page_title: Croatia in union with Hungary
section_title: Struggle with Venice and Byzantium
hierarchical_section_title: Croatia in union with Hungary / History / Struggle with Venice and Byzantium
caption_attribution_description: English: Lands, countries and kingdoms under king Bela III.
context_page_description: The Kingdom of Croatia entered a personal union with the Kingdom of Hungary in 1102, after a period of rule of kings from the Trpimirović and Svetoslavić dynasties and a succession crisis following the death of king Demetrius Zvonimir. With the coronation of King Coloman of Hungary as "King of Croatia and Dalmatia" in 1102 in Biograd, the realm passed to the Árpád dynasty until 1301, when the line of the dynasty died out. Then, kings from the Capetian House of Anjou, who were also cognatic descendants of the Árpád kings, ruled the kingdoms. Later centuries were characterized by conflicts with the Mongols, who sacked Zagreb in 1242, competition with Venice for control over Dalmatian coastal cities, and internal warfare among Croatian nobility. Various powerful nobles emerged in the time period, like Paul I Šubić of Bribir and Hrvoje Vukčić Hrvatinić, that secured de facto independence for their realms. The Ottoman incursion into Europe in the 16th century significantly reduced Croatian territories and left the country weak and divided.
context_section_description: By 1107 King Coloman controlled most of former Byzantine coastal cities in Dalmatia. Since those cities were important, Hungarians and Croats often fought with Venice and Byzantine Empire for the region. In 1116, after the death of Coloman, Venice attacked the Dalmatian coast, defeated the army of Croatian Ban Cledin and seized Biograd, Split, Trogir, Šibenik, Zadar and several islands. King Stephen II, Coloman's successor, unsuccessfully tried to regain the lost cities in 1117, although the Doge of Venice Ordelafo Faliero was killed in a battle near Zadar. A five-year truce was signed, confirming the status quo. In 1124 Stephen II again attacked the Venetian holdings and regained Biograd, Split, Šibenik and Trogir, but Zadar and the islands remained under Venetian control. However, in 1125 Doge Domenico Michele reconquered those cities and razed Biograd. In 1131 Béla II succeeded to the throne and in 1133 won back the lost cities except Zadar. In 1167 a part of Croatia south of Krka River, as well as Bosnia, was conquered by the Byzantines and remained under their control until the death of Emperor Manuel I Komnenos in 1180, when the Byzantine Empire relinquished the acquired lands. After 1180 area under the administration of ban increased, but his domain and scope of activities were not yet fully formulated.
  Following the death of Emperor Manuel I Komnenos the Byzantine Empire was no longer able to maintain its power consistently in Dalmatia. Soon Zadar rebelled against Venice and became a constant battleground until 1202 when, during the Fourth Crusade, the Venetians under Doge Enrico Dandolo and the Crusaders sacked Zadar (Zara), despite the fact that King Emeric I pledged himself to join the Crusade. It was the first attack against a Catholic city by the Crusaders. Venice demanded this as a compensation for their transport further east towards Constantinople, where they later founded the Latin Empire. Hostilities with Venice continued until 1216 during the reign of King Andrew II, who used the Venetian fleet to join the Fifth Crusade.
caption: Kingdom of Croatia and Dalmatia in the late 12th century (light green)
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