Dalmatia is a narrow 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 fifty 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. Later it became a
Roman province (with much larger territory than modern region), and as result a
Romance culture emerged, along with the now-extinct
Dalmatian language, later largely replaced with related
Venetian. With the arrival of the
Sclaveni (South Slavs; mostly
Croats) to the area in the late 6th century, who eventually occupied most of the coast and hinterland,
Slavic and Romance elements began to intermix in language and culture.
The regional name Dalmatia originates from
Dalmatae, the name of the
Illyrian,
Balkan tribe who were the original inhabitants of the region, and from which the later toponym,
Delminium, is derived.[5][6][7] It is considered by some to be connected to the
Albaniandele and its variants which include the
Gheg form delmë, meaning "sheep", and to the Albanian term delmer, "shepherd",[8][9][10][11][12][13] although there is lack of compelling evidence in ancient literary sources that Delmatae is derived from a word meaning "sheep".[14] According to
Vladimir Orel, the Gheg form delmë hardly has anything in common with the name of Dalmatia because it represents a variant of dele with *-mā, which is ultimately from
proto-Albanian*dailā.[15] According to
Sorin Paliga, the toponym is
pre-Indo-European.[16] Other scholars propose that the name comes from the
Indo-European roots *dhe/-l*dhol- "vault, cavity" (cf. English "dale"), or (3) *dhel- "to shine".[16] The ancient name Dalmana, derived from the same root, testifies to the advance of the
Illyrians into the middle
Vardar, between the ancient towns of
Bylazora and
Stobi.[13] The medieval
Slavic toponym
Ovče Pole ("plain of sheep" in
South Slavic) in the nearby region represents a related later development.[13] According to István Schütz, in Albania,
Delvinë represents a toponym linked to the root *dele.[11]
The form of the regional name Dalmatia and the respective tribal name Dalmatae are later variants as is already noted by
Appian (2nd century AD). His contemporary grammarian
Velius Longus highlights in his treatise about orthography that the correct form of Dalmatia is Delmatia, and notes that
Marcus Terentius Varro who lived about two centuries prior to Appian and Velius Longius, used the form Delmatia as it corresponded to the chief settlement of the tribe, Delminium.[17] The toponym
Duvno is a derivation from Delminium in Croatian via an intermediate form *Delminio in late antiquity.[7] Its
Latin form Dalmatia gave rise to its current
English name. In the
Venetian language, once dominant in the area, it is spelled Dalmàssia, and in modern
ItalianDalmazia. The modern
Croatianspelling is Dalmacija, and the modern
SerbianCyrillic spelling is Далмација (pronounced[dǎlmaːt͡sija]).
Dalmatia is referenced in the
New Testament at
2 Timothy 4:10, therefore the name has been translated in many of the world's languages.
Dalmatia is today a
historical region only, not formally instituted in
Croatian law. Its exact extent is therefore uncertain and subject to public perception. According to Lena Mirošević and Josip Faričić of the
University of Zadar:[19]
...the modern perception of Dalmatia is mainly based on the territorial extent of the
AustrianKingdom of Dalmatia, with the exception of Rab, which is geographically related to the
Kvarner area and functionally to the
Littoral–
Gorski Kotar area, and with the exception of the
Bay of Kotor, which was annexed to another state (
Montenegro) after
World War I. Simultaneously, the southern part of
Lika and upper Pounje, which were not part of Austrian Dalmatia, became part of
Zadar County. From the present-day administrative and territorial point of view, Dalmatia comprises the four Croatian littoral
counties with seats in
Zadar,
Šibenik,
Split, and
Dubrovnik.
"Dalmatia" is therefore generally perceived to extend approximately to the borders of the Austrian Kingdom of Dalmatia. However, due to territorial and administrative changes over the past century, the perception can be seen to have altered somewhat with regard to certain areas, and sources conflict as to their being part of the region in modern times:
The Bay of Kotor area in Montenegro. With the
subdivision of the
Kingdom of Yugoslavia into
oblasts in 1922, the whole of the Bay of Kotor from
Sutorina to
Sutomore was granted to the Zeta Oblast, so that the border of Dalmatia was formed at that point by the southern border of the former
Republic of Ragusa.[20] The Encyclopædia Britannica defines Dalmatia as extending "to the narrows of
Kotor" (i.e. the southernmost tip of continental Croatia, the
Prevlaka peninsula).[21] Other sources, however, such as the Treccani encyclopedia and the Rough Guide to Croatia still include the Bay as being part of the region.[22][23]
The island of Rab, along with the small islands of
Sveti Grgur and
Goli Otok, were a part of the Kingdom of Dalmatia and are historically and culturally related to the region, but are today associated more with the Croatian Littoral, due to geographical vicinity and administrative expediency.
Gračac municipality and northern
Pag. A number of sources express the view that "from the modern-day administrative point of view", the extent of Dalmatia equates to the four southernmost counties of Croatia: Zadar,
Šibenik-Knin, Split-Dalmatia, and
Dubrovnik-Neretva.[19][24][25][26][27][28] This definition does not include the Bay of Kotor, or the islands of Rab, Sveti Grgur, and Goli Otok. It also excludes the northern part of the island of Pag, which is part of the
Lika-Senj County. However, it includes the Gračac municipality in Zadar County, which was not a part of the Kingdom of Dalmatia and is not traditionally associated with the region (but instead the region of Lika).
Culture and ethnicity
The inhabitants of Dalmatia are culturally subdivided into two groups. The urban families of the coastal cities, commonly known as Fetivi,[29] are culturally akin to the inhabitants of the
Dalmatian islands (known
derogatorily as Boduli). The two are together distinct, in the
Mediterranean aspects of their culture, from the more numerous inhabitants of the
Hinterland. Referred to (sometimes derogatorily) as the Vlaji, their name originated from the
Vlachs with whom they have no ethnic connection.[30]
According to the Austrian census, they constituted 18.5% of the population in 1857, which decreased to 17.4% by 1900.[31] They formed 19.9% in the 1830-1850 period.[32]
The former two groups (inhabitants of the islands and the cities) historically included many
Venetian and
Italian speakers, many of whom identified as
Dalmatian Italians (especially after the
Italian unification). Their presence, relative to those identifying as
Croats, decreased dramatically over the course of the 19th and the first half of the 20th century. The Italian speakers (Italians and italophone Croats) constituted (according to the
Italian linguist
Matteo Bartoli) nearly one third of Dalmatians in the second half of the 18th century.[33] According to the Austrian census it had decreased to 12.5% in 1865 and 3.1% in 1890.[31] There remains, however, a strong cultural, and, in part, ancestral heritage among the natives of the cities and islands, who today almost exclusively identify as Croats, but retain a sense of regional identity. This same regional identity and heritage is displayed in the Hinterland, where the architectural and cultural legacy remains evident in many villages and towns that have a distinct Mediterranean style.
