Dubrovnik
Dubrovnik is a city in Croatia.
History
Dubrovnik was settled by refugees from Epidaurum in the 7th century. The names Dubrovnik and Ragusa were used interchangeably for centuries. The latter was used for the official name (Republic of Ragusa) until 1808.
Dubrovnik received protection from the Byzantine Empire and sought guarantees of free trade from their nieghbors: grand principality of Serbia in 1186; banate of Bosnia in 1189; Byzantine Empire in 1191.
Dubrovnik submitted to Venetian suzerainity from 1205 until 1358, when Louis I of Hungary conquered the Dalmatian coast.
In 1458, Dubrovnik became an Ottoman tributary. It remained generally autonomous and gained preferential trade access to the rest of the Ottoman Empire.
In the 17th century, as the Ottomans were expelled from nearby Hungary and Croatia, Dubrovnik approached the Habsburgs and offered to recognize their sovereignty. Much of the land and sea surrounding Dubrovnik however was ceded to the Republic of Venice instead. To forestall a Venetian invasion, Dubrovnik ceded a small strip of coastland to the Ottomans.
Following a brief Napoleonic conquest, Dubrovnik was ceded to the Austro-Hungarian Empire.