Trpimir II. (c.890.- 935.)

Trpimir II. he was probably the younger brother of King Tomislav and succeeded him to the Croatian throne after Tomislav’s death in 928.

In 927, the powerful Bulgarian Tsar Simeon died, and thus the Bulgarian military threat became less. Byzantium took advantage of this and again took over the management of the largest Dalmatian cities. Nevertheless, Byzantine rule was more nominal than real. Simeon was succeeded on the Bulgarian throne by his son Peter I, who tried to maintain the glory of the empire left to him by his father, but over time the power of the Bulgarian state weakened. Trpimir II. made peace with Bulgaria after Simeon’s death, thus eliminating the military threat from that eastern side.

The Byzantine emperor Constantine VII. Porphyrogenitus mentions Trpimir II. in the 31st chapter of his work “De administrando imperio…

He writes: “After many years, in the time of the ruler Trpimir, the father of the ruler Kresimir, a man named Martin came from Francia, located between Croatia and Venice… Baptized Croatia can raise cavalry to 60,000, and infantry to 100,000 and sagenas up to 80, and conduras up to 100. And sagena has 40 people each, and condura 20 people, and smaller condura 10 guys. Croatia had great power and a multitude of people until ruler Kresimir. After this one died, and his son Miroslav, who ruled for four years, died at the hands of ban Pribina; when a great schism and discord arose in the country, the number of cavalry and infantry, and sagenas and conduras, which the Croats had, decreased.”

The work “De administrando imperio” or “On the rule of the empire” was actually written by Constantine VII. Porphyrogenitus for his son the heir to the throne, whom he was to serve as a guide and template on how to govern the empire. The figures on the amount of cavalry and infantry described in it are probably exaggerated, but they still speak of the great military power of Croatia in Trpimir’s time. Also in the work, Croats are mentioned as an important and loyal ally, which tells us a lot about the relations between Croatia and Byzantium at that time.

Trpimir II. he ruled until about 935, and was succeeded on the throne by his son Krešimir. Krešimir I. kept the power and borders of the Croatian kingdom as extensive as his predecessors. He had sons Miroslav (succeeded him to the throne) and the younger Mihajlo Krešimir II, and was the grandfather of the great Croatian king Stjepan Držislav. Krešimir I. died around 945.