Dalmatia

Old Ages

Illyria and the Roman Empire

The history of Dalmatia began when the tribe from which the country           derives its name declared itself independent of Gentius, the Illyrian            king, and established a republic. Its capital was Delminium (current           name Tomislavgrad); its territory stretched northwards from the river            Neretva to the river Cetina, and later to the Krka, where it met the            confines of Liburnia.

The Roman Empire began its occupation of Illyria in the year 168 B.C.,           forming the Roman province of Illyricum. In 156 B.C. the Dalmatians           were for the first time attacked by a Roman army and compelled to pay            tribute. In AD 10, during the reign of Augustus, Illyricum was split           into Pannonia in the north and Dalmatia in the south, after the last            of many formidable revolts had been crushed by Tiberius in AD 9. This           event was followed by total submission and a ready acceptance of the            Latin civilization which overspread Illyria.

The province of Dalmatia spread inland to cover all of the Dinaric Alps           and most of the eastern Adriatic coast. Its capital was in the city           of Salona (Solin). Emperor Diocletian made Dalmatia famous by building           a palace for himself a few kilometers south of Salona, in Aspalathos/Spalatum. Other Dalmatian cities at the time were:

Tarsatica Senia Vegium Aenona Iader Scardona Tragurium Aequum Oneum Issa Pharus Bona Corcyra Narona Epidaurus Rhizinium Acruvium Olcinium Scodra           Epidamnus/Dyrrachium

The collapse of the Western Empire left this region subject to Gothic           rulers, Odoacer and Theodoric the Great, from 476 to 535, when it was            added by Justinian I to the Eastern (Byzantine) Empire.

Middle Ages

Medieval city-states and the country

Following the great Slavic migration into Illyria in the first half           of the 7th century, Dalmatia became distinctly divided between two different            communities:

The coast, except few town, and hinterland populated by Croats, besides           the Romanicized Illyrian natives (and Celtic in the north), *The Byzantine            enclaves populated by the native Romance-speaking descendants of Romans            and Illyrians, who lived safely in Ragusa, Iadera, Tragurium, Spalatum            and some other coastal towns. These towns remained powerful because they were highly civilized (because           of their connection with the Byzantium) and also fortified. The Croats           were at the time barely in the process of becoming Christianized. The           two different communities were frequently hostile at first.

In 806 the Dalmatian Croat was temporarily added to the Frankish Empire,           but the cities were restored to Byzantium by the Treaty of Aachen in            812. The treaty had also slightly expanded the Dalmatian Croatia. The           Saracens raided the southernmost cities in 840 and 842, but this threat            was eliminated by a common Frankish-Byzantinian campaign of 871.

When King Tomislav united Pannonian and Dalmatian Croatia in 925, the           Byzantine Emperor Constantine Porphyrogenitus recorded that Croatia            covered some 100,000 square kilometers (38,600 square miles), had a            population in excess of two million and fielded 60,000 horsemen, 100,000            foot soldiers, 80 galleys and one hundred cutters, a formidable state            for tenth century Europe

Croatian Dalmatia

Since the 850s the Principality of Dalmatia became known as the Duchy           of the Croats. This duchy was also called Coastal Croatia and Dalmatian           Croatia, because its used to be the old Slavic Principality of Dalmatia. This Duchy, and later, Kingdom, had its capitals in Dalmatia: Biaci,           Nin, Split, Knin, Solin and elsewhere. Also, the Croatian noble tribes,           that had a right to choose Croatian duke (later the king), were from            Dalmatia: Karinjani and Lapcani, Polecici, Tugomirici, Kukari, Snacici,            Gusici, Å ubici (from which later developed very powerful noble family            Zrinski), Mogorovici, Lacnicici, Jamometici and Kacici. Within the borders           of ancient Roman Dalmatia, the Croatian nobles of Krk, or Krcki (from            which later developed very powerful noble family Frankopan) were from            Dalmatia as well.

