CROATIAN HISTORY
The Decline of Byzantium and The Ascendancy of the Hungarian-Croatian Rulers

(Napisao: gosp. Marko Marelić -  S. Francisco - USA)
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King Bela II - 1172-1196

After the death of Emanuel the Byzantine authority was promptly voided, not only in Sirmium, but also in southern Croatia and Dalmatia. After the bitter experience of foreign domination the Croatian-Hungarian State alliance was solidified along the lines laid down in 1102 by Koloman. In compliance with this tradition, King Bela II allowed his son Emeric (Imre) to be crowned King of Hungary and separately as King of Croatia during his lifetime. At the same time he ceded to him the entire Croatian kingdom from the Drava River to the sea, as his independent administrative territory. In Bosnia banus Kulin, an appointee of Emperor Emanuel, reigned from 1170 to 1204, apparently as a vassal of Bela, while the Serbian great zhupan Styepan Nemanya remained close to the Hungarian court as its old political ally.

After the death of Emanuel great disorders broke out in the Byzantine Empire. This made it possible for the Balkan peoples, and especially for the Serbs and Bulgars, to extricate themselves from under the Byzantine overlordship. On the ruins of the Low Empire Bela II conceived the ambition to assume the former role of Byzantium. By his plan Bela provided new channels for the Hungarian policy, but at the same time incurred the hostility of the Serbs and Bulgars. This hostility and the imperialistic ambitions of the Hungarian kings continued up to the time of the Turkish invasions, and to a certain degree, became the very instrument of the latter. Just as Emperor Emanuel turned the strife over the succession in Hungary to his own advantage, now Bela and his successors were stirring up trouble and fanning religious strife in the Balkan Peninsula for their own political ends.

In the meantime, the city of Zadar was returned to Bela in 1180, but a new war broke out in 1181. For a period of ten years the Venetians steadily pounded at the city, but Zadar stood firm and repulsed all attacks, both from land and sea. This forced the Doge Henry (Enrico) Dandolo (1192-1205) to sue for a truce, which was continued for a long time without, however, resulting in a peace.

The Feudalization of Croatian Nobility

The protracted and fierce struggles, which the Croatians of noble birth conducted against the foreign invaders, both Byzantines and Venetians alike, became conducive to far-reaching internal reforms. In acknowledgment of the merit of these Croatians, the king gave them liberal grants under the terms of feudal nobility. So it appears that in 1193, King Bela II conferred upon Bartolus, son of Domnius (Duyam), a nobleman from the island of Kerk, possession of the county of Modrush, in recognition of his loyal and valiant exploits during the war. The rights of ownerships were to pass on to his successors. In exchange for this grant, the beneficiary was expected to serve in the king's army within the frontiers of the State with the force of ten soldiers in heavy armor, while abroad this obligation was limited to four heavily armed soldiers. However, this service was restricted only to occasions when the entire Croatian army was summoned by the king. This grant was the foundation of the historical destiny of the Croatian family known, at the beginning of the 15th century, as the Frankopani. About the same time King Bela confirmed to Miroslav, Count of Bribir, a member of the Shubich clan, the ownership of the county of Bribir-Babonitsa. Count Stephen of the Babonichi clan was likewise made the owner of the entire area between the Una and Sana Rivers in northwestern Bosnia. With these royal patents (grants) the ancient noblemen became the king's vassals (subordinates). Thus, among the Croatian nobility representing the chiefs of the ancient tribes and clans, feudalism was introduced after the western European pattern. From that time on the Croatian nobility was set on equal footing with the Hungarian nobility, thus more closely cementing the constitutional ties between Croatia and Hungary.

The Reforms of King Bela II

The reign of Bela II is very important and significant both for Hungary and Croatia, not only because of the events abroad, but also for internal reforms. Bela was the first king since the time of Koloman to be professionally trained in the capital of a great and well-administered world power. He made the court a place of splendor and introduced royal ceremony and customs, lending it an outward glamour. At this time the coronation took on the character of a constitutional act, a sort of inaugural for the exercise of royal power.

Bela's fiscal policy was rational and conscientious. The king acted as a conscientious guardian of state property. On the basis of his Byzantine experience he introduced order in financial administration and turned the minting of coins into a source of royal income. He developed the salt mines, making the trade in table salt a state monopoly in Hungary and Slavonia. Due to these dispositions he was able to provide an annual cash income of nearly two million dollars.

A permanent Office of the Chancellor was established in 1193. Briefs were introduced in trial courts. Taught by the bitter experience of seniority rule, Bela restored primogeniture (the right of the eldest son to inherit his parents' entire estate) as the governing principle of succession. Moreover he abolished the practice by which the king's brother obtained authority over the Croatian kingdom as a special duchy, and transferred this right to the first-born son of the king before his accession to the throne. All this was against the wishes of the Croatian nobility, which insisted on the principle of secundo-geniture, with a view to establishing a Croatian branch of the Arpad Dynasty.

King Emeric (Imre) - 1196 1204

Emeric was bent on pursuing the policy of his father, but his younger brother Andrew interfered with this resolve, and in 1197 instigated a rebellion, demanding Croatia and Dalmatia as his lawful heritage. Having defeated the king in battle, Andrew became Duke of Croatia and soon assumed royal power. He became an independent ruler from the Drava to Neretva and had a brilliant reign. He undertook successful campaigns in the Hum area (Herzegovina) and Serbia, appointed bishops and archbishops, issued patents, successfully administered justice and surrounded himself with a glittering court and escorts.

