Paul I Šubić of Bribir

Background

The exact date of his birth is unknown, but the year is estimated around 1245. He was the oldest son of the Bribirian noble Stephen II and his wife, who was probably a descendant of the Árpád royal dynasty. Paul was also a brother of Mladen I Šubić of Bribir and George.

The first mention of his name occurs in 1272, when he held the title of Count of Bribir, from which he took his name. Paul became vice-ban of Primorje (Latin: vices gerens pro bano maritimo) and was already Duke of Split in 1273 and ruled until his death. At the time of his death, he ruled over most of Dalmatia, Slavonia and Bosnia,^[3] lands once ruled by the early Croatian kings.

The first action he undertook to establish his goals, was against the city of Trogir in 1273, which is located between Split and Šibenik, the cities in which Paul already consolidated his power. He ignored the kings' warning and had his followers attack the royal residence of Klis during winter. The siege failed, as the soldiers of Trogir successfully repelled the attack. Despite these initial failures, Paul subjugated Trogir in spring the following year. These events caused the temporary deposition of Paul, but was re-established in summer of 1275 as Ban of Croatia, which dignity was expropriated by his family until 1322.^[4]

Expansion in south

At the end of 13th century, Paul's goal was to expand his rule on the lands of Kačić noble family, which included city of Omiš, his surroundings and the adjacent isles such as Hvar and Brač. He supported and fought alongside forces of Anjou dynasty in war against Kačićs. It is not clear whether they had some territorial gains, as forces of Anjou have already taken Hvar and Brač in 1275. Soon after that, the Venetian republic started a war against Kačićs and the isles of Hvar and Brač quickly surrendered to them in 1278. Whether were they retaken by Kačićs from Anjous before that or were Anjous let them for Venice, remains unclear. That became a serious threat to Paul's interests in those areas and were the cause of his interference in that conflict. Paul succeeded in getting the isle of Brač and gave it to the administration of commune of Split. Paul appointed a nobleman from Zadar, Vid de Mergia, to govern in Brač. After that, Paul succeeded in getting the city of Omiš and after that became the main rivals of Venice and the only representatives of Omiš in their negotiations with Venetians.^[4]

In the 1287, Paul started to negotiate peace with Venice. After long and hard talks, the peace was concluded in 1290. Paul's side promised that the pirates from Omiš would not attack Venetian ships and that they won't sail in north of the Unija-Ancona line. Also, the cities of Trogir, Šibenik and Split will pay 20,000 libars to Venice as warranty. Venetians promised that they won't attack Paul's territories and gave to his brother Juraj I free pass in his visits of Papal state.^[4]

During a civil war between the Árpád and Anjou dynasties for the crown of Hungary and Croatia, he supported Charles Martel, who named him master of the lands between the Gvozd and Neretva rivers in 1292. In Dalmatia, he appointed his brothers as commissars of Dalmatian cities. He gave Split to his brother Mladen I, and Šibenik, Nin, Trogir and Omiš to his brother Juraj I. He united large parts of Dalmatia and Slavonia. The following year, king Andrew III gave him and his family jurisdiction over the whole Banovina. However, the king also asked to recognize his mother, Tomasina Morosini as the Duchess of Slavonia, which Paul rejected and in 1293 proclaimed himself as "ban of the Croats" (Latin: banus Croatorum).^[4]

By the time of the death of Andrew III and extinction of the Árpád dynasty (1301), Paul I Šubić became one of the most powerful oligarchs in the Croato-Hungarian kingdom, who ruled de facto independently their dominions. Paul governed whole Croatia and the cities of Dalmatia independently of the central power.^[5]

Reign

The dominion of Paul I Šubić, with conquered territories in light

The dominion of Paul I Šubić among the other oligarchs during the Interregnum

In 1299 he conquered Bosnia, and ruled from the Adriatic sea to the Drava river on the north, and to the Drina river to the east. After conquering Bosnia, Paul I Šubić declared himself as "Dominus of Bosnia" in 1299,^[6] and gave his brother Mladen I Šubić the title of Bosnian Ban. Although he did not have himself crowned, he was the de facto sovereign ruler of these territories.

The death of his brother Mladen I in June 1304, who had been reportedly murdered by the supporters of Stephen Kotroman (who Paul had expelled from his lands), compelled Paul I Šubić to lead an army in Bosnia again to crush the resistance and reaffirm his authority. After this he took the title of Lord of all of Bosnia (Latin: totius Bosniae dominus) and passed the title of Ban of Bosnia to his eldest son Mladen II Šubić, who ruled over Bosnia as a Ban under his father. However, after Paul I Šubić's death in 1312, Mladen II tried to maintain his hold over Bosnia and the other Croatian clans, but was not successful like his father, so in 1322 he lost control over Bosnia. During 1304, Paul also invaded Serbia to take advantage of the civil war between brothers Dragutin and Milutin Nemanjić, who was king of Serbia. Paul's armies succeeded conquering the area of Hum and reaching as far as today's Montenegro. He appointed his son, Mladen as a governor of these lands as well. However, during these conflicts, Mladen II was captured and imprisoned by the opposing army. Stefan Milutin, King of Serbia sent envoys to Paul in Skradin in order to negotiate a meeting. The subject and the briefing of these negotiations are dubious, but it is known that they met in Vrulja,^[7] which resulted in concluding peace and securing Mladen's freedom. The details of the agreement between Paul and the Serb king remain unknown.^[8]

Paul eventually sided with the Anjou dynasty and sent his brother George I to Naples so he could safely transport the late Charles Martel's son Charles I over the Adriatic to Hungary. At the death of king Andrew III, Charles I was taken to Zagreb, and from there he went to Esztergom so he could be crowned as the new king. Despite the coronation, Charles was not fully recognized for another 10 years, he ruled only some parts of Hungary, while his power in Croatia was merely nominal. In 1305 Paul's third son, Paul II, was elected as Prince of Split. During these years Paul I Šubić usually made no reference to the king in his charters, showing that Paul was practically an independent ruler within his realm.^[9]

Later years and death

Coins issued by Paul I Šubić of Bribir. It reads: DVX PAVL – BAN –MLADEN.

He made several diplomatic interventions and maintained close connection with the nobility of Zadar and Venice as a preliminary move to his expansion over the city. Paul started to assemble an army in the vicinity of Zadar during 1310, and remained stationary until an uprising against Venice broke out in the city in March 1311. The rebels took control of Zadar and arrested the Venetian authorities. The Doge responded by sending a large fleet to recover the city. The siege lasted through two battles that ended favorably for the defender. Troops of Paul Šubić also participated in the defense of the city. Diplomatic actions began in March 1312. The negotiations were handled by the second son of Paul, Juraj II, and it dragged on after Paul's death. Citizens of Zadar, after King Charles I approved their requests, elected Paul's son Mladen II as their prince.^[4][9]

Paul died on 1 May 1312 and was buried in the franciscan church of St. Mary in Bribir. He was succeeded by his son Mladen II during which the power of the Šubić family starts to fade.