History of Istria

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Old coat of arms on the wall of Pazin Castle, central Istria

Istria (

Latin: Histria) is the largest peninsula in the Adriatic Sea. The peninsula is located at the head of the Adriatic between the Gulf of Trieste and the Bay of Kvarner
. It is shared by three countries: Croatia, Slovenia, and Italy.

Prehistory

The first known appearance of human life in Istria dates to Lower Paleolithic, as evidenced by artifacts found in Šandalja Cave near Pula, dated to 800,000 BC.[1]

Since the 11th century BC,

Raša River.[2]

Roman Istria

Pula Arena, built in 27 BC – 68 AD, is among the six largest surviving Roman amphitheatres in the world.[3]

After a series of conflicts, the

latifundia, large estates worked by colonists and locals. Although pockets of Illyrian resistance remained in the hilly interior, they succumbed in time to the Romans’ combination of military and economic superiority. Although Pula is Istria's only settlement to preserve significant evidence of the Romans (principally its Forum and Amphitheater), most of Istria's major settlements were established in this period. Under Emperor Augustus, Istria was incorporated into the region of Venetia et Histria, as part of the Roman mainland of Italia.[6] It remained under Roman rule until the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476.[7]

Christianity appeared in Istria in the late 3rd century AD, and the first churches were built in the 4th century.[8] The period between the 2nd and 5th century AD saw the incursions of Germanic tribes, a sustained influx of refugees from Pannonia and other provinces, political instability amid infighting for the Roman throne, and decline of the economy.[5][8]

Following the fall of the Western Roman Empire (476), the region was ruled by Odoacer, and later conquered by the Ostrogoths in 489 AD.[8]

Byzantine Istria

Plan of the 6th century Byzantine Basilica of Santa Maria del Canneto, in Pula (Croatia)

In 538/539, Istria was incorporated into the

Frankish kingdom.[9][10][11]

During the Byzantine period, significant changes emerged at eastern borders of Istria. In 599, first attacks of Avars and Slavs on Istrian borders were recorded.[12] At the beginning of the 7th century, Istrian eastern and inland regions were invaded by Slavs, while the coastal area resisted these attacks. This period was highly contentious, because of Lombard attacks from the West, Slovene attacks from the north, and Croat attacks from the east, resulting in a state of near constant conflict, particularly between Byzantine-held littoral and Slavic inhabitants in inland regions.

Avaro-Slavic invasions and settlement

In 599, the first Avaro-Slavic invasion of Istria was recorded. This invasion chiefly involved the hinterland, but possibly threatened the coast as well, triggering a response from Ravenna. In the following year (600) the Avars and Slavs invaded Italy after passing through Istrian territory. The locals probably retired in the walled cities, leaving the main routes unguarded.[13] Around 600 to 602, the Avars and the Slavs, perhaps instigated by the

Emperor Heraclius for the settlement of Slavs in northern Istria.[19] The mission of an abbot Martin sent by Pope John IV to "travel the length of Dalmatia and Istria with large sums of money for the redemption of captives held by pagans" in 640–642, indicates that by that time the Slavs had settled in the region.[19]

Fianona (Plomin) was completely destroyed by the Avars in their early invasions of the 7th century, and was rebuilt as late as the 11th century, having disappeared from the records.[20][21] Among the other cities destroyed by the Avars and Slavs is Gallignana (Gračišće), which ceased to be a castrum,[22] and Nesactium. The basilica of Vrsar was probably burned during one of the Avaro-Slavic invasions, and it has been suggested that also the church of St Fusca (Sveta Foška) near Žminj (Gimino) suffered the same fate by the same hands.[13] Several other settlements disappeared with these incursions, possibly including the still unidentified Mutila, Faveria and Cissa, mentioned by Pliny, which utterly disappeared from history.[13]

Traces of early Slavic settlement in Istria, and of the Slavic raids, are scarce.[19] Some Avar findings were discovered in Istria, such as two Avar three-winged arrows, found in Nesactium, a belt harness found in Novigrad (Cittanova), and a belt plaque found near Nesactium (near Valtura, in eastern Istria).[23][24] While historians consider it unlikely, ancient records don't exclude the possibility that, besides Slavs, Avars lived in Istria, as Constantine VII claimed that a minority ethnic group, recognized as Avars, lived in his time in the Kingdom of Croatia, which included eastern Istria.[a] While Avars may have been active and even controlled regions in present-day Croatia and Slovenia, they are thought to have only lived in Pannonia (present-day Hungary), as this is the only place where Avar burials have been found.[19]

After the Avaro-Slavic defeat at the siege of Constantinople in 612, the Slavs might've split from their Avar masters and settled into Byzantine territory.

