History of Dalmatia

The History of Dalmatia concerns the history of the area that covers eastern coast of the Adriatic Sea and its inland regions, from the 2nd century BC up to the present day. The region was populated by Illyrian tribes around 1,000 B.C, including the Delmatae, who formed a kingdom and for whom the province is named. Later it was conquered by Rome, thus becoming the province of Dalmatia, part of the Roman Empire.

Dalmatia was conquered by the Ostrogoths in the 5th century. Slavs started settling in the area in the 6th and 7th century, including Croats and Serbs. These Slavic arrivals created the Duchy and Kingdom of Croatia, Principality of Serbia, and Pagania, Zachlumia, Travunia, Kanalites and Duklja principalities. Since then, the province's territory was vastly reduced to only a coastal part, known as the Byzantine theme of Dalmatia (with its own Dalmatian city-states), and closely associated with the Kingdom of Croatia. Since the 12th century, both Byzantium, Hungary, Venice, and the Ottoman Empire have all fought for control of Dalmatia. In the south, the Republic of Ragusa (1358–1808) emerged. The Republic of Venice held territorries in Dalmatia from 1420 to 1797, during which time the area considered Dalmatia became confined to the Venetian-ruled teritorries. In 1527, the Kingdom of Croatia and Dalmatia became a Habsburg crown land, and in 1812 the Kingdom of Dalmatia was formed. In 1918, Dalmatia was a part of the State of Slovenes, Croats and Serbs, then the Kingdom of Yugoslavia. After World War II, Dalmatia became part of Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia in SR Croatia.