The coastal region of Croatia was formerly known as "Dalmatia", the name of the place comes from an ancient Illyrian tribe called "Dalmatai", part of the province of Illyric Lyricum during the Roman Empire, and later with the gradual deepening of Rome's conquest of the interior, the coastal area was exclusively called "Dalmatia".
From the 8th century AD, the Yugoslavs arrived in the region, and with the exception of the southern Republic of Ragusa, most of Dalmatia was ruled by Venice from 1420 to 1797. Under the influence of the Venetians, the local Yugoslavs all became Catholics, which coincided with the Croats in Zagreb.
Later, the Turks drove out the Venetians and placed this coast in the same province as Croatia, and since then this coastal area has been with Croatia.
In World War I and World War II, Italy always wanted to occupy Dalmatia, but it never did. After World War II, Dalmatia was annexed to Yugoslavia as part of Croatia. After the dissolution of Yugoslavia in 1991, the coastal area of Dalmatia belonged to Croatia.
Note: The two main ethnic groups of the former Yugoslavia, Serbs and Croats, are close in language and culture, the only difference is the religious belief. Serbia, to the east, was influenced by Byzantium and believed in Orthodox Christianity; Croatia to the west is influenced by Western Europe and is Catholic.
