Stephen I of Croatia

As the son of former King Svetoslav Suronja,[1] who gave him as a hostage to the Venetian doge, Pietro II Orseolo. He married the latter's daughter, Hicela Orseolo, who bore him two sons: Peter Krešimir IV, who succeeded him as the King of Croatia, and Častimir, the father of the future Croatian King Stephen II.

Stephen formally succeeded his uncle Krešimir III in 1030, although it is likely that he co-ruled with him from 1028. The King continued his predecessors' ambitions of spreading rule over the coastal cities and conducted activities in that course greatly, but it was all eventually in vain.

In 1035, Croatia under Stephen involved itself in the affairs of the neighbouring Holy Roman Empire between the Carinthian count Adalbero and Holy Roman Emperor Conrad II. Aldabero was accused on 18 May 1035 during the Bamberg assembly for conspiring against the emperor, relying on help from the Croats. Because of this, the Emperor strengthened the southeastern part of his state, where it bordered with Croatia.[2]

Between 1038 and 1041, Stephen managed to successfully conquer Zadar from the Venetians for a short period, possibly with the help of the newly crowned Hungarian king Peter Orseolo, his wife's nephew.[2] Stephen controlled the city until 1050, when it was reconquered by doge Domenico I Contarini.

Croatian Kingdom c. 1045, during the reign of king Stephen I of Croatia

In an effort to keep the Roman influence over the Dalmatian cities, the Byzantine emperor granted Stephen Praska, a ban serving under king Stephen I, the title of Protospatharios.

Stephen I established the diocese of Knin in 1040, which stretched to the north until it met the river Drava.[3] The bishop of Knin had also the nominal title as the "Croatian bishop" (Latin: episcopus Chroatensis).

Trade and commerce flourished under Stephen I. A burgeoning aristocracy emerged in Zadar, Biograd, Knin, Split and other coastal cities.

Stephen I ruled until 1058 when his son, Petar Krešimir IV, took over. His successors referenced his bural place as the "fields of Klis" (Clisio campo).[4] Most historians assert that he was most likely buried in the Church of St Stephen on Otok.