Romans, and the Slavs, who derived from the intermixing of Croats and Avars.[27] Some historians have argued that Istria was actually colonized by Carnolian Slavs, with August Dimitz reporting that this was the belief during his day.[28][19] Indeed, according to one current theory, the first wave of Slavic-speaking settlers entered Istria in the late 6th century, but according to another theory, the Slavs entered first the Karst area, and then entered Istria from the north, above Trieste (in present-day Slovenia) in the 7th century.[19]

Frankish and Venetian rule

Petar Krešimir IV
Main article: History of the Republic of Venice

Istria was annexed to the

Frankish kingdom by Pepin of Italy in 788.[29]
The seeds of Istria's dissolution were sown under increasingly weak Frankish rule, which enabled most settlements to achieve de facto autonomy.

In the 10th and 11th centuries, Istria was ruled by the German feudal families. Since the mid-11th century, Istria was a

Patriarchate of Aquileia. According to Constantine Porphyrogennetos, eastern parts of Istria north of Raša River at that time belonged to Croatian Kingdom.[30][32]

Parts of Istria included in the territory of the Republic of Venice

In 1145, the cities of Pula, Koper and Izola rose against the Republic of Venice but were defeated, and were since further controlled by Venice.[31] During the 13th century, the Patriarchate's rule weakened and the towns kept surrendering to Venice – Poreč in 1267, Umag in 1269, Novigrad in 1270, Sveti Lovreč in 1271, Motovun in 1278, Kopar in 1279, and Piran and Rovinj in 1283.[31] Venice gradually dominated the whole coastal area of western Istria and the area to Plomin on the eastern part of the peninsula.[31] The wealthier coastal towns cultivated increasingly strong economic relationships with Venice and by 1348 were eventually incorporated into its territory, while their inland counterparts fell under the sway of the weaker Patriarchate of Aquileia, which became part of the Habsburg Empire in 1374.

Holy Roman Empire and the Habsburg Empire

A 1714 map of the Duchy of Carniola by Johann Homann shows an adjacent Histereich or Istrian march in orange.

The inner Istrian part around the town of Pazin (German: Mitterburg), named Pazin County (Croatian: Pazinska knežija or Pazinska grofovija), with its stronghold Pazin Castle, was part of the Holy Roman Empire. It was held by the County of Gorizia after the 1100s, and was passed to the House of Habsburg in 1365.

The Venetian part of the peninsula passed to it in 1797 with the Treaty of Campo Formio.

Napoleonic rule

Following the

Lombardia
.

In 1805, Napoleon re-occupied the former Venetian Istria. The Holy Roman Empire ended with the period of Napoleonic rule from 1805 to 1813, when Istria became part of the

Napoleonic Empire. For the first time, inner and eastern parts of Istria became a part of Croatia, as a part of Civil Croatia
, established by Napoleon.

From the Middle Ages to the 19th century, Italian and Slavic communities in Istria had lived peacefully side by side because they did not know the national identification, given that they generically defined themselves as "Istrians", of "Romance" or "Slavic" culture.[33]

Austrian rule

Further information: Istrian Italians and Italian irredentism in Istria
Istria as part of Austrian Littoral in the 19th century

After this short period, the newly established Austrian Empire ruled entire Istrian territory from 1814 until 1918. Istria became the part of the Empire as a separate territorial unit, with Trieste as its capital. Pazin became its capital in 1825. In 1866 Pula became the capital port of the Austrian Empire Navy.

The introduction of limited democracy in 1861, by means of a regional parliament (

Kingdom of Italy
, as suffrage was limited to property owners, who were primarily Italian. The first parliament consisted of 28 Italians, but only one Croat and one Slovene.

