Peter Krešimir IV

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Petar Krešimir IV
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Petar Krešimir IV
Trpimirović
FatherStephen I
MotherHicela Orseolo
ReligionCatholicism

Peter Krešimir IV, called the Great (

Croatia from 1059 until his death in 1074 or 1075.[1] He was the last great ruler of the Krešimirović branch of the Trpimirović dynasty
.

Under Peter Krešimir IV, the

Croatian history.[2] He kept his seat at Nin and Biograd na Moru;[3] however, the city of Šibenik holds a statue of him and is sometimes called "Krešimir's city" (Croatian: "Krešimirov grad") because he is generally credited as the founder.[4][5]

Biography

Early years

Peter Krešimir was born as one of two children to king

Venetian Doge Pietro II Orseolo.[6] Krešimir succeeded his father Stephen I upon his death in 1058 and was crowned the next year. It is not known where his coronation took place, but some historians suggest Biograd as a possibility.[7]

From the outset, he continued the policies of his father,

Great Schism of 1054, when a papal ally in the Balkans was a necessity. Upon a visit of the papal legate Mainardius in 1060, at Church sabor in Split in 1061, Krešimir and the upper nobility lent their support to the pope and the church of Rome.[9]

Ruins of Monastery of Saint John the Evangelist in Biograd na Moru.

Church conclusions were made also against the Croatian Glagolitic priesthood and other having long beards and hair style, marriages, and that the secular government does not interfere in the affairs of the church, in aim to distance them from

Glagolitic), whereas the pope demanded practice in Latin.[11] This caused a rebellion of the clergy led by a bishop of Krk Cededa and a certain priest named Vuk (Ulfus),[11] who had presented the demands and gifts of the Croats to the Pope during his stay in Rome, but was told nothing could be accomplished without the consent of the Split see and the king.[12] They protested against celibacy and the Roman Rite in 1063, but they were proclaimed heretical at a synod of 1064 and excommunicated, a decision which Krešimir supported. Krešimir harshly quelled all opposition and sustained a firm alignment towards western Romanism, with the intent of more fully integrating the Dalmatian
populace into his realm.

In turn, he could then use them to balance the power caused by the growing feudal class. By the end of Krešimir's reign, feudalism had made permanent inroads into Croatian society and Dalmatia had been permanently associated with the Croatian state,[13] and the last Byzantine protospatharios and katepano of Dalmatia, named Leo, is mentioned in 1067 and 1069.[14]

The income from the cities further strengthened Krešimir's power, and he subsequently fostered the development of more cities, such as

Benedictine monasteries of St John the Evangelist (1060) and St Thomas (c. 1066) in Biograd, and donated much land to the Church. In 1066, he granted a charter to the new monastery of St. Mary in Zadar, where the founder and first nun was his cousin, the Abbess Čika. This remains the oldest Croatian monument in the city of Zadar, and became a spearhead for the reform movement. During the same year, he gave his nephew Stephen Trpimirović the office of Duke of Croatia, which designated him as his co-ruler and successor.[15]

In 1067, the northern part of the kingdom was invaded by

Kvarner and the eastern coast of Istria, the "March of Dalmatia". As the king was at that time preoccupied with the liturgical issues and reforms in Dalmatia, these parts were eventually liberated by his ban Demetrius Zvonimir.[16]

Territorial policy

Croatian Kingdom
during the reign of king Petar Krešimir IV

It was during his rule that, for the first time, the high-ranking office of

banate of Slavonia existed during this period, which was at this time likely held by Krešimir's successor Demetrius Zvonimir.[17] The city of Šibenik is for the first time mentioned during his rule in 1066, which was his seat for some time and is for these reasons referred to as "Krešimir's city" in modern times.[18]

In 1069, he gave the island of Maun, near Nin, to the monastery of St. Krševan in Zadar, in thanks for the "expansion of the kingdom on land and on sea, by the grace of the omnipotent God" (quia Deus omnipotens terra marique nostrum prolungavit regnum). In his surviving document, Krešimir nevertheless did not fail to point out that it was "our own island that lies on our Dalmatian sea" (nostram propriam insulam in nostro Dalmatico mari sitam, que vocatur Mauni).[19][20]

Around 1070, Krešimir was rumored to have previously murdered his brother Gojslav (some historians identify with

