Editing Vukovar (section)

===Early history===
The history of today's Vukovar begins very early, according to archaeological data.<ref name=":1">{{Cite web |title=Grad Vukovar – Povijest grada Vukovara |url=https://www.vukovar.hr/255-nekategorizirano/2783-povijest-grada-vukovara |access-date=2022-10-06 |website=www.vukovar.hr}}</ref> [[Slavs|Slavic]] tribes settled in this area in the 6th century. In the 9th century the region was part of the Slavic [[Pannonian Slavs#Principality|Principality of Lower Pannonia]] ruled by prince [[Pribina]], and part of the [[First Bulgarian Empire|Bulgarian Empire]]. In the first half of the 10th century, the [[Vukovo]] fortress was looted by the [[Hungarians]].<ref name=":1" /> In the 11th–12th century, the region was part of the [[Kingdom of Croatia (medieval)|Kingdom of Croatia]]; from the 13th to 16th century part of the [[Kingdom of Hungary]]; and between 1526 and 1687<ref>Treasures of Yugoslavia, published by Yugoslaviapublic, Beograd, available in English, German and Serbo-Croatian, 664 pages, 1980</ref> under [[Ottoman Empire|Ottoman]] rule.

Vukovar was mentioned first in the 13th century as ''Volko'', ''Walk'', ''Wolkov, Wolcou, Walkov and numerous other versions'' (original Croatian/Slavic name of the town was ''Vukovo''). All these different forms of the city's name were used until the 14th century, when the name Vukovar began to be used more and more, to which the [[Hungarians|Hungarian]] suffix -var was added, which denotes a fortress.<ref name=":2">{{Cite web |last=Kirchhoffer |first=Sonja |title=Šetnja kroz povijest Vukovara u srednjem vijeku |url=https://povijest.hr/hrvatska/setnja-kroz-povijest-vukovara-u-srednjem-vijeku/ |website=povijest.hr}}</ref> In 1231, Vukovo obtained its first privileges and later the right to levy taxes on passages along the Danube and the Vuka.<ref>Treasures of Yugoslavia, p.249</ref> In 1231, Vukovar received the status of a [[royal free city]]. Duke [[Coloman, King of Hungary|Koloman]] gave Vukovar the status of a free royal city, to encourage further development of the city. His charter meant that the residents of Vukovar were directly subject to the king, not the landowner.<ref name=":2" /> The [[charter]] of [[Duke Koloman]] confirmed the privileges that protected the people of Vukovar.<ref name=":1" /> From the contents of the charter, it can be seen that at that moment, an ethnically diverse population was already living in Vukovar. The inhabitants of Vukovar were engaged in trade and crafts. Vukovo County was quite densely populated in the Middle Ages. Vukovar entered the Middle Ages as a suburb with roads, and then a fortress was built. The royal administration is important for the further development of the city. The citizens of Vukovar received privileges from King Ludovik of Anjou, which included the holding of weekly fairs, which led to further stronger economic growth. Due to trade levies, the city's income also increases. The county was densely populated, and according to written sources, it had 33 forts, 34 shops and 1,182 villages, settlements and inhabited estates. Vukovar was an important church seat and a fortified city. The city occupied between 20 and 25 hectares of the city area. At the end of the 14th century, Vukovar was one of the largest medieval Slavonic towns with 350 houses and 2,000 to 2,500 inhabitants.<ref name=":2" /> During administration of the medieval [[Kingdom of Hungary]], the town was a seat of Valkó (Croatian: Vuka) county, which was located between the [[Drava]] and [[Sava]] rivers, while during Ottoman administration it was part of the [[Sanjak of Syrmia]]. The Turkish rule brought great changes to the Vukovar region. On their campaign in 1526, the Turks occupied Ilok and Vukovar. Vukovar lost its significance, but still remained an important trade center on an important trade route. Before liberation from the Turks, Vukovar had close to 3,000 inhabitants.<ref name=":1" />