Split: Encyclopedia II - Split - History

Split - History

Although the beginnings of Split are usually linked to the building of Diocletian's Palace, there is evidence that this area was inhabited as a Greek colony even earlier.

Diocletian was a Roman emperor who ruled between AD 284 and 305 and was known for his reforms and persecution of Christians. He ordered the work on the palace to begin in 293 in readiness for his retirement from politics in 305. The palace faces the sea on its south side and its walls are 170 to 200 m (570 to 700 feet) long and 15 to 20 m (50 to 70 feet) high, and it encloses an area of 38,000 m² (9½ acres).

This massive structure was long deserted when the first citizens of Split settled inside its walls. In 639, the interior was converted into a town by the citizens of Salona who escaped the destruction of their town by the Avars. Over the centuries, the city has spread out over the surrounding landscape, but even today the palace constitutes the inner core of the city, still inhabited, full of shops, markets, squares, with even a Christian cathedral (formerly Diocletian's mausoleum) inserted in the corridors and floors of the former palace. Although part of Byzantine Empire, the town had political autonomy.

The rise of the Medieval Croatian state in the hinterland provoked in the following centuries a slow Slavinization of Split, which can be seen in the architecture of churches in the city and surroundings, and which led to the unity of the church with Split at the center in 928.

One of the first known rulers of Split was Count Petar (1222-1225), also as Prince of Zahumlje (1198-1227).

At the beginning of the 12th century Split was led by Hungarian nobility. The city however mantained some independence, as in 1312 it issued statues and had a currency of its own.

Venetian Republic took control of Split in 1420, when the population was almost all Croat. The autonomy of the city remained, though a little reduced: the highest authority was a prince-captain who was always of Venetian birth.

Veniec held Split until its own downfall in 1797, when the city fell to Austria-Hungary with a brief period of Napoleonic rule (1806–1813).

During the Middle Ages and the Venetian rule Split developed into an important port city with trade routes to the interior through the nearby Klis pass. Culture flourished as well, Split being the hometown of Marko Marulic, one of the classics of Croatian literature, and a place where he wrote Judita (1501, published in 1521), widely held to be the first modern work of literature in Croatian. Under Austria, however, Split stagnated. The general upheavals in Europe starting in 1848 had no ground there.

Split - Split in the 20th century

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 (which in 1929 changed its name to Yugoslavia). After both Rijeka and Zadar, the two other large cities on the eastern Adriatic coast, went to Italy, Split became the most important port in Yugoslavia. The Lika railway, connecting it to the rest of the country, was completed in 1925.

In April 1941, following Axis invasion of Yugoslavia, Split was occupied by Italy and formally annexed one month later. In September 1943, following capitulation of Italy, city was liberated by Partisans only to be occupied by Wehrmacht few weeks later. During the occupation, some of the port facilities as well as parts of the old city were damaged by Allied bombing. Partisans finally liberated the city on October 26th 1944. On February 12th 1945 Kriegsmarine conducted a daring raid on Split harbour, using explosive boats and damaging British cruiser Delhi in the process. Until the end of war Split was provisional capital of Partisans-controlled Croatia.

After WWII, Split became a part of Croatia, itself a constituent republic of the socialist federal Yugoslavia. It continued to grow and develop as an important commercial and cultural center. The city drew a large number of rural migrants who found employment in the newly built factories, a part of a large-scale industrialization effort. In the period between 1945 and 1990, the population tripled and the city expanded, taking up the whole peninsula.

When Croatia declared independence in 1991, Split had large garrison of Yugoslav People's Army, guarding the facilities and headquarters of JRM - Yugoslav Navy. This led to months of tense stand-off between JNA and Croatian military and police forces, occasionally interrupted by various incidents. The most spectacular such incident occurred in November 1991, when JRM, including destroyer Split conducted naval bombardment of the city. This was the only time in history that city was bombarded by a military vessel bearing its name. JNA finally evacuated all of its facilities in January 1992

Split is sometimes credited as Dalmatia's capital, but there is no such governmental unit as Dalmatia today.

Adapted from the Wikipedia article "History", under the G.N U Free Docmentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki