Salona

Salona was the capital of the Roman province of Dalmatia, located on the eastern coast of the Adriatic Sea, near present-day Solin near Split. Originally founded by the Illyrians, it later became an important trading port in contact with the Greeks. After the Romans conquered the area in the 2nd century BC, Salona was granted the status of a Roman colony under the name Colonia Martia Iulia Salona in 48 BC and soon became the administrative, economic and military centre of the region. The city was known for its urban development, strong construction activity and numerous monumental buildings such as walls, forums, amphitheatres, baths, basilicas and aqueducts. The emperor Diocletian was born in Salona, ​​and the proximity of the city was one of the reasons for the construction of his palace in Split. In later centuries, Salona also became an important ecclesiastical centre, and after its destruction by the Avars and Slavs in the 7th century, the surviving population moved to Diocletian's Palace, which began the development of present-day Split