Most of the land area is covered by the
Dinaric Alps mountain range running from north-west to south-east. The hills and mountains lie parallel to the coast, which gave rise to
the geographic term Dalmatian concordant coastline. On the coasts the climate is
Mediterranean, while further inland it is moderate Mediterranean. In the mountains, winters are frosty and snowy, while summers are hot and dry. To the south winters are milder. Over the centuries many forests 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 olives and grapes flourish. Energy resources are scarce. Electricity is mainly produced by hydropower stations. There is a considerable amount of
bauxite.[citation needed]
The largest Dalmatian mountains are
Dinara,
Mosor,
Svilaja,
Biokovo,
Moseć,
Veliki Kozjak, and
Mali Kozjak. The regional geographical unit of historical Dalmatia[clarification needed]–the coastal region between
Istria and the
Bay of Kotor–includes the
Orjen mountains with the highest peak in
Montenegro, 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 (Vaganski vrh, 1757 m),[34] although the Vaganski vrh itself is located in
Lika-Senj County.[35]
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.[41] 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[42] 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.[43]
The historian
Theodor 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.[44]
In the early 9th century, the Eastern Adriatic coast including Dalmatia was the scene of the sphere of influence struggle between the
Frankish and Byzantine Empire, but although the Byzantines have retained supremacy, Dalmatia became a meeting place between the West and the East.[51] The meaning of the administrative-geographical term "Dalmatia" by 820 shrank to the coastal cities and their immediate hinterland - Byzantine
theme of Dalmatia.[52] Its cities were the Romance-speaking
Dalmatian city-states and remained influential as they were well fortified and maintained their connection with the Byzantine Empire. The original name of the cities was Jadera (
Zadar; capital of the theme), Spalatum (Split), Crepsa (
Cres), Arba (
Rab), Tragurium (
Trogir), Vecla (
Krk), Ragusium (
Dubrovnik) and Cattarum (
Kotor).[52] The language and the laws were initially
Latin, but after a few centuries they developed their own neo-Latin language (the "
Dalmatico"), that lasted until the 19th century.[53] The cities were maritime centres with a huge commerce mainly with the Italian peninsula and with the growing Republic of Venice.[52] The Latin and Slavic 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 the first half of the 10th century Croatia was elevated to a
kingdom by
Duke Tomislav who also extended his influence further southwards to
Zachlumia. As an ally of the Byzantine Empire, the
King was given the status of Protector of Dalmatia, and became its de facto ruler. In the subsequent period, the rulers of Croatia exerted influence over Dalmatian cities and islands, occasionally taking control such as the conquest of Zadar in the mid-11th century. Chronicler
Thomas the Archdeacon relates that
Stephen Držislav took the title "King of Dalmatia and Croatia", and that all subsequent rulers styled themselves in such manner.
Petar Krešimir IV of Croatia expanded his rule to permanently incorporate Dalmatian cities and islands by 1069. Upon the death of King
Demetrius Zvonimir of Croatia by the end of 1080s, the state entered a period of anarchy and would result in Hungarians under
Coloman of Hungary taking control over former Dalmatian possessions along with the rest of the state by 1102.
In the
High Medieval period, the Byzantine Empire was no longer able to expand its power consistently in Dalmatia, and was finally rendered impotent so far west by the
Fourth Crusade in 1204. The Republic of Venice, on the other hand, was in the ascendant, while the 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. During the reign of
KingEmeric, the Dalmatian cities separated from
Hungary by a treaty.[54] 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
Fortress of Klis. The Mongols attacked the Dalmatian cities for the next few years but eventually withdrew without major success.
At the beginning of the 14th century and until 1322, the Dalmatian cities were under the control of the noble
Šubić family which held them until they were defeated at the
Battle of Bliska by a coalition of nobles, Dalmatian cities and royal troops loyal to
Charles I of Hungary.
In the south, due to its protected location, Kotor became a major city for the salt trade. The area was prosperous during the 14th century under the rule of
Emperor of the SerbsDušan the Mighty, who encouraged law enforcement, which helped the
Bay of Kotor to become a safe place for doing business.[55] In 1389,
Tvrtko I, the founder of the
Kingdom of Bosnia, 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,
Republic of 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 Republic of Venice for a mere 100,000
ducats. The much more centralized Republic came to control the coast and near hinterland of Dalmatia by the year 1420, it was to remain under
Venetian rule for 377 years (1420–1797).[56]
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. In 1481, Ragusa switched allegiance to the
Ottoman Empire. This gave its tradesmen advantages such as access to the
Black Sea, and the Republic of Ragusa was the fiercest competitor to Venice's merchants in the 15th and 16th centuries.
In the early 16th century, most of the Dalmatian hinterland which was controlled by the Hungarian-Croatian Kingdom was lost to the Ottoman Empire by the 1520s when was formed
Croatian vilayet which became incorporated into the
Sanjak of Klis after the
Siege of Klis (1537),[57] and decades later into the
Bosnia Eyalet.[58] With the fall of the Hungarian-Venetian border in Dalmatia, Venetian Dalmatia now directly bordered with the Ottoman Dalmatia. Venetians still perceived this inner hinterland as once part of Croatia, calling it as "Banadego" (lands of
Ban i.e.
Banate).[59] 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, but also promoted peace negotiations and cultural and religious coexistence and tolerance.[60]
Since the 16th century
SlavicizedVlachs,
Serbs and other South Slavs arrived both as
martolos in Ottoman service and refugees fleeing from Ottoman territory to the
Military Frontier and Venetian Dalmatia.[61][62] As the Ottomans took control of the hinterland, many
Christians took refuge in the coastal cities of Dalmatia. In the Ottoman Dalmatia many people converted to Islam to get freedom and privileges.[63] The border between the Dalmatian hinterland and the
Ottoman Bosnia and Herzegovina greatly fluctuated until the
Morean War, when the Venetian capture of
Knin and
Sinj set much of the borderline at its current position.[64]
After the
Great Turkish War and the
Treaty of Passarowitz, 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. 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, 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 1808, he annexed the just conquered Republic of Ragusa to the Kingdom. A year later, in 1809, he removed the Venetian Dalmatia from his Kingdom of Italy and created the
Illyrian Provinces, which were annexed to
France, and named
Marshal GeneralJean-de-Dieu Soult the 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 revival (the first newspaper in Croatian was published then in Zadar, Il Regio Dalmata – Kraglski Dalmatin), the legal system and infrastructure were finally modernized somewhat 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 of the EmpireAuguste de Marmont, the governor of Dalmatia, that too much money was spent. However, in 1813, the
Habsburgs once again declared
war on France and, by the following year, had restored control over Dalmatia.
In 1848, the
Croatian Parliament (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 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 "Pjesma Dubrovniku" (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
March 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 1848–49, did not succeed at that time.
