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In the 9th century BC Zadar was settled by the Liburnians , a tribe of Illyrians. After 59 BC Zadar became a Roman municipium, and in 48 BC a colony of Roman citizens. It maintained its autonomy throughout the Middle Ages. Upon the fall of the Western Roman EmpireThe Western Roman Empire is the name given to the western half of the Roman Empire after its division by Diocletian. The West had significant social difference with the East; whereas the East was Greek-speaking and (later) followed Orthodoxy and Monophysi and the destruction of Salona in the early 7th century6th century 7th century 8th century other centuries) Events The religion of Islam starts in Arabia, the Qur'an is revealed, and Arabs spread Islam into Syria, Iraq, Persia, Egypt, North Africa and Central Asia. Sutton Hoo ship burial, East Anglia (modern, Zadar became the capital of the ByzantineThe Byzantine Empire or Eastern Roman Empire was the eastern section of the Roman Empire, with its capital at Constantinople (modern Istanbul), which remained in existence after the fall of Rome in the 5th century. The Byzantine period is usually consider province of Dalmatia, as well as the governor's headquarters.
In the early 9th century8th century 9th century 10th century other centuries) Events Beowulf might have been written down in this century, though it could also have been in the 8th century Viking attacks on Europe begin Oseberg ship burial around 813-around 915 period of serious it came under the FranksCharlemagne or Karl der Grosse ( Charles the Great) in Frankfurt The Franks formed one of several west Germanic tribes who entered the late Roman Empire from Frisia as foederati and established a lasting realm in an area that covers part of today's France, while it was given back to Byzantium in 812, under the Peace Treaty of AachenAachen is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, on the border with Belgium and the Netherlands, 65 km to the west of Cologne, and the westernmost city in Germany, at 50°46' N, 6°6' E. Population: 255,000 (2001). The RWTH Aachen University of Technolo. In the 10th9th century 10th century 11th century other centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 10th century was that century which lasted from 901 to 1000. Events The beginning of the Medieval Warm Period Viking groups settle in northern France N, and especially in the 11th century, although it survived the migration of Slavs, the rulers of the town were the Croats. From 1105, when it recognized the rule of the first Hungarian- Croatian king Coloman, Zadar began to be involved in frequent wars with Venice.
Zadar was taken by the Venetians and the knights of the Fourth Crusade in 1202. The Crusaders had promised the Venetians a certain amount of money to pay for ships for transport to Egypt, and when they could not pay the Venetians diverted the Crusade to Zadar. King Emeric of Hungary had declared that he would join the Crusade, and there was a controversy among the knights and clergy over whether or not a supposedly divine army could attack a fellow Christian. Nevertheless, Zadar was destroyed and taken, and Pope Innocent III excommunicated everyone involved.
After several insurrections, Zadar came under the rule of the Hungarian-Croatian king Luis I (under the Zadar Peace Treaty in 1358). After the death of Luis, Zadar recognized the rule of king Sigismund, and after him, that of Ladislas of Naples, who, in 1409 sold Zadar and "his rights" on Dalmatia to Venice.
From this time on, Zadar started to decline, because the Venetians considerably limited the town's political and economic autonomy. When in the early 16th century the Ottoman Turks conquered the Zadar hinterland, the town became an important stronghold ensuring the Venetian trade in the Adriatic, as well as the administrative centre of the Venetian possessions in Dalmatia and a cultural centre.
After the fall of Venice (1797) with the Treaty of Campo Formio, Zadar came under the Austrian rule under which it remained until 1918, except for the period of the French rule (1805-1813), all this time remaining the capital of Dalmatia.
During the French rule, the first newspaper in the Croatian language, 'Kraljski Dalmatin', was being published in Zadar (1806-1810). In the second half of the 19th century Zadar was a centre of the movement for the cultural and national revival in Dalmatia. Under the Treaty of Rapallo, 1920, Zadar was ceded to Italy.
The Nazi Germany occupied it in World War II, as the city was once one of the best-fortified cities in the world. Zadar was bombed 72 times by the air forces of Britain and United States during the Second World War. Afterwards it was joined again with Croatia (at the time in Yugoslavia).
Since World War II the city has developed as a strong economic and tourist center. In 1991 the Serbian irregulars and the Yugoslav People's Army (JNA) attacked Zadar and it found itself on the very edge of the occupied territory as the shelling target. Connections with capital Zagreb were cut for over a year, and the only link was via the island of Pag. Zadar was once again severely damaged in the war, including its historical bastions and churches. The siege of the city lasted until January 1993, when the hinterland of Zadar was liberated. Anyway, the attacks contiuned up to 1995, when the war in Croatia was finished.
- adapted from the "Miroslav Krleza" Lexicographic Institute.