Stephen I of Croatia

Stephen I Krešimirović (Croatian: Stjepan I Krešimirović) (c. 988 – 1058) was a King of Croatia from c. 1030 until 1058 and a member of House of Trpimirović, first of the Krešimirović branch. Stephen I is actually not first Croatian king that bore the name "Stephen" ("Stjepan"), but second. Although, since Stephen Držislav took the name Stephen at his coronation, and it was not his native name, Stephen I was always referred as "the first". His ban was Stephen Prasca.

Biography

Background

As the son of former King Svetoslav Suronja,^[1] who gave him as a hostage to Pietro II Orseolo, he married Hicela Orseolo, who bore him two sons: Peter Krešimir IV, who succeeded him as the King of Croatia and Častimir, the father of the future Croatian King Stephen II.

Reign as king

Stephen formally succeeded his father Krešimir III in 1030, although it is likely that he co-ruled with him from 1028. The King continued his predecessors' ambitions of spreading rule over the coastal cities and conducted activities in that course greatly, but it was all eventually in vain. He focused on rebuilding Croatia's military strength.

Between 1038 and 1041, Stephen managed to successfully conquer Zadar from the Venetians for a short period, possibly with the help of the newly crowned Hungarian king Peter Urseolo, whose aunt Stephen was married to.^[2]

Croatian Kingdom c. 1045, during the reign of king Stephen I of Croatia

In 1035, the Carinthian count Aldabero sought help in Croatia against the Holy Roman Emperor Conrad II, who he was in a feud with since he succeeded the throne. Aldabero was accused on 18 May 1035 during the Bamberg assembly for conspiring with Croatia. Because of this, the Emperor strengthened the southeastern part of his state, where it bordered with Croatia. On the same year, Stjepan I sent his cousin Dobronja to Constantinople, so he could meet the Byzantine Emperor. However, since Stjepan was in war with the Republic of Venice, a Byzantine ally, Dobronja was imprisoned and there he eventually died.

The circumstances changed in 1046 when Peter I of Hungary, the son of the former Venetian Doge Oton Orseolo and the niece of the Hungarian king Stephen I, fled from the kingdom. The Croatian king used this to invade and pillage Hungary, and he expanded his domain all the way to the river Drina to the east. This provoked an attack by the doge Domenico I Contarini who took Zadar in 1050.

In an effort to keep the Roman influence over the Dalmatian cities, the Byzantine emperor appointed Stjepan Praska, previously a ban serving under king Stephen I, as an Imperial commander. Although he nominally worked for the Byzantine Empire from Zadar, he helped the king gain other littoral settlements.

Later life and death

Stephen I established the diocese of Knin in 1040, which stretched to the north until it met the river Drava.^[3] The bishop of Knin had also the nominal title as the "Croatian bishop" (Latin: episcopus Chroatensis).

Trade and commerce flourished under Stephen I. A burgeoning aristocracy emerged in Zadar, Biograd, Knin, Split and other coastal cities. It is likely that urban centres in Slavonia also grew at this time (particularly along the Sava River) as people migrated northwards and eastwards in search of new farming land. The two largest towns in Slavonia at this time were Zagreb and Sisak.

Stephen I ruled until 1058 when his son, Petar Krešimir IV, took over.

Family

c. 1008: Hicela Orseolo

• Peter Krešimir IV of Croatia (? – 1074/1075), King of Croatia from 1059
• Častimir or Gojslav (? – ?)

See also

• Trpimirović dynasty
• History of Croatia

References

Sources

• Intervju - ДИНАСТИЈЕ и владари јужнословенских народа. Special Edition 12, 16 June 1989.
• Royal Croatia

House of Trpimirović Trpimir I (845–864) Zdeslav (878–879) Muncimir (892–910) Tomislav (910–928) Trpimir II (928–935) Krešimir I (935–945) Miroslav (945–949) Michael Krešimir II (949–969) Stephen Držislav (969–997) Svetoslav Suronja (997–1000) Krešimir III (1000– c. 1030) and Gojslav (1000–c. 1020) Stephen I (c. 1030–1058) Peter Krešimir IV (1058–1074) Demetrius Zvonimir (1075–1089) Stephen II (1089–1091)