The three islands off Split form the diocese of Hvar (the bishop of Hvar, a suffragan of Split, Church map record), set up in the mid 12th century for Hvar, Brač and Vis.
Venice held Hvar from 1145 to 1164 and Byzantium the islands from 1164-1165 to 1180, after which they passed to the Hungarian-Croatian crown, which the Hrvatska enciklopedija counts as Hvar's ruler from 1180 to 1278. In the 13th century the Kačić of Omiš ruled them at times and Split fought them for Brač; Venice took them in 1278. For 1 January 1200 no lord or count is named: they are drawn under the crown, with the Kačić close by across the channel.
Who he is
- Name
- King Emeric (no count of the islands is named for 1199-1200)
- Title
- The king of Hungary and Croatia, through counts not named
- Since
- Hungarian-Croatian rule since Byzantine rule ended in 1180
- Confidence
- medium
Hrvatska enciklopedija (Hvar): Croatian-Hungarian kingdom 1102-1145, Venice 1145-1164, Byzantium 1164-1180, Croatian-Hungarian kingdom 1180-1278, Venice 1278-1358; (Brač): Byzantine 1165-1180, Croatian-Hungarian kings in parts of the 12th and 13th centuries, the Kačić of Omiš and Split in parts of the 13th century, Venice from 1278; English Wikipedia (Kačić family).
Overlord
The Hungarian-Croatian crown
What it holds
- Brač with its villages (Škrip, Nerežišća, Pučišća, Povlja with its Benedictine house).
- Hvar with the old town of Pharia (Stari Grad) and the harbour of Hvar.
- Vis (Lissa) with Komiža.
How it was acquired
Returned to the crown at the end of Byzantine rule in 1180.
Allies and rivals
The Kačić of Omiš and the commune of Split both want the islands.
How things stand that morning
Under the crown (King Emeric); no count named; Kačić rule over the islands is attested only later.
Wealth
Wine, olives, stone (Brač), fishing and sardines (Vis, Komiža), shipping.
Military
Village refuges; no castle named in 1200.
Threats
- The Kačić
- Venetian and Pisan fleets passing through the channels.
Places of note
- Pharia (Stari Grad): The old chief place of Hvar.
- Povlja: Benedictine house on Brač (the Povlja charter tradition goes back to 1184).
Where the sources disagree
Evidence: The sequence of rulers is given by the Hrvatska enciklopedija; no count or local officer is named for 1199-1200.
On the map: Drawn under the crown on the Hrvatska enciklopedija's sequence of rulers (Hvar 1180-1278).
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
Last revised 4 November 2026. Published 4 November 2026. Suggest a correction on the OMNIA Discord.