Andrew was attended also by the banus of Croatia, who undoubtedly had been appointed by himself. But the fortunes of war did not always attend his banners and in the continuous struggle with his brother Emeric, Andrew was finally defeated. Deserted by his supporters, he was imprisoned in the Croatian town of Kneginyats near Varazhdin. In the meantime the sickly King Emeric was oppressed by worry over the future of his family. In order to secure the throne for his only son Ladislaus during his lifetime, he had him crowned by the archbishop of Split as the separate King of Croatia-Dalmatia, and in 1204 by the archbishop of Kalocha as King of Hungary. All this took place during Emeric's lifetime.

The Destruction of Zadar by the Venetians (1202)

During the period of civil wars raging in Croatia and Hungary, the Fourth Crusade was organized in western Europe. On their journey to the Holy Land, the crusaders had to use the Venetian galleys for transportation. Naturally, they had to pay the cost of passage to the ship owner. But most of the crusaders were lacking the necessary means and they agreed to serve the Republic for their fare. So Doge Henry Dandolo used them to capture and demolish the Christian city of Zadar. This act took place in November, 1202. The Holy See protested and threatened to excommunicate Dandolo, but in vain. In the following year Dandolo captured Constantinople, and the Venetians set up the weak Latin Empire on the ruins of Byzantium. The inhabitants of Zadar reconstructed their city, with the aid of Prince Domaldus, scion of the Svachich clan, but since they could not obtain help either from King Emeric or from Duke Andrew, in 1205 they again surrendered to Venice on oppressive terms.

Encroachments on Bosnia

About that time Emeric began to interest himself in Serbian matters and in 1202 he assumed the title of King of Serbia. Then he turned his attention to Bosnia, where the heterodoxy of the Bosnian Church offered him a convenient pretext to interfere in Bosnian affairs, the first of many Hungarian kings to do so. When he called Banus Kulin to account for his leanings to the Bosnian heresy, he initiated a chain of episodes to be discussed later.

Andrew (Endre) I - 1205-1235

Shortly before his death King Emeric made up with his brother Andrew. The king was succeeded on the throne by his son Ladislaus II, a minor. After eight months of reign (1204-1205), this Ladislaus was overthrown and Andrew I ascended the throne. Andrew's reign was long and eventful, for he ruled from 1205-1235.

With his accession to the throne Andrew I put an end to the strife among the various members of the royal house. These struggles, frequently connected with foreign wars, had greatly undermined the authority of the king. In place of the power of the sovereign, that of the ecclesiastic and lay dignitaries came into prominence. But Andrew was not a ruler of a stature to cope with this menace. Extravagant and indecisive, he made his lot worse by submitting to the influence of his entourage, which was mostly of foreign origin. Bertold, the youthful brother of Andrew's wife Gertrude, a German princess, was appointed Archbishop of Kalocha and also was later made Banus of Croatia.

Provoked by this challenge, some of the Hungarian magnates assassinated the queen in 1213 in the forest of Pilish, near Budvar, at the end of a hunting party. Her brother Bertold managed to escape. King Andrew mourned over Gertrude for some time but finally forgot her and in 1216 married Yolanta, sister of the Latin emperors Baldwin and Henry. (The same year Pope Innocent III [1198-1216] finished his term and Pope Honorius III [1216-1227] became Pope of Rome). Feeling that his authority was at a low ebb, Andrew attempted to raise his prestige by a successful campaign in Galicia. At the beginning of 1217 he had his son Koloman crowned King of Galicia. Two years later, Koloman was captured by the Russians and kept in prison for two years. In 1221 he was set free, but all the efforts of Andrew to extend his sway over the Transcarpathian regions failed.

Andrew's Campaign in the Holy Land

To his failure in Galicia, Andrew soon added another one. It so happened that Andrew's father, Bela II, had made a vow to campaign in the Holy Land, and on his deathbed passed on this pledge to Andrew. In spite of his previous misfortunes and failures, Andrew decided to carry out the promise given to his father. In return for the transportation of his company to the Holy Land, he renounced his rights to Zadar (1216) in favor of Venice. Before setting out East he appointed Ponzio de Cruce, a knight templar, his vicar in Croatia, and Archbishop John of Ostrogon (Esztergom) in Hungary. Then in the summer of 1217 he set out through Zagreb to the sea. In Zagreb, at that time, the new cathedral was completed and its consecration took place in the presence of the king, who, on that occasion, confirmed all its ancient privileges.

On his journey to the Holy Land, Andrew was accompanied by numerous Croatian noblemen, including members of the Babonich clan. They all embarked on board the Venetian ships at Split and were carried to the coast of Palestine. The crusade of King Andres is only a minor episode in the gigantic struggle between the Christian and Mohammedan world and was concluded without any notable success. Andrew returned to Europe by way of land through Constantinople and in place of trophies he carried with him some hallowed relics he acquired during his stay in the Holy Land.

