Croatia History

History

The Pre-Croatian Period If we were to judge by the caves existing in the area, like the Bajan Cave , we can be certain of habitation as far back as the older Stone Age period and it is also assumed that The Cro-Magnon man lived here 13 thousand years ago. From the later Stone Age period, there is material proof of the existence of a pre-Illyrian culture and civilisation in the area. In the older Bronze Age, there is evidence of Illyrian tribes. Copper objects found in the area are proof of an intensive lifestyle. Some walled settlements on the higher points, so-called "gradine" (castle ruins), which were either circular or square in shape, date from this period. In the second century before Christ, the Daors allied themselves with the Romans and waged war with the Illyrian tribes of Dalmatia . The Illyrian province of Dalmatia had its administrational seat in Solin near Split , and from the third century in the setting of Narona just outside Metkovic

The Illyrians: Among the numerous Illyrian tribes, there are some who gained regional importance and formed kingdoms. The East Coast of the Adriatic Sea was dominated by the kingdoms of the Enkelejs (4th century - 335 BC), the Taulants (335 - 251 BC) and the Ardians (250 - 168 BC)

After that, there were the three Roman Illyrian wars between 229 and 167 BC. The Romans tried to conquer Illyrian lands, which are explained by Roman authors by the necessity of fighting Illyrian pirates tolerated by Queen Teuta.

In the religious life the adoration of the life-giving Great Mother was still widespread. Typical of Illyrian beliefs was also the cult of the Sun, which later developed smoothly into the adoration of the Greek sun god Apollo. Of great importance was also the cult of the snake; this animal, which was sacred in all matriarchal religions in Europe and therefore became demonized by Christianity, was considered to be the protector of fighters and of the dead. The Illyrians also worshipped the Earth and their ancestors. Besides "imported� Greek gods, two authentical Illyrian gods are of special relevance: Redon, the "lord of the sea� and the god of war, represented with the attribute of a snake.

The Beginnings of Croatian History

At the end of the 6th century, Croatians began to establish themselves in these regions. There are different opinions on where the Croats originate from. One story is that they come from Poland and that they were invited into the area to help defend the borders. A fact is that Croatians have a long reputation for being great warriors. During the Ottoman Empire most of Croatia was organised like an army and military law was enforced for all � men, women and children. When Croatia was part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire there were also special regiments of Croatians that earned great respect.

From the mediaeval period, the most famous memorials of the civilisation in this region are the "stecak" - truly indigenous grave memorials. Up to the 12th century, this area was Glagolitic (which is a fascinating story by it self).

The Period of Turkish Occupation

Christianity arrived to the area in the time of the Romans. Judging by the amount of early Christian church ruins it was widespread. In large part they were destroyed, and churches were levelled to the ground during the time of the migration in the 6th and 7th centuries after Christ. The Croatian settlers accepted Christianity very early.

Bosnia-Hercegovina fell under Turkish power in the year 1463. The Turkish invaders wished to occupy the whole of Croatia too, to reach Vienna and Rome , and likewise further west. On their way, the Croatians stopped them; for this reason, the Pope proclaimed them to be the "bulwark of Christianity" and Croatia still to this date has a special relationship with Rome . Croatia nevertheless had to pay a high price

The life of the Catholics under Turkish rule was constantly exposed to the forced passage into Islam, to oppression and to persecution. Under the Turkish feudal system, no Croatian could possess anything immovable. Catholics were permanently considered as enemies of the state, because their head was in enemy territory: Rome .  

The Austro-Hungarian Administration and the Creation of Early Yugoslavia

After liberation from Ottoman rule in 1878, the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy took power in Croatia .

Croatia was considered a part of Hungary for several periods and they never managed to establish a truly sovereign state and getting some amount of independence.

In 1929, the Kingdom of Yugoslavia was established, which was to crumble at the beginning of the Second World War.   The kingdom was mainly dominated by the Serbians.

After the war a new Yugoslavia was born out of the partisan movement that was led by Marshal Tito. Tito was a Croat and as long as he lived he managed to keep the South (Yugo) Slavs together in one state, but there was and is not much love between the different people and Yugoslavia was never popular with common people. It was an elite dream that could not survive the change of leadership and today we have a more natural division of the area where the people are able to identify with their common culture and background.