Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1910-05-21
PRACTICALLY UNIQUE LAND
Architecture European, But the
People Oriental.
REPUBLIC
FOUR CENTURY r
First Inhabitants Greeks Who Came
From Syracuse, Attracted by the
Fishing, and Founded Colony.
BY WILLIAM f. CURTIS.

| SEBENICO, Dalmatia. April Is, 1910.
1t is very confusing, this mixture Of th'
remains of different periods of the his
tory Of men, different races and religions
The Greek the Roman, the Goth, thu
| Slav, the Hun, the Venetian, all hav'
| left enduring evidences of their occu
| patton of the Dalmatian coast. and no
| where, perhaps, can be found such va
riety in so small an area. The Venetian'
| were here the longest, and, therefore
| left the most pronounced impression upoI
| the architecture, in which they e1cellec
| all other peoples. and in the fortifica'
| lions, massive almost beyond description
! which they erected to defend their RICH
of occupation against the Genoese. the
Turks, the Saracens and others who came
here to fight and plumber.
The forms of government which pre-
vail In the towns along the Dalmatlan
coast are said to be the Oldest in prac-
| ice that can be found anywhere In the
world, and have been inherited. direct
and practically unbroken. from the Ro-
man empire. and it is commended that
this Is the only place in which the an
cient Roman law and practice In the
courts and methods of municipal govern
ment still prevail. But in what IS more
remarkable, even If it is not so easily
capable of proof. there is manuscript
in a Franciscan monastery in the noun
tains, a few miles back Of Sebenico,
which traces the descent of the southern
slavs. who claim to be the aristocracy
OF this region, direct to Japheth. the
son of Noah 1t was compiled from
records and traditions by Father Gaspar
Vingalic, a Franciscan brother, who was
famous for his learning and his genealog-
ical knowledge in particular.
In a neighboring Greek monastery Of
ST. Arcangelo. which is still older than
the Franciscan, and Is said to have been
founded in the fourth century, although
there is no proof, is copy of the Cos
been brought from Alexandria at the
time their institution was first estab-
lished here. 1t is bound between covers
of solid gold. Although the foundation
out a doubt, the monks. unfortunately.
lack the written evidence to sustain this
claim.
Greeks First to Settle Coast.
The first inhabitants of the Dalmatian
coast were Greeks, who came here from
Syracuse and founded colonies at in
tervals along the coast, chiefly, one is
led to believe, because of the fisheries,
for there was really nothing else to
induce any one to come into this country.
But here they were at least 600 years
.efore the Christian era, and here they
remained until they were driven out by
the Romans. Since then what Is now
called Dalmatia has been dominated by
Hungarians, Savs. Venetians, Normans
and Turks. 1t has submitted to the au-
thority Of Napoleon Bonaparte. The
people were once under the protection
holy Roman empire. The Saracens came
here from Africa and fought their way
up the coast in the ninth century, laying
waste several Of the towns. and besieged
Ragusa, the most attractive of all the
Dalmatian cities. After the failure of
to dislodge them. they were finally over
come and driven out by Macedonians
under the command of Lewis. the great
grandson of Charlemagne, after strug-
gle that lasted four years.
The .Ioge of Venice once assumed the
title OF Duke of Dalmatia. LauIsaus.
King of Naples, once signed himself King
of Dalmatia. In 1881. by sort of agree
ment among the great powers of that
period, Dalmatia was ceded to Hungary
and Hungarian kings are buried in an
old cathedral on this coast. Mona, a
town that is in ruins now. was the
capital of Croatia in the middle ages. and
the tiny church of st. Croce was for
years a cathedral in which the Croatian
kings received their authority as the
anointed of the Lord.
Introduction of Christianity.
The foundation of the bishopric of
Mona dates back to the second century.
when according TO tradition. St. An
selma, the first Bishop of this Roman
Catholic diocese, with his sister, St.
Marcella, came here from Alexandria
to introduce Christianity among the bar
barians. Their heads are preserved in
costly siiver-g!lt reliquaries of elaborate
workmanship in the treasury Of the
cathedral at St. Croce. which dates from
the ninth century, and is said to be the
smallest cathedral in the world, although
I doubt If it is SO small as St. kevin's in
Ireland.
For two or three hundred years Dali
malta was dominated by the Turks.
they were driven out by the Nenetians
and then occurred a struggle for the
possession of the country that lasted up
ward of three centuries between Venice
and Hungary, until the latter. being too
hard-pressed on her eastern borders by
the Turks, left Venice in possession of
the field
On the fall Of the Venetian republic In
1891 Dalmatia was coded to Austria
After the battle of Austerlitz. in 1908. il
was coded to France. In 1914 1t was re-
a province Of that empire. Under the wise
and liberal administration of the Aus
trian authorities Dalmatia has had peace
and prosperity and, although it is limited
in area and population. the Dalmations
have done their share to uphold the au-
thority and the glory of the emperor
The Dalmatians of ancient times were the
best soldiers in the legions of the Caesars
they were among the boldest and the
bravest Of the knights that went to the
crusades. In the middle ages they con-
trolled the navy Of Venice and furnished
the bodyguard of the doge, just as the
Albanians have always furnished the
bodyguard OF the Turkish emperor.
Republic Four Centuries Old.
But the most interesting fact in the his
tory of the Dalmatian coast is the main.
tenance of a republic in the little town
of Ragusa for more than 400 years. The
place was under the protection Of Venice
but it's government was absolutely indie
pendent. The chief executive was called
the rector. who was elected by the peo
pie every two years, and was assisted in
his administration by a council of mobiles
also elected by popular vote The rec
ords of this republica still exist. and al.
| though they are meager and chiefly refer
| only to routine matters, which have nc
several treaties with foreign nations by
| which the independent sovereignty OF
| the little COMMUNICATIVE never exceed
| ed 1900 people-Was recognized They
| also show that the slave trade was abol-
| ished and traffic in human beings was
| for hidden by the authorities of Ragusa
/ In the fifteenth century, and that educa
| tional institutions were maintained there
by taxation In the sixteenth century.
| do .uiSl,