Dalmatia

Dalmatia (/dælˈmeɪʃə, -tiə/ ^ⓘ; Croatian: Dalmacija [dǎlmatsija]; Italian: Dalmazia [dal'mattsja]) is a historical region located in modern-day Croatia and Montenegro, on the eastern shore of the Adriatic Sea. It is a narrow land belt stretching from the island of Rab in the north to the Bay of Kotor in the south. The Dalmatian Hinterland ranges in width from 50 kilometres in the north, to just a few kilometres in the south; it is mostly covered by the rugged Dinaric Alps. Seventy-nine islands (and about 500 islets) run parallel to the coast, the largest (in Dalmatia) being Brač, Pag, and Hvar. The largest city is Split, followed by Zadar, Šibenik, and Dubrovnik.

The name of the region stems from an Illyrian tribe called the Dalmatae, who lived in the area in classical antiquity. With the expansion of Rome, the province of Illyricum was established, and in the early 1st century it was reorganised into the province of Dalmatia, which stretched over a vast territory. Consequently, a Romance culture emerged, and the indigenous Illyrian population became romanised. Following the fall of the Western Roman Empire and the Migration Period, many different peoples passed through Dalmatia. While the local Illyro-Romans organized themselves around their city-states under Byzantine protection, the Croats arrived in the early 7th century and established the Duchy of Croatia, later becoming vassals of the Franks. With the Christianisation of the Croats, Slavic and Illyro-Roman elements began to intermingle in both language and culture. The Kingdom of Croatia was founded in 925, and it later incorporated the Theme of Dalmatia.

After Croatia entered into a personal union with Hungary in 1102, Dalmatian cities were frequently conquered or shifted their allegiances during the Middle Ages. The Republic of Venice controlled parts of Dalmatia from 1000 to 1358 and from 1420 to 1797, while the Republic of Ragusa existed from 1358 to 1808. The Ottoman Empire conquered much of the Croatian-Hungarian kingdom between the late 15th and late 17th century, reducing the territory that had been considered Dalmatia until then. Venice subsequently reconquered the Dalmatian Hinterland, shaping the borders of what is today considered Dalmatia. These borders were further consolidated during Napoleon’s Illyrian Provinces and the Austrian 19th-century Kingdom of Dalmatia. At the end of World War I in 1918, as a part of unified Triune Kingdom of Croatia, Slavonia and Dalmatia, Dalmatia became part of the State of Slovenes, Croats and Serbs. Its official name use was abolished in 1922, until a resurgence as Split-Dalmatia County in 1993 following Croatia’s independence.

Modern Dalmatia has inherited a layered historical and linguistic heritage, which has in turn shaped its distinct cultural identity, evident in the region’s music, cuisine, traditions and lifestyle. The Shtokavian dialect of the Croatian language is mainly spoken on the mainland and in the hinterland, while Chakavian dialect of Croatian language is spoken on the islands. While the number of native Italian and Venetian speakers has fallen over time, especially after the Istrian-Dalmatian exodus (1943–1960), these languages have left a deep and lasting impact on the vocabulary and prosody of Chakavian dialect.