This article follows the monarch's title number according to Hungarian succession for convenience. For example, the Hungarian monarch Béla IV is according to Croatian succession correctly titled Béla III. This is because Hungarians had a king named Béla prior to the incorporation of Croatia under the Hungarian Crown but the Croats did not.
The details of the arrival of the Croats in the Balkans are sparsely documented by more or less reliable historical sources. Around late 6th and early 7th century, they migrated from White Croatia (around present-day Galicia). According to a legend recorded in the 10th-century De Administrando Imperio, the Croats came to their present region under the leadership of five brothers (called Kloukas, Lobelos, Kosentzis, Mouchlo, and Chrobatos) and of two sisters (called Touga and Bouga), and successfully fought and expelled the Pannonian Avars influence in the Roman province of Dalmatia. The Croats started gradually converting to Christianity under the rule of Porga in the 7th century.
Early archons of Croats (7th century)
Name
Reign
Notes
Father of Porga
first part of the 7th century
Archon when the Croats fought and expelled the Pannonian Avars and received approval by Heraclius (610–641) to settle in Dalmatia.
The areas of modern-day Croatia located in the Pannonian plain had also been settled by Slavic tribes in the early Middle Ages, and history recorded some of their rulers.
The common chronology of the dukes and kings of Croatia was conceptualized by Franjo Rački and Ferdo Šišić, but although generally accepted, has several controversial claims about the 9th and 10th century line of Trpimirović dynasty.[2][3] In their interpretation of the De Administrando Imperio (which is mentioning in chronological order prince Terpimer father of Krasimer, prince Krasimer father of Miroslav who was killed by ban Pribina[4]) the rulers, including Trpimir known from other sources as ruling cca. 845–864, have actually ruled in the first part of the 10th century and invented Trpimir II whose not mentioned in historical sources.[2][3][5]
Šišić's old chronology: Borna, Vladislav, Mislav, Trpimir I, his son Zdeslav, Domagoj, unnamed Domagoj's son, Zdeslav, Branimir, Muncimir, Tomislav, Trpimir II, Krešimir I, Miroslav, Michael Krešimir II with Helen of Zadar, Stephen Držislav, Svetoslav Suronja, Gojslav, Krešimir III, Stephen I, Petar Krešimir IV, and lastly Demetrius Zvonimir with brief rule of Stephen II and Petar Snačić.
Komatina's revised chronology (1): Borna, Vladislav, Mislav, Trpimir, Zdeslav, Domagoj, unnamed Domagoj's son, Zdeslav, Branimir, Muncimir, Krešimir I, Miroslav, Tomislav I, Michael Krešimir II with Helen of Zadar, Stephen Držislav, Svetoslav Suronja, Gojslav, Krešimir III, Stephen I, Petar Krešimir IV, and lastly Demetrius Zvonimir with brief rule of Stephen II and Petar Snačić.[2]
Đaković's revised chronology (2): Borna, Vladislav, Mislav, Trpimir, Krešimir I, Miroslav, Domagoj, unnamed Domagoj's son, Zdeslav, Branimir, Muncimir, Tomislav I, Michael Krešimir II with Helen of Zadar, Stephen Držislav, Svetoslav Suronja, Gojslav, Krešimir III, Stephen I, Petar Krešimir IV, and lastly Demetrius Zvonimir with brief rule of Stephen II and Petar Snačić.[3]
Višeslav of Croatia, who left behind a baptismal font day, which mentioned him being a duke, used to be considered by Croatian historiography as a duke of the Croats, but the evidence for most of the claims regarding him is too scarce.
Vassal of Frankish EmperorCharlemagne. His titles were Duke of the Guduscani, Duke of Dalmatia and Liburnia. Since Croats inhabited those areas at the time, he is considered a Croatian duke. His uncle was Ljudemisl (c. 823)
In his letter from 925, Pope John X refers to Tomislav I of Trpimirović dynasty as Rex Chroatorum (King of the Croats). All Croatian rulers after Tomislav I held the title of King of Croatia. This is confirmed by epigraphic inscription mentioning the earliest known Croatian queen (regina) Domaslava dated to first half of 10th century.[6][7]
Possibly the son of Muncimir. After his death, civil wars weakened the state and some territory, including Bosnia, was lost. His title as rex (king) is based on two contemporary documents:
a correspondence dated 925 where the Pope John X addresses him with the title Rex Croatorum (King of the Croats)
a transcript from the First Church Council of Split where he is also referred to as rex
He was also addressed as princeps (prince) and dux (duke) on other occasions. Nevertheless, in modern Croatia he is traditionally considered the first (and arguably the most famous) Croatian king.
