Dalmatia

Dalmatia (Croatian Dalmacija, Italian Dalmazia, Serbian ?????????) is a region on the eastern coast of the Adriatic Sea, mostly in modern Croatia, spreading between the island of Pag in the northwest and the Bay of Kotor in the southeast.

History

Dalmatia is a region with a long history. Its name is probably derived from the name of an Illyrian tribe called the Dalmatae which lived in the area of the eastern Adriatic coast in the 1st millenium BC. It was part of the Illyrian kingdom between the 4th century BC until the Illyrian Wars in the 220s BC when they it was conquered by the Roman Republic. The Dalmatians rebelled once again in 180 BC, but were again subdued in 168 BC.

Related Topics:
Illyrian tribe - Dalmatae - Adriatic - 1st millenium BC - Illyria - 4th century BC - Illyrian Wars - 220s BC - Roman Republic - 180 BC - 168 BC

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Dalmatia then became part of the Roman province of Illyricum. In 9 AD, the Dalmatians raised the last in a series of revolts together with the Pannonians, but it was finally crushed and in 10 AD Illyricum was split into two provinces, Pannonia and Dalmatia. The province of Dalmatia spread inland to cover all of the Dinaric Alps and most of the eastern Adriatic coast.

Related Topics:
Roman province of Illyricum - 9 AD - 10 AD - Pannonia - Dinaric Alps

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After the Western Roman Empire collapsed in 476, the region was ruled by the Goths up to 535, when Justinian I added it to the Eastern (Byzantine) Empire. Soon afterwards, the Migration Period brought on a major settlement of Slavs in the first half of the 7th century.

Related Topics:
Western Roman Empire - 476 - Goths - 535 - Justinian I - Eastern (Byzantine) Empire - Migration Period - Slavs

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Dalmatia became distinctly divided between two different communities, the Slavs and Romanised Illyrians in the hinterland, and the Romans and Romanised Illyrians in the coastal city-states.

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The Slavs started organized their domain into increasingly powerful states. The Croats controlled the northern half of Dalmatia at the time, and by the 10th century became an independent kingdom which persisted until the turn of the 12th century. The southern sections of inland Dalmatia were more fragmented, with the dukedoms of Pagania/Narenta, Zahumlje/Hum, Travunia and Duklja/Zeta being occasionally prominent, especially in the later periods.

Related Topics:
Croats - 10th century - An independent kingdom - 12th century - Pagania - Zahumlje - Travunia - Duklja

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The Venetian Republic made several attempts to ascertain control the Dalmatian islands and city-states, while the Byzantium also preserved an influence on them, although one which faded towards the end of the eleventh century, by which time the Kingdom of Hungary also expanded southwards by having Croatia enter into a personal union with the King of Hungary.

Related Topics:
Venetian Republic - Kingdom of Hungary

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During the early medieval period, the East-West Schism of Christianity also divided Dalmatia, into the larger western part which had allegiance to the Holy See in Rome, and the smaller eastern part which became Eastern Orthodox. The rise of the Serbian state in the late 12th century helped introduce the Orthodoxy to much of southern Dalmatia.

Related Topics:
East-West Schism - Christianity - Holy See - Eastern Orthodox - Serbia - 12th century

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The 13th, 14th and 15th centuries were marked by a rivalry of Venice and Hungary, as the Byzantine influence had fully faded. The once rival Slavonic-speaking and Romance-speaking populations of Dalmatia started contributing to a common civilization, and achieved a remarkable development of art, science and literature. The cities would accept foreign sovereignty, mainly of Venice, but strived to preserve local autonomy.

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In 1346, Dalmatia was struck by the Black Death. The economic situation was also poor, and the cities became more and more dependent on Venice. During this period Dalmatia was briefly ruled by Croatian magnates ?ubi?, the first Bosnian king Stephen Tvrtko, and contested by the Angevins and Sigismund, Holy Roman Emperor in the early 15th century, but the end result of this conflict was that the Venetians took control of most of Dalmatia by 1420.

Related Topics:
1346 - Black Death - ?ubi? - Bosnia - Tvrtko - Angevin - Sigismund, Holy Roman Emperor - 1420

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The southern city of Ragusa or Dubrovnik had managed to achieve complete independence, and preserved it despite the numerous foreign invasions. The Ottoman wars in Europe had started affecting the area in the mid-15th century, and when the Venetian and Ottoman frontiers met, border wars became incessant. The Turks took control of much of the hinterland, and helped the Republic of Dubrovnik maintain its independency, but under their suzerainty. The Ottoman invasion further contributed to the inclusion of the Croats and other Slavs in the cities.

Related Topics:
Ragusa or Dubrovnik - Ottoman wars in Europe - Ottoman - Republic of Dubrovnik

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After the expansion of the Ottoman Empire was finally contained in the Great Turkish war at the turn of the 18th century, Dalmatia experienced a period of intense economic and cultural growth in the 18th century, as the trade routes with the hinterland were reestablished in peace. Christians also noticeably migrated from the Ottoman-held territory into the Dalmatian cities, sometimes converting from Orthodoxy to Catholicism as well.

Related Topics:
Ottoman Empire - Great Turkish war - 18th century

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This period was abruptly interrupted with the fall of the Venetian Republic in 1797. Napoleon's troops stormed the region and ended the independence of the Dubrovnik Republic as well. By 1815, Dalmatia was taken by the Austrian Habsburg Monarchy. After the Revolutions of 1848, the Croatian population of Dalmatia increasingly urged for unification with Croatia which was controlled by the Hungarian part of the then Austro-Hungarian Empire.

Related Topics:
1797 - Napoleon - 1815 - Austria - Habsburg Monarchy - Revolutions of 1848 - Croatia - Austro-Hungarian Empire

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In the First World War, the Austrian Empire disintegrated, and Dalmatia was again split between the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes which controlled most of it, and the Kingdom of Italy which had notable portions of northern Dalmatia. During the Second World War, Fascist Italy occupied the entire region together with Nazi Germany, but after the end of the war Dalmatia was restored to the Yugoslav state, now the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia.

Related Topics:
First World War - Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes - Kingdom of Italy - Second World War - Fascist Italy - Nazi Germany - Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia

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Dalmatia was divided between three republics of socialist Yugoslavia - almost all of the territory went to Croatia, leaving Boka Kotorska to Montenegro and a small strip of coast at Neum to Bosnia and Herzegovina. When Yugoslavia dissolved in 1991 and after the Yugoslav wars that had ensued, the republic borders became country borders as they are now.

Related Topics:
Boka Kotorska - Montenegro - Neum - Bosnia and Herzegovina - Yugoslav wars

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The above is merely an overview, see History of Dalmatia for the complete history.

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