The establishment of cordial relations between the cities and the Croatian           dukedom seriously began with the reign of Duke Mislav (835), who signed            an official peace treaty with Pietro, doge of Venice in 840 and who            also started giving land donations to the churches from the cities. Dalmatia's first Croatian Duke, Trpimir, founder of the House of Trpimir           and the Duchy of Croats, greatly expanded the new Duchy to include territories            all the way to the river of Drina, thereby including entire Bosnia in            his wars against the Bulgar Khans and their Serbian subjects. Croat's           Duke Tomislav had created the Kingdom of Croatia in 924 or 925, crowned            on Duvanjsko polje, unifying two Croatian duchies, Dalmatian and Pannonian. His powerful realm extended influence further southwards to Pagania,           and even Zachlumia slightly

CROATIA WITHIN THE HABSBURG EMPIRE

When the Croatians elected a Habsburg as their king in 1527, they did           so with the understanding that the crown would respect the rights, laws            and customs of the Croatian Kingdom. While this principle was often           violated by Hungary and Austria, Croatia maintained a great deal of            autonomy and its ancient Sabor or Parliament and Ban or Viceroy. By           1914 the Croatians were on the verge of restoring their full political            rights within the Empire.

From 1918 through 1938, Yugoslavia had thirty-five governments with           a total of 656 ministers. Only twenty-six had been Croatians. The top-heavy           Army had 161 generals. One, in charge of supply, was a Croatian. In           the elections of December 1938 the Croatian Peasant Party and its leader            Vlatko Macek were defeated by a very close count of 1,364,524 to 1,643,783            for the royalist government. Given the fraud and terrorism common to           all Yugoslav elections, it was obvious that the Peasant Party had won            a stunning victory. Even government figures confirmed that over 650,000           Serbs had voted for Macek. Despite this the Stojadinovic government           refused to recognize the results or form a coalition government.

Faced with the threat of armed rebellion, Prince Paul sacked Stojadinovic           and replaced him with Dragisa Cvetkovic, a former mayor of Nis and a            person open to negotiation concerning the "Croatian Question." The result was a Sporazum or Agreement of August 26, 1939 which formed           the semi-autonomous Banovina of Croatia covering 38,600 square miles            with a population of almost four and one-half million, 80 per cent of            whom were Croatian. The new Croatian Banovina was connected to Yugoslavia           only in matters of defense, foreign relations and a common postal system. Its borders included all of the two previous Banovinas, portions of           western Bosnia and parts of western Hercegovina. Eastern Srijem and           the strategic bay of Kotor with the southernmost tip of Dalmatia remained            in Serbian hands.

THE INDEPENDENT STATE OF CROATIA

The formation of the Banovina of Croatia was a gesture that could have           saved Yugoslavia in 1918, but coming only a week before the outbreak            of World War II, it was simply too little, much too late. When Yugoslavia           disintegrated at the first sign of German troops, a new Independent            State of Croatia, known by its Croatian initials NDH, was founded on            April 10, 1941. Its borders, which incorporated Bosnia-Hercegovina,           were finalized by the Treaty of Rome on May 18. While Germany was willing           to recognize the pre-1918 borders of Croatia and Bosnia-Hercegovina            in the new state, Italy demanded and received most of the Dalmatian            coast and set up an occupation zone comprising almost one third of the            country. The NDH covered some 46,300 square miles with a population           of 6,750,000. Internally the state was divided into 23 prefects or velike           zupe which were further divided into 142 districts and cities. Although           Italian Dalmatia technically reverted back to the NDH upon the fall            of Italy in 1943, much of the region was in Partisan control for the            remainder of the War.

The Croatian people again declared themselves to be free and independent           on June 25, 1991. One year later, virtually the entire world had recognized           Croatia within the borders designated in 1945. The overwhelming majority           of Croatia's twelve hundred mile border is based upon ancient boundaries            that Croatia brought with her into Yugoslavia in 1918. In those areas           where the borders were changed, Serbia gained and Croatia lost. Despite           this basic reality, the Republic of Croatia has made no territorial            claims against any other nation; nor has Slovenia, Bosnia-Hercegovina            or Macedonia. Serbia and Serbia alone since 1813 has constantly expanded           in pursuit of the dream of a Greater Serbia stretching from Bulgaria            to the Adriatic Sea. It is a dream that has cost the lives of millions           over the past century and one-half and brought the worst fighting to            Europe since World War II. How many more will die for Serbia's dreams           of empire remains to be seen.