Younger brother of Miroslav. Michael Krešimir ruled jointly with his wife Queen Helen of Zadar.[6] During their reign, the Croatian Kingdom regained previously lost territories, including Bosnia. Upon Michael Krešimir's death in 969, his wife ruled as regent for their underage son Stephen Držislav.
He was the oldest son of king Stephen Držislav, from whom he received the title of duke, and was designated as his successor. Dethroned by his brothers Krešimir III and Gojslav.
Son of Stephen I. During his reign the Croatian Kingdom reached its peak. Near the end of his reign, having no sons, Peter Krešimir designated Demetrius Zvonimir as his heir.
Son of Gojslav II who was younger brother of King Peter Krešimir IV. 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 on Demetrius Zvonimir. He was the last member of the Trpimirović dynasty and last native king of Croatia to rule the entire medieval Croatian Kingdom.
After the death of King Demetrius Zvonimir in 1089, King Ladislaus I of Hungary (1077–1095) ruled in Slavonia. After the death of Stephen II, he conquered big part of Croatia and adopted the title King of Croatia in 1091. He set his nephew Álmos to rule as his proxy with the title of duke (1091–1095), but he was recognized only by the Hungarian nobility. He was a claimant to the throne due to the fact that his sister was married to the late Croatian king Zvonimir who died without an heir (son Radovan predeceased Zvonimir), however, kingship over all of Croatia would not be achieved until the reign of his successor Coloman.
Petar Snačić, a Ban of Croatia, was elected to rule by the Croatian nobles, likewise before him his uncle Slavac who briefly appropriated the royal title. He assumed the throne amid deep tension throughout the Kingdom. He fought with Coloman of Hungary for control of Croatia and was killed at the Battle of Gvozd Mountain in 1097. Petar was the last native king of Croatia. From 1102 onwards, the Kings of Hungary were also Kings of Croatia, because of the political union of the two crowns.
From 1102, the reigning King of Hungary was also the ruler of the Kingdom of Croatia in agreement with the Croatian nobles (see Pacta conventa).[9] Croatia was governed on his behalf by a viceroy (ban) and a parliament (sabor). In 1409 Ladislaus of Naples sold his rights to Dalmatia to Republic of Venice for 100,000 ducats.
King of Hungary from 1095 and King of Croatia from 1102 until his death in 1116. Koloman, supported by Pannonian Croats, defeated an army of Croatian and Dalmatian nobles allied to Petar Snačić at the Battle of Gvozd Mountain. Recognized by a council (sabor) of Croatian nobles and crowned as King of Croatia in 1102.
Uncle of Ladislav III and son of Bela III. In 1222, he issued a Golden Bull, which established the rights of noblemen, including the right to disobey the king when he acted contrary to law.
Son of Andrija II. Ruled during First Mongol invasion (1241–1242). In 1242, he issued a Golden Bull which proclaimed Zagreb and Samobor a free royal city.
Set up by Pope Nicholas IV and the ecclesiastical party as successor of his maternal uncle, the childless Ladislav IV the Cuman. His title as king was recognized by the Šubić and Kőszegi noble families. He was crowned in Croatia. Rule contested by Andrija III.
Married Žigmund (Sigismund) of Luxembourg, son of Holy Roman Emperor Charles IV; after he invaded Upper Hungary in 1385. After the assassination of Carlo II in 1386, Marija began her second reign as co-'king' with her husband Žigmund.
Also King of Naples. After Marija renounced the throne, Carlo II of Naples was crowned as King on 31 December 1385. He was wounded in an assassination attempt at the instigation of Mary's mother on 7 February 1386 and died on 24 February that same year.
Son of Carlo II. He claimed the Crown of Hungary and Croatia since 1390 in opposition to Marija and Žigmund. Was crowned but only had control over Zadar.
Tvrtko succeeded in conquering large parts of Slavonia, Dalmatia, and Croatia proper. In May 1390, the cities and the Dalmatian islands finally surrendered to Tvrtko, who then started calling himself "by the grace of God king of Rascia, Bosnia, Dalmatia, Croatia, and Pomorje". His realm now encompassed much of Slavonia, Dalmatia, and Croatia south of Velebit. Tvrtko's sudden death in 1391 prevented him from solidifying the Kotromanić hold on Croatian lands.
In the first years of his reign, Dabiša successfully maintained the integrity of Tvrtko's Kingdom of Bosnia, which included not only Bosnia proper, but also Croatia proper, Dalmatia, Zachlumia, and Rascia. Dabiša submitted to Sigismund. He resigned Croatia and Dalmatia to the Hungarian king and, with the agreement of his vassals, recognized him as his feudal overlord as well as heir designate to the Bosnian throne.
