Croatian

The Croats are a South Slavic people settling the eastern Adriatic hinterland, Dalmatia and Pannonia in the late sixth and early seventh centuries, absorbing romanized coastal folk. Their dukes accepted Frankish and Byzantine overlordship while keeping their own rulers; Christianity took root early, and in 879 the pope recognized Duke Branimir as an independent prince.

Around 925 Tomislav became the first Croatian king; the Trpimirović dynasty raised the kingdom to its height, with Glagolitic writing preserved on the Baška tablet of about 1100. A succession crisis carried the crown to the Hungarian Árpáds in 1102, yet the kingdom kept the Sabor assembly and Ban viceroy.

In 1337 Croatian nobles held land contested between the Hungarian crown and Venice, holder of Dalmatian cities; the Mongols had sacked Zagreb in 1242. Ottoman conquests after 1463 reduced Croatian lands to a frontier, and after Mohács in 1526 the crown passed to the Habsburgs, under whom the Croats guarded the frontier against the Ottomans for three centuries.