page_title: History of Istria
section_title: Roman and Byzantine periods
hierarchical_section_title: History of Istria / Roman and Byzantine periods
caption_attribution_description: English: Map of the Kingdom of Croatia during the reign of king Peter Cresimir IV taken from the book: (Author Pečjak Rudolf, 1938): Zgodovina za drugi razred meščanskih šol (History for schools, second class) , published in Ljubljana, Yugoslavia, by Jugoslovanska tiskarna (map VI.) Hrvatski: Karta Hrvatskog Kraljevstva za vrijeme vladavine kralja Petra Krešimira IV. uzeta iz knjige autora Rudolfa Pečjaka (1938): Zgodovina za drugi razred meščanskih šol (Povijest za drugi razred građanskih škola), izdano u Ljubljani, Jugoslavija, od strane Jugoslovanske tiskarne, karta VI.
context_page_description: 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.
context_section_description: After a series of conflicts, the Romans conquered the Histri and took power of the Istria peninsula in 178 and 177 BC. Romans established the port of Pietas Iulia (modern Pula) 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 (principally its Forum and Amphitheater), most of Istria's major settlements were established in this period. Under Emperor Augustus, Istria was incorporated as a discrete region within the Roman province of Italia, making it an integral part of the Empire, which remained until the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476.
  Christianity appeared in Istria in late 3rd century AD, and the first churches were built in the 4th century. The period between 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 conquered by the Ostrogoths in 489 AD. In 538/539, it was incorporated into the Byzantine Empire – which had endured as part of the Exarchate of Ravenna – and annexed to the Lombard Kingdom in 599. In the Avarian-Slavic invasions and inhabitation of the Slavs, in the beginning of 7th century, the inland towns were destroyed and abandoned, while the coastal area resisted these attacks. This period was highly contentious, because the attacks by the Lombards from the West, Slovene tribes from the north, and Croat tribes from the east and south resulted in a state of near constant conflict.
caption: Eastern part of Istria included in the Kingdom of Croatia (925–1102) during the reign of king Petar Krešimir IV
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