Zdeslav of Croatia

Zdeslav (, ) was Duke of Croatia from 878 until his death in 879. He was from the Trpimirović dynasty.

Biography Zdeslav was the son of Trpimir I. After his father's death in 864, an uprising was launched by a powerful Croatian nobleman from Knin called Domagoj. Zdeslav was exiled along with his brothers Petar and Muncimir to Constantinople. Domagoj died in 876, and was succeeded by his son. Zdeslav overthrew him in 878 with the help of the Byzantines, expelled Domagoj's sons and restored peace with Venice. In early May 879, Zdeslav was killed by arrows near Knin in an uprising led by Branimir, a relative of Domagoj, possibly instigated by Pope John VIII fearing Byzantine power. However, something like that would have happened anyway because both Byzantine and Carolingian powers diminished in the region.