page_title: Croatian nobility
section_title: History of Croatian nobility
hierarchical_section_title: Croatian nobility / History of Croatian nobility
caption_attribution_description: Hrvatski: Povelja kneza MuncimiraEnglish: Duke Muncimir's chart
context_page_description: Croatian nobility was a privileged social class in Croatia during the Antiquity and Medieval periods of the country's history. Noble families in the Kingdom of Croatia included high ranking populates from Slavonia, Dalmatia, Istria, Bosnia and Republic of Ragusa. Members belonged to an elite social hierarchy, normally placed immediately behind blood royalty, that possessed considerably more privileges or eminence than most other classes in a society. Membership thereof typically was often hereditary. Historically, membership in the nobility and the prerogatives thereof have been regulated or acknowledged by the monarch. Acquisition of sufficient power, wealth, military prowess or royal favour enabled commoners to ascend into the nobility. The country's royalty was heavily influenced by France's nobility resulting members of the Royal Courts to assume French titles and practices during French occupation. The controversial assumption of French practices contributed to wide spread political and social elitism among the nobles and monarch.
context_section_description: Croatia was elevated to the status of Kingdom around 925, and the notions of nobility quickly followed. The nobility of the continental and island states of Croatia played a major role in shaping the history of the country, although in the present day even hereditary peers have no special rights, privileges or responsibilities, except for special designations who are accorded limited rights. Select members of select noble families are given the right to an audience with the prime minister. Tomislav was the first Croatian ruler whom the Papal chancellery honored with the title "king". The king was granted the right to award titles to high-ranking members of society and direct blood descendants.
  Sometime between 923 and 928, Tomislav succeeded in uniting the Croats of Pannonia and Dalmatia, each of which had been ruled separately by dukes, thus furthering the Croatian nobility and its primary interests. The nobles of Croatia, at the time, administered a group of eleven counties (županije) and one banate. Each of these regions had a fortified royal town administered by a member of the royal court charged by a noble.
  Croatian society underwent major changes in the 10th century. Local leaders, the župani, were replaced by the retainers of the king, who took land from the previous landowners, essentially creating a feudal system. The previously free peasants became serfs and ceased being soldiers, causing the military power of Croatia to fade and the noble class to assume more wealth. The rule of Krešimir's son Miroslav was marked by a gradual weakening of Croatia, and thus the powers of the nobility. Nobility marked their divine right to rule through intense violence that included setting entire villages on fire to reinforce fighting "fire with fire."
  As soon as Stjepan Držislav had died in 997, his three sons, Svetoslav (997–1000), Krešimir III (1000–1030), and Gojslav (1000–1020), opened a violent contest for the throne, weakening the state dramatically. Each of the three brothers already firmly placed in the upper tier of the country's nobility required more power than was allocated to them. All three of them took hold of the armies under their jurisdiction and began to fight the armies of one another until Gojslav and Krešimir III decided to rule concurrently, with the third taking control of the Duchy of Croatia.
  During the reign of Peter Krešimir IV (1058–1074), the medieval Croatian kingdom reached its territorial peak and more land then ever was disseminated to the noble families. However, Krešimir managed to get the Byzantine Empire to confirm him as the supreme ruler of the Theme of Dalmatia; this further restricted the powers of the dukes and duchesses. During this time nobles advocated for the Roman curia to become more involved in the religious affairs of Croatia, which consolidated the monarchical power but disrupted his rule over the Glagolitic clergy in parts of Istria after 1060. Croatia under the at-the-time set up was composed of twelve counties and was slightly larger than in the previous kingdom. It included the closest southern Dalmatian duchy of Pagania, and its influence extended over Zahumlje, Travunia, and Duklja. As a result of this Dukedom was an increasingly popular designation by the monarch.
  After the 1089 revolt there was no permanent state capital, as the royal residence varied was partially destroyed and now varied from one ruler to another; five cities in total reportedly obtained the title of a royal seat: Nin (Krešimir IV), Biograd (Stephen Držislav, Krešimir IV), Knin (Zvonimir, Petar Svačić), Šibenik (Krešimir IV), and Solin (Krešimir II).
  According to the Supetar Cartulary, a new king was elected by select members of the nobility which included seven bans: ban of Croatia, ban of Bosnia, ban of Slavonia etc. The bans were elected by the first six Croatian tribes, while the other six were responsible for choosing župans (see Twelve noble tribes of Croatia). In this time the noble titles in Croatia were made analogous to those used in other parts of Europe at the time, with comes and baron
caption: Duke Muncimir's charter from 892. (transcript): divino munere Croatorum dux ("with God's help, Duke of the Croats").
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