The Babonići are a Croatian noble kindred from the Gora (Gorica) county south of the Kupa, between Petrinja and Glina.
Their oldest known estate is Vodica in lower Slavonia near Dubica. The first known head, Stjepan I, nicknamed Babon, lived at the end of the 12th and the start of the 13th century; he is remembered for beating Berthold of Andechs-Meran when Berthold invaded Slavonia (a later episode). As duke, Andrew worked with the Babonići among the local lords (Curta 2006, Fine 1994).
Their great lordship between Karlovac and Sisak, and their offices as bans, belong to the 13th and 14th centuries.
Who he is
- Name
- Stjepan I, called Babon or Babun
- Title
- Head of the kindred
- Since
- not pinned
- Born
- not pinned (active late 12th and early 13th century)
- Family
- Sons Baboneg I (died after 1269) and Stjepan II, who went on Andrew II's crusade in 1217; whether they were born by 1 January 1200 is not pinned.
- Confidence
- medium
Hrvatska enciklopedija (Babonići); Andrew's work with the Babonići as duke: Curta 2006 and Fine 1994 via English Wikipedia (Andrew II).
Overlord
The king; Andrew as duke in 1198-1199
What it holds
- Vodica near Dubica, their oldest estate (site not identified).
- Lands in their home county of Gora (Gorica) south of the Kupa; whether they held the county itself in 1200 is not pinned.
How it was acquired
Hereditary kindred lands.
Allies and rivals
Andrew's men in 1198-1199. Rivals not pinned.
How things stand that morning
Hold their kindred lands; having served Andrew as duke, they are out of favour with Emeric's ban or have made their peace (not pinned).
Wealth
Land, forest and the Kupa and Una country.
Military
Their own kindred retinue; no numbers recorded.
Threats
- Emeric's men in the counties after Andrew's flight.
What the year holds
What happened next, if nothing in play changes it. Each event carries what it depends on and what would stop it.
- Summer 1200Andrew's return as duke restores their patron.Depends on: The reconciliation. Stopped by: No peace.
Places of note
- Gora: Centre of the Gora (Gorica) county, the kindred's home country (coordinates approximate).
Where the sources disagree
Evidence: A family history from the encyclopedia with no dated charter for 1200; Vodica is not located.
On the map: The kindred's holdings in 1200 are uncertain; the Gora country is drawn as their home ground.
Primary sources for Croatia and Dalmatia
Chronicles, registers, sagas and inscriptions written in or near 1200 that cover this entry. Each has its own page with editions, translations and where to read it.
- History of the bishops of Salona and Split, by Thomas the Archdeacon, Thomas of Split (about 1266). Written two generations later by a Split churchman born about 1200. Read online
- History of the doges of Venice (about 1229, with a continuation). The earliest surviving Venetian narrative close to the events. Read online
- The Deeds of the Hungarians, by the Anonymous Notary of King Béla, Anonymus (P. magister) (about 1200 to 1210, the date disputed). Not a record of events but a picture of the kingdom's nobility and geography as a courtier of about 1200 wished to see it: the clans and their lands, the castles and counties, the Vlachs, Cumans and other peoples of the Carpathian basin, all projected back onto the conquest. Read online
- The Registers of Pope Innocent III for 1199 to 1201, Innocent III and the papal chancery (22 February 1199 to 21 February 1201). The pope's outgoing letters for the year, in his chancery's own copy, touching nearly every realm in the atlas. Read online
- Charters of the kingdom of Croatia, Dalmatia and Slavonia, volume 2, 1101 to 1200 (documents of 1101 to 1200, edited 1904). The Croatian and Dalmatian charters to 1200: the acts of Duke Andrew as lord of Croatia and Dalmatia (1197 to 1204), the Hungarian kings' grants, the Templars and the bishops of Zagreb, Split, Zadar and Trogir, the communal statutes of the coastal towns, and the papal letters of 1200 to Emeric about Ban Kulin of Bosnia and heresy. Read online
- Hungarian royal charters: Fejér's Codex diplomaticus and Szentpétery's critical calendar of the Árpád kings (documents of the 11th to 13th centuries; Fejér published 1829 to 1844, Szentpétery vol. 1 in 1923). The documentary base for Hungary in 1200: King Emeric's grants to Pannonhalma, the bishops, the Templars and Hospitallers, Duke Andrew's acts in Croatia and Dalmatia, and the papal letters of 1200 to Emeric about his brother's rebellion and about heresy in Bosnia. Read online
- Documents on the older commercial and political history of the Republic of Venice, part 1, 814 to 1205 (documents of 814 to 1205, edited 1856). Venice's treaties and privileges in full text. Read online
Sources and studies
- Babonići (Hrvatska enciklopedija)
- Andrew II of Hungary (English Wikipedia; citing Érszegi and Solymosi 1981, Curta 2006, Fine 1994, Zsoldos 2022)
Last revised 4 November 2026. Published 4 November 2026. Suggest a correction on the OMNIA Discord.