Oton Iveković, The arrival of the Croats at the shores of Adriatic
The area known as Croatia today was inhabited throughout the prehistoric period. Fossils of Neanderthals dating to the middle Paleolithic have been unearthed in the area of Krapina and Vindija. More recent (late Mousterian) Neanderthal remains have been discovered in Mujina pećina near the coast.
In the early Neolithic period, the Starčevo, Vučedol and Hvar cultures were scattered around the region. The Iron Age left traces of the Hallstatt culture (early Illyrians) and the La Tène culture (Celts).
Much later the region was settled by Liburnians and Illyrians, and Greek colonies were established on the islands of Vis (by Dionysius I of Syracuse) and Hvar.[1] In 9 AD the territory of today's Croatia became part of the Roman Empire. Emperor Diocletian built a massive palace in Split where he retired from politics in AD 305.[2] During the 5th century the last Roman Emperor Julius Nepos[3] ruled his small empire from Diocletian's Palace before he was killed in AD 480. The early history of Croatia ends with the Avar invasion in the first half of the 7th century and the destruction of almost all Roman towns. Roman survivors retreated to strategically better defended points on the coast, islands and mountains. The modern city of Dubrovnik was founded by those survivors.
References
- ^ Wilkes, J. J. (1992). The Illyrians. Oxford, UK: Blackwell. p. 114. ISBN 0631198075. "... in the early history of the colony settled in 385 BC on the island Pharos (Hvar) from the Aegean island Paros, famed for its marble. In traditional fashion they accepted the guidance of an oracle, ..."
- ^ Gibbon, Edward. The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, Modern Library, New York, p. 335
- ^ J. B. Bury, History of the Later Roman Empire, §4, p. 408.
This guide is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia.
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