Antiquity Although the beginnings of Split are traditionally associated with the construction of
Diocletian's Palace in 305, the city was founded several centuries earlier as the
Greek colony of
Aspálathos, or
Spálathos. It was a colony of the
polis of
Issa, the modern-day town of
Vis, itself a colony of the
Sicilian city of
Syracuse. The exact year the city was founded is not known, but it is estimated to have been in the 3rd or 2nd century BC. The Greek settlement lived off trade with the surrounding
Illyrian tribes, mostly the
Delmatae. in its original appearance upon completion in 305, by
Ernest Hébrard After the
Illyrian Wars of 229 and 219 BC, the city of
Salona, only a short distance from Spálathos, became the capital of the Roman
Province of Dalmatia and one of the
largest cities of the late empire with 60,000 people. The history of Spálathos becomes obscure for a while at this point, being overshadowed by that of nearby Salona, to which it would later become successor. The
Roman Emperor Diocletian (ruled AD 284–305) in 293 began the construction of an opulent and heavily fortified palace fronting the sea, near his home town of Salona, selecting the site of Spálathos (or
Spalatum in Latin). The Palace was built as a massive structure, much like a Roman military fortress. The palace and the city of Spalatum which formed its surroundings were at times inhabited by a population as large as 8,000 to 10,000 people. Between 475 and 480, the Palace hosted
Flavius Julius Nepos, the last recognised Emperor of the
Western Roman Empire. Salona was lost to the
Ostrogothic Kingdom in 493, along with most of Dalmatia, but the Emperor
Justinian I regained Dalmatia in 535–536.
Middle Ages The
Pannonian Avars sacked and destroyed Salona in 639; the surviving Romans fled to the nearby islands. The Dalmatian region and its shores were at this time settled by tribes of
Croats, a
South Slavic people subservient to the Avar khagans. The Salonitans regained the land under Severus the Great in 650 and settled the 300-year-old Palace of Diocletian, which could not be effectively besieged by the Slavic tribes of the mainland. Its hinterland was now home to the
Duchy of the Croats. In this period, an independent
Dalmatian language developed from
Latin, with a distinct local dialect: to its inhabitants, the city became known as
Spalatrum or
Spalatro, one of the main
Dalmatian city-states. In 925,
Tomislav's
Kingdom of Croatia emerged in the hinterland of the city, centered in
Nin as an ally of Byzantium against
Simeon I of Bulgaria – though without receiving any power from the Emperor over the Dalmatian cities. After the death of Croatian King
Stephen II in 1091, a period of
succession crisis followed in Croatia, with King
Ladislaus I of Hungary interfering in it. Byzantine Emperor
Alexios I Komnenos took advantage of this and joined the old
Theme of Dalmatia to the Empire. In 1096 Emperor Alexios I Komnenos, at the time engaged in the
First Crusade, granted the administration of Dalmatia to the Doge of Venice. In 1105,
Coloman, King of Hungary, having conquered the Kingdom of Croatia, reneged on its alliance with Venice and moved on the coastal towns, besieging and taking Zadar. Split and Trogir decided then to surrender upon guarantee of their ancient privileges.
Venetian period By this time, the population was largely
Croatian, while Romance
Dalmatian names were not as common, according to the medieval city archives. The common language was
Croatian, but a variety of the
Venetian language with some
Tuscan influences was also widely spoken by
Dalmatian Italian notaries, school teachers, merchants, and officials. The city's autonomy was greatly reduced: the highest authority was a prince and captain (), assigned by Venice. Split eventually developed into a significant port-city, with important trade routes to the
Ottoman-held interior through the nearby
Klis pass. Culture flourished as well, Split being the hometown of
Marko Marulić, the Croatian
national poet. Marulić's most acclaimed work,
Judita (1501), was an epic poem about
Judith and
Holofernes, widely held to be the first modern work of
Croatian literature. It was written in Split and printed in Venice in 1521. The advances and achievements were reserved mostly for the
aristocracy: the
illiteracy rate was extremely high, mostly because Venetian rule showed little interest in educational and medical facilities. In 1797, Split was ceded by the
French Republic to the
Habsburg monarchy under the
Treaty of Campo Formio, as part of the
dissolution and partition of the ancient
Republic of Venice.