During the meeting of the Council of Ministers of 12 November 1866, Emperor
Franz Joseph I of Austria outlined a wide-ranging project aimed at the
Germanization or
Slavization of the areas of the empire with an Italian presence:[65]
Her Majesty expressed the precise order that action be taken decisively against the influence of the Italian elements still present in some regions of the Crown and, appropriately occupying the posts of public, judicial, masters employees as well as with the influence of the press, work in
South Tyrol, Dalmatia and Littoral for the Germanization and Slavization of these territories according to the circumstances, with energy and without any regard. His Majesty calls the central offices to the strong duty to proceed in this way to what has been established.
— Franz Joseph I of Austria, Council of the Crown of 12 November 1866[66]
Dalmatia, especially its maritime cities, once had a substantial local ethnic Italian population (
Dalmatian Italians), making up 33% of the total population of Dalmatia in 1803,[67][68] but this was reduced to 20% in 1816.[69] According to Austrian censuses, the Dalmatian Italians formed 12.5% of the population in 1865,[70] but this was reduced to 2.8% in 1910.[71]
While Slavic-speakers made up 80-95% of the Dalmatia populace,[72] only Italian language schools existed until 1848,[73] and due to restrictive voting laws, the Italian-speaking aristocratic minority retained political control of Dalmatia.[74] Only after Austria liberalized elections in 1870, allowing more majority Slavs to vote, did Croatian parties gain control. Croatian finally became an official language in Dalmatia in 1883, along with Italian.[75] Yet minority Italian-speakers continued to wield strong influence, since Austria favored Italians for government work, thus in the Austrian capital of Dalmatia, Zara, the proportion of Italians continued to grow, making it the only Dalmatian city with an Italian majority.[76]
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, who went to Vienna to demand not only the unification of Dalmatia with Croatia, but also the
unification of all Croatian territories under one common Sabor. During this period, the Habsburgs carried out an aggressive
anti-Italian policy through a forced Slavicisation of the region.[77][better source needed]
In 1905, a dispute arose in the
Austrian Imperial Council over whether Austria should pay for Dalmatia. It has been argued that in the conclusion of the
April Laws is written "given by Banus Count
Keglevich of
Bužim", which explained the historical affiliation of Dalmatia to
Hungary.[78] Two years later Dalmatia elected representatives to the Austrian Imperial Council.
Until 1909, both
Italian and
Croatian were recognized as official languages in Dalmatia. After 1909, Italian lost its official status, thus it could no longer be used in the public and administrative sphere.[79]
Dalmatia was a strategic region during
World War I that both
Italy and
Serbia intended to seize from
Austria-Hungary. Italy joined the
Triple EntenteAllies in 1915 upon agreeing to the
Treaty of London that guaranteed Italy the right to annex a large portion of Dalmatia in exchange for Italy's participation on the Allied side. From 5–6 November 1918, Italian forces were reported to have reached
Vis,
Lastovo, Šibenik, and other localities on the Dalmatian coast.[80] By the end of hostilities in November 1918, the Italian military had seized control of the entire portion of Dalmatia that had been guaranteed to Italy by the Treaty of London and by 17 November had seized Rijeka as well.[81] In 1918, Admiral
Enrico Millo declared himself Italy's Governor of Dalmatia.[81] Famous
Italian nationalistGabriele D'Annunzio supported the seizure of Dalmatia, and proceeded to Zadar in an Italian warship in December 1918.[82] However, in spite of the guarantees of the Treaty of London to Italy of a large portion of Dalmatia and Italian military occupation of claimed territories of Dalmatia, during the peace settlement negotiations of 1919 to 1920, the
Fourteen Points of
Woodrow Wilson that advocated self-determination of nations took precedence, with Italy only being permitted to annex Zadar from Dalmatia, while the rest of Dalmatia was to be part of
Yugoslavia.
At the end of World War I, 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. Italy entered World War I in a territorial gamble, mostly to gain Dalmatia. But Italy got only a small part of its pretensions, so Dalmatia mostly stayed Yugoslav.
Despite the fact that there were only a few thousand
Italian-speakers in Dalmatia,[83] Italian nationalists continued to lay claim to all of Dalmatia. In 1927 Italy signed an agreement with the Croatian fascist, terrorist
Ustaše organization. The
Ustaše agreed that once they gained power, they will cede to Italy additional territory in Dalmatia and the Bay of Kotor, while renouncing all Croatian claims to Istria, Rijeka, Zadar and the Adriatic Islands.[84]
In 1922, the territory of the former Kingdom of Dalmatia was divided into two provinces, the Oblast of Split and the Oblast of Dubrovnik. In 1929, the
Littoral 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. The southern parts of Dalmatia were in
Zeta Banovina, from the Bay of Kotor to
Pelješac peninsula including Dubrovnik. In 1939, Littoral Banovina was joined with
Sava Banovina (and with smaller parts of other banovinas) to form a new province named the
Banovina of Croatia. The same year, the ethnic Croatian areas of the Zeta Banovina from the Bay of Kotor to Pelješac, including Dubrovnik, were merged with a new Banovina of Croatia.
Italy proceeded to Italianize the annexed areas of Dalmatia.[86] Place names were Italianized, and Italian was made the official language in all schools, churches and government administration.[86] All Croatian cultural societies were banned, while Italians took control of all key mineral, industrial and business establishments.[86] Italian policies prompted resistance by Dalmatians, many joined the Partisans.[87] This led to further Italian repressive measures - shooting of civilian hostages, burning of villages, confiscation of properties. Italians took many civilians to concentration camps[87] - altogether, some 80,000 Dalmatians, 12% of the population, passed through Italian concentration camps.[88]
Many Croats moved from the Italian-occupied area and took refuge in the satellite state of Croatia,[citation needed] which became the battleground for a guerrilla war between the
Axis and the
Yugoslav Partisans. Following the
surrender of Italy in 1943, much of Italian-controlled Dalmatia was liberated by the Partisans, then
taken over by German forces in a brutal campaign, who then returned control to the puppet Independent State of Croatia.
Vis Island remained in Partisan hands, while Zadar, Rijeka, Istria, Cres, Lošinj, Lastovo and Palagruža became part of the German Operationszone Adriatisches Küstenland. The Partisans liberated Dalmatia in 1944, and with that Zadar, Rijeka, Istria, Cres, Lošinj, Lastovo and Palagruža became reunited with Croatia. After 1945, most of the remaining
Dalmatian Italians fled the region (350,000 Italians escaped from
Istria and Dalmatia in the
Istrian-Dalmatian exodus). After World War II, Dalmatia became part of the
People's Republic of Croatia, part of the
Federative People's Republic of Yugoslavia.
^Stallaerts, Robert (2009). Historical Dictionary of Croatia. Scarecrow Press. p. 4.
ISBN978-0810873636.
^Wilkes, John (1996).
The Illyrians. Wiley. p. 188.
