Stephen II of Croatia

Stephen II (Croatian: Stjepan II) (died 1091) was the last member of the Trpimirović dynasty and last native Croatian king to rule the entire medieval Croatian Kingdom.^[1][2] Stephen's father was Častimir, the younger brother of Peter Krešimir IV of Croatia.

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 to Demetrius Zvonimir, previously a ban in Slavonia. Demetrius Zvonimir was a member of the junior Trpimirović branch the Svetoslavić's (descendants of Svetoslav Suronja). By the time Dmitar Zvonimir died in 1089, Stephen was old and seriously affected by ill health. Nevertheless, he assumed the throne after being persuaded by the aristocracy and clergy.

Stephen's rule was relatively ineffectual and lasted less than two years. He spent most of this time in the tranquility of the monastery of Sv. Stjepan pod Borovima (St. Stephen beneath the Pines) near Split. Zvonimir's widow, Queen Jelena, reportedly plotted the inheritance of the Croatian Crown for her brother, King Ladislaus I of Hungary.

Stephen II died peacefully in December 1090, or at the beginning of 1091, without leaving an heir. War and unrest broke out in Croatia shortly afterward, with the southern nobility electing Petar Svačić as King of Croatia in 1093, immediately entering into conflict with the Hungarian king Ladislaus.

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