Dalmatian City-States
The Dalmatian city-states were a loose group of cities that exercised significant autonomy throughout history.
Contents
Composition
The original Dalmatian city-states were:
A few later cities are generally counted among this group.
History
The original Dalmatian city-states were trade cities that flourished and enjoyed general autonomy, even as the Roman province of Dalmatia fell to invading Slavic tribes.
They generally received protection (most importantly, against the Ottomans) from the Byzantines or Venetians in return for vassalization.
The entire region was united by a brief Napoleonic conquest, then almost entirely ceded to the Austrian Empire. The Austrians reorganized the lands (including these city-states, but without respect to the autonomy of them) into a new crownland, the Kingdom of Dalmatia. This largely was the end of the city-states as relevant political bodies.