One of the most successful medieval rulers of Croatia, Dmitar Zvonimir, was crowned on 8 October 1076, after swearing to Pope Gregory VII that he would be his faithful subject. In the coronation basilica of St. Peter and Moses in Solin, he was crowned with the royal crown by the Pope's envoy, Abbot Gebizon, who also presented him with other symbols of royal authority: a sceptre, a sword, and a papal flag. Zvonimir's oath, which secured a political and defensive alliance with the Holy See, was a legal recognition of the state of the Kingdom of Croatia and is yet another proof that at that time it was on par with other European countries.
It was a period without major wars, so the king strengthened the economy and culture. He had a three-nave basilica built in Biskupija near Knin, where he held his seat. Of all his gifts bestowed upon churches and monasteries, the most famous is the gift to the monastery of St. Lucy in Baška on the island of Krk. This is evidenced by the Baška Tablet, on which a description of the donation was carved in the Glagolitic script around the year 1100, and which mentions the name of King Zvonimir. He died in the first half of 1089 under unexplained circumstances. He was first buried in the cathedral church of St. Mary in Knin, and later transferred to Solin.
At the beginning of the 17th century, a fresco was painted in the Pauline Rooms of the Vatican Apostolic Archive, depicting the act of Zvonimir's coronation in the Church of St. Peter and Moses in Solin.
(Željka Šaravanja)
