Magyar News, 1992. szeptember-1993. augusztus (3. évfolyam, 1-12. szám)
1993-07-01 / 11-12. szám
\TIA >ns to Hungary. banszky whose wife Helen was sister of the king of Hungary,Ladislas I. Zvonimir was crowned by the papal legate, with the blessing of Pope Gregory VII, to whom he took the oath of loyalty. His coronation reaffirmed Croatia’s solid adherence to the Roman church, western culture and institutions, introducing even in his internal policies some elements of western feudalism; his local representatives in the districts were called not anymore “zupans” but in Latin name “comes.” His preferential treatment of the Dalmatian cities helped to maintain their autonomous government and Latin character. These policies created much antagonism among the purely Slav northern part of his kingdom, where part of the population which still preferred the old Slavonic rite and language in the church and felt more affinity to the eastern orthodox ways of the Balkans. The latent discontent eventually resulted Zvonimir’s assassination in 1089. This event threw the country in turmoil, since Zvonimir had no male successor and the population was divided between two parties; one the pro-S lav party elect a member of the fam ilyofZvonimir’s predecessor, Stephen II. However he was old, lived in a monastery and one year after his election died. The other party, supported by the Catholic clergy and the Dalmatian cities, rallied behind the widow, Helen, who appealed for help to her brother the Hungarian king Ladislas I. Whether it was an actual offer of the throne by the Croatian nobility, or the unsafe situation of her sister which prompted Ladislas to intervene, at any rate he crossed in 1091 the Drava and proceeded with his army into Croatian territory, finding no resistance, until he reached the mountains south-west from Zagreb. Here he interrupted his campaign and returned to Hungary where an invasion of the Cumans in the eastern border made his presence necessary; but he left behind his nephew Almos, as governor of the occupied territory. The campaign was resumed only after Ladislas’ death in 1095 by his other nephew and successor, King Coloman (Könyves Kálmán) (1095-1116). When Coloman entered Croatia with his army, the country was still divided. The northern part, overwhelmingly Slav,elected a new king in the person of a Croatian nobleman, Peter, who resided in the old capital Knin, in the Dalmatian hinterland, but the Dalmatian cities refused to recognize him and turned for protection to the emperor in Constantinople, Alexios Comnenos. The emperor was in difficult straits because of the First Crusade which was passing at that time through Byzantine territory. In this situation he concluded an agreement with the Venetian republic, retaining for himself the supreme authority, and endowing the doge with the title of imperial governor and “Dux Croatiae et Dalmatiae,” transferred the Dalmatian cities in the possession of Venice. Accordingly the principal cities of Trau, Spalato and Zara opened their gates and promised obeisance to the Doge. Meanwhile Coloman crossed the Kapela mountains of northern Croatia and in 1097 defeated the army of the Croatian king, Peter, who fell in the battle. Coloman’s progress to the coast, however, had one more obstacle: the Venetian presence in the Dalmatian cities. The Venetian domination was welcomed by the already diminishing Latin-speaking population of the surrounding countryside. These people, former supporters of Zvonimir, the Croatian upper class, the Croatian Catholic clergy,buteven Coloman’s formerenemies, the remnants of the defeated king Peter’s party, preferred protection offered by Coloman, the western-oriented and strongly Catholic king against the overwhelming Italian influence of Venice or the rigid eastern orthodoxy of Constantinople. Coloman also established good relations with the Papacy and signed a treaty of friendship with Venice; the emperor of Byzantine also was grateful to Coloman for his assistance against an attack of the Normans on the empire. After these diplomatic preparations, Coloman continued his march towards the South into Dalmatia and met the followers of the late king Zvonimir’s party. They resisted to accept Coloman’s claim to be recognized as king of Croatia on a hereditary basis as nephew of the queen Helen, Zvonimir’s widow. Instead the Croatian nobles and Coloman agreed in a compromise, and on this basis Coloman in 1102, was crowned in Biograd (near the city of Zara) as King of Croatia and Dalmatia. This compromise remained in its essentials in effect till 1918 and was the basis of the associated relationship between Hungary and Croatia for over 800 years. According to this compromise, the leaders of the Croatian tribes recognized Coloman as king of Croatia and Dalmatia on his own right, but did not submit themselves to him as the king of Hungary. Coloman promised to convoke the assemblies (sabor) of the Croatian nobility, to listen to their views and demands, and to preserve the old laws and customsof Croatia. He also gave assurance to the nobility to keep their liberties and privileges. In essence the compromise established a permanent association of two independent countries under the person of the same ruler. After his coronation Coloman started out on an armed expedition along the Dalmatian coast to deal w ith the si tuation of the cities. The emperor of Constantinople, Alexios Comnenos, as mentioned earlier, was favorably inclined toward Coloman, first cousinof King Ladislas’ daughter Irene, who was married to Alexios’ son, the heir of the Byzantine imperial thrown, John Comnenos. Thus Alexios disregarded his earlier cession of the Dalmatian cities to Venice and transferred the title of “Duke of Dalmatia” and the authority of imperial proconsul to Coloman. S ince the pope, Pascal II, also gave his blessing to the transfer, the Doge of Venice agreed to abandon peacefully the control over the Dalmatian cities. Now Coloman’s diplomatic victory was complete and his campaign along the coast was almost like a triumphal march. In May 1107 the major Dalmatian cities, Zara, Trau, Spalato and some of the islands opened their gates before him, after imposing specific conditions which Coloman accepted. Thus he offered an oath to the city of Zara, seat of the proconsul, to respect and maintain the old autonomy of the city. Similar city-charters were confirmed by Coloman to the other cities too; one of these, the charter of the city of Trau was preserved and it gives us an idea about the unprecedented limitation of the royal authority, which Coloman agreed to, concerning the Dalmatian Cities. The king, among other things, promised not to impose any tribute on the City. Each city-commune should elect its own bishop or head of the local church community, as well as the judges of the city, which should be governed by its own laws. The revenues from the porttariffs should be divided equally among the city, the church and the king. No foreigner (including Hungarians too) can enter the city without the permission of the citycommune, etc. Beyond the specific status of the Dalmatian cities, the far reaching significance of the overall compromise between Coloman and the Croatian nobility lies not only in the fact that both parties attained their shortterm objectives: Coloman had opened access for Hungary to the Adriatic, and the Croatians were freed from the danger of overwhelming Latin (Italian) cultural influence, or from the orthodox East, a political and cultural subjection. The far reaching significanceof the compromise is that it established between Hungary and Croatia a permanent association of unprecedented endurance inherent in the mutual interests and political wisdom of the two parties involved. This association outlasted six dynasties through eight centuries, and it was dissolved only in October 1918 at the end of World War I, which signaled the collapse of the entire old political structure and balance of power in Europe. 5
