History of Istria
Istria 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.Since the 11th century BC, Istria was inhabited by the Histri, a prehistoric Illyrian tribe after whom Istria was named. Their arrival marks the beginning of the Iron Age in Istria. Another Illyrian tribe that inhabited the area were the Liburnians. The westernmost extents of their land, Liburnia, covered the area east of the Raša River.
Roman Istria
After a series of conflicts, the Romans conquered the Histri and took control of the Istria peninsula in 178 and 177 BC. Romans established the port of Pietas Iulia and gradually converting the inland areas into 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, 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. It remained under Roman rule until the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476.Christianity appeared in Istria in the late 3rd century AD, and the first churches were built in the 4th century. 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.
Following the fall of the Western Roman Empire, the region was ruled by Odoacer, and later conquered by the Ostrogoths in 489 AD.
Byzantine Istria
In 538/539, Istria was incorporated into the Byzantine Empire, and consequently placed under administrative and military jurisdiction of the Exarchate of Ravenna. Local administration in Istria was headed by provincial magister militum. After the Lombard invasion of Italy, Istria was exposed to several Lombard attacks during the next two centuries, but remained under Byzantine rule. During that period, it enjoyed substantial provincial self-governance, because of its peripheral position. After the fall of the Exarchate in 751, Istria remained under Byzantine rule until 788, when it was conquered by the Frankish kingdom.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. 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 the Avars and Slavs invaded Italy after passing through Istrian territory. The locals probably retired in the walled cities, leaving the main routes unguarded.Around 600 to 602, the Avars and the Slavs, perhaps instigated by the Lombards, penetrated into Istria, devastating it all with fire and rapine. In 611, the Avars and Slavs pillaged Friuli before attacking Istria again. On this occasion, they inflicted what might have been the worst defeat for the locals. Some ancient historians and reporters, such as Gregorius Anicius, later Pope Gregory the Great, unaware of the importance of the Avars in the Balkans, used the terms Slavs, or Sclavenes, in connection to Istria and the other Balkanic zones, to refer to the Avars and/or the Avaro-Slavic hordes. Gisulf, Duke of Friuli, who died during an Avar invasion of Istria, is thought to have conducted raids against the Avars and the Slavs in Istria, perhaps after making a deal with the Byzantines. In 619, the Avar khagan allegedly made a deal with Emperor Heraclius for the settlement of Slavs in northern Istria. 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.
Fianona 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. Among the other cities destroyed by the Avars and Slavs is Gallignana, which ceased to be a castrum, 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 near Žminj suffered the same fate by the same hands. Several other settlements disappeared with these incursions, possibly including the still unidentified Mutila, Faveria and Cissa, mentioned by Pliny, which utterly disappeared from history.
Traces of early Slavic settlement in Istria, and of the Slavic raids, are scarce. Some Avar findings were discovered in Istria, such as two Avar three-winged arrows, found in Nesactium, a belt harness found in Novigrad, and a belt plaque found near Nesactium. 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. 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, as this is the only place where Avar burials have been found.
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. According to Gianni Oliva, following the Barbarian invasions of the 6th century, in Istria there was a mixing of people, after which two distinct ethnic divisions emerged: the Italians, who derived from the preexisting Romans, and the Slavs, who derived from the intermixing of Croats and Avars. Some historians have argued that Istria was actually colonized by Carnolian Slavs, with August Dimitz reporting that this was the belief during his day. 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 the 7th century.
Frankish Istria
Istria was annexed to the Frankish kingdom by Pepin of Italy in 788–790, thus ending the Byzantine rule in the region. In 804, an assembly of Frankish authorities and local representatives was held, known as the Placitum of Riziano, resolving various issues regarding the administration in the region. During that period, the wast Carolingian Duchy of Friuli was encompassing various eastern regions, but in 828 it was divided into four counties, one of them being the County of Istria, remaining under the jurisdiction of Italian realm. In time, the seeds of Istria's dissolution were sown under increasingly weak Frankish rule, which enabled most settlements to achieve de facto autonomy.Venetian Istria
Under Pietro II Candiano, who was Doge of Venice between 932 and 939, coastal cities of Istria signed a first act of devotion to the Venetian rule, thus initiating the process of gradual integration of Istrian coastal regions into the Venetan Stato da Màr. That process was long and challenging, since it was opposed by royal authorities, particularly after the restoration of the Holy Roman Empire in 962, and consequent placement of the Istrian county under jurisdiction of the newly created Duchy of Carinthia. Thus, two distinctive political influences were present in Istria: Venetian in coastal regions, and imperial in Istrian hinterland.On Ascension Day in 1000 a powerful fleet sailed from Venice to resolve the problem of the Narentine pirates. The fleet visited all the main Istrian and Dalmatian cities, whose citizens, exhausted by the wars between the Croatian king Svetislav and his brother Cresimir, swore an oath of fidelity to 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. 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. Venice gradually dominated the whole coastal area of western Istria and the area to Plomin on the eastern part of the peninsula. 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 Patriarchal State of Aquileia, and partially same under Habsburg possession in 1374.
On 15 February 1267, Parenzo was formally incorporated with the Venetian state. Other coastal towns followed shortly thereafter. Bajamonte Tiepolo was sent away from Venice in 1310, to start a new life in Istria after his downfall. A description of the 16th-century Istria with a precise map was prepared by the Italian geographer Pietro Coppo. A copy of the map inscribed in stone can now be seen in the Pietro Coppo Park in the center of the town of Izola in southwestern Slovenia.
During the history of the coexistence of Slavic and Roman communities in Istria, the Slavs mostly lived in the interior, while the coast was Roman.