The Golden Bull

After his return home Andrew found his country in a state of anarchy, chiefly because of the greed and depredations of the high nobility. On one occasion he complained that it would take him fifteen years to restore order in the land. Preliminary to his major moves, he let his elder son Bela be crowned as the "younger king" of Hungary (rex Hungariae junior) and made him, at the same time, the Duke of Croatia. After this he began to seize the estates of noblemen who, of recent years, had been robbing the State of its landed property. Yet he went a great deal further to meet the emergency. So when he debased the currency, spent the treasury funds recklessly and pawned the revenue sources to usurers, the lower nobility rose in rebellion against him and his counselors. The malcontents came mostly from the military class and were headed by the king's son Bela. Through the mediation of Stephen, Bishop of Zagreb, father and son resolved their differences, but the embittered Hungarian and Slavonian arm-bearing nobility forced Andrew to issue in 1222 the "Golden Bull" (i.e. Magna Charta).

The "Golden Bull" had two objectives. In the first place, it was an attempt to break the overlordship of the high nobility and thus to raise the power of the king. Further, it aimed to guarantee the rights and freedom of the lower nobility. By its form the "Golden Bull" was, at the beginning, only a privilege while later on it became by far the most important public law, and the foundation of the constitution. Indeed, up to the dissolution of the Hungarian-Croatian union in 1918, the Hungarian-Croatian kings at their coronation took the oath of allegiance to the provisions of the "Bull."

In its preamble this document, consisting of thirty-one articles, stresses the need of a sweeping reform in the kingdom. The single provisions are specified in their proper sequence. The king or his vicar, the palatin, must hold a solemn trial court on St. Stephen's Day (August 20) in the city of Szekes Fehervar to which all the arm-bearing noblemen shall have access in order to present their grievances. The king cannot imprison any such noblemen or confiscate his possessions for the benefit of some grandee, unless the trial court finds him guilty. Further, the king cannot arbitrarily collect tax from the noblemen, nor can he enter their villages or homes without their consent. Outside the boundaries of the State the nobility will fight only at the king's expense in case of an offensive war. However, in case of invasion, they all must hasten to the defense of the country without compensation.

Only the palatin, banus and the judges of the Royal Court may be vested with two honors at the same time. On the other hand, foreigners cannot obtain any office, except upon consent of the Council of the State. Tithes should not be paid to bishops in money but in kind, usually with wine and wheat. The newly minted coin will be valid only for the period of one year. Jews cannot be employed at the coin mint, in salt stores or custom houses. Also a number of fiscal provisions are inserted in this document. The most important is Section 31 of the "Bull" which guarantees the execution of the foregoing provision. It fixes the right of both higher and lower nobility to raise separately or in common a rebellion against the king, should he or any of his successors infringe on these institutions. They can do so either by word of mouth or with arms in hand, without becoming liable for high treason. Among other prelates who signed the momentous document was the Bishop of Zagreb, Stephen. The "Golden Bull" was effective only in Hungary and northern Croatia up to the Gvozd Mountains, but did not apply to southern Croatia extending from the Gvozd to the Neretva River.

Croatian Oligarchy

As the high nobility of Hungary increased its power at the expense of the king, the same strife within the royal family became conducive to exaltation of the Croatian nobility, especially in the area between the Gvozd Mountains and the Neretva River. Here various clans had so effectively increased their power that in their own districts they had become actual sovereigns supporting a whole army of poor men. With its gradual opposition to the Hungarian Court, the Croatian oligarchy performed a true national service by strengthening the local traditions and preventing submission of Croatia to Hungary. Beginning with the first decade of the 13th century, ascendancy of the oligarchy in Croatia continued until 1348 when King Ludovic I finally succeeded in breaking the power of the Croatian oligarchs. This struggle of the king with his peers was concluded in Hungary by the father of Ludovic, Charles I.

In addition to the Frankopani, princes of Kerk (Veglia), who in 1225 obtained in addition to the Modrush district, that of Vinodol also, the Bribirian princes of the Shubich clan came into prominence. The chief of this clan was Prince Gregory. The Svachich clan, with its chief Prince Domaldus, controlled a vast area, while the Kachich clan, with Prince Malduch as its head, was in possession of the stronghold of Omish and the entire seacoast from Split to the mouth of the Neretva River. Because of priority claims upon Split a bloody feud arose between the Shubich and Svachich clans, in which Prince Domaldus finally succumbed. On the other hand, Prince Malduch, with his Omish subjects, caused so much damage to shipping and struck so many serious blows at the coastal towns and especially at Split that the papal legate, Acontius, had to intervene as a peace mediator in 1221.

In the meantime, Duke Bela started again a quarrel with his father and became a rival ruler in 1226, while his younger brother Koloman, the titular King of Galicia, replaced him in 1226 as Duke of Croatia. Both King Andrew and Duke Koloman tried to win over the Croatians to their cause, but failed to make much headway in their policy. The challenge of the Croatian barons came in spite of the fact that King Andrew, by the end of Bela's administration in 1225, appointed two separate bani, one for the "entire Slavonia" up to the Gvozd, and the other for Croatia and Dalmatia or "maritime regions." The rebellious Croatian barons were headed by Prince Domaldus of the Svachich clan, and he started a civil war both on land and sea, in which he was eventually defeated (1229).

