Dalmatia (
Croatian:
Dalmacija, see
names in other languages), is a region on the eastern coast of the
Adriatic Sea and is situated in modern
Croatia. It spreads between the
island of
Rab in the northwest and the
Bay of Kotor, in
Montenegro, in the southeast. The
hinterland, the Dalmatian
Zagora, ranges from fifty kilometers in width in the north to just a few kilometers in the south. The
Dalmatian dog gets its name from Dalmatia.
Definitions
In
antiquity the Roman province of
Dalmatia was much larger than the present-day region, stretching from
Istria to historical
Albania. Dalmatia signified not only a geographical unit, but it was an entity based on common culture and settlement types, a common narrow eastern Adriatic coastal belt,
Mediterranean climate,
sclerophyllous vegetation of the
Illyrian province, Adriatic
carbonate platform, and
karst geomorphology.
Among other things, the ecclesiastical primatical territory today continues to be larger because of the history: it includes part of modern
Montenegro, notably around
Bar, the (honorary) Roman Catholic
primas of Dalmatia, but an exempt
archbishopric without
suffragans while the archbishoprics of
Split (also a historical primas of Dalmatia) have provincial authority over all Croatian dioceses except the exempt archbishopric of
Zadar.
The southernmost transitional part of historical Dalmatia, the
Gulf of Kotor, is not part of present-day Croatian Dalmatia, but part of Montenegro.
Geography and climate
Most of the area is covered by Dinaric Alps mountain ranges running from north-west to south-east. On the coasts the climate is Mediterranean, further in the inland it is moderate continental. On the mountains, winters are frosty and snowy, while summers are hot and dry. In the southern part winters are milder. During the centuries many woods have been cut down and replaced with bush and brush. There is evergreen vegetation on the coast. The soils are generally poor, except on the plains where areas with natural grass, fertile soils and warm summers provide an opportunity for tillage. Elsewhere, land cultivation is mostly unsuccessful because of the mountains, hot summers and poor soils, although certain cultures such as olives and grapes flourish. Resources of energy are scarce. Hydropower stations are largely used in energetics. There is a considerable amount of bauxite.
The largest Dalmatian mountains are
Dinara,
Mosor,
Svilaja,
Biokovo,
Moseć,
Veliki Kozjak and
Mali Kozjak. The regional coherent geographical unit of historical Dalmatia, coastal region between Istria and the Gulf of Kotor includes the
Orjen mountain in Montenegro as the highest peak at 1894 m. In present-day Dalmatia, the highest peak is Dinara (1913 m), which is not a coastal mountain, while the highest coastal Dinaric mountains are on Biokovo (Sv. Jure 1762 m) and Velebit (Vaganjski vrh 1758 m).
The largest Dalmatian islands are
Dugi Otok,
Ugljan,
Pašman,
Brač,
Hvar,
Korčula,
Vis,
Lastovo, and
Mljet. The rivers are
Zrmanja,
Krka,
Cetina and
Neretva.
The Adriatic Sea's high
water quality, along with the immense number of
coves,
islands and
channels, makes Dalmatia an attractive place for nautical races,
nautical tourism, and tourism in general. Dalmatia also includes several
national parks that are tourist attractions:
Paklenica karst river,
Kornati archipelago,
Krka river
rapids and
Mljet island.
Administrative division
Today Dalmatia is divided between Croatia and Montenegro. Montenegro holds a small southern area, around the
Bay of Kotor, while the rest is in
Croatia. The vast majority of Dalmatia is, therefore, Croatian, and is oganized in four counties,
Other large cities in Croatian Dalmatia include
Biograd,
Kaštela,
Sinj,
Solin,
Omiš,
Knin,
Metković,
Makarska,
Trogir,
Ploče,
Trilj, and
Imotski.
