Origins )Today
Bribir is an archaeological site in inland Dalmatia. It is located on a flat hill about fifteen kilometres northwest of
Skradin, near the old
Zadar road which goes through
Benkovac. Under the steep rocks of its western side there is the source of the Bribirčica stream and from here the rich and fertile Bribir-Ostrovica field spreads out. The hill of Bribir, an ideal place to control the surrounding territory, was a perfect area to inhabit. The one who held it had control over all roads and approaches from the sea to the hinterland, making it an ideal settlement. During the Roman period Bribir, known as Varvaria, had the status of
municipium and was the centre of one of the fourteen Liburnian counties. The Byzantine emperor
Constantine Porphyrogenitus wrote in the 10th century about the
Croats settling in Dalmatia in the 7th century and described how they had organised their country into eleven counties (zupanias) one of which was
Breberi, centred on site of the old
Varvaria (Moravcsik & Jenkins, eds. 1967). A line of hills separated it from the territory of
Knin to the north and to the south it bordered on
Skradin. It was held by a kindred that in coeval documents is referred to as
nobiles, comites or
principes Breberienses (nobles, counts or rulers of Breber, "knezovi Bribirski" in Croatian). These
Breberienses belonged to the Šubić tribe from
Luka županija, In 1182 was mentioned noble Tolimir
filius Stephani Subici in the hinterland of Zadar, in 1248 some noble
Subinich were on the island of
Krk, while
Mladen III Banić (1342) and
Paul III Banić (1345) were first members of the main line of Bribir to be called
seu generationis Subichievich.
Original coat of arms The original coat of arms of this clan of nobles is a wing argent on a shield gules. The crest is a sprig of barberry. Argent and gules were the colours of the Croatian kindreds that sided with the papal party such as the
lords of Krk (before they took on the shield of the Roman Frangipani), the
Gusić, the
Mogorović and the
Hrvatinić, and still are those of Croatia. The device could be derived from the winged shield standard of the royal chamberlain, a post held by
Budez postelnic berberensis jupanus (1069). Wings are common, especially as a crest, in later Croatian heraldry. This could be accounted by the numerous
familiares of the powerful Zrins who kept the Breber device in their coat of arms.
Timeline In recent history books whenever members of this kindred are mentioned in relation to their prominent role in the 13th and 14th centuries the surname of Šubić is conferred upon them by the historian. This was not the way that the members called themselves at the time. During the Middle Ages every man in Croatia bore four names: the name given at baptism, the patronym, the name of his kindred which was also the name of the settlement in which he lived, and his tribal affiliation (Jirecek, 1967). When, with the introduction of feudalism, king Bela confirmed the kindred in their possession of Breber (1251) this name would again be used to identify them since by then the custom was to be called after one's premier fief. Thus, in the period from 1069 to the destruction of the county by the
Turks in 1520, the many personages of the clan that emerge from the original Latin documents qualify themselves as
de Breberio preceded by their Christian name and patronym; only rarely do they add their tribal affiliation. The seal of
Paul I Šubić of Bribir (born in 1312), the greatest figure of the clan, has the following lettering on it:
+ S(IGILLVM) PAVLI BREBERIENSIS BANI TOCIVS SCLAVONIEAnother seal of the same man has:
PAVLVS DE BREBERIO BANVS CROATORVM D[OMI]N[V]S ET BOSNEThus, in the vulgar the surname would be Breber or some variant
(Breberić, Brebrić, Barbier, Barber, Barberich, etc.). The 19th century erudite Croatian historians who wrote the first history books for the public opted for Šubić which, in the ardent nationalistic spirit of the time, sounded reassuringly Slavic as compared to Breber. During the reign of
Demetrius Zvonimir (1075–1089), the mythical golden age of the
Kingdom of Croatia, the highest court offices of (
comes camerarius) and (
comes palatinus) were held by
Budez and
Dominicus, both of the lineage. During the 13th and 14th centuries Brebers were many times called to cover the post of count in the townships of
Split,
Trogir,
Skradin and
Omiš, primarily clashing with
Domald of Sidraga,
Kačić and
Nelipić family. In the documents, it is possible to identify six different branches of the Breber clan. The most illustrious of which is the one descended from
iupanus Miroslaus Brebriensis, filius Bogdanizi (1184). His great-grandson Paul, mentioned above, reached the peak of power towards the end of the 13th century. He was
Ban of Croatia and Dalmatia, his rule extended to
Bosnia, and with his brothers he controlled the maritime cities of Dalmatia. In these regions he was champion of the Pope and was instrumental in placing Charles, the firstborn of the King of Naples, on the throne of
Hungary and Croatia. He was related to the King of
Naples, the King of
Serbia, the Da Camino lords of
Treviso, and the
Tiepolo and
Dandolo patricians of
Venice. When he died in 1312, his eldest son Mladen tried to maintain the hold over the other Croatian clans, but was unsuccessful and bit by bit lost land, castles and towns. 's death
Decline Besides these particular offshoots which went their separate ways, a numerous kin continued to abide by the ancient holding of Breber. In 1324 when the citizenship of
Zadar was conferred on the
nobiles domini de Briberio, 190 members of the clan presented themselves for the investiture. In 1353 the
Ottoman Turks crossed the
Dardanelles and began their invasion of Europe. In the 15th century
Bosnia was already a pashalik from where raids would be carried into Croatia-Dalmatia. The feudal levies and the clan warriors had no hope against the Turkish war machine and met their fate in the battle of Krbavsko Polje (1493). The castle of Breber was caught on the front between the Turkish, Hungarian and Venetian armies and by 1520 had become a desolate waste of rubble. Last news giving the
comites Breberienses still in their ancient seat is in the diocesan synod of Skradin held at the time of bishop Archangel (1490–1502). The Turkish terror displaced large portions of the population of Dalmatia-Croatia. Some sought refuge in the cities of the coast, some crossed the sea to
Italy, others, especially those belonging to the nobility, resettled to the north in that part of
Slavonia still under the crown of Hungary-Croatia. Their clan organisation definitely disrupted, the single Breber families settled in various places in the county of
Zagreb (
Comitatus Zagrabiensis) (Adamcek & Kampus, 1976). In the second half of the 16th century we find one nucleus settled in Turopolje (
Campus Zagrabiensis) where they joined the free community of lesser nobles (
nobiles unius sessionis). Another group established itself at Stubica and other places in the Zagorje region, where one branch, the counts Jankovic Bribirsky, owned the Horvatska manor in the 17th century and remained one of the prominent local families till the 20th century. Breber families are still living in these places to this day. ==Noble branches==