After settling the domestic differences in Croatia, Koloman turned his attention to Bosnia, where at that time Banus Matey Ninoslav was ruling (1230-1250). In pursuit of the imperialistic Hungarian policy throughout the Balkans, Koloman had a plan to subject Bosnia directly to his authority. He found abundant reasons for meddling in Bosnian internal affairs as a crusader against the Church of Bosnia, to which even Banus Ninoslav adhered.

King Andrew promoted the plans of his son Koloman by assigning to him supervision of Bosnia and had this decision confirmed by Pope Gregory IX (1227-1241). Consequently, the Croatian duke began to act with persuasion and armed force. When his army broke into Bosnia, Banus Ninoslav and his co-religionists pretended loyalty to the Catholic Church, upon which Koloman retired (1234). But no sooner had the duke left Bosnia with his army, than the banus and his subjects embraced the "Bosnian Church" again. From that time on it became customary that as long as the Catholic armies were on the Bosnian soil the natives would declare themselves Catholics, but as soon as the aliens left the country, they again espoused only their native faith.

The Last Days of Andrew

Despite the privileges promised in the "Golden Bull," the situation in Hungary did not improve. Andrew continued his lavish spending and the usurers again obtained lease on the State revenue. This provoked a new storm of indignation, but this time the ecclesiastic magnates joined hands with the barons as leaders of the rebellion. So, in 1231, Andrew was forced again to issue the "Golden Bull," which literally repeats the provisions enacted in 1222, but with a clause removing the right of "armed resistance." In its place the king and his sons declared that in case of disloyalty to the Constitution they would submit to the judgment of the Archbishop of Ostrogon, who would have the power even to excommunicate them for cause. And indeed, in the next year (1232) Andrew became subject to this penalty, for Archbishop Robertus excommunicated both him and Hungary from the Church. Andrew promptly took an oath that henceforth he would respect the provisions of the "Golden Bull," and he and his kingdom were spared the anathema.

After this humiliating experience, Andrew again provoked his entourage when shortly after the death of his second wife Yolanta in 1233, he married in May, 1234, the youthful Beatrice, niece of the Margrave of Azzo and Este-Ferrara. Andrew (Endre) I died on the 21st of September, 1235, and was succeeded on the throne by his son Bela.

The Reign of Bela III - 1235-1270

Bela was about thirty years of age when he ascended the throne. A man of great foresight and energy, he made up his mind to restore the prestige of the king, which was now at a low ebb. This could only be achieved by breaking the power of the oligarchs. In the long line of rulers descending from the House of Arpad, he was undoubtedly the most brilliant.

From the first days of his reign Bela III went through some odd experiences which became a source of serious trouble. Queen Beatrice, Andrew's widow, declared one day that she was to become a mother, and therefore was entitled to a proper position at the royal court. Otherwise, childless dowager queens were expected to leave the court. After this revelation Bela had Beatrice surrounded with guards, but she slipped out and fled to Germany where she gave birth to a son, Stephen the Posthumus, known to history at the father of Andrew II, the last scion of the Arpad Dynasty. From Germany Beatrice went to Venice where she placed herself under the protection of the Republic, but neither Bela nor Koloman recognized Stephen as their brother. On the contrary, they declared him the fruit of his mother's adultery, and son of the former palatin Dionysius.

The third week after his father's death, Bela had himself crowned a second time in Szekes Fehervar, this time as King of Hungary and Croatia (October 14, 1235). This date is worth noting for it was the last time the separate ceremony for the crowning of the Croatian-Dalmatian king was celebrated. Whatever the cause of this change, it was of immense consequences for the constitutional status of the two countries.

Upon his ascension to the throne, Bela set out to introduce order and discipline at the court. In order to stress his unlimited power and to humiliate the nobility, he decreed that, with the exception of the bishops and chief dignitaries of the State, no one could be seated in the presence of the king. Still more afflicting was the king's order that no one, not even the magnates of the highest rank, could make an oral complaint or ask the king for immediate decisions. Henceforth, only petitions in writing could be submitted to the Chancellor, who would pass on them after a due lapse of time. In view of the general illiteracy which prevailed at that time, this was a serious handicap for the courtiers. But the heaviest blow administered by Bela against the barons was his decision that all the estates and offices dispensed by his father would have to be returned to the Crown. Also any estates acquired by illegitimate means would have to be restored to their rightful owners. Thus, many estates changed hands both in Hungary and in Croatia.

The Campaigns and Dispositions of Duke Koloman

Bela's brother Koloman, the Duke of Croatia, had a brilliant career as a general, administrator and sponsor of religious institutions. Throughout his life he kept a keen eye on developments in Bosnia. Seeing the lapse of that country into the native heresy, he entered it with troops and bound Banus Ninoslav to renew his former pledge of loyalty to the Catholic faith. Then in 1237 he conquered the Hum province (Herzegovina), which was governed at that time by Prince Tolyen.

After his victories Koloman set out to put the affairs of the Bosnian Church in order. For the benefit of the newly appointed Bishop of Bosnia, the Dominican Pousa, in 1239 he built the Cathedral of St. Peter, with its Chapter in the town of Berdo near Sarayevo. He also endowed this diocese with tithe and gave it the town of Djakovo, with an extensive adjacent area in Slavonia and Sirmium. Since the Bosnians soon began to menace the position of the bishop, Pousa transferred the seat of his diocese from Berdo to Djakovo, which has ever since been the administrative center of the Bosnian Catholic Church. This readjustment took place between 1242 and 1252.

