankopan's 5,000 men-strong army did not arrive to the battlefield in time. The Hungarian army waited for the Ottomans on the plain south of Mohács on 29 August and was routed in less than two hours. The 1526
Battle of Mohács was a crucial event in which the rule of the
Jagiellon dynasty was shattered by the death of King Louis II. The defeat emphasized the overall inability of the Christian feudal military to halt the Ottomans, who would remain a major threat for centuries. ==1527 Parliament of Cetin==