History
Antiquity
Dalmatia's name is derived from the name of an
Illyrian tribe called the
Dalmatae who lived in the area of the eastern
Adriatic coast in the
1st millennium BC. It was part of the
Illyrian Kingdom between the 4th century BC and the
Illyrian Wars (220,
168 BC) when the
Roman Republic established its protectorate south of the river
Neretva. The name "Dalmatia" was in use probably from the second half of the 2nd century BC and certainly from the first half of the 1st century BC, defining a coastal area of the eastern
Adriatic between the
Krka and
Neretva rivers. It was slowly incorporated into Roman possessions until the Roman province of
Illyricum was formally established around 32-27 BC. 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 which spread into larger area inland to cover all of the
Dinaric Alps and most of the eastern Adriatic coast.
The historian
Theodore Mommsen wrote in his book,
The Provinces of the Roman Empire, that all Dalmatia was fully romanized by the 4th century AD. However, analysis of archaeological material from that period has shown that the process of
romanization was rather selective. While urban centers, both coastal and inland, were almost completely romanized, the situation in the countryside was completely different. Despite the Illyrians being subject to a strong process of acculturation, they continued to speak their native language, worship their own gods and traditions, and follow their own social-political tribal organization which was adapted to Roman administration and political structure only in some necessities.
The collapse of the
Western Roman Empire, with the beginning of the
Migration Period, left the region subject to
Gothic rulers,
Odoacer and
Theodoric the Great. They ruled Dalmatia from
480 to
535 AD, when it was restored to the
Eastern (Byzantine) Empire by
Justinian I.
Middle Ages
The Middle Ages in Dalmatia are a period of intense rivalry between the involved factions. The waning
Byzantine Empire, the
Kingdom of Croatia (later in a
personal union with
Hungary), and the
Venetian Republic. Dalmatia at the time consisted of the coastal cities functioning much like city-states, with extensive autonomy, but in mutual conflict and without control of the rural hinterland (the
Zagora). Ethnically, Dalmatia started out as a Roman region, with a romance culture that began to develop independently forming the now-extinct
Dalmatian language.
In the
Early Medieval period, Byzantine Dalmatia was ravaged by an
Avar invasion that destroyed its capital,
Salona, in 639 AD, an event that allowed for the settlement of the nearby
Diocletian's Palace in
Spalatum (Split) by Salonitans, greatly increasing the importance of the city. The Avars were followed by the great
South Slavic migrations. The Slavs, loosely allied with the Avars, permanently settled the region in the first half of the 7th century AD and remained its predominant ethnic group ever since. The Croats soon formed their own realm: the Principality of Dalmatia , a
Medieval Croatian state ruled by native
Princes of
Guduscan origin. The meaning of the geographical term "Dalmatia", now shrunk to the cities and their immediate hinterland. These cities and towns remained influential as they were well fortified and maintained their connection with the
Byzantine Empire. The two communities were somewhat hostile at first, but as the Croats became
Christianized this tension increasingly subsided. A degree of cultural mingling soon took place, in some enclaves stronger, in others weaker, as Slavic influence and culture was more accentuated in Ragusa, Spalatum, and Tragurium. In 925 AD Duke
Tomislav was crowned in
Tomislavgrad, establishing the
Kingdom of Croatia, and extending his influence further southwards to
Zachlumia. Being an ally of the Byzantine Empire, the King was given the status of Protector of Dalmatia, and became its
de facto ruler.
In the
High Medieval period, the Byzantine Empire was no longer able to maintain its power consistently in Dalmatia, and was finally rendered impotent so far west by the
Fourth Crusade in 1204. The Venetian Republic, on the other hand, was in the ascendant, while the Kingdom of Croatia became increasingly influenced by Hungary to the north, being absorbed into it via personal union in 1102. Thus, these two factions became involved in a struggle in this area, intermittently controlling it as the balance shifted. A consistent period of Hungarian rule in Dalmatia was ended with the
Mongol invasion of Hungary in 1241. The
Mongols severely impaired the feudal state, so much so that that same year, King
Béla IV had to take refuge in Dalmatia, as far south as the
Klis fortress. The Mongols attacked the Dalmatian cities for the next few years but eventually withdrew without major success.
