Croatia Early History

The area known as Croatia today was inhabited throughout the prehistoric period, ever since the Stone Age. In the area of Krapina, fossils of the Neanderthals have been unearthed dating to the middle Paleolithic. In the early Neolithic period, the Starčevo, Vučedol and Hvar cultures were scattered around the region. The Iron Age left traces of the Hallstatt culture (early Illyrians) and the La Tène culture (Celts).

Much later the region was settled by Liburnians and Illyrians, and Greek colonies were established on the islands of Vis (by the Dionysius I of Syracuse) and Hvar. In 9 AD the territory of today's Croatia became part of the Roman Empire. The Emperor Diocletian built a massive palace in Split where he retired from politics in AD 305. During the 5th century the last Roman Emperor Julius Nepos ruled his small empire from Diocletian's Palace before he was killed in AD 480. The early history of Croatia ends with the Avar invasion in the first half of the 7th century and the destruction of almost all Roman towns. Surviving Romanised population escaped towards the mountains, islands, and coastal towns, where it could set up strategically better defending points. The most famous of such established towns will became the city of Dubrovnik today.