Many

Risorgimento: as a consequence, the Austrians saw the Italians as enemies and favored the Slav communities of Istria,[35] fostering the nascent nationalism of Slovenes and Croats.[36]

During the meeting of the Council of Ministers of 12 November 1866, Emperor

Slavization of the areas of the empire with an Italian presence:[37]

His Majesty expressed the precise order that action be taken decisively against the influence of the Italian elements still present in some regions of the Crown and, appropriately occupying the posts of public, judicial, masters employees as well as with the influence of the press, work in South Tyrol, Dalmatia and Littoral for the Germanization and Slavization of these territories according to the circumstances, with energy and without any regard. His Majesty calls the central offices to the strong duty to proceed in this way to what has been established.

— Franz Joseph I of Austria, Council of the Crown of 12 November 1866[38]

There are claims

Croatian national revival. Bishop Juraj Dobrila
was the leader of the battle for Croatian rights in Istria. His concept was the activation of the people in the field of the national self-defence, the preservation of tradition, the improvement of economic and political situation, the acceptance of new civilization and cultural achievements, and finding the way to take the people out of misery. In one of his first demands to the Istrian Parliament in Poreč, he asked that the Croatian should become the official language, along with Italian.

With the

Adriatic coast became very obvious. A secret agreement was made in London in April 1915, according to which Italy was promised South Tyrol, a part of Dalmatia and Istria with Trieste and Gorizia
.

Italy

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At the end of the

First World War, Austria-Hungary was defeated in the battle of Vittorio Veneto and asked for an armistice
, signed in Padova, on 3 November 1918. Istria was consequently occupied by the Italian Royal Army, under the terms of the armistice. At the peace conference in Paris, Italy was among the winning powers, and obtained the suzerainty over Istria, according to the terms of the Treaty of Rapallo.

After the advent of Fascism in 1922, the portions of the Istrian population that were Croatian and Slovene were exposed to a policy of forced Italianization and cultural suppression. During the period between the two world wars, Italians eradicated Croatian and Slovenian public and national life. They abolished all Croatian schools, cultural institutions and associations, and Croatian names were Italianized. Croatians lost their right to education and religious practice in their maternal languages. The population emigrated to the Kingdom of Yugoslavia on a large scale. The organization TIGR, regarded as the first armed antifascist resistance group in Europe, was founded in 1927 and soon penetrated into Slovene and Croatian-speaking parts of Istria.

After the capitulation of Italy in the

Istrian-Dalmatian exodus which significantly reduced the Italian population in Istria, particularly in urban areas.[43][44]

Istria shortly after World War Two

Period of Yugoslavia

According to the Paris Peace Treaty of 1947, the territory between Novigrad and Trieste became the independent Free Territory of Trieste, while other parts were incorporated into Yugoslavia. The Free Territory of Trieste was also divided in two zones – Zone A (area around Trieste) and Zone B (the rest). Zone A was again under the Anglo-American administration, while Zone B was under the Yugoslav military administration, from which area most of the Italian population fled. After the dissolution of the Free Territory of Trieste in 1954, by London agreement, Italy was assigned Zone A, the region up to the present-day Slovenian/Italian border, while the remaining territory was incorporated into Yugoslavia as a part of its People's Republic of Croatia and the People's Republic of Slovenia. For the first time, the entire western coast of Istria became part of Croatia. The final border between the two states was defined in the agreement in the Italian town of Osimo (Treaty of Osimo) on 10 November 1975.

In independent Croatia

Following the break-up of Yugoslavia in 1991, and international recognition of independent states of Croatia and Slovenia, the division of Istria between Croatia and Slovenia runs on the former republic borders. In December 1992, Istria became one of the twenty counties in the Republic of Croatia.[45][46] The Gulf of Piran area is the subject of an ongoing border dispute between Croatia and Slovenia.[47]

See also

Part of a series on the
History of Croatia
ILIYRICVM HODIERNVM, Quod Scriptores communiter SCLAVONIAM, Itali SCHIAVONIAM nuncupare solent, in Dalmatiam, Croatiam, Bosnam, et Slavoniam, from Atlas Van der Hagen
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Ducatus Carintiae et Carniolae, Cilleia Comitatus, Nova Tabula que et Pars est Meridionalior.
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References