ISBN978-0-631-19807-9. The coast and hinterland of central Dalmatia up to and beyond the Dinaric mountains was inhabited by the Delmatae, after whom the Roman province Dalmatia was named, their own name being derived from their principal settlement Delminium near Duvno.
^Wilkes, John (1996).
The Illyrians. Wiley. p. 244.
ISBN9780631146711. The name of the Delmatae appears connected with the Albanian word for 'sheep' (delmë)
^Duridanov, Ivan (2002). "Illyrisch". In Bister, Feliks J.; Gramshammer-Hohl, Dagmar; Heynoldt, Anke (eds.).
Lexikon der Sprachen des europäischen Ostens(PDF) (in German). Wieser Verlag. p. 952.
ISBN978-3-85129-510-8.
Archived(PDF) from the original on 2020-07-06. Δάλμιον, Δελμίνιον (Ptolemäus) zu alb. delmë
^Šašel Kos, Marjeta (1993).
"Cadmus and Harmonia in Illyria". Arheološki Vestnik. 44: 113–136. In the prehistoric and classical periods it was not at all unusual for peoples to have names derived from animals, such that the name of the Delmatae is considered to be related to Albanian delme, sheep
^
abSchütz, István (2006).
Fehér foltok a Balkánon(PDF) (in Hungarian). Budapest: Balassi Kiadó. p. 127.
ISBN9635064721.
Archived(PDF) from the original on 2009-02-24. A dalmata/delmata illír törzs, Dalmatia/Delmatia terület, Delminium/Dalmion illír város neve, továbbá a mai Delvinë és Delvinaqi földrajzi tájegység neve az albán dele (többese delme) 'juh', delmer 'juhpásztor' szavakhoz kapcsolódik. Strabon Delmion illír város nevéhez ezt az éretelmezést fűzi „...πεδιον µελωβοτον...", azaz „juhokat tápláló síkság"
^Morić, Ivana (2012).
"Običaji Delmata". Rostra: Časopis studenata povijesti Sveučilišta u Zadru (in Croatian). 5 (5): 63.
ISSN1846-7768. danas još uvijek prevladava tumačenje kako korijen njihova imena potječe od riječi koja je srodna albanskom delë, delmë odnosno „ovca"
^Orel, Vladimir (1998).
Albanian Etymological Dictionary.
Brill Publishers. pp. 58–59.
ISBN978-9004110243. dele f, pl dele, dhen, dhën 'sheep'. The Geg variant delme represents a formation in *-mā (and hardly has anything in common with the name of Dalmatia pace MEYER Wb. 63 and ÇABEJ St. I 111). The word is based on PAlb *dailā 'sheep' < 'suckling' and related to various l-derivatives from IE *dhē(i)- 'to suckle' (MEYER Wb. 63, Alb. St. Ill 29 operates with *dailjā < IE *dhailiā or *dhoiliā), cf., in particular, Arm dayl 'colostrum' < IE *dhailo-.
^
abMirošević, Lena; Faričić, Josip (2011). Perception of Dalmatia in Selected Foreign Lexicographic Publications. Vol. XVI. Geoadria. p. 124.; Department of Geography,
University of Zadar.
^"Za 29 dalmatinskih malih kapitalnih projekata 14.389.000 kuna" [14,389,000 kuna for 29 Dalmatian capital projects]. Ministry of Regional Development and EU Funds (in Croatian). Republic of Croatia: Ministry of Regional Development and EU Funds. Archived from
the original on 2020-12-17. Retrieved 2014-05-30.
^Bousfield, Jonathan (2003). The Rough Guide to Croatia. Rough Guides. p. 293.
ISBN1843530848.
^
abPerselli, Guerrino. I censimenti della popolazione dell'Istria, con Fiume e Trieste, e di alcune città della Dalmazia tra il 1850 ed il 1936
^Manini, Marino. Zbornik radova s Međunarodnog znanstvenog skupa Talijankska uprava na hrvatskom prostoru i egzodus Hrvata 1918-1943. Hrvatski institut za povijest. p. 312
^Seton-Watson, "Italy from Liberalism to Fascism, 1870-1925". p. 107
^Ostroški, Ljiljana, ed. (December 2015). "Geographical and Meteorological Data".
Statistički ljetopis Republike Hrvatske 2015 [Statistical Yearbook of the Republic of Croatia 2015] (PDF). Statistical Yearbook of the Republic of Croatia (in Croatian and English). Vol. 47. Zagreb:
Croatian Bureau of Statistics. p. 48.
ISSN1333-3305. Retrieved 27 December 2015.
^"Vaganski vrh" [Vaganski peak] (in Croatian). Croatian Mountaineering Association. Retrieved 14 August 2012.
^cit: Hunc iste, postquam Dalmatae pacto hoc a Hungaria separati se non tulissent, revocatum contra Emericum armis vindicavit, ac
Chelmensi Ducatu, ad mare sito, parteque
Macedoniae auxit. AD 1199. Luc. lib. IV. cap. III. Diplomata
Belae IV. AD 1269.
^Die Protokolle des Österreichischen Ministerrates 1848/1867. V Abteilung: Die Ministerien Rainer und Mensdorff. VI Abteilung: Das Ministerium Belcredi, Wien, Österreichischer Bundesverlag für Unterricht, Wissenschaft und Kunst 1971, vol. 2, p. 297. Citazione completa della fonte e traduzione in Luciano Monzali, Italiani di Dalmazia. Dal Risorgimento alla Grande Guerra, Le Lettere, Firenze 2004, p. 69.
^Angelo Filippuzzi. La campagna del 1866 nei documenti militari austriaci: operazioni terrestri. Padova, Antoniana. p. 396.
^Stenographische Protokolle über die Sitzungen des Hauses der Abgeordneten des österreichischen Reichsrates, Ausgaben 318-329,
Seite 29187, Austria, Reichsrat, Abgeordnetenhaus, published 1905.
^"Dalmazia", Dizionario enciclopedico italiano (in Italian), vol. III,
Treccani, 1970, p. 730, Nel 1909 l'uso della lingua italiana viene proibito negli uffici dello Stato. [In 1909 the use of the Italian language was prohibited in the offices of the State]
^Giuseppe Praga, Franco Luxardo. History of Dalmatia. Giardini, 1993. Pp. 281.
^
abPaul O'Brien. Mussolini in the First World War: the Journalist, the Soldier, the Fascist. Oxford, England, UK; New York, New York, USA: Berg, 2005. Pp. 17.
^A. Rossi. The Rise of Italian Fascism: 1918–1922. New York, New York, USA: Routledge, 2010. Pp. 47.
Ivetic, Egidio (2022). Povijest Jadrana: More i njegove civilizacije [History of the Adriatic: A Sea and Its Civilization] (in Croatian and English). Srednja Europa, Polity Press.
ISBN9789538281747.
