Elena (Queen of Croatia)

Elena Beautiful ( Croatian Jelena Lijepa ), Elena Hungarian - Queen of Croatia , wife of King Dmitri Zvonimir .

Elena Beautiful
Horv. Jelena lijepa
Celestin Medovich . Engagement of Dmitri Zvonimir and Elena
Queen of Croatia 1076 - 1089
Predecessor	Stepan II
Successor	Almosh
Birth
Death	1091 ( 1091 )
Kind
Father
Mother
Spouse	Dmitar Zvonimir
Children	Glad

Elena ( Hungarian. Ilona ) was the daughter of the Hungarian King Bela I and the sister of King Laszlo I Saint . She was related to the ruling dynasties of many countries of central Europe: for example, the Polish king Meshko II was her grandfather, and the Bulgarian king Samuel - great-grandfather.

In 1063, she married Dmitri Zvonimir , ban of Slavonia , and since 1076 the king of Croatia . The royal couple had a son, Radovan, who died at a young age, and a daughter. The reign of King Zvonimir was successful: the king and queen were very popular among people and Elena received the nickname "Beautiful". Since, in addition to beauty, Elena was distinguished by her intelligence and determination, there are suggestions that the reign of Zvonimir and Elena was actually joint.

After the death of King Zvonimir in 1089, the widow began activities with the goal of raising her brother Laszlo , King of Hungary, on the Croatian throne. However, the Croatian nobility, fearing a loss of independence, chose the elderly Stepan II to the throne. His reign was short-lived. At the turn of 1090 and 1091, he died without leaving any heirs, and the Trpimirovich dynasty interrupted with him. Croatia entered a decade of civil strife, ending in the death of an independent kingdom.

Elena turned out to be the de facto ruler of the country and resumed efforts to erect the Hungarian king on the Croatian throne, however, she died in the same year 1091. At the same time, Hungarian troops invaded Croatia and captured most of it. Laszlo I appointed his nephew Almos king of Croatia.