In addition to Bosnian affairs Duke Koloman was engaged also in regulating the Croatian Church matters. Since the Archbishopric of Split had become unduly impoverished, Duke Koloman, in 1240, came upon the idea of uniting it with the diocese of Zagreb, which would be removed from under the jurisdiction of the Archbishop of Kalocsa. The Archbishop of Split, Gunzelius, concurred with Koloman's plan, but the project never went through, on the one hand because of the reluctance of Pope Gregory IX to decide the question in a hurry; and on the other, because of the advance of the Tartar hordes, which menaced both Hungary and Croatia.

The Tartar Invasion

At the beginning of the 13th century the Mongolian chief Temujin united the various tribes of his race north of China, and proclaimed himself Genghis-Khan, "the most powerful Lord." He soon conquered China, Central Asia and Persia. Some of his armies broke into eastern Europe where they defeated the united Kumani and Russians in 1223 on the banks of the Kalka River, not far from the Sea of Azov. After the death of Genghis in 1227 his son Ogotay succeeded him on the throne. Batu-Khan, a nephew of Ogotay, took over the power in eastern Europe and planned to expand it far to the west.

As the Tartars advanced, about 40,000 Kumani fled with their Khan Kuten toward central Europe, and asked King Bela (1239) for refuge in Hungary. Bela granted their wishes, subject to the conversion to the Christian faith. As the news of this deal reached the Tartars, they summoned King Bela to return to them their Kumani "subjects." When the king rejected their request, they decided to break into Hungary.

Unfortunately there was a general tendency to minimize the Tartar peril in Hungary. So when the Hungarian Estates met in Buda in February, 1241, bitter complaints were raised against the Kumani. The king's opponents demanded that they be expelled from Hungary and the aroused populace, suspecting that the Kumani were secret Tartar spies, broke into the house of Kuten Khan and killed him. Aroused by the murder of their leader, a part of the Kumani left Hungary and, through devious routes, reached their homeland, plundering and devastating the countryside all along the way.

The Hungarian Disaster

In the meantime, Batu-Khan, in the neighborhood of Kiev, assembled an army of about 150,000 strong, and descended through the Carpathian passes into northern Hungary, while his kinsman Kadan broke in from the southern end into Transylvania. Being able to put in the field no more than 60,000 men, including the Croatian forces under Duke Koloman, Bela went to meet the enemy. On the Shayo River, near the city of Mishkoltz, a bloody battle was fought on April 11, 1241. In this battle the army of the king suffered a decisive defeat and was dispersed in all directions. The king managed to escape through the Carpathian Mountains and by way of Nyitra and Pozhun he fled to Austria, seeking refuge at the court of Duke Frederic II of Babenberg. However, his brother, Duke Koloman, was gravely wounded in the battle and died before he could reach the sea in the Slavonian town of Chazma. At this point the duke of Austria took advantage of the king's misfortune and forced Bela to cede to him three frontier countries. Disappointed by this reception, Bela proceeded with his family to Zagreb where he pleaded for help with various Christian rulers, all of whom turned deaf ears to his entreaties.

The Tartars Invade Croatia

In the meantime the Tartars devastated all of Hungary along the left bank of the Danube River, killing all who came within their reach. It so happened that the winter in that year was exceptionally cold and the rivers were frozen. This made it possible for the Tartars to cross the Danube at the beginning of February, 1242 and split into two forces; one body of troops commanded by Kadan, turning south in pursuit of King Bela; and the other, under the leadership of Batu-Khan, heading for Ostrogon, Szekes Fehervar, Veszprem, Gyoer and other Hungarian cities.

With his forces Kadan crossed the Drava River, reducing towns and hamlets on his way, and especially Zagreb, where the recently completed Cathedral of St. Stephen was badly damaged. In hot pursuit of Bela, Kadan hurried to the sea coast where the king with his family and many grandees sought refuge alternately in the well-fortified strongholds of Klis, Split, Trogir and the neighboring islands. Many Croatian noblemen came to the defense of the king at this time, such as Prince Styepko of Bribir, the son of George and the princes of Frankopani of Kerk (Veglia), who won Bela's undying gratitude. Kadan descended with his forces upon the coast, but all his efforts to capture the fortified cities and seize the king were unsuccessful.

By the end of March, 1242, the Tartar commander received news from Asia that in Karakorum, a city of Mongolia, the supreme Khan, Ogotay had died. Concerned about the succession to the throne, Kadan and the other Tartar leaders both in Hungary and Croatia, decided to return home. One column went through Bosnia, Serbia and Bulgaria to southern Russia, sowing murder and devastation all along the way. Another column reduced the vicinity of Ragusa, set Kotor on fire, and through Bulgaria broke through the lower Danube where it joined up with the troops of Batu-Khan, who arrived there from the borders of Austria. The epic of the Tartar invasion impressed itself deeply in the minds of the Croatian people and became a prolific source of folklore, the legends of which had been frequently taken for historical facts.

