Svetoslav Suronja (), was
King
King is a royal title given to a male monarch. A king is an Absolute monarchy, absolute monarch if he holds unrestricted Government, governmental power or exercises full sovereignty over a nation. Conversely, he is a Constitutional monarchy, ...
of
Croatia
Croatia, officially the Republic of Croatia, is a country in Central Europe, Central and Southeast Europe, on the coast of the Adriatic Sea. It borders Slovenia to the northwest, Hungary to the northeast, Serbia to the east, Bosnia and Herze ...
from 997 to 1000. A member of the
Trpimirović dynasty
The Trpimirović dynasty () was a native Croatian dynasty that ruled in the Duchy and later the Kingdom of Croatia, with interruptions by the Domagojević dynasty from 845 until 1091. It was named after Trpimir I, the first member and founder ...
, he reigned with the help of his ''
ban'', Varda.
John the Deacon (d. 1009) called him "Surinja" (),
adopted in Croatian historiography as "Suronja", meaning "dark man" or "cold man", probably due to his temper. He was the oldest son of king
Stephen Držislav, from whom he received the title of
duke
Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of Royal family, royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and above sovereign princes. As royalty or nobi ...
, and was designated as his successor.
Rebellion
After the death of their father, his brothers
Krešimir III and
Gojslav started organizing a rebellion against him since Svetoslav rejected sharing power over the kingdom. The brothers had asked Bulgarian emperor
Samuil for aid, even though the emperor was at war with the
Byzantine Empire
The Byzantine Empire, also known as the Eastern Roman Empire, was the continuation of the Roman Empire centred on Constantinople during late antiquity and the Middle Ages. Having survived History of the Roman Empire, the events that caused the ...
. In the war, the Byzantines were supported by
Venice
Venice ( ; ; , formerly ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 islands that are separated by expanses of open water and by canals; portions of the city are li ...
and Svetoslav Suronja, who had continued his father's policy. Samuil had accepted the revolters' invitation and attacked Croatia in 998, which started the last of three
Croatian-Bulgarian wars. In his rampage, he took all of Croatian Dalmatia up to Zadar after which he ended his rampage, returning home to Bulgaria through Bosnia. Samuil gave all the territory he took to the revolters
Krešimir
Krešimir () is a Croatian masculine given name.
Notable people with the name used mononymously include:
*Krešimir I of Croatia, King of Croatian Kingdom from 935 until his death in 945
*Michael Krešimir II of Croatia (died 969), King of Croati ...
and
Gojslav. Using this newly gained territory and further Bulgarian aid, the brothers overthrew their elder brother, Svetoslav Suronja, and became rulers of Croatia.
War with Venice
Svetoslav's reign was particularly unpleasant for
the Dalmatian cities, as they were occasionally raided and pillaged by his supporters. The cities asked the Venetian Republic for help in the autumn of 999, which encouraged Venice to make a pact with the Byzantine Empire in order to secure the cities for themselves. Taking the Croatian raids as a ''casus belli'', the
Venetian Doge Pietro II Orseolo
Pietro II Orseolo (961−1009) was the Doge of Venice from 991 to 1009, and a member of the House of Orseolo. He began the period of eastern expansion of Venice that lasted for the better part of 500 years. He secured his influence in the Dalma ...
launched a campaign in Dalmatia against Croatia in 1000.
In May, Croatia lost the islands
Cres
Cres is an Adriatic island in Croatia. It is one of the northern islands in the Kvarner Gulf and can be reached via ferry from Rijeka, Krk island or from the Istrian peninsula (line Brestova-Porozina).
With an area of ,
Cres has the same si ...
,
Lošinj,
Krk
Krk (; ; ; ; archaic German: ''Vegl'', ; ) is a Croatian island in the northern Adriatic Sea, located near Rijeka in the Bay of Kvarner and part of Primorje-Gorski Kotar county. Krk is tied with Cres as the largest Adriatic island, depending o ...
and
Rab to the Doge, who was eventually received in Zadar and recognised as its master. Svetoslav sent envoys to the city offering peace, but the Doge declined and decided to further his campaign. From here the island
Pašman
Pašman () is an Adriatic island off the coast of northern Dalmatia in Croatia with an area of 60.11 km2,
located to the south of Zadar, surrounded by the islands of Ugljan to the northwest, Iž to the west, and Dugi Otok and Žut to th ...
was taken and, with negotiations, the city of
Biograd.
He was the father of
Stjepan Svetoslavić.
[Nada Klaic, Sources for Croatian History before 1526, 1972]
See also
*
Croatian-Bulgarian Wars
*
Trpimirović dynasty
The Trpimirović dynasty () was a native Croatian dynasty that ruled in the Duchy and later the Kingdom of Croatia, with interruptions by the Domagojević dynasty from 845 until 1091. It was named after Trpimir I, the first member and founder ...
*
History of Croatia
At the time of the Roman Empire, the area of modern Croatia comprised two Roman provinces, Pannonia and Dalmatia (Roman province), Dalmatia. After the Fall of the Western Roman Empire, collapse of the Western Roman Empire in the 5th century, the ...
*
List of rulers of Croatia
This is a complete list of dukes and kings of Croatia () under domestic ethnic and elected dynasties during the Duchy of Croatia (until 925), the Kingdom of Croatia (925–1102), the Kingdom of Croatia and Dalmatia (1102–1526 in union with K ...
Footnotes
Sources
* ''Intervju - ДИНАСТИЈЕ и владари јужнословенских народа''. Special Edition 12, 16 June 1989.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Svetoslav Suronja Of Croatia
10th-century Croatian monarchs
Trpimirović dynasty
Christian monarchs