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Historical background to Zadar
ZADAR was mentioned as Jader in Roman sources, while Constantine Porphyrogenitus called it Diadora. After 59 BC Zadar became a Roman municipium. In 48 BC Zadar became a colony of Roman citizens, it maintained its autonomy throughout the Middle Ages. Upon the fall of the Western Roman Empire and the destruction of Salona in the early 7th century, Zadar became the capital of the Byzantine province of Dalmatia. In the early 9th century it came under the Franks, while it was given back to Byzantium in 812. In the 10th, and in the 11th century, the true rulers of the town were the Croats and from 1105, when it recognized the rule of the first Hungarian-Croatian king Koloman, Zadar began to be involved in frequent wars with Venice. In 1117, Pope Alexander III visited Zadar, the inhabitants of Zadar greeted the Pope singing songs "in their Slavonic language". In 1202, Zadar was conquered by the Venetians with the help of the Crusaders; after renewed battles. The town subdued in 1205. After several insurrections, Zadar came under the rule of the Hungarian-Croatian king Luis I. After the death of Luis, Zadar recognized the rule of king Sigismund, and after him, that of Ladislas of Naples.He sold Zadar and "his rights" on Dalmatia to Venice in 1409. 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 and and a cultural centre. The 15th and the 16th centuries were marked by important activities of Croatian writers writing in the national language. After the fall of Venice 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 was being published in Zadar (1806-1810), called Kraljski Dalmatin. Under the Rapallo Treaty (1920) Zadar was ceded to Italy, and in 1944 it was joined with the mother country Croatia.