Dalmatia is a narrow 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 fifty 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. Later it became a
Roman province (with much larger territory than modern region), and as result a
Romance culture emerged, along with the now-extinct
Dalmatian language, later largely replaced with related
Venetian. With the arrival of the
Sclaveni (South Slavs; mostly
Croats) to the area in the late 6th century, who eventually occupied most of the coast and hinterland,
Slavic and Romance elements began to intermix in language and culture.
The regional name Dalmatia originates from
Dalmatae, the name of the
Illyrian,
Balkan tribe who were the original inhabitants of the region, and from which the later toponym,
Delminium, is derived.[5][6][7] It is considered by some to be connected to the
Albaniandele and its variants which include the
Gheg form delmë, meaning "sheep", and to the Albanian term delmer, "shepherd",[8][9][10][11][12][13] although there is lack of compelling evidence in ancient literary sources that Delmatae is derived from a word meaning "sheep".[14] According to
Vladimir Orel, the Gheg form delmë hardly has anything in common with the name of Dalmatia because it represents a variant of dele with *-mā, which is ultimately from
proto-Albanian*dailā.[15] According to
Sorin Paliga, the toponym is
pre-Indo-European.[16] Other scholars propose that the name comes from the
Indo-European roots *dhe/-l*dhol- "vault, cavity" (cf. English "dale"), or (3) *dhel- "to shine".[16] The ancient name Dalmana, derived from the same root, testifies to the advance of the
Illyrians into the middle
Vardar, between the ancient towns of
Bylazora and
Stobi.[13] The medieval
Slavic toponym
Ovče Pole ("plain of sheep" in
South Slavic) in the nearby region represents a related later development.[13] According to István Schütz, in Albania,
Delvinë represents a toponym linked to the root *dele.[11]
The form of the regional name Dalmatia and the respective tribal name Dalmatae are later variants as is already noted by
Appian (2nd century AD). His contemporary grammarian
Velius Longus highlights in his treatise about orthography that the correct form of Dalmatia is Delmatia, and notes that
Marcus Terentius Varro who lived about two centuries prior to Appian and Velius Longius, used the form Delmatia as it corresponded to the chief settlement of the tribe, Delminium.[17] The toponym
Duvno is a derivation from Delminium in Croatian via an intermediate form *Delminio in late antiquity.[7] Its
Latin form Dalmatia gave rise to its current
English name. In the
Venetian language, once dominant in the area, it is spelled Dalmàssia, and in modern
ItalianDalmazia. The modern
Croatianspelling is Dalmacija, and the modern
SerbianCyrillic spelling is Далмација (pronounced[dǎlmaːt͡sija]).
Dalmatia is referenced in the
New Testament at
2 Timothy 4:10, therefore the name has been translated in many of the world's languages.
Dalmatia is today a
historical region only, not formally instituted in
Croatian law. Its exact extent is therefore uncertain and subject to public perception. According to Lena Mirošević and Josip Faričić of the
University of Zadar:[19]
...the modern perception of Dalmatia is mainly based on the territorial extent of the
AustrianKingdom of Dalmatia, with the exception of Rab, which is geographically related to the
Kvarner area and functionally to the
Littoral–
Gorski Kotar area, and with the exception of the
Bay of Kotor, which was annexed to another state (
Montenegro) after
World War I. Simultaneously, the southern part of
Lika and upper Pounje, which were not part of Austrian Dalmatia, became part of
Zadar County. From the present-day administrative and territorial point of view, Dalmatia comprises the four Croatian littoral
counties with seats in
Zadar,
Šibenik,
Split, and
Dubrovnik.
"Dalmatia" is therefore generally perceived to extend approximately to the borders of the Austrian Kingdom of Dalmatia. However, due to territorial and administrative changes over the past century, the perception can be seen to have altered somewhat with regard to certain areas, and sources conflict as to their being part of the region in modern times:
The Bay of Kotor area in Montenegro. With the
subdivision of the
Kingdom of Yugoslavia into
oblasts in 1922, the whole of the Bay of Kotor from
Sutorina to
Sutomore was granted to the Zeta Oblast, so that the border of Dalmatia was formed at that point by the southern border of the former
Republic of Ragusa.[20] The Encyclopædia Britannica defines Dalmatia as extending "to the narrows of
Kotor" (i.e. the southernmost tip of continental Croatia, the
Prevlaka peninsula).[21] Other sources, however, such as the Treccani encyclopedia and the Rough Guide to Croatia still include the Bay as being part of the region.[22][23]
The island of Rab, along with the small islands of
Sveti Grgur and
Goli Otok, were a part of the Kingdom of Dalmatia and are historically and culturally related to the region, but are today associated more with the Croatian Littoral, due to geographical vicinity and administrative expediency.
Gračac municipality and northern
Pag. A number of sources express the view that "from the modern-day administrative point of view", the extent of Dalmatia equates to the four southernmost counties of Croatia: Zadar,
Šibenik-Knin, Split-Dalmatia, and
Dubrovnik-Neretva.[19][24][25][26][27][28] This definition does not include the Bay of Kotor, or the islands of Rab, Sveti Grgur, and Goli Otok. It also excludes the northern part of the island of Pag, which is part of the
Lika-Senj County. However, it includes the Gračac municipality in Zadar County, which was not a part of the Kingdom of Dalmatia and is not traditionally associated with the region (but instead the region of Lika).
Culture and ethnicity
The inhabitants of Dalmatia are culturally subdivided into two groups. The urban families of the coastal cities, commonly known as Fetivi,[29] are culturally akin to the inhabitants of the
Dalmatian islands (known
derogatorily as Boduli). The two are together distinct, in the
Mediterranean aspects of their culture, from the more numerous inhabitants of the
Hinterland. Referred to (sometimes derogatorily) as the Vlaji, their name originated from the
Vlachs with whom they have no ethnic connection.[30]
According to the Austrian census, they constituted 18.5% of the population in 1857, which decreased to 17.4% by 1900.[31] They formed 19.9% in the 1830-1850 period.[32]
The former two groups (inhabitants of the islands and the cities) historically included many
Venetian and
Italian speakers, many of whom identified as
Dalmatian Italians (especially after the
Italian unification). Their presence, relative to those identifying as
Croats, decreased dramatically over the course of the 19th and the first half of the 20th century. The Italian speakers (Italians and italophone Croats) constituted (according to the
Italian linguist
Matteo Bartoli) nearly one third of Dalmatians in the second half of the 18th century.[33] According to the Austrian census it had decreased to 12.5% in 1865 and 3.1% in 1890.[31] There remains, however, a strong cultural, and, in part, ancestral heritage among the natives of the cities and islands, who today almost exclusively identify as Croats, but retain a sense of regional identity. This same regional identity and heritage is displayed in the Hinterland, where the architectural and cultural legacy remains evident in many villages and towns that have a distinct Mediterranean style.
