Dalmatian City-States

Dalmatian City-States were the Dalmatian localities where the local romance population survived the barbarian invasions. Eight little cities were created by those autochthonous inhabitants that maintained political links with the Byzantine Empire (that defended these cities allowing their commerce). The original name of the cities was Jadera, Spalatum, Crespa, Arba, Tragurium, Vecla, Ragusium and Cattarum. The language and the laws where initially Latin, but after a few centuries they developed their own neolatin language (the "Dalmatico"), that lasted until the 19th century. The cities were maritime centers with a huge commerce mainly with the Italian peninsula and with the growing Republic of Venice.

Dalmatia after the fall of the Roman Empire consisted of a group of autochthonous coastal cities functioning much like city-states, with extensive autonomy, but in mutual conflict and without control of the rural hinterland controlled by the Slavs who arrived after 640 AD.

Ethnically, Dalmatia started out as a Roman region, with a romance culture that began to develop independently, forming the now-extinct Dalmatian language called "Dalmatico". So, these cities were characterized by common Latin laws, Catholic religion, the same romance language, common commerce and same political/administrative structures and entities.

The eight City-states were:

Later were added other cities in north-central Dalmatia, like Sebenicum (actual Sibenik), Flumen (actual Rijeka) and Pagus (actual Pag).

The great Slavonic migration into Illyria, which wrought a complete change in the fortunes of Dalmatia, took place in the first half of the 7th century. In other parts of the Balkan Peninsula these invaders Serbs, Croats or Bulgars found little difficulty in expelling or absorbing the native population. But here they were baffled when confronted by the powerful maritime city-states, highly civilized, and able to rely on the moral if not the material support of their kinsfolk in Italy. Consequently, while the country districts were settled by the Slavs, the Latin or Italian population flocked for safety to Ragusa, Zara and other large towns, and the whole country was thus divided between two frequently hostile communities. This opposition was intensified by the schism between Eastern and Western Christianity (1054), the Slavs as a rule preferring the Orthodox or sometimes the Bogomil creed, while the Italians were firmly attached to the Papacy. Not until the isth century did the rival races contribute to a common civilization in the literature of Ragusa. To such a division of population may be attributed the two dominant characteristics of local history the total absence of national as distinguished from civic life, and the remarkable development of art, science and literature. Bosnia, Servia and Bulgaria had each its period of national greatness, but remained intellectually backward; Dalmatia failed ever to attain political or racial unity, but the Dalmatian city-states, isolated and compelled to look to Italy for support, shared perforce in the march of Italian civilization. Their geographical position suffices to explain the relatively small influence exercised by Byzantine culture throughout the six centuries (535-1102) during which Dalmatia was part of the Eastern empire. Towards the close of this period Byzantine rule tended more and more to become merely nominal.

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