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  2. ^ a b Istra-Istria.hr, THE HISTRI AND THE LIBURNI.
  3. ^ Džin 2009, p. 7.
  4. ^ Istrapedia I, Histri u kasno željezno doba.
  5. ^ a b Istrapedia I, Kraj Rimske Republike i početak Carstva.
  6. ^ Jurkić-Girardi 1988, p. 109-114.
  7. ^ Istra-Istria.hr, ROMAN PERIOD.
  8. ^ a b c Istrapedia I, Kasno rimsko doba.
  9. ^ Vicelja-Matijašić 2005, p. 185-204.
  10. ^ Bileta 2014, p. 111-124.
  11. ^ Bileta 2017, p. 100-123.
  12. ^ Bileta 2017, p. 111.
  13. ^ a b c d e f Bileta, Vedran. On the Fringes of the Shrinking Empire - The Militarization of Administration and Society in Byzantine Istria (MA Thesis in Medieval Studies) (Thesis). Central European University. pp. 1–101.
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  19. ^ a b c d e f g Bekic, Luka (2016). The Early Medieval Between Pannonia and the Adriatic. Archaeological Museum of Istria. pp. 1–301.
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  21. ^ Bertarelli, Luigi Vittorio (1920). Le Tre Venezie. Tourning Club Italiano. p. 356.
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  24. ^ Begic, Vanesa. "AVARI I SLAVENI JUŽNO OD DRAVE: Vitrina s dva avarska predmeta iz Arheološkog muzeja Istre". Glas Istre.
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  26. ^ Società Istriana di Archeologia e Storia Patria (1891). Atti e memorie della Società Istriana di Archeologia e Storia Patria. Parenzo: Società Istriana di Archeologia e Storia Patria, at the typograpy Gaetano Coana. p. 424.
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  29. ^ Istrapedia I, Rani srednji vijek.
  30. ^ a b Istrapedia I, Razvijeni srednji vijek.
  31. ^ a b c d Istra-Istria.hr, VARIOUS RULERS.
  32. ^ Istra-Istria.hr, FRANK RULE.
  33. ^ ""L'Adriatico orientale e la sterile ricerca delle nazionalità delle persone" di Kristijan Knez; La Voce del Popolo (quotidiano di Fiume) del 2/10/2002" (in Italian). Retrieved 25 April 2024.
  34. ^ "Trieste, Istria, Fiume e Dalmazia: una terra contesa" (in Italian). Retrieved 2 June 2021.
  35. ^ Die Protokolle des Österreichischen Ministerrates 1848/1867. V Abteilung: Die Ministerien Rainer und Mensdorff. VI Abteilung: Das Ministerium Belcredi, Wien, Österreichischer Bundesverlag für Unterricht, Wissenschaft und Kunst 1971
  36. ^ Relazione della Commissione storico-culturale italo-slovena, Relazioni italo-slovene 1880-1956, "Capitolo 1980-1918" Archived 13 March 2018 at the Wayback Machine, Capodistria, 2000
  37. ^ Die Protokolle des Österreichischen Ministerrates 1848/1867. V Abteilung: Die Ministerien Rainer und Mensdorff. VI Abteilung: Das Ministerium Belcredi, Wien, Österreichischer Bundesverlag für Unterricht, Wissenschaft und Kunst 1971, vol. 2, p. 297. Citazione completa della fonte e traduzione in Luciano Monzali, Italiani di Dalmazia. Dal Risorgimento alla Grande Guerra, Le Lettere, Firenze 2004, p. 69.
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  41. ^ Žerjavić, Vladimir (2008). "DOSELJAVANJA I ISELJAVANJA S PODRUČJA ISTRE, RIJEKE I ZADRA U RAZDOBLJU 1910-1971". Journal of Modern Italian Studies. 13 (2): 237–258.
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  43. ISBN 9780810873636
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  44. ^ Istrapedia II, Poraće (1945–54).
  45. ^ Istra-Istria.hr, THE REPUBLIC OF CROATIA.
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  47. Irish Times
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Notes

  1. ^ In chapter 30 of De Administrando Imperio, Constantine VII claims that Dalmatia extended up to the mounts of Istria. He further claims that the Kingdom of Croatia stretched from the river Cetina to the city of Labin, and that the Croats took possession of this land from the Avars. Constantine states that in his time, that is around 950, some descendants of the Avars, recognized as such, still lived in the Kingdom of Croatia, which, as mentioned, included eastern Istria. However, he does not specify their exact location within Croatia.[25][26][19]

Bibliography

External links

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