Reconstruction in the Wake of the Tartar Hordes

The horrible visitation that befell central Europe demolished in one year what had been building for centuries, both in Hungary and Croatia. The land was laid waste, the surviving population was hiding in the forests and mountain retreats so that far and wide not a living soul could be seen. The state organization was shaken to its foundations. Since the land had not been cultivated, famine broke out, followed by pestilence. Increasing the misery of the people were bands of robbers and packs of hungry wolves roaming through the land. A graphic picture of these horrors is given by the contemporary historian and chronicle writer, Archdeacon Thomas of Split.

Informed of the withdrawal of the Tartars, King Bela left Dalmatia in the summer of 1242. On his journey home he was accompanied by the princes of Kerk who lent him large sums of money. He returned first to Zagreb, and then went on to Hungary. The king quickly convinced himself that the work of reconstruction had to be started from the bottom. With great zeal and energy he tackled the task, and progress was gratifying. First he repaired the administrative apparatus, restored personal security and respect for property. He did all he could to alleviate the suffering of the population. Then he strengthened the defenses of the country, for another Tartar invasion was to be feared. Indeed the Tartar peril was permanent since they controlled all the territory east of the Carpathian Mountains.

His experience in Croatia convinced the king that only well-fortified cities could offer a measure of security and reliable refuge in case of an emergency. At this time there were only a few strongholds in the open country. While mountainous Croatia was well fortified, level Slavonia remained open to attack. For this reason Bela did everything to induce the high clergy and the lay nobility to build their own fortifications, while the old ones he had repaired and reinforced at public expense. The court took an active part in the general construction work. The king built up Budvar and the queen took the initiative in fortification of Vishegrad, not too far from Ostrogon. In northern Croatia too, many fortifications were built. Among them the most important was Kalnik, near Krizhevats, Medvedgrad near Zagreb, and Lipovats near Samobor.

The Rise of the Royal Free Cities

In order to swell the population of the devastated country, the king decided to invite foreigners, especially Germans to settle there, offering many inducements. Most of these newcomers were craftsmen who would settle only in towns and trade centers. In this manner the so-called royal free cities came into existence. The residents had a municipal government of their own and freely elected the city judge who performed the functions of a mayor up to the middle of the 19th century. They also elected the assistants of the judge, the parish priest, and in litigations they could appeal directly to the royal court.

An important privilege of the city residents was their free disposal of legacy. Attracted by these privileges many lower noblemen and free peasants settled in the towns. Together with the older city population they formed the Croatian municipal element. The citizens took part also in the defense of the country. Thus, they surrounded their cities with heavy and high stone walls and turrets, while able-bodied citizens served as soldiers or even horsemen in the royal guard. In 1242, on a hill near Zagreb, the first royal free city of Gradetz was founded. At about the same time also the free municipalities of Samobor (1242), Krizhevtsi (1252) and Yastrebarsko were founded.

War with Venice

In 1242 Bela again felt himself strong enough to seize the three Hungarian counties which he had ceded under duress in 1241 to Frederic of Babenberg, Duke of Austria. Soon after, he engaged in fighting with Venice on account of Zadar, which rebelled against the Republic early in 1242, upon the arrival of the king at the seacoast. However, the army of the Croatian duke and Banus Dionysius was defeated in the summer of 1243, near Zadar, and consequently the city fell again into the hands of Venice. In view of this, the majority of citizens migrated to the nearby city of Nin, which was made a base of operations against Venice. Confronted with this failure, Bela made peace with the Republic of Venice, renouncing to Zadar, while the Doge, in his turn, bound himself not to support the claims of "a certain Lombardian, Stephen - alleged son of King Andrew," who at that time resided in Venice and for whose benefit Beatrice demanded the Croatian duchy, after the death of Duke Koloman.

As a result of this arrangement, the citizens of Zadar resolved their differences with Venice in 1247, under very oppressive terms. From this time on, they had to accept an emissary of the Doge as their city chief. Further, they could no longer contract marriage with the Croatians, and on top of this, the Venetians took over the administration of all the city revenue, and began to dispose arbitrarily of the merchant marine of Zadar. They also enlisted by force men who were capable of bearing arms.

Civil Wars in Croatia

The chief reason why Bela yielded to Venice so suddenly and to such an extent should be found in the civil war that was then raging in Croatia. It was necessary at all cost to prevent Venice from interfering in the struggle which arose from the old quarrel of Trogir and Split over the Ostri village. The citizens of Split considered it their own, even though it was donated by King Bela to the citizens of Trogir. The grant was made by a special patent in which their rights and possessions were specified (May 16, 1242). The struggle between these two cities broke out immediately after the departure of the king to Hungary, and soon others, including the high nobility, joined in the affray. Thus, two factions emerged; the Trogir faction - or royalist party headed by Prince Styepko; and the Split faction - or anti-royalist party. Right at the beginning it became obvious that the Trogir faction was the strongest, especially on the sea. And for this reason the citizens of Split sought and found allies in the Omish clan of Kachich, the town of Polyitse, Prince Andrew of Hum (Herzegovina) and the Bosnian Banus Matey Ninoslav. The latter seized upon the occasion to exploit the weakness of Hungary and Croatia, as best he could, after the Tartar invasion. The armed intervention of the Bosnian banus was for the king the best proof of the seriousness of this strife in Croatia and he sent the Banus Dionysius with a strong army to subdue Split, while he himself set to field with another force in a campaign against Ninoslav.

