History of Dalmatia - Middle Ages

Middle Ages

Following the great Slavic migration into Illyria in the first half of the 6th century, Dalmatia became distinctly divided between two different communities:

• The hinterland populated by Slavic tribes, besides the Romanized Illyrian natives (and Celtic in the north), roughly Croats to the north and Serbs to south; separated by the Cetina river.

• The Byzantine enclaves populated by the native Romance-speaking descendants of Romans and Illyrians (speaking the dalmatian language, who lived safely in Ragusa, Iadera, Tragurium, Spalatum and some other coastal towns, like Cattaro (Kotor).

These towns remained powerful because they were highly civilized (because of their connection with the Byzantium) and also fortified. The Slavs were at the time barely in the process of becoming Christianized. The two different communities were frequently hostile at first.