At the height of the Roman Empire, the area of modern Croatia comprised two Roman provinces, Pannonia and Dalmatia. After the collapse of the Western Roman Empire in the 5th century, the area was subjugated by the Ostrogoths for 50 years, before being incorporated into the Byzantine Empire.
Croatia, as a polity, first appeared as a duchy in the 7th century. With the nearby Principality of Lower Pannonia, it was united and elevated into the Kingdom of Croatia which lasted from 925 until 1102. From the 12th century, the Kingdom of Croatia entered a personal union with the Kingdom of Hungary. It remained a distinct state with its ruler (Ban) and Sabor, but it elected royal dynasties from neighboring powers, primarily Hungary, Naples, and the Habsburg monarchy. From the 15th to the 17th centuries was marked by intense struggles between the Ottoman Empire to the south and the Habsburg Empire to the north.
Following the First World War and the dissolution of Austria-Hungary in 1918, Croatian lands were incorporated into the Kingdom of Yugoslavia. Germany invaded Yugoslavia in 1941, operating the puppet state Independent State of Croatia alongside Italy until 1943. The Socialist Republic of Croatia was formed as a constituent republic of Socialist Yugoslavia until Croatia proclaimed independence in 1991. As a modern country, Croatia joined the military alliance NATO in 2009, later ascending into the European Union in 2013.
Prehistoric period
The area known today as Croatia was inhabited by hominids throughout the prehistoric period. Fossils of Neanderthals dating to the middle Palaeolithic period have been unearthed in northern Croatia, with the most famous and best-presented site in Krapina. Remnants of several Neolithic and Chalcolithic cultures have been found throughout the country. Most of the sites are in the northern Croatian river valleys, and the most significant cultures whose presence was discovered include the Starčevo, Vučedol and Baden cultures. The Iron Age left traces of the early Illyrian Hallstatt culture and the Celtic La Tène culture.
Protohistoric period
Greek author Hecataeus of Miletus mentions that around 500 BC, the Eastern Adriatic region was inhabited by local tribes such as Histrians, Liburnians, and Illyrians. Greek colonization saw settlers establish communities on of Issa (Vis), Korkyra Melain (Korčula) and Pharos (Starigrad on Hvar) islands as well as trading outposts of Tragurion (Trogir) and Epetion (Stobreč). Somewhere in 3rd century by, Greek colony of Issa formed an alliance with then emerging Roman Republic. As Isseian maritime trade became affected by Illyrian pirating activities, they asked for Roman intervention against the Illyrian kingdom, leading to the First Illyrian War in 229. BC and beginning of Roman expansion on the Eastern Adriatic.
Roman expansion
Before the Roman expansion, the eastern Adriatic coast formed the northern part of the Illyrian kingdom from the 4th century BC to the Illyrian Wars in the 220s BC. In 168 BC, the Roman Republic established a protectorate south of the Neretva river. The area north of the Neretva was slowly incorporated into Roman possession until the province of Illyricum was formally established 32–27 BC.
These lands then became part of the Roman province of Illyricum. Between 6 and 9 AD, tribes including the Dalmatae, who gave name to these lands, rose up against the Romans in the Great Illyrian revolt, but the uprising was crushed, and in 10 AD Illyricum was split into two provinces—Pannonia and Dalmatia. The province of Dalmatia spread inland to cover all of the Dinaric Alps and most of the eastern Adriatic coast. Dalmatia was the birthplace of the Roman Emperor Diocletian, who, when he retired as Emperor in 305 AD, built a large palace near Salona, from which the city of Split later developed.C.Michael Hogan, "Diocletian's Palace", The Megalithic Portal, Andy Burnham ed., 6 October 2007
Historians such as Theodore Mommsen and Bernard Bavant argue that all of Dalmatia was fully Romanized and Latin-speaking by the 4th century.Dalmatia Dmitar J. Čulić (1962). p. 9 Others, such as Aleksandar Stipčević, argue that the process of Romanization was selective and involved mostly the urban centers but not the countryside, where previous Illyrian socio-political structures were adapted to Roman administration and political structure only where necessary.A. Stipčević, Iliri, Školska knjiga Zagreb, 1974, page 70 has argued that the Vlachs, or Morlachs, were Latin-speaking, pastoral peoples who lived in the Balkan mountains since pre-Roman times. They are mentioned in the oldest Croatian chronicles.Stanko Guldescu, The Croatian-Slavonian Kingdom: 1526–1792, Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co KG, 1970, p.67,
After the Western Roman Empire collapsed in 476, with the beginning of the Migration Period, Julius Nepos briefly ruled his diminished domain from Diocletian's Palace after his 476 flight from Italy. The region was then ruled by the Ostrogoths until 535 when Justinian I added the territory to the Byzantine Empire. Later, the Byzantines formed the Theme of Dalmatia in the same territory.
