When it comes to Zagreb’s origins, the sack by Mongols in 1241 plays a very important rôle, for the Hungarian king Bela IV made it a free royal town the following year so that it could build a protective wall to ward off further sacks of this ilk (“Zagreb’s Origins,” February 14, 2017). Indeed, Zagreb is forever indebted to Mongols for its lofty status (“Zagreb and Mongols,” February 13, 2014). Interestingly, though, not a single history book I have come across in Croatia mentions the wider context of these propitious dates. In fact, Bela IV (1206-1270) introduced radical reforms following the first Mongol invasion of his kingdom in 1241 and 1242. In particular, he promoted the development of fortified towns and allowed barons and prelates to erect fortresses and set up their own private armies.[1] The second Mongol invasion in 1285 and 1286 was thus stopped in its tracks due to more than a hundred fortifications across the kingdom.[2] In this endeavor, Bela IV issued dozens of privileges similar to the Golden Bull of 1242 granted to Zagreb.[3] And this is entirely missing from all history books concerning today’s Croatian capital. As ever, historians from these parts eschew the wider picture. Who cares about the Hungarian kingdom, anyway?! If anything, any mention of it only diminishes the importance of Croatia in the minds of its citizens. A thousand years of serfdom are best shoved under the rug once and for all.

Footnotes

1. URL: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Béla_IV_of_Hungary (accessed on May 31, 2019).

2. URL: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Second_Mongol_invasion_of_Hungary (accessed on May 31, 2019).

3. URL: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Golden_Bull_of_1242 (accessed on May 31, 2019)