Peter Krešimir IV of Croatia
Peter Krešimir IV, called the Great () was King of Dalmatia and Croatia from 1059 until his death in 1074 or 1075. He was the last great ruler of the Krešimirović branch of the Trpimirović dynasty. Under Peter Krešimir IV, the Croatian realm reached its peak territorially, earning him the sobriquet "the Great", otherwise unique in Croatian history. He kept his seat at Nin and Biograd na Moru; however, the city of Šibenik holds a statue of him and is sometimes called "Krešimir's city" (Croatian: "Krešimirov grad") because he is generally credited as the founder. Biography Early years Peter Krešimir was born as one of two children to king Stephen I (Stjepan I) and his wife Hicela, daughter of the Venetian Doge Pietro II Orseolo. Krešimir succeeded his father Stephen I upon his death in 1058 and was crowned the next year. It is not known where his coronation took place, but some historians suggest Biograd as a possibility. From the outset, he continued the policies of his father, and was immediately requested in letter by Pope Nicholas II first in 1059 and then in 1060 to further reform the Croatian church in accordance with the Roman rite. This was especially significant to the papacy in the aftermath of the Great Schism of 1054, when a papal ally in the Balkans was a necessity. Upon a visit of the papal legate Mainardius in 1060, at Church sabor in Split in 1061, Krešimir and the upper nobility lent their support to the pope and the church of Rome. Church conclusions were made also against the Croatian Glagolitic priesthood and other having long beards and hair style, marriages, and that the secular government does not interfere in the affairs of the church, in aim to distance them from Byzantine orientalism. More so, the ecclesiastical service was likely practiced in the native Slavonic (Glagolitic), whereas the pope demanded practice in Latin. This caused a rebellion of the clergy led by a bishop of Krk Cededa and a certain priest named Vuk (Ulfus), who had presented the demands and gifts of the Croats to the Pope during his stay in Rome, but was told nothing could be accomplished without the consent of the Split see and the king. They protested against celibacy and the Roman Rite in 1063, but they were proclaimed heretical at a synod of 1064 and excommunicated, a decision which Krešimir supported. Krešimir harshly quelled all opposition and sustained a firm alignment towards western Romanism, with the intent of more fully integrating the Dalmatian populace into his realm. In turn, he could then use them to balance the power caused by the growing feudal class. By the end of Krešimir's reign, feudalism had made permanent inroads into Croatian society and Dalmatia had been permanently associated with the Croatian state, and the last Byzantine protospatharios and katepano of Dalmatia, named Leo, is mentioned in 1067 and 1069. The income from the cities further strengthened Krešimir's power, and he subsequently fostered the development