A History of The Croats - The Years 1102 to 1606

The history of the Croatian kingdom is generally broken down into five dynastic periods. The first period focuses on the arrival of the Croats to south-eastern Europe under national rulers; to the establishment of their principalities, banates and kingdom; and until the personal union of the Kingdom of Croatia and Dalmatia with the Kingdom of Hungary under the Árpád dynasty in 1102. My first book, "A History of the Early Croats" focuses on the first historical period; along with the ethno-genesis and history of the Proto-Croats in Asia and Europe; and other Croatian states in Europe, including the emergence and subsequent fall of Bosnian kingdom to the Ottoman Empire in 1463. The second historical period focuses on Croatian and related international events from 1102 to 1386. During this period, Croatia was ruled by kings of foreign blood. First it was ruled by the Árpád dynasty from 1102 to 1301 and the then by the Angevin dynasty (a cadet branch of the House of Anjou) from 1301 to 1386. The third historical period focuses on events from 1386 to 1526. After the assassination of King Charles II of Durazzo (1385-1386), Sigismund of Luxembourg ascended to the Hungarian throne and, in an alliance with the Venetians, invaded Croatia with a strong army. The fourth historical period focuses on events from 1526 to 1606 when the Kingdom of Croatia was ruled by the Habsburg monarchy until the end of the Croatian-Ottoman Hundred Years' War. The fifth historical period of the Croatian kingdom, which continued to be ruled by the Habsburg monarchy, focuses on the events from the Peace Treaty of Zitva-Torok in 1606 to the collapse of the Austro-Hungarian Empire after the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria in Sarajevo in 1914, which triggered a series of events that started the First World War. This book provides a general overview of the Croatian people and significant political and military events and figures; within the Croatian territories and the wider regions, during the second, third and fourth historical periods of the Croatian kingdom.