About the year 630 Croats came to Dalmatia on lead of five brothers and two sisters. They found there Avares, conquered them and became masters of the land. Holy Chair recognized the power and firmness of Croatian men, and has tried to make good relations with the Croats. In time of papa Grgur I started christianization of Croats. In the start, Croatian land was concision on few principalities, and how as first Croatian duke is known as Ljudevit, who fought against the Franks. About that time duke Borna (810 - 821) led Dalmatia, and fought against Byzantium. Struggle against Franks continued Viselav about the year 800. In that time the most powerful Croatian weapon was navy. In 642 Croats invaded Apennine peninsula, but only after hard and long battles they had recoiled. In the time of duke Vladislav (821 - 835) they had started century's battles against Venice for the eastern Adriatic coast and islands. From the year 836 to 864 Venice was governing their navy to the Croatian coast, but Croats stopped them.
So-called Neretvas' pirates have inflicted great problems to Venice, especially for their supply units. Lord Trpimir (845 - 864) successfully fought against the Bulgarians and destroyed remains of Byzantium in Dalmatia. Domagoj (864 - 876) is known as the most terrific Croatian duke. He had fought against Venice and on call of pope against Saracens (Arabs) near Bari. Also he conducted seven years war against the Franks and goaded them from Croatia forever. Branimir (879 - 892) was blessed by the pope, so he stayed in history forever as thr first Croatian leader who became accredited from Western European countries. Except Vatican, Franks and Byzantines also accredited him. About the year 885, thr Venice navy had attacked Croatian marines and Croats had overrun thr enemy in only two battles. More than 160 years, Venice had to pay the Croats for safe sailing.
Tomislav (914 - 928) was the first Croatian leader who succeeded to unite all thr Croatian lands. It's amazing that it had happened almost nine hundred years before the uniting of Germany! In the early years of the 10th century, Croatia consisted the whole territory that consists today (except western Istra), the whole territory of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the coast of Montenegro and the western part of Vojvodina. In that time Croatia had been attacked from the north by Hungarians, with lead of Arpad, and raided into Croatia. With the strong counterattack Tomislav pushed them across the river Drava. Encouraged with this victory, in 925 Tomislav crowned himself for Croatian king on Duvanj's field, today near Tomislavgrad. Croatian army in that time had about 100 000 pawns, 60 000 cavaliers, 80 galleys and 100 small war ships. From the Byzantium source, Croatia had most powerful army in that time in the whole world. We can imagine power of that army if we know that the Roman Empire had less than 500 000 pawns on the top of its power. King Tomislav fought also against the Bulgarians, which were a threat on the east, but at the end he defeated them. Although he had been the Croatian king only three years, he is positively the most important person in the whole history of the Croatian nation.
After the death of Tomislav on the Croatian throne came Trpimir II and Kresimir I. In that time the Croatian kingdom lived in peace on whole territory from the time of Tomislav. After the early death of Kresimir I, lord Pribin evoked inland conflicts that made the Croatian kingdom fairly weaker. The next king, Kresimir II succeeded to save the Croatian kingdom, but much more weaker than in the time of Tomislav. King Stjepan Drzislav succeeded to make the kingdom much stronger in his 28 years old leadership, but his sons had fought again for the throne and bankrupt all his work. Saracens had used it and started to rob the Croatian coast, but in 969 despite inland conflicts Croats boisterously defeated the Saracens. There were also lots of conflicts with Hungarians, and struggle against Franks, as a part of Holy chair troops. Stjepan I made the Croatian kingdom strong again, and his successor Petar Kresimir IV (1058 - 1075) have opposed to powerful peers and brought back the glory of the Croatian kingdom as in the time of Tomislav. His throne was in Biograd (not to be confused with Beograd) He also succeeded to make the real dream of all Croats: Unite whole Dalmatia and all the eastern Adriatic islands into Croatia. He lost his life after treachery of some Dalmatian cities, and being captured by Normans. His son, Dmitar Zvonimir became the Croatian king and made an agreement with the Normans to fight against Byzantium and Venice. The Croatian-Norman alliance was very powerful, and they won most battles against their enemies. For example to show how coarse were those battles, in only one battle Venice lost ten big warships with about ten thousand people.
After Dmitar Zvonimir, on throne came Stjepan II (1089 - 1091). He married Jelena, sister of the Hungarian king Ladislav. He suddenly lost his life after only two years reigning, so Jelena wanted Ladislav for the Croatian king.
Successor of Ladislav, Koloman believed that he will crush the Croats with his army, so he attacked the last Croatian king Petar Svacic (1093 - 1097) on Gvozd (Petar's hill). In a heroic battle Petar Svacic had been killed, but the Croatian army contrived to reorganize it and pushed the Hungarians across the Drava, just like in the time of Tomislav, although that they didn't have anyone on leadership. Koloman, acrimonious with the fail offer to Croats peers union with ever conditions what they chose, so on the year 1102 Croatian peers and the Hungarian king Koloman subscribed the Pacta Conventa, that might give Croats better positions than Hungarians in the new state, but the Hungarians adored that agreement and lots of traitors in the Croatian ranks on that event stayed known as the end of the Croatian kingdom and Croatian independency and the start of the thousand year old struggle for freedom and independency, which was realized in 1941. On the year 1991 the Croatian people became united again in final conflict for freedom against terror of Communism and its red army and they won the war again, just like in heroic days of king Tomislav.