Korčula, the long wooded island south of Hvar, governs itself under hereditary counts and its own community; its statute was first drafted in 1214, and it guarded its autonomy against Hum, Serbia, the Hungarian-Croatian crown, Ragusa and Venice alike.
Venice held it under counts of the Zorzi family from the late 1120s to 1180, when it passed to the Hungarian-Croatian kingdom, which the Hrvatska enciklopedija counts as its overlord until 1221. On 10 August 1184 Nemanja's brothers Miroslav of Hum and Stracimir raided the west of the island, and Ragusa took Stracimir's galleys. On 1 January 1200 it stands under the crown, its count not named.
Who he is
- Name
- Not named for 1199-1200
- Title
- Count of Korčula, with the island's community
- Confidence
- medium
Hrvatska enciklopedija (Korčula): Venetian under counts of the Zorzi family from 1125-1129 to 1180, part of the Hungarian-Croatian kingdom 1180-1221, briefly under the princes of Hum in the first half of the 13th century, Venetian again 1254-1358. English Wikipedia (Korčula): raided by Miroslav and Stracimir on 10 August 1184; statute first drafted in 1214.
Overlord
The Hungarian-Croatian crown (1180-1221 in the Hrvatska enciklopedija), with Hum and Venice as rival claimants
What it holds
- The island of Korčula with the walled town of Korčula and the villages (Blato, Smokvica, Lumbarda).
- Not Korčula's: the outer islands to the south, drawn with Hum (outside). Mljet belongs to the Benedictines of St Mary, to whom Desa, great prince of Hum, gave the whole island in 1151 (monks of Pulsano in Apulia; their church on the islet in the Great Lake was consecrated by 1198), under the overlordship of Hum and the rulers of Raška; it became finally Ragusan only in 1410. Lastovo is a self-governing island community whose overlord in 1200 is not pinned (Hum or the crown); it joined Ragusa in the 13th century.
How it was acquired
Self-governing island community.
Allies and rivals
Ragusa (which defended it in 1184); Hum (which raided it); Venice (which will take it in 1255).
How things stand that morning
Self-governing under the Hungarian-Croatian crown; count not named.
Wealth
Timber for ships, stone, wine and fishing.
Military
The island's captains and the walled town (no numbers).
Threats
- Hum and the Serbian princes
- Venice
Places of note
- Korčula town: The walled town.
Where the sources disagree
Evidence: The sequence of overlords is given by the Hrvatska enciklopedija; no count is named for 1199-1200.
On the map: Drawn whole under the crown.
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.