Cathedral of Saint Bartholomew in Kapitul

In the antiquity the Roman bridge used to stand on the location of today railway bridge, next to which (on the location of later medieval capitol) the Roman fort was located which controlled the river passage.[2]

The foundation of Diocese of Knin can be traced back to 11th century, when kings of Croatia (according to Thomas the Archdeacon) demanded to have their own bishop, so they installed one, and granted him a seat in Church of Holy Mary in modern-day village of Biskupija near Knin. The Diocese was called Croatian Diocese. Its bishop resided on king's court and made part of his entourage.[3] The existing section of the church was then extended fulfill the needs of bishop, while the building was renovated during the rule of king Zvonimir of Croatia who also donated the estate of Kosovo to the diocese.[4]

The 10th century Croatian interlace ornament containing names names of kings Stephen Držislav and Svetoslav Suronja, which once made part of St Bartholomew Benedictine monastery.

Throughout the same period, on Kapitul, near the town of Knin, the royal Benedictine monastery (monasterium regale) of Saint Bartholomew existed whose abbots made entourage of Croatian rulers. Judging by the archeological findings from that location, the complex can be traced back to 10th century at latest.[3] Its excavated remains are conserved on Museum of Croatian Archeological Monuments in Split. Some of these remains are tablets containing names of two Croatian kings: Stjepan Držislav (titled here as dux Chroatorum) and successor king Svetoslav Suronja.

After native kings of Croatia died out, the estate along with the church were donated by king Géza II of Hungary to the Diocese of Split as claimed in one late 12th century document.[4]

In 1203, Knin provost Dobroslav launched the construction of a new cathedral on a location of previous royal Benedictine monastery.[1] The church was dedicated to Saint Bartholomew somewhere during 1380's, in the time of bishop Nicolas of Knin. During its consecration, the cathedral was described as "magnificent".[3] At the same time, saint Bartholomew became a patron of Knin capitulum and its figure was also placed on capitulum seal.[5] The main apse of this new cathedral became a Place of authentication (locus credibilis), and also most likely contained the capitulim's archive. Along the main basilica, there was a church tower and bishop's quarter with a backyard. Croatian 16th century Francisian chronicler Ivan Tomašić in his Short Chronicle of Croatian Kingdom (lat. Chronicon breve Regni Croatiae) also claimed that the remains of Croatian king Demetrius Zvonimir were buried in cathedral of St. Bartholomew in Knin[4] before the great altar.[6]

Somewhere around 1360, the cathedral was reconstructed as it suffered some damage.

Another 16 century Venetian map, where cathedral can be seen in the upper right corner.

Due to permanent threat of Ottoman invasions, in the aftermath of Battle of Krbava field, the seat of Knin bishop was relocated to town of Cazin.[4] For the same reason, the fortifications were erected around cathedral's complex by 1504. Somewhere in this time period, the diocese of Knin practically ceased existing, with only its formal title remaining.[4]

In 1885, the Austria-Hungary built the railway line Knin-Siverić across the location of old medieval monastery. Pioneer of Croatian archeology, Lujo Marun arranged with construction workers to hand him over "anything they find underground, that might seem interesting". This resulted with the finding of 10th century stone tablet containing names of Croatian rulers Svetoslav Suronja and Stephen Držislav.[1]

The cathedral remains in 1920's before Italians demolished them during World War II.

In last 500 years, the site of medieval Knin cathedral was left for devastation.[1] During the World War II, Fascist Italian troops completely destroyed cathedral's remnants in order to build their barracks.[1] Following the war, the Romani people lived on that site.[1] After Croatian War of Independence, in 1990's the location turned into illegal dumping site.[1] Although for 70 years, it was believed that the cathedral was irretrievably lost, archeologists from Split managed to recover its remains in September 2017.[7] Thus far, only the cathedral's northern wall and its frontage have been researched.[7]