Delmatae

The Delmatae were an Illyrian tribe inhabiting the Dalmatian region along the eastern Adriatic coast, in what is now parts of modern-day Croatia. The name Delmatae appears in Latin sources and is used to designate the Dalmatian tribes rather than a single centralized polity. Their territory extended from the Neretva and Cetina river valleys to the coastal hinterlands, and they interacted with neighboring Illyrian groups as well as with Rome.

Historically, the Delmatae are noted in the context of Rome’s Illyrian campaigns. They were among the Illyrian communities that resisted early Roman expansion during the Illyrian Wars in the late 3rd and 2nd centuries BCE, and they faced Roman military actions as Rome sought to subdue Illyrian power along the Adriatic coast. Over time, after Roman victory, the Delmatae and other Dalmatian groups were incorporated into Roman administration and culture.

During the Great Illyrian Revolt of 6–9 CE, elements of Dalmatia rose in rebellion alongside other Illyrian tribes such as the Daesitiates and Breuci. The revolt was eventually crushed by Roman forces, and the Dalmatian region was reorganized within the Roman provincial system. Following these events, the Delmatae and their lands were progressively Romanized and integrated into provincial governance, trade networks, and settlement patterns that connected Dalmatia with the broader Roman Empire.

In later periods, Dalmatia remained a distinct Roman frontier region and later a core part of the Byzantine and medieval Dalmatian territories, with its Illyrian heritage reflected in archaeology and historic toponyms.

See also: Illyrian tribes, Dalmatia, Great Illyrian Revolt.