In 1389
Tvrtko I, the founder of the
Bosnian Kingdom, was able to control the Adriatic littoral between
Kotor and
Šibenik, and even claimed control over the northern coast up to
Rijeka, and his own independent ally, Dubrovnik (Ragusa). This was only temporary, as Hungary and the Venetians continued their struggle over Dalmatia after Tvrtko's death in 1391. By this time, the whole Hungarian and Croatian Kingdom was facing increasing internal difficulties, as a 20-year civil war ensued between the
Capetian House of Anjou from the
Kingdom of Naples, and King
Sigismund of the
House of Luxembourg. During the war, the losing contender,
Ladislaus of Naples, sold his "rights" on Dalmatia to the Venetian Republic for a mere 100,000
ducats. The much more centralized Republic came to control all of Dalmatia by the year 1420, it was to remain under Venetian rule for 377 years (1420–1797).
Early modern period (1420–1815)
The Republic of Venice controlled most of Dalmatia from 1420 to 1797, the southern
enclave being called
Albania Veneta.
Venetian was the commercial
lingua franca in the Mediterranean at that time, and it heavily influenced Dalmatian and to a lesser degree coastal Croatian and
Albanian.
In 1481, it switched allegiance to the
Ottoman Empire. This gave its tradesmen advantages such as access to the Black Sea, and the
Republic of Ragusa was one of fiercest competitors to Venice's merchants in the 15th and 16th century.
The Republic of Venice was also one of the powers most hostile to
the Ottoman Empire's expansion, and participated in
many wars against it. As the Turks took control of the hinterland, many Christians took refuge in the coastal cities of Dalmatia.
After the
Great Turkish War, more peaceful times made Dalmatia experience a period of certain economic and cultural growth in the 18th century, with the re-establishment of trade and exchange with the hinterland.
The southern city of Ragusa (
Dubrovnik) became de facto independent in 1358 through the
Treaty of Zadar when Venice relinquished its suzerainty over it to
Louis I of Hungary.
This period was abruptly interrupted with the fall of the Republic of Venice in 1797.
Napoleon's troops stormed the region and ended the independence of the Republic of Ragusa as well, but saving it from occupation by the
Russian Empire and Montenegro.
In 1805, Napoleon created his Kingdom of Italy around the Adriatic Sea, annexing to it the former Venetian Dalmatia from Istria to Kotor.
In 1809 he removed the Venetian Dalmatia from his Kingdom of Italy and created the Illyrian Provinces, which were annexed to France, and created his marshal
Nicolas Soult duke of Dalmatia.
Napoleon's rule in Dalmatia was marked with war and high taxation, which caused several rebellions. On the other hand, French rule greatly contributed to Croatian national awakening (the first newspaper in Croatian was published then in Zadar, the
Kraglski Dalmatin-Il Regio Dalmata), the legal system and infrastructure were finally modernized to a degree in Dalmatia, and the educational system flourished. French rule brought a lot of improvements in infrastructure; many roads were built or reconstructed. Napoleon himself blamed Marshal
Auguste Marmont, the governor of Dalmatia, that too much money was spent. However, in 1813, the Habsburgs once again declared war on France and by 1814 restored control over Dalmatia, forming a temporary
Kingdom of Illyria. In 1822, in accordance with the
Congress of Vienna, this entity was eliminated and Dalmatia was placed within the
Austrian Empire.
19th century
thumb|250px|right|Map of Dalmatia, Croatia, and [[Sclavonia (Slavonia). Engraved by Weller for the
Society for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge under the Supervision of Charles Knight, dated January 1, 1852.]]
At the
Congress of Vienna in 1815, Dalmatia was granted as a province to the Emperor of Austria. It was officially known as the
Kingdom of Dalmatia.