Dmitar Zvonimir the new Ban of Croatia, and subsequently elevated him as his principal adviser with the title Duke of Croatia.[7]

Relations with Byzantium and the Normans

In 1069, he had the

eparch, consolidated his holdings as the regnum Dalmatiae et Chroatia. This was not a formal title, but it designated a unified political-administrative territory, which had been the chief desire of the Croatian kings.[20]

Peter Krešimir IV's confirmation of donating land parcels to the diocese of Rab.[3]

In the meantime, the

Amico of Giovinazzo, who was in Byzantine service and Byzantines instigated the attack on Krešimir because he abandoned emperor's sovereignty,[24] also besieged the island of Rab for almost a month (14 April to early May). The siege failed, but he managed to take the island of Cres on 9 May. It was during these clashes that the Croatian king himself was captured by Amico at an unidentified location.[23][24] The capture was mentioned on Church Sabor of Split in November 1074, which is the last time King Petar Krešimir's name was mentioned.[23] In February 1075, the Republic of Venice expelled the Normans and assumed control of the Dalmatian cities for themselves.[23]

Death and succession

Near the end of his reign, having no sons, Peter Krešimir designated Demetrius Zvonimir as his heir.[23] It seems that Petar Krešimir died in a Norman prison by November 1074 because on 25 January 1075 was sent a letter by Pope Gregory VII to Sweyn II of Denmark in search of a candidate for a new ruler of, to the Pope, nearby "rich land by the sea which became mastered by vulgar and cowardly heretics", meaning Croatia and Amico's Normans.[23] The help from Danish king wasn't needed as Venice soon expelled the Normans and was the coronation of Zvonimir who pledged loyalty to the Holy See.[23]

Krešimir was buried in the church of St. Stephen in

Mausoleum of Croatian Kings.[25] Several centuries later the Ottoman Turks destroyed the church, banished the monks who had preserved it, and destroyed the graves.[26]

Legacy

Statute of Krešimir in Šibenik

Krešimir is, by some historians, regarded as one of the greatest

Croatian navy was named after Krešimir. The city of Šibenik holds a statue
of him and some schools in the vicinity are named after Krešimir.

Notes

  1. ^ "WWW.HR - Početna stranica Hrvatske".
  2. ^ Ante Oršanić, "Hrvatski orač", 1939.
  3. ^ a b "Monumenta antiquissima".
  4. ^ Šibenik – a story of four citadels Archived 2008-05-11 at the Wayback Machine
  5. ^ Dragutin Pavličević, Povijest Hrvatske. Zagreb, 2007.
  6. ^ Budak, p. 237
  7. ^ a b "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-08-14. Retrieved 2010-09-29.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  8. ^ Budak, p. 254
  9. ^ Budak, p. 229, 252
  10. ^ Budak, p. 229–230, 252–253
  11. ^ a b Budak, p. 253
  12. ^ Šišić, p. 516
  13. ^ Budak, p. 230
  14. ^ Šišić, p. 518
  15. ^ Nada Klaić, Povijest Hrvata u ranom srednjem vijeku, Zagreb 1975., p. 377-379
  16. ^ Šišić, p. 526
  17. ^ Budak, p. 267
  18. ^ a b Kralj Petar Krešimir IV.
  19. ^ Tomislav Raukar, Hrvatsko srednjovjekovlje, Školska Knjiga, Zagreb, 1997 pp. 47-48
  20. ^ Budak, p. 231
  21. ^ a b c d e f g h Zekan, Mate (1990). Kralj Zvonimir - dokumenti i spomenici [King Zvonimir - Documents and Monuments] (in Croatian and English). Zagreb: Muzej hrvatskih arheoloških spomenika Split, arheološki muzej Zagreb. p. 12–15.
  22. ^ a b c Budak, p. 231–232
  23. ^ Thomas e. c. 55: "Ibi namque magnificus vir Cresimir rex. in atrio videlicet basilice Sancti Stephani tumulatus est cum pluribus aliis regibus et reginis"
  24. ^ "Gospin otok" (in Croatian). Archived from the original on 2012-01-20. Retrieved 2016-12-24.

Literature

External links

Peter Krešimir IV
Trpimirović Dynasty
 Died: 1074
Regnal titles
Preceded by
King of Croatia

1058–1074
Succeeded by