Most of the land area is covered by the
Dinaric Alps mountain range running from north-west to south-east. The hills and mountains lie parallel to the coast, which gave rise to
the geographic term Dalmatian concordant coastline. On the coasts the climate is
Mediterranean, while further inland it is moderate Mediterranean. In the mountains, winters are frosty and snowy, while summers are hot and dry. To the south winters are milder. Over the centuries many forests 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 olives and grapes flourish. Energy resources are scarce. Electricity is mainly produced by hydropower stations. There is a considerable amount of
bauxite.[citation needed]
The largest Dalmatian mountains are
Dinara,
Mosor,
Svilaja,
Biokovo,
Moseć,
Veliki Kozjak, and
Mali Kozjak. The regional geographical unit of historical Dalmatia[clarification needed]–the coastal region between
Istria and the
Bay of Kotor–includes the
Orjen mountains with the highest peak in
Montenegro, 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 (Vaganski vrh, 1757 m),[34] although the Vaganski vrh itself is located in
Lika-Senj County.[35]
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.[41] 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[42] 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.[43]
The historian
Theodor 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.[44]
In the early 9th century, the Eastern Adriatic coast including Dalmatia was the scene of the sphere of influence struggle between the
Frankish and Byzantine Empire, but although the Byzantines have retained supremacy, Dalmatia became a meeting place between the West and the East.[51] The meaning of the administrative-geographical term "Dalmatia" by 820 shrank to the coastal cities and their immediate hinterland - Byzantine
theme of Dalmatia.[52] Its cities were the Romance-speaking
Dalmatian city-states and remained influential as they were well fortified and maintained their connection with the Byzantine Empire. The original name of the cities was Jadera (
Zadar; capital of the theme), Spalatum (Split), Crepsa (
Cres), Arba (
Rab), Tragurium (
Trogir), Vecla (
Krk), Ragusium (
Dubrovnik) and Cattarum (
Kotor).[52] The language and the laws were initially
Latin, but after a few centuries they developed their own neo-Latin language (the "
Dalmatico"), that lasted until the 19th century.[53] The cities were maritime centres with a huge commerce mainly with the Italian peninsula and with the growing Republic of Venice.[52] The Latin and Slavic 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 the first half of the 10th century Croatia was elevated to a
kingdom by
Duke Tomislav who also extended his influence further southwards to
Zachlumia. As an ally of the Byzantine Empire, the
King was given the status of Protector of Dalmatia, and became its de facto ruler. In the subsequent period, the rulers of Croatia exerted influence over Dalmatian cities and islands, occasionally taking control such as the conquest of Zadar in the mid-11th century. Chronicler
Thomas the Archdeacon relates that
Stephen Držislav took the title "King of Dalmatia and Croatia", and that all subsequent rulers styled themselves in such manner.
Petar Krešimir IV of Croatia expanded his rule to permanently incorporate Dalmatian cities and islands by 1069. Upon the death of King
Demetrius Zvonimir of Croatia by the end of 1080s, the state entered a period of anarchy and would result in Hungarians under
Coloman of Hungary taking control over former Dalmatian possessions along with the rest of the state by 1102.
In the
High Medieval period, the Byzantine Empire was no longer able to expand its power consistently in Dalmatia, and was finally rendered impotent so far west by the
Fourth Crusade in 1204. The Republic of Venice, on the other hand, was in the ascendant, while the 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. During the reign of
KingEmeric, the Dalmatian cities separated from
Hungary by a treaty.[54] 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
Fortress of Klis. The Mongols attacked the Dalmatian cities for the next few years but eventually withdrew without major success.
At the beginning of the 14th century and until 1322, the Dalmatian cities were under the control of the noble
Šubić family which held them until they were defeated at the
Battle of Bliska by a coalition of nobles, Dalmatian cities and royal troops loyal to
Charles I of Hungary.
In the south, due to its protected location, Kotor became a major city for the salt trade. The area was prosperous during the 14th century under the rule of
Emperor of the SerbsDušan the Mighty, who encouraged law enforcement, which helped the
Bay of Kotor to become a safe place for doing business.[55] In 1389,
Tvrtko I, the founder of the
Kingdom of Bosnia, 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,
Republic of 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 Republic of Venice for a mere 100,000
ducats. The much more centralized Republic came to control the coast and near hinterland of Dalmatia by the year 1420, it was to remain under
Venetian rule for 377 years (1420–1797).[56]
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. In 1481, Ragusa switched allegiance to the
Ottoman Empire. This gave its tradesmen advantages such as access to the
Black Sea, and the Republic of Ragusa was the fiercest competitor to Venice's merchants in the 15th and 16th centuries.
In the early 16th century, most of the Dalmatian hinterland which was controlled by the Hungarian-Croatian Kingdom was lost to the Ottoman Empire by the 1520s when was formed
Croatian vilayet which became incorporated into the
Sanjak of Klis after the
Siege of Klis (1537),[57] and decades later into the
Bosnia Eyalet.[58] With the fall of the Hungarian-Venetian border in Dalmatia, Venetian Dalmatia now directly bordered with the Ottoman Dalmatia. Venetians still perceived this inner hinterland as once part of Croatia, calling it as "Banadego" (lands of
Ban i.e.
Banate).[59] 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, but also promoted peace negotiations and cultural and religious coexistence and tolerance.[60]
Since the 16th century
SlavicizedVlachs,
Serbs and other South Slavs arrived both as
martolos in Ottoman service and refugees fleeing from Ottoman territory to the
Military Frontier and Venetian Dalmatia.[61][62] As the Ottomans took control of the hinterland, many
Christians took refuge in the coastal cities of Dalmatia. In the Ottoman Dalmatia many people converted to Islam to get freedom and privileges.[63] The border between the Dalmatian hinterland and the
Ottoman Bosnia and Herzegovina greatly fluctuated until the
Morean War, when the Venetian capture of
Knin and
Sinj set much of the borderline at its current position.[64]
After the
Great Turkish War and the
Treaty of Passarowitz, 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. 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, 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 1808, he annexed the just conquered Republic of Ragusa to the Kingdom. A year later, in 1809, he removed the Venetian Dalmatia from his Kingdom of Italy and created the
Illyrian Provinces, which were annexed to
France, and named
Marshal GeneralJean-de-Dieu Soult the 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 revival (the first newspaper in Croatian was published then in Zadar, Il Regio Dalmata – Kraglski Dalmatin), the legal system and infrastructure were finally modernized somewhat 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 of the EmpireAuguste de Marmont, the governor of Dalmatia, that too much money was spent. However, in 1813, the
Habsburgs once again declared
war on France and, by the following year, had restored control over Dalmatia.
In 1848, the
Croatian Parliament (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 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 "Pjesma Dubrovniku" (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
March 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 1848–49, did not succeed at that time.
