History of Croatia

Croatian lands before the Croats (until 7th c.)

The area known as Croatia today has been inhabited throughout the prehistoric period, since the Stone Age. In the middle Paleolithic, Neanderthals lived in Krapina. In the early Neolithic period, the Starcevo, Vinca, Sopot, Vucedol and Hvar cultures were scattered around the region. The Iron Age left traces of the Hallstatt culture (proto-Illyrians) and the La Tene culture (proto-Celts).

In recorded history, the area was inhabited by the Illyrians, and since the 4th century BC also colonized by the Celts and by the Greeks. Illyria was a sovereign state until the Romans conquered it in 168 BC. The Western Empire organized the provinces of Pannonia and Dalmatia, which after its downfall passed to the Huns, the Ostrogoths and then to the Byzantine Empire. Forebears of Croatia's current Slav population settled there in the 7th century.

Medieval Croatian state (until 1102)

The Croat and other Slavic tribes arrived in what is today Croatia and Bosnia in the 7th century. The Croats organized into two dukedoms; the Pannonian duchy in the north and the Dalmatian duchy in the south. The Christianization of the Croats ended in the 9th century.

The first native Croatian ruler recognized by a pope was duke Branimir, whom Pope John VIII called dux Chroatorum in 879.


The first King of Croatia, Tomislav of the Trpimirovic dynasty, was crowned in 925. Tomislav, rex Chroatorum, united the Pannonian and Dalmatian duchies and created a sizeable state. He defeated Bulgarian Tsar Symeon I in one of the greatest battles in history (Battle of the Bosnian Highlands). The medi?val Croatian kingdom reached its peak during the reign of King Petar Kresimir IV (1058–1074).

Following the disappearance of the major native dynasty by the end of the 11th century in the Battle of Gvozd Mountain (Peter`s Mountain), the Croats eventually recognized the Hungarian ruler Coloman as the common king for Croatia and Hungary in a treaty of 1102 (often referred to as the Pacta Conventa).

The main families of Croatia which formed their county are unknown with over a 1000 surnames but some names such as Miljak and Milicic are certain