Son of Holy Roman Emperor and King of Bohemia Charles IV. Ruled jure uxoris until his wife Marija died in 1395. Was crowned King of Bohemia in 1419, and elected Holy Roman Emperor in 1433.
Son of Albert I. Born in 1440 after his father's death, spent most of his life in captivity. Rule contested by Vladislav I between 1440 and 1444. He had no children and was the last of the Albertinian line of the Habsburg dynasty.
Also King of Bohemia from 1471 (contested with Matija I until 1490). The Hungarian nobles elected him king after his supporters defeated the son of Matija I who relinquished his claim to the Hungarian throne prior to that. Died in 1516.
Claimed the throne with the support of Hungarian nobles, and later Suleiman the Magnificent. Rule contested with Ferdinand I. Ivan I made an agreement with Ferdinand I to recognize his right to reunite Hungary after Ivan I's death, but shortly after the birth of his son Ivan, and on his deathbed, Ivan I bequeathed his realm to his son.
Brother-in-law of Ludovik II. Claimed the throne according to the agreement between the House of Jagiellon and the House of Habsburg. Elected by the Sabor as King in January 1527.
First cousin of Matija II, and Grandson of Ferdinand I. In 1630, he issued Statuta Valachorum that placed Vlachs (mainly Orthodox Serbs) in the Military Frontier under the direct rule by Vienna, removing the Sabor's jurisdiction over them.
Brother of Josip I and son of Leopold I. Issued and edict called the Pragmatic Sanction where he acknowledged female inheritance of the Austrian crown after extinction of the male line and thus enabling his daughter Marija Terezija to become sovereign.
Daughter of Karlo III. Divided Croatia into counties (županije). In 1767, she formed a Croatian Royal Council (Consilium Regium) until 1779 when she abolished it. She conducted military and economy reforms, especially concerning serfdom and schooling.
Son of Leopold II. Consolidated the Habsburg Monarchy into the Austrian Empire in response to the downfall of the Holy Roman Empire. Nominally the last Holy Roman Emperor.
Nephew of Ferdinand V and Grandson of Franjo. Longest reigning Croatian monarch. During his reign, Croatian lands (Croatia, Slavonia and Dalmatia) were unified by Ban Josip Jelačič in 1848. In 1867, he reorganized the monarchy into a dual Austrian and Hungarian part. From 1868, the Kingdom of Croatia-Slavonia was an autonomous kingdom within the Kingdom of Hungary.
Grand-nephew of Franjo Josip and Great-great-grandson of Franjo. In his coronation oath to the Sabor (Croatian Parliament), he acknowledged the unity of Croatia, Dalmatia and Slavonia with Rijeka.[10] During the last days of the monarchy he accepted the trialist manifest on creating a so-called "Zvonimir's Kingdom".[11][12][13][14][15] He reigned until 1918, when he renounced participation in state affairs, but did not abdicate. The Sabor ended the union of Croatia with Hungary and Austria on 29 October 1918 but never dethroned King Karlo IV.[16] He spent the remaining years of his life attempting to restore the monarchy until his death in 1922. Beatified by the Catholic Church.
The name of the kingdom was changed in 1929, amid unitarianist reforms, to the Kingdom of Yugoslavia. After the Treaty of Rapallo in 1920 Istria and parts of Dalmatia were annexed to Kingdom of Italy. On the basis of the Cvetković–Maček Agreement, and the Decree on the Banate of Croatia dated 24 August 1939, the Banate of Croatia was created. Under the Agreement was again elected Croatian Parliament (sabor) and a crown-appointed ban would decide internal matters in Croatia.
Son of Petar I. He changed the name of the country to Kingdom of Yugoslavia and established a royal dictatorship. Assassinated by the VMRO with Ustaše support in 1934 in Marseille.
In 1941, Croatia was occupied by the Axis powers along with the rest of Yugoslavia. The Independent State of Croatia was set as a puppet state of Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy. Soon after its creation, the state government passed three laws on the creation of the Crown of Zvonimir, which made the country de jure a kingdom.[17][18] Three days later the Treaties of Rome were signed. The Italian Prince Aimone of Savoy-Aosta was designated King of Croatia. Numerous Adriatic islands and a portion of Dalmatia were annexed by Italy, which all combined to become the Italian Governonate of Dalmatia. On September 10, 1943 Independent State of Croatia declared that the Treaties of Rome were null and void and annexed the portion of Dalmatia that had been ceded to Italy.[19]
The Doges of Venice used it, with Byzantine approval, from c. 1100, when Hungary was in the process of absorbing the Kingdom of Croatia, until the Treaty of Zadar with Hungary in 1358.
