Zadar
Zadar is the fifth largest and oldest continuously-inhabited city in Croatia.
History
The island has been inhabited by Liburnians since the Neolithic era. They called it Iadera and Iader. The Roman Empire conquered the city and stationed a significant military force here. It was made the provincial capital of Dalmatia after Salona was sacked in 639.
Despite its role for Byzantine administration, Zadar had little authority over the other city states of the Dalmatian coast.
The Venetians conquered Zadar for the first time in 998. Their increasingly aggressive interventions in the city state encouraged the development of a kingdom of Croatia, and in 1105 it submitted to Hungary.
Zadar was under Venetian rule from 1409 until 1797.
Following a brief Napoleonic conquest, Zadar was ceded to the Austrian Empire. It served as the capital of the new Habsburg crownland.