Migration period
The Roman period ended with the Avar and White Croat invasions in the 6th and 7th centuries and the destruction of almost all Roman towns. The city of Ragusa was founded by survivors from Epidaurum. According to the work De Administrando Imperio, written by the 10th-century Byzantine Emperor Constantine VII, the Croats arrived in what is today Croatia from southern Poland and Western Ukraine in the early 7th century, and successfully conquered the province of Dalmatia in a war against the Pannonian Avars. However, the claim about the date of arrival is disputed and competing hypotheses date the event between late the 6th-early 7th (mainstream) or the late 8th-early 9th (fringe) centuries.Mužić (2007), pp. 249–293 Recent archaeological data established that the migration and settlement of the Slavs/Croats occurred in the late 6th and early 7th centuries.
Duchy of Croatia (800–925)
From the middle of the seventh century until the unification in 925, there were two duchies on the territory of today's Croatia, Duchy of Croatia and Principality of Lower Pannonia. Eventually, a dukedom was formed, the Duchy of Croatia, ruled by Borna, as attested by chronicles of Einhard starting in the year 818. The record represents the first documented Croatian realms, vassal states of Francia at the time.Mužić (2007), pp. 157–160 The most important ruler of Lower Pannonia was Ljudevit Posavski, who revolted against the Franks between 819 and 823. He ruled Pannonian Croatia from 810 to 823.
The Frankish overlordship ended during the reign of Mislav two decades later.Mužić (2007), pp. 169–170 Duke Mislav was succeeded by Duke Trpimir, the founder of the Trpimirović dynasty. Trpimir successfully fought against Byzantium, Venice and Bulgaria. Duke Trpimir was succeeded by Duke Domagoj, who repeatedly led wars against the Venetians and the Byzantines, for which the Venetians called this Croatian ruler "the worst Croatian prince" (dux pessimus Croatorum) According to Constantine VII, the Christianization of Croats began in the 7th century, but the claim is disputed and generally, Christianization is associated with the 9th century. In 879, under Branimir, the duke of Croatia, Dalmatian Croatia received papal recognition as a state from Pope John VIII.Mužić (2007), pp. 195–198
Kingdom of Croatia (925–1102)
The first king of Croatia is generally considered to have been Tomislav in the first half of the 10th century, who is mentioned as such in notes from Church Councils of Split and the letter of Pope John X.
Important Croatian rulers from that period are: Mihajlo Krešimir II, 949–969, who conquered Bosnia and restored the power of the Croatian kingdom. Two Croatian queens are also known from 10th century. The first one is Domaslava and the second one is Helen of Zadar, whose epitaph was found in the Solin area at the end of the 19th century during archeological excavations conducted by Frane Bulić. The latter was also a mother of King Stjepan Držislav, 969–997. He sided with Byzantium in a war against Bulgarian emperor Samuil, so Bulgarians, in response, raided Croatia and ravaged it as far as Zadar before retreating back to Ohrid. Byzantine emperor Basil II in return named Stjepan Držislav a hereditary King of Croatia and Dalmatia and sent him royal insignia. Stjepan, 1030–1058, restored the Croatian kingdom and founded the diocese in Knin.
The medieval Croatian kingdom reached its peak in the 11th century during the reigns of Petar Krešimir IV (1058–1074) and Demetrius Zvonimir (1075–1089). From the time of Petar Krešimir IV kingdom was officially called "Kingdom of Croatia and Dalmatia".Margetić, Zagreb i Slavonija, 89 He used The Great Schism of 1054 which weakened the Byzantine rule over Dalmatian cities to assert his own control over them.Macan 37-39 He left the cities a certain amount of self-rule, but also collected a certain amount of tribute and demanded their ships in the case of war. Except for croatization of old cities such as Zadar and Split, Petar Krešimir IV encouraged the development of new cities such as Biograd, Nin, Karin, Skradin and Šibenik. He also encouraged the foundation of new monasteries and gave donations to the Church. Historians such as Trpimir Macan consider that during Krešimir's reign medieval Croatian kingdom reached its greatest extent. Modern historians also consider that his rule probably ended when he was captured by Norman count Amicus of Giovinazzo.Krešimir IV was succeeded by Demetrius Zvonimir who married Hungarian princess Helen and ruled from Knin as his capital. Zvonimir's rule was marked by stability.Macan, 41 He was a papal vassal and enjoyed a papal protection as seen when his kingdom was threatened by an invasion of knight Wezelin, who was deterred after pope threatened to excommunicate him. He had a son named Radovan who died at young age, so Zvonimir left no male heir when he died in 1089.Macan, 42
Meanwhile, in 1096, a group of crusaders led by Raymond of Toulouse going on first crusade passed through mountainous parts of Croatia. The crusaders were met with hostile locals who attacked crusader columns, while Raymond of Toulouse brutally retaliated by mutilating those attackers whom they managed to capture. Historians explains these hostilities by the "state of anarchy" which was then in Croatia.
Interregnum