In the summer of 1244, the royal armies scored success in both directions. The duke and Banus Dionysius forced the city of Split to surrender and then made peace with Trogir, which renounced Ostri. In addition, Split bound itself to select a royalist for prior, deliver six hostages and once again to take an oath of loyalty. In his turn, King Bela forced Ninoslav into submission. Furthermore, he confirmed the patent issued by his brother Koloman to the Bosnian Church, endowing it with the town of Djakovo and tithe collected in the northern provinces of Bosnia. For the execution of this order the king made Banus Ninoslav responsible. From that time on and up to the death of the banus (about August, 1245), peace was firmly established in Bosnia. In the meantime Bela had his five-year-old son Stephen crowned "the young king" of Hungary, and concurrently raised Banus Dionysius to the office of palatin.

The War for the Babenberg Heritage

After settling the matters in Bosnia and Croatia, Bela went to war with the Austrian Duke Frederic of Babenberg. In a battle fought at Weiner-Neustadt, Duke Frederic, the last Babenberg descendent, lost his life. Thus all the country from Bohemia to the Croatian frontier including both Austria and Styria remained without a legal ruler. Now both the Austrian neighbors, King Bela and the Bohemian king Otokar Premysl II, contended for the inheritance. The long, bitter and indecisive struggle was ended by the intervention of Pope Innocent IV (1243-1254) through whose efforts peace was concluded in the year 1254 in the city of Pozhun. By the terms of the peace, the king of Bohemia obtained Austria proper, while all of Styria (from Semering south) was ceded to Hungary.

Thereupon Bela appointed his son Stephen, "the younger king," governor of Styria and assigned the Croatian Duke Stephen to advise him. But the Styrians, exasperated by the Hungarian rule, were soon in general rebellion. The rebels forced the young Stephen and his counselor to leave Styria and proclaimed the Bohemian King Otokar Premysl (1259) as their sovereign. This incident ended in another Bohemian-Hungarian war in which the Bohemian troops defeated the Hungarian forces near Kroissenbrunn on the Morava River in 1260; after which King Bela had to renounce his claims to Styria.

As a guarantee for a permanent peace, the two kings agreed that the younger son of Bela should marry Otokar's niece, Kunigunda. Later on this marriage actually took place so that the blood-ties between the Arpad and Premysl dynasties were to become instrumental in establishing harmony between the two countries. However, the peace did not last long, for in the declining years of Bela's life, the king of Bohemia, after taking possession of Carinthia and Carniola, strove to take over western Slavonia also. True, the Croatian Zagorye and the whole Samobor region, by the time of Bela's death in 1270, were actually in Otokar's possession. The native partisans of the Bohemian king built a fortification over Samobor as a bulwark for the defense of the southern frontier of Otokar's state.

The Growing Power of the Oligarchs

The Tartar invasion deflected the policies of King Bela from the course he was about to follow at the beginning of his reign. Up to the time of the Tartar scourge, the king used all his authority to check the growth of the oligarchy, but after the invasion, he reversed his own policy. In exchange for military service he made liberal grants to his barons, giving them not only single estates, but entire districts, and authorizing them to build fortified strongholds on their estates. Thus Bela not only achieved his immediate goal but also increased considerably the power of the barons and magnates, who now were enabled to keep little standing armies destined not only to defend the king and country, but also, and primarily, to promote the private interests of the grandees.

In order to counteract the power of the oligarchy, the king tried to attach to the Crown the citizens and their guilds, while his own servants in the royal cities were raised to the status of nobility. Furthermore, he made them owners of the Crown lands which they had been cultivating in the past. In addition, the king won the towns of the grandees by fair exchange for their possessions. By this transaction, the king made an attempt to acquire and hold as castra regia (royal towns) all the more important strategic points in the country. But all these measures were mere palliatives, without effect upon the root of the evil. Controlling vast economic and military resources, the grandees became overbearing and presumptuous, both toward the king and the lower nobility. By enclosing small estates within their huge domains, the barons forced less fortunate knights and squires into a state of vassaldom. Some organized their forces into robber gangs and, from their strongholds, successfully challenged the power of the king himself.

The might of the oligarchy was greatly increased by the strife between King Bela and his son Stephen. Stephen was impatient for power. At the age of 23 he compelled the king to cede 29 counties to him as crown prince (1262), but even this did not long content him. He seized the banate of Macso (Machva or northern Serbia), and a new civil war broke out in Hungary between the followers of father and son, ending in 1265 with victory for Stephen. From this time forward he exercised royal powers within his own extensive domains, and the land of Hungary was divided between two kings with their separate courts and administrations.

At the same time the king's younger son Bela ruled independently and with full royal authority in Croatia. His reign extended from 1261 until his death in 1269. The "Golden Bull" had by now been entirely forgotten, and each king strove to win over the powerful barons by further grants of land and serfs. All Croatia stood firmly by the old king. In recognition of their loyalty and support during the Tartar invasion, King Bela endowed many noblemen with extensive estates.

Administrative Changes

In the latter part of his reign (around 1260) King Bela reorganized the administration of Croatia by a number of significant and effective changes. First, he provided a single rule for all the lands of the Croatian kingdom. In accordance with this disposition, he appointed a duke of royal blood to govern this extensive area, with the title "dux Totius Slavoniae, Croatiae et Dalmatiae." In his administrative duties the duke was assisted by two bani: the Slavonian and the Croatian-Dalmatian banus, the latter being also called the banus of the "maritime provinces."