The Dukes of Merania, whose territory bordered Croatia, were sometimes called Dukes of Croatia in contemporary chronicles.
Various Hungarian noblemen granted authority in the South Slav lands added Croatia to their title of Duke of Slavonia in the 13th and 14th centuries.
^Jakus, Zrinka Nikolić (2018). "Kneginja Maruša. Žene, supruge, vladarice u ranom srednjem vijeku". Hrvatska revija (in Croatian) (2). Zagreb: Matica hrvatska. Retrieved 25 January 2023. Uvjetno njima možemo možda pridružiti i Ventescelu, suprugu panonskoga kneza Braslava, koji je kao franački vazal vladao i između Drave i Save prije dolaska Mađara... Čuva se u Cividaleu (Čedadu), zbog toga i ime, a danas prevladava mišljenje da se u 9. i 10. stoljeću nalazila u samostanu San Canzio d'Isonzo... spomenutoga panonskoga kneza Braslava, njegove supruge Ventescele i njihove pratnje
^(Hrvatska) Krunidbena zavjernica Karla IV. hrvatskom Saboru 28. prosinca 1916. (sa grbom Dalmacije, Hrvatske, Slavonije i Rijeke iznad teksta), str. 1.-4. Hrvatski Državni Arhiv./ENG. (Croatian) Coronation oath of Karl IV to Croatian Sabor (parliament), 28th December 1916. (with coat of arms of Dalmatia, Croatia, Slavonia and Rijeka above the text), p.1-4 Croatian State Archives
^Dr. Aleksandar Horvat Povodom njegove pedesetgodišnjice rodjenja, Hrvatsko pravo, Zagreb, 17/1925., no. 5031
^Edmund von Glaise-Horstenau,Die Katastrophe. Die Zertrümmerung Österreich-Ungarns und das Werden der Nachfolgestaaten, Zürich – Leipzig – Wien 1929, p.302-303.
^Hrvatska Država, newspaper Public proclamation of the Sabor 29.10.1918. Issued 29.10.1918. no. 299. p.1.
^Hrvatski Narod (newspaper)16.05.1941. no. 93. p.1.,Public proclamation of theZakonska odredba o kruni Zvonimirovoj (Decrees on the crown of Zvonimir), tri članka donesena 15.05.1941.
^Die Krone Zvonimirs, Monatshefte fur Auswartige Politik, Heft 6(1941)p.434.
^Tomasevich, Jozo (2001). War and Revolution in Yugoslavia 1941–1945: Occupation and Collaboration. Stanford University Press. ISBN0-8047-3615-4.
^Hrvoje Matković, Designirani hrvatski kralj Tomislav II. vojvoda od Spoleta. Povijest hrvatskotalijanskih odnosa u prvoj polovici XX.st. (Designated Croatian king Tomislav II. Duke of Spoleto. History of Croatian-Italian relationships in first half of the 20th century), Zagreb 2007.
^Avramov, Smilja (1995). Genocide in Yugoslavia. p. 238.
^Rodogno, Davide; Fascism's European empire: Italian occupation during the Second World War; p.95; Cambridge University Press, 2006 ISBN0-521-84515-7 "Devoid of political experience and ignorant of the Italian government's exact intentions, he [the Duke Aimone] refused to leave for Croatia, saying so in letters to Victor Emmanuel and Mussolini, in which he told them that the question of Dalmatia, 'a land that could never be Italianized', was an obstacle against any reconciliation with the Croats. Never, he declared, would he agree to be a king of a nation amputated from Italy." [1].
^Pavlowitch, Stevan K.; Hitler's new disorder: the Second World War in Yugoslavia; p.289; Columbia University Press, 2008 0-231-70050-4 [2]
^Massock, Richard G.; Italy from Within; p.306; READ BOOKS, 2007 ISBN1-4067-2097-6[3]
^Burgwyn, H. James; Empire on the Adriatic: Mussolini's conquest of Yugoslavia 1941–1943; p.39; Enigma, 2005 ISBN1-929631-35-9
^Royal Institute of International Affairs; Enemy Countries, Axis-Controlled Europe; Kraus International Publications, 1945 ISBN3-601-00016-4[4]
^Lemkin, Raphael; Power, Samantha (2005). Axis Rule in Occupied Europe: Laws of Occupation, Analysis of Government, Proposals For Redress. Lawbook Exchange. p. 253. ISBN1584775769.
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