Napoleonic wars |alt=The Prokurative, now Republic Square, developed during the Mayoralty of Dr. Bajamonti and designed in 1859 Split became part of the
Napoleonic Kingdom of Italy in 1805, after the defeat of the
Third Coalition at the
Battle of Austerlitz and the consequent
Treaty of Pressburg. It was included directly in the
French Empire in 1806. The same year,
Vincenzo Dandolo was named and general
Auguste de Marmont was named military commander of Dalmatia. In 1809, after a brief war with France,
Austria ceded Carinthia, Carniola, Croatia west of the Sava River, Gorizia and Trieste to France. These territories, along with Dalmatia, formed the
Illyrian Provinces. During this period, large investments were undertaken in the city, new streets were built and parts of the ancient fortifications were removed. Austria, with help from a British force led by Captain
William Hoste, occupied Split in November 1813. Following the
Congress of Vienna in 1815, the city was officially ceded to Austria.
Under Habsburg rule in the background The Split region became part of the
Kingdom of Dalmatia, a separate administrative unit. After the
revolutions of 1848 as a result of
romantic nationalism, two factions appeared. One was the pro-Croatian
Unionist faction (later called the , "Pointers"), led by the
People's Party and, to a lesser extent, the
Party of Rights, both of which advocated the union of Dalmatia with the
Kingdom of Croatia-Slavonia which was under Hungarian administration. This faction was strongest in Split, and used it as its headquarters. The other faction was the pro-Italian
Autonomist faction (also known as the "
Irredentist" faction), whose political goals varied from autonomy within the
Austro-Hungarian Empire, to a political union with the
Kingdom of Italy. The political alliances in Split shifted over time. At first, the Unionists and Autonomists were allied against the
centralism of
Vienna. After a while, when the national question came to prominence, they separated. Under Austria, Split generally stagnated. The great upheavals in Europe in 1848 gained no ground here, and the city did not rebel.
Antonio Bajamonti became Mayor of Split in 1860 and – except for a brief interruption during the period 1864–65 – held the post for over two decades until 1880. Bajamonti was also a member of the
Dalmatian Sabor (1861–91) and the
Austrian Chamber of Deputies (1867–1870 and 1873–1879). In 1882 Bajamonti's party lost the elections and
Dujam Rendić-Miočević, a prominent city lawyer, was elected to the post.
As part of Yugoslavia Kingdom of Yugoslavia After the end of
World War I and the dissolution of
Austria-Hungary, the province of
Dalmatia, along with Split, became a part of the
Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes. Split was
occupied by the allies in the aftermath of the war and the site of
a series of incidents between 1918 and 1920. Since
Rijeka,
Trieste and
Zadar, the three other large cities on the eastern Adriatic coast, were annexed by
Italy, Split became the most important port in the Kingdom. The
Lika railway, connecting Split to the rest of the country, was completed in 1925. The country changed its name to the Kingdom of Yugoslavia in 1929, and the
Port of Split became the seat of new administrative unit,
Littoral Banovina. After the
Cvetković-Maček agreement, Split became the part of new administrative unit (merging of Sava and Littoral Banovina plus some Croat populated areas),
Banovina of Croatia in the Kingdom of Yugoslavia.