In the absence of a duke of royal blood, which was most frequently the case, supreme authority belonged to the Slavonian banus, with the title of "banus of all Slavonia." The Croatian-Dalmatian banus had to submit to him and the title he bore was quite often that of the "sea coast banus." By this division of administrative authority, foundation was laid for splitting the kingdom of Croatia into two separate political and administrative areas: the kingdom of Croatia-Dalmatia proper, and the kingdom of Slavonia as a separate entity. This situation was to continue into the 16th century.

With a view to defending the Hungarian and Croatian frontiers from Serbia, Bela founded, by the end of his reign, the banate of Machva, reaching well into the present-day northwestern Serbia, south of the Sava and between the Drina and Kolubara Rivers, with its administrative center not far from the present-day town of Valyevo. For the purpose of increasing the income of the banus and for strengthening his military arm, Sriyem and Vuka counties were later attached to this banate. On the other hand, the county of Pozhega became the fiscal domain of the Queen from 1264 on. As a result the Croatian provinces slipped gradually from under the authority of the Slavonian banus into the Hungarian sphere of influence. This again became conducive to their incorporation into the Hungarian complex, a trend which was conspicuous especially in the 15th and 16th centuries, up to the battle of Mohach. During a struggle for succession to the throne in Bosnia, after the death of Banus Matey Ninoslav, King Bela made a similar disposition in the areas south of the Sava River, dividing the country into three parts after the pattern previously mentioned.

The Last Years of King Bela's Reign

At about the same time Duke Bela was presiding over the Croatian kingdom, but since he was a minor he carried on under the regency of his mother Queen Maria. Duke Bela and his mother resided in Zagreb and Knin surrounded by a brilliant court. He remained under the tutelage of his mother until 1268 when he began to rule independently. The next year, however, he suddenly died. Thus, another member of the Arpad family was removed from the state.

Another important event of that year was the betrothal of Maria, daughter of King Stephen V to the royal Prince Charles of Naples. Later on, Stephen's son and successor Ladislaus married the Neapolitan Princess Elizabeth of the House of Anjou. Thus the blood-ties between the Arpad and the Anjou dynasties became close enough to enthrone the Angevin branch in Hungary and Croatia when the line of male descendents from the House of Arpad was broken off. In the meantime King Bela IV, hero of the Tartar campaigns, died on the 3rd of May in 1270.

The Origin and Fortunes of the Anjou Dynasty

On such relatively insignificant matters as the intermarriage between the Arpad and Anjou families, many epoch-making events depended not only in Croatia and Hungary, but also in Poland and Lithuania. For this reason a closer acquaintance with the Anjou branch of the Capetian dynasty will help to obtain a clearer view of political relations in medieval Europe.

The founder of the Anjou Dynasty was Charles, Prince of Anjou, son of Louis VIII of France, and brother of the Saint-King Louis, the famous leader of two Crusades (1248-1254, and 1270). Louis VIII had four sons, the youngest of whom was Charles. Since Louis' oldest son was to inherit the crown of France, the father endowed his younger sons with extensive fiefs. Robert was given the province of Artois; Alphonse obtained Poitou and Auvergne; while Charles was endowed with the duchy of Anjou. The fortunes of Charles were further improved by his marriage to Beatrice, heiress of Provence. Then during the struggle of the papacy with Manfred (1258-1266), usurper of the Sicilian throne, Charles of Anjou was offered the kingdom of Sicily as a papal fief. The struggle with Manfred and his supporters was a bitter one, but Charles won a decisive victory in the battle of Benevento (1265). Manfred himself was killed in the battle. Thus, Charles became the unchallenged King of Sicily in the year 1266. He soon established himself as a dominant power in the Mediterranean, defying the Byzantine emperors, Arabic sultans and kings of Castille and Aragon alike.

The great Angevin founder was followed by a line of descendants all of whom left a deep imprint in the history of Europe. His son Charles II, King of Naples (1285-1309), was the husband of Mary, daughter of King Stephen VI of Hungary and Croatia. From this marriage came Charles Martel whose son was Charles I, King of Hungary and Croatia (1301-1342), and whose grandson was Louis I the Great, the King of Croatia, Hungary and Poland (1342-1382). Both the daughters of this Louis became queens. Mary, wife of Sigismund, inherited her father's throne, while Hedvig, wife of Wlodzislaw-Jagiello, was elected Queen of Poland. Their son was Wlodzislaw I Varnenchik (1440-1444), and grandson Vladislav I (1490-1516) successor of Mathias Corvinus. The latter's son Louis II (1516-1526) fell in the battle of Mohach.

From a side branch of Charles Martel's family came Charles II of Durazzo, King of Naples and short-lived King of Croatia and Hungary (1368). His son was Ladislaus, King of Naples, Croatia and Hungary (1386-1414), who treacherously sold Dalmatia to Venice for 100,000 ducats.

> Excerpts from "A History of the Croatian People", by Francis R. Preveden, copyright 1955, pgs 100-110

Compiled by: Marko Marelich, Retired Mechanical Engineer
San Francisco, California, U.S.A.
May, 2008