During the meeting of the Council of Ministers of 12 November 1866, Emperor
Franz Joseph I of Austria outlined a wide-ranging project aimed at the
Germanization or
Slavization of the areas of the empire with an Italian presence:[65]
Her Majesty expressed the precise order that action be taken decisively against the influence of the Italian elements still present in some regions of the Crown and, appropriately occupying the posts of public, judicial, masters employees as well as with the influence of the press, work in
South Tyrol, Dalmatia and Littoral for the Germanization and Slavization of these territories according to the circumstances, with energy and without any regard. His Majesty calls the central offices to the strong duty to proceed in this way to what has been established.
— Franz Joseph I of Austria, Council of the Crown of 12 November 1866[66]
Dalmatia, especially its maritime cities, once had a substantial local ethnic Italian population (
Dalmatian Italians), making up 33% of the total population of Dalmatia in 1803,[67][68] but this was reduced to 20% in 1816.[69] According to Austrian censuses, the Dalmatian Italians formed 12.5% of the population in 1865,[70] but this was reduced to 2.8% in 1910.[71]
While Slavic-speakers made up 80-95% of the Dalmatia populace,[72] only Italian language schools existed until 1848,[73] and due to restrictive voting laws, the Italian-speaking aristocratic minority retained political control of Dalmatia.[74] Only after Austria liberalized elections in 1870, allowing more majority Slavs to vote, did Croatian parties gain control. Croatian finally became an official language in Dalmatia in 1883, along with Italian.[75] Yet minority Italian-speakers continued to wield strong influence, since Austria favored Italians for government work, thus in the Austrian capital of Dalmatia, Zara, the proportion of Italians continued to grow, making it the only Dalmatian city with an Italian majority.[76]
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, who went to Vienna to demand not only the unification of Dalmatia with Croatia, but also the
unification of all Croatian territories under one common Sabor. During this period, the Habsburgs carried out an aggressive
anti-Italian policy through a forced Slavicisation of the region.[77][better source needed]
In 1905, a dispute arose in the
Austrian Imperial Council over whether Austria should pay for Dalmatia. It has been argued that in the conclusion of the
April Laws is written "given by Banus Count
Keglevich of
Bužim", which explained the historical affiliation of Dalmatia to
Hungary.[78] Two years later Dalmatia elected representatives to the Austrian Imperial Council.
Until 1909, both
Italian and
Croatian were recognized as official languages in Dalmatia. After 1909, Italian lost its official status, thus it could no longer be used in the public and administrative sphere.[79]
Dalmatia was a strategic region during
World War I that both
Italy and
Serbia intended to seize from
Austria-Hungary. Italy joined the
Triple EntenteAllies in 1915 upon agreeing to the
Treaty of London that guaranteed Italy the right to annex a large portion of Dalmatia in exchange for Italy's participation on the Allied side. From 5–6 November 1918, Italian forces were reported to have reached
Vis,
Lastovo, Šibenik, and other localities on the Dalmatian coast.[80] By the end of hostilities in November 1918, the Italian military had seized control of the entire portion of Dalmatia that had been guaranteed to Italy by the Treaty of London and by 17 November had seized Rijeka as well.[81] In 1918, Admiral
Enrico Millo declared himself Italy's Governor of Dalmatia.[81] Famous
Italian nationalistGabriele D'Annunzio supported the seizure of Dalmatia, and proceeded to Zadar in an Italian warship in December 1918.[82] However, in spite of the guarantees of the Treaty of London to Italy of a large portion of Dalmatia and Italian military occupation of claimed territories of Dalmatia, during the peace settlement negotiations of 1919 to 1920, the
Fourteen Points of
Woodrow Wilson that advocated self-determination of nations took precedence, with Italy only being permitted to annex Zadar from Dalmatia, while the rest of Dalmatia was to be part of
Yugoslavia.
At the end of World War I, 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. Italy entered World War I in a territorial gamble, mostly to gain Dalmatia. But Italy got only a small part of its pretensions, so Dalmatia mostly stayed Yugoslav.
Despite the fact that there were only a few thousand
Italian-speakers in Dalmatia,[83] Italian nationalists continued to lay claim to all of Dalmatia. In 1927 Italy signed an agreement with the Croatian fascist, terrorist
Ustaše organization. The
Ustaše agreed that once they gained power, they will cede to Italy additional territory in Dalmatia and the Bay of Kotor, while renouncing all Croatian claims to Istria, Rijeka, Zadar and the Adriatic Islands.[84]
In 1922, the territory of the former Kingdom of Dalmatia was divided into two provinces, the Oblast of Split and the Oblast of Dubrovnik. In 1929, the
Littoral 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. The southern parts of Dalmatia were in
Zeta Banovina, from the Bay of Kotor to
Pelješac peninsula including Dubrovnik. In 1939, Littoral Banovina was joined with
Sava Banovina (and with smaller parts of other banovinas) to form a new province named the
Banovina of Croatia. The same year, the ethnic Croatian areas of the Zeta Banovina from the Bay of Kotor to Pelješac, including Dubrovnik, were merged with a new Banovina of Croatia.
Italy proceeded to Italianize the annexed areas of Dalmatia.[86] Place names were Italianized, and Italian was made the official language in all schools, churches and government administration.[86] All Croatian cultural societies were banned, while Italians took control of all key mineral, industrial and business establishments.[86] Italian policies prompted resistance by Dalmatians, many joined the Partisans.[87] This led to further Italian repressive measures - shooting of civilian hostages, burning of villages, confiscation of properties. Italians took many civilians to concentration camps[87] - altogether, some 80,000 Dalmatians, 12% of the population, passed through Italian concentration camps.[88]
Many Croats moved from the Italian-occupied area and took refuge in the satellite state of Croatia,[citation needed] which became the battleground for a guerrilla war between the
Axis and the
Yugoslav Partisans. Following the
surrender of Italy in 1943, much of Italian-controlled Dalmatia was liberated by the Partisans, then
taken over by German forces in a brutal campaign, who then returned control to the puppet Independent State of Croatia.
Vis Island remained in Partisan hands, while Zadar, Rijeka, Istria, Cres, Lošinj, Lastovo and Palagruža became part of the German Operationszone Adriatisches Küstenland. The Partisans liberated Dalmatia in 1944, and with that Zadar, Rijeka, Istria, Cres, Lošinj, Lastovo and Palagruža became reunited with Croatia. After 1945, most of the remaining
Dalmatian Italians fled the region (350,000 Italians escaped from
Istria and Dalmatia in the
Istrian-Dalmatian exodus). After World War II, Dalmatia became part of the
People's Republic of Croatia, part of the
Federative People's Republic of Yugoslavia.
^Stallaerts, Robert (2009). Historical Dictionary of Croatia. Scarecrow Press. p. 4.
ISBN978-0810873636.
^Wilkes, John (1996).
The Illyrians. Wiley. p. 188.