World War II in the City Harbour after the annexation into
Italy in 1941 ". In April 1941, following the
invasion of Yugoslavia by
Nazi Germany, Split was occupied by Italy. Although Split formally became part of the
Independent State of Croatia, the
Ustaše were not able to establish and strengthen their rule in Split, as Italians assumed all power in Dalmatia. One month later, on 18 May 1941, when the
Treaties of Rome were signed, Italy formally annexed Split, which was included in the
province of Spalato, and large parts of Dalmatia down to
Kotor. The Italian
Governatorate of Dalmatia hosted 390,000 inhabitants, of which 280,000 Croats, 90,000 Serbs and 5,000
Dalmatian Italians. Italian rule met heavy opposition from the Croat population as Split became a centre of anti-fascist sentiment in Yugoslavia. The first armed resistance group was organized on 7 May 1941 and the 63 member strong 1st Strike Detachment () served as the basis for future formations, including the
1st Split Partisan Detachment. Between September and October 1941 alone, ten officials of the Italian fascist occupation were assassinated by the citizens. On 12 June 1942, a fascist mob attacked the city's synagogue, and destroyed its library and archive. Worshipers were beaten as they left the synagogue and Jewish-owned shops were targeted the following day. The local football clubs refused to compete in the Italian championship;
HNK Hajduk and
RNK Split suspended their activities and both joined the Partisans along with their entire staff after the Italian capitulation provided the opportunity. Soon after Hajduk became the official football club of the Partisan movement. In September 1943, following the capitulation of Italy, A few weeks later, the Partisans were forced into retreat as the
Wehrmacht placed the city under the authority of the
Independent State of Croatia. The Germans decimated the Italian soldiers as traitors, including three Generals (Policardi,
Pelligra and
Cigala Fulgosi) and 48 officials (Trelj massacre). In this period the last remaining symbols of Italian heritage in Split, including several Venetian
Lions of St. Mark, were erased from the town. In a tragic turn of events, besides being bombed by Axis forces, the city was also bombed by the Allies, causing hundreds of deaths. Partisans finally captured the city on 26 October 1944 and instituted it as the provisional capital of Croatia. On 12 February 1945, the
Kriegsmarine conducted a daring raid on the Split harbour, damaging the British cruiser . After the war the remaining members of
Dalmatian Italians of Split left Yugoslavia towards Italy (
Istrian-Dalmatian exodus).
Federal Yugoslavia -era
Coat of arms of Split. Introduced in 1967, it was based on the Medieval rectangular arms, dating at least from the 14th century (and likely much earlier). After World War II, Split became a part of the
Socialist Republic of Croatia, itself a constituent sovereign republic of the
Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. During the period the city experienced its largest economic and demographic boom. Dozens of new factories and companies were founded with the city population tripling during the period. The city became the economic centre of an area exceeding the borders of Croatia and was flooded by waves of rural migrants from the undeveloped hinterland who found employment in the newly established industry, as part of large-scale
industrialization and investment by the Yugoslav Federal Government. The shipbuilding industry was particularly successful and Yugoslavia, with its
Croatian shipyards, became one of the world's top nations in the field. Many recreational facilities were also constructed with federal funding, especially for the
1979 Mediterranean Games, such as the
Poljud Stadium. The city also became the largest passenger and military port in Yugoslavia, housing the headquarters of the
Yugoslav Navy (, JRM) and the
Army's Coastal Military District (equivalent of a
field army). In the period between 1945 and 1990, the city was transformed and expanded, taking up the vast majority of the Split
peninsula. In the same period it achieved an as yet unsurpassed GDP and employment level, still above the present day's, growing into a significant Yugoslav city.
Since independence When Croatia declared its independence again in 1991, Split had a large garrison of
Yugoslav People's Army (JNA) troops (drafted from all over Yugoslavia), as well as the headquarters and facilities of the
Yugoslav Navy (JRM). This led to a tense months-long stand-off between the JNA and Croatian National Guard and police forces, occasionally flaring up in various incidents. The most tragic incident occurred on 15 November 1991, when the
JRM light frigate Split fired a small number of shells at the city and its surroundings. The damage was insignificant but there were a few casualties. Three general locations were bombarded: the old city center, the city airport, and an uninhabited part of the hills above
Kaštela, between the airport and Split. JRM sailors, most of them Croats themselves, who had refused to attack Croat civilians were left in the vessel's brig. The JNA and JRM evacuated all of its facilities in Split during January 1992. The 1990s economic recession soon followed. In the years following 2000, Split finally gained momentum and started to develop again, with a focus on tourism. From being just a transport centre, Split is now a major Croatian tourist destination. Many new hotels are being built, as well as new apartment and office buildings. Many large development projects are being revived, and new infrastructure is being built. An example of one of the latest large city projects is the
Spaladium Arena, built in 2009. ==Geography==