Petar Krešimir IV of Croatia was a notably energetic Croatian king under whose rule the medieval Croatian state probably reached its peak. Under Petar Krešimir, Croatia was again encompassing large amounts of territory, the same or slightly larger than in Tomislav's time.
Petar Krešimir inherited his father Stjepan I upon his death, and continuing in his father's footsteps, he strengthened the state. He had the Byzantine Empire recognize him as the supreme ruler of the parts of Dalmatia Byzantium had controlled since the Croatian dynastic struggle in 997. The Empire was at the time at war both with the Seljuk Turks in Asia and with the Normans in southern Italy, so Petar Krešimir took the opportunity and avoided being nominated the imperial proconsul or eparch, and by doing this his title regnum Dalmatiae et Chroatia was no longer considered a formal title but it designated a unified political-administrative territory, an known desire of the Croatian kings.
Petar Krešimir signed separate treaties with each of the Dalmatian city-states, granting them local self-rule and that none of their existing their freedoms would be impeded. He would also confirm any bishop elected by canonical rules, and allow them to have a free judiciary and freely conduct trade. In turn, the cities gave the king one third of the port income (the "peace tribute") and that their navy vessels would support the king in times of war.
The income from the cities further strengthened Krešimir's power, and he subsequently helped the development of more cities, the Croatian ones, such as Biograd, Karin, Skradin, Šibenik and Nin. He also had several monasteries opened and gave much land to the Church. In 1066 he granted the charter to the new monastery of St. Mary in Zadar, where the founder and first nun was his cousin Čika. This has remained the oldest Croatian monument in the city of Zadar, which had long been claimed by Venice and Italy later.
In 1069, he gave the island of Maun near Nin to the monastery of St. Krševan in Zadar, because of the "expansion of the kingdom on land and on sea, by the grace of the omnipotent God" (quia Deus omnipotenus terra marique nostrum prolungavit regnum). In his speech Krešimir did not fail to point out that it was "our own island that lies on our Dalmatian sea" (nostram propriam insulam in nostro Dalmatico mari sitam, que vocatur Mauni).
Petar Krešimir allowed the Roman Curia to have more influence in the internal affairs of the Church in Croatia, which threatened the Glagolitic-using clergy and laity. In the unrest that ensued, Croatia lost the area of Merania in Istria in 1060.
His influence also extended over the three remaining southern Dalmatian duchies in the southeast, Zahumlje, Travunia and Duklja, as well as Bosnia in the east. His father Stjepan I had previously negotiated with the Narentines to join the Croatian state around 1050. A total of twelve counties comprised the Croatian Kingdom at the time, stretching between the rivers Raša and Drina and from Drava to Neretva.
In 1071, when the Seljuks defeated Byzantium in the Battle of Manzikert, the Bulgarians, the Serbs and the Serbs and Croats of Duklja decided to rebel against their Byzantine rulers. In 1072, Krešimir helped the uprising. However, against all odds, the Eastern Empire relatively quickly struck back, and retaliated in 1074 by sending the Norman duke Amik to besiege Rab. Despite an almost month-long siege (in the end of April and beginning of May), they failed to capture the island, but they did manage to capture the king himself at an unknown location. To release the king, the Croatians were then forced to settle and give away Split, Trogir, Biograd, Nin and Zadar to the Normans. Later, in 1075, the Venetians banished the Normans and secured the cities for themselves.
He had no sons, only a daughter Neda, and his brothers were also dead, so the end of Petar Krešimir IV also marked the de facto end of the Trpimirović ruling dynasty which had ruled the Croatian lands for over two centuries.
Petar Krešimir IV designated his cousin Zvonimir (Dmitar Zvonimir) as his heir and successor. Dmitar Zvonimir was a ban at the time, and when Petar Krešimir died at the beginning of the year 1075, he took power.
In 1075, king Petar Krešimir IV was buried in the church of St. Stephen, together with the other dukes and kings of Croats. Unfortunately, several centuries later the Ottoman Turks destroyed the church, banished the monks who had preserved it, and destroyed the graves.
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