ISBN978-0-631-19807-9. The coast and hinterland of central Dalmatia up to and beyond the Dinaric mountains was inhabited by the Delmatae, after whom the Roman province Dalmatia was named, their own name being derived from their principal settlement Delminium near Duvno.
^Wilkes, John (1996).
The Illyrians. Wiley. p. 244.
ISBN9780631146711. The name of the Delmatae appears connected with the Albanian word for 'sheep' (delmë)
^Duridanov, Ivan (2002). "Illyrisch". In Bister, Feliks J.; Gramshammer-Hohl, Dagmar; Heynoldt, Anke (eds.).
Lexikon der Sprachen des europäischen Ostens(PDF) (in German). Wieser Verlag. p. 952.
ISBN978-3-85129-510-8.
Archived(PDF) from the original on 2020-07-06. Δάλμιον, Δελμίνιον (Ptolemäus) zu alb. delmë
^Šašel Kos, Marjeta (1993).
"Cadmus and Harmonia in Illyria". Arheološki Vestnik. 44: 113–136. In the prehistoric and classical periods it was not at all unusual for peoples to have names derived from animals, such that the name of the Delmatae is considered to be related to Albanian delme, sheep
^
abSchütz, István (2006).
Fehér foltok a Balkánon(PDF) (in Hungarian). Budapest: Balassi Kiadó. p. 127.
ISBN9635064721.
Archived(PDF) from the original on 2009-02-24. A dalmata/delmata illír törzs, Dalmatia/Delmatia terület, Delminium/Dalmion illír város neve, továbbá a mai Delvinë és Delvinaqi földrajzi tájegység neve az albán dele (többese delme) 'juh', delmer 'juhpásztor' szavakhoz kapcsolódik. Strabon Delmion illír város nevéhez ezt az éretelmezést fűzi „...πεδιον µελωβοτον...", azaz „juhokat tápláló síkság"
^Morić, Ivana (2012).
"Običaji Delmata". Rostra: Časopis studenata povijesti Sveučilišta u Zadru (in Croatian). 5 (5): 63.
ISSN1846-7768. danas još uvijek prevladava tumačenje kako korijen njihova imena potječe od riječi koja je srodna albanskom delë, delmë odnosno „ovca"
^Orel, Vladimir (1998).
Albanian Etymological Dictionary.
Brill Publishers. pp. 58–59.
ISBN978-9004110243. dele f, pl dele, dhen, dhën 'sheep'. The Geg variant delme represents a formation in *-mā (and hardly has anything in common with the name of Dalmatia pace MEYER Wb. 63 and ÇABEJ St. I 111). The word is based on PAlb *dailā 'sheep' < 'suckling' and related to various l-derivatives from IE *dhē(i)- 'to suckle' (MEYER Wb. 63, Alb. St. Ill 29 operates with *dailjā < IE *dhailiā or *dhoiliā), cf., in particular, Arm dayl 'colostrum' < IE *dhailo-.
^
abMirošević, Lena; Faričić, Josip (2011). Perception of Dalmatia in Selected Foreign Lexicographic Publications. Vol. XVI. Geoadria. p. 124.; Department of Geography,
University of Zadar.
^"Za 29 dalmatinskih malih kapitalnih projekata 14.389.000 kuna" [14,389,000 kuna for 29 Dalmatian capital projects]. Ministry of Regional Development and EU Funds (in Croatian). Republic of Croatia: Ministry of Regional Development and EU Funds. Archived from
the original on 2020-12-17. Retrieved 2014-05-30.
^Bousfield, Jonathan (2003). The Rough Guide to Croatia. Rough Guides. p. 293.
ISBN1843530848.
^
abPerselli, Guerrino. I censimenti della popolazione dell'Istria, con Fiume e Trieste, e di alcune città della Dalmazia tra il 1850 ed il 1936
^Manini, Marino. Zbornik radova s Međunarodnog znanstvenog skupa Talijankska uprava na hrvatskom prostoru i egzodus Hrvata 1918-1943. Hrvatski institut za povijest. p. 312
^Seton-Watson, "Italy from Liberalism to Fascism, 1870-1925". p. 107
^Ostroški, Ljiljana, ed. (December 2015). "Geographical and Meteorological Data".
Statistički ljetopis Republike Hrvatske 2015 [Statistical Yearbook of the Republic of Croatia 2015] (PDF). Statistical Yearbook of the Republic of Croatia (in Croatian and English). Vol. 47. Zagreb:
Croatian Bureau of Statistics. p. 48.
ISSN1333-3305. Retrieved 27 December 2015.
^"Vaganski vrh" [Vaganski peak] (in Croatian). Croatian Mountaineering Association. Retrieved 14 August 2012.
^cit: Hunc iste, postquam Dalmatae pacto hoc a Hungaria separati se non tulissent, revocatum contra Emericum armis vindicavit, ac
Chelmensi Ducatu, ad mare sito, parteque
Macedoniae auxit. AD 1199. Luc. lib. IV. cap. III. Diplomata
Belae IV. AD 1269.
^Die Protokolle des Österreichischen Ministerrates 1848/1867. V Abteilung: Die Ministerien Rainer und Mensdorff. VI Abteilung: Das Ministerium Belcredi, Wien, Österreichischer Bundesverlag für Unterricht, Wissenschaft und Kunst 1971, vol. 2, p. 297. Citazione completa della fonte e traduzione in Luciano Monzali, Italiani di Dalmazia. Dal Risorgimento alla Grande Guerra, Le Lettere, Firenze 2004, p. 69.
^Angelo Filippuzzi. La campagna del 1866 nei documenti militari austriaci: operazioni terrestri. Padova, Antoniana. p. 396.
^Stenographische Protokolle über die Sitzungen des Hauses der Abgeordneten des österreichischen Reichsrates, Ausgaben 318-329,
Seite 29187, Austria, Reichsrat, Abgeordnetenhaus, published 1905.
^"Dalmazia", Dizionario enciclopedico italiano (in Italian), vol. III,
Treccani, 1970, p. 730, Nel 1909 l'uso della lingua italiana viene proibito negli uffici dello Stato. [In 1909 the use of the Italian language was prohibited in the offices of the State]
^Giuseppe Praga, Franco Luxardo. History of Dalmatia. Giardini, 1993. Pp. 281.
^
abPaul O'Brien. Mussolini in the First World War: the Journalist, the Soldier, the Fascist. Oxford, England, UK; New York, New York, USA: Berg, 2005. Pp. 17.
^A. Rossi. The Rise of Italian Fascism: 1918–1922. New York, New York, USA: Routledge, 2010. Pp. 47.
Ivetic, Egidio (2022). Povijest Jadrana: More i njegove civilizacije [History of the Adriatic: A Sea and Its Civilization] (in Croatian and English). Srednja Europa, Polity Press.
ISBN9789538281747.