In 1848, the Croatian Assembly (Sabor) published the People's Requests, in which they requested among other things the abolition of serfdom and the unification of Dalmatia and Croatia. The Dubrovnik Municipality was the most outspoken of all the Dalmatian communes in its support for unification with Croatia. A letter was sent from Dubrovnik to Zagreb with pledges to work for this idea. In 1849, Dubrovnik continued to lead the Dalmatian cities in the struggle for unification. A large-scale campaign was launched in the Dubrovnik paper
L'Avvenire (
The Future) based on a clearly formulated programme: the federal system for the Habsburg territories, the inclusion of Dalmatia into Croatia and the Slavic brotherhood. The president of the council of Kingdom of Dalmatia was the politician Baron Vlaho Getaldić.
In the same year, the first issue of the Dubrovnik almanac appeared,
Flower of the National Literature (
Dubrovnik, cvijet narodnog književstva), in which
Petar Preradović published his noted poem "To Dubrovnik". This and other literary and journalistic texts, which continued to be published, contributed to the awakening of the national consciousness reflected in efforts to introduce the Croatian language into schools and offices, and to promote Croatian books. The Emperor
Franz Joseph brought the so-called Imposed Constitution which prohibited the unification of Dalmatia and Croatia and also any further political activity with this end in view. The political struggle of Dubrovnik to be united with Croatia, which was intense throughout 1848 and 1849, did not succeed at that time.
In 1861 was the meeting of the first Dalmatian Assembly, with representatives from Dubrovnik. Representatives of Kotor came to Dubrovnik to join the struggle for unification with Croatia. The citizens of Dubrovnik gave them a festive welcome, flying Croatian flags from the ramparts and exhibiting the slogan: Ragusa with Kotor. The Kotorans elected a delegation to go to Vienna; Dubrovnik nominated Niko Pucić. Niko Pucić went to Vienna to demand not only the unification of Dalmatia with Croatia, but also the unification of all Croatian territories under one common Assembly.
At the end of the
First World War, the Austrian Empire disintegrated, and Dalmatia was again split between the
Kingdom of Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes (later the
Kingdom of Yugoslavia) which controlled most of it, and the Kingdom of
Italy which held small portions of northern Dalmatia around Zadar and the islands of
Cres,
Lošinj and Lastovo.
20th century
In 1922, Dalmatia was divided into two provinces, the District of Split (
Splitska oblast), with capital in Split, and the District of Dubrovnik (
Dubrovačka oblast), with the capital in
Dubrovnik.
In 1929, the
Littoral Banovina (
Primorska Banovina), a province of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia, was formed. Its capital was Split, and it included most of Dalmatia and parts of present-day Bosnia and Herzegovina. Southern parts of Dalmatia were in
Zeta Banovina, from the Gulf of Kotor to
Pelješac peninsula including Dubrovnik.
In 1939, Littoral Banovina was joined with
Sava Banovina (and with smaller parts of other banovina's) to form a new province named the
Banovina of Croatia. In 1939, the ethnic Croatian areas of the Zeta Banovina from the Gulf of Kotor to Pelješac, including Dubrovnik, were merged with a new Banovina of Croatia.
During
World War II, in 1941,
Nazi Germany,
Fascist Italy,
Hungary and
Bulgaria occupied Yugoslavia, redrawing their borders. A new Nazi puppet state, the
Independent State of Croatia (NDH), was created, and
Fascist Italy was given some parts of the Dalmatian coast, notably around Zadar and Split, as well as many of the area's islands. The remaining parts of Dalmatia became part of the NDH. Many Croats moved from the Italian-occupied area and took refuge in the satellite state of Croatia, which became the battleground for a guerrilla war between the
Axis and the
Yugoslav Partisans.
Zadar was bombed by the Allies during World War II.
After the defeat of Italy and the NDH, Dalmatia was restored to Croatia, more precisely, to the People's Republic of Croatia, part of the
SFR Yugoslavia (then called the Federative People's Republic of Yugoslavia).
Dalmatia was divided between two
federal Republics of Yugoslavia and most of the territory went to Croatia, leaving only the Bay of Kotor to
Montenegro. When Yugoslavia was dissolved in 1991, those borders were retained and remain in force.
Gallery
Names in other languages
See also
