Coloman
Coloman (Kalman) was the king of Hungary and Croatia.
History
Coloman was the eldest son of Geza I. When his father died on April 25, 1077, he was passed over for the crown owing to his youth and poor health. St. Ladislaus I instead was crowned. Furthermore, Ladislaus I arranged for succession to pass over Coloman again. He preferred Coloman's younger brother Almos.
Coloman became a priest and, by the 1090s, a leading bishop.
Reign
Hungary
St. Ladislaus I died on July 29, 1095. In early 1096, Coloman was crowned. He appointed Almos duke, a title which conferred significant income and a variety of counties, but no singular principality. A power struggle persisted throughout Coloman's reign. It peaked in 1107 when he seized the duchy; and again in 1113 when he retaliated against a conspiracy by having Almos, his son Bela II, and many of their supporters blinded.
Coloman initiated a comprehensive review of all laws and decrees of the Arpad dynasty and raised taxes on trade.
Legal charters suggest that Coloman established the voivodeship of Transylvania in 1111.
Coloman died on February 3, 1116.
Croatia and Dalmatia
By 1097, Coloman had completed the conquest of Croatia that St. Ladislaus I had begun in 1091. In 1102 he was elected king of Croatia by the local nobility.
Coloman proceeded to consolidate control over the Dalmatian city-states into the early 12th century, granting charters of liberty to secure their loyalty. In 1108 he was crowned as king of Hungary, Croatia, and Dalmatia.
Legacy
Coloman's union of the kingdoms of Hungary and Croatia would persist until Ottoman conquest.