Istria in the context of "Slovene Istria"

The Republic of Venice, officially the Most Serene Republic of Venice and traditionally known as La Serenissima, was a sovereign state and maritime republic with its capital in Venice. Founded, according to tradition, in 697 by Paolo Lucio Anafesto, over the course of its 1,100 years of history it established itself as one of the major European commercial and naval powers. Initially extended in the Dogado area (a territory currently comparable to the Metropolitan City of Venice), during its history it annexed a large part of Northeast Italy, Istria, Dalmatia, the coasts of present-day Montenegro and Albania as well as numerous islands in the Adriatic and eastern Ionian seas. At the height of its expansion, between the 13th and 16th centuries, it also governed Crete, Cyprus, the Peloponnese, a number of Greek islands, as well as several cities and ports in the eastern Mediterranean.

The islands of the Venetian Lagoon in the 7th century, after having experienced a period of substantial increase in population, were organized into Maritime Venice, a Byzantine duchy dependent on the Exarchate of Ravenna. With the fall of the Exarchate and the weakening of Byzantine power, the Duchy of Venice arose, led by a doge and established on the island of Rialto; it prospered from maritime trade with the Byzantine Empire and other eastern states. To safeguard the trade routes, between the 9th and 11th centuries the Duchy waged several wars, which ensured its complete dominion over the Adriatic. Owing to its participation in the Crusades, Venice increasingly penetrated into eastern markets and, between the 12th and 13th centuries, managed to extend its power into numerous eastern emporiums and commercial ports. The supremacy over the Mediterranean Sea led the Republic to the clash with Genoa, which lasted until the 14th century, when, after having risked complete collapse during the War of Chioggia (with the Genoese army and fleet in the lagoon for a long period), Venice quickly managed to recover from the territorial losses suffered with the Treaty of Turin of 1381 and begin expansion on the mainland.

The Stato da Màr or Domini da Mar (lit. 'State of the Sea' or 'Domains of the Sea'), sometimes described as a maritime empire or overseas empire, comprised the maritime and overseas territories controlled by the Republic of Venice from approximately 1000 until 1797. At various points, these territories included parts of present-day Italy, Slovenia, Croatia, Montenegro, Albania, and Greece—notably Istria, Dalmatia, the Ionian Islands, the Peloponnese, Crete, the Cyclades, Euboea, and Cyprus.

It was one of the three subdivisions of the Republic of Venice's possessions, the other two being the Dogado, i.e. Venice proper, and the Domini di Terraferma in northern Italy.

Venetian, also known as wider Venetian or Venetan (łengua vèneta [ˈɰeŋɡwa ˈvɛneta] or vèneto [ˈvɛneto]), is a Romance language spoken natively in the northeast of Italy, mostly in Veneto, where most of the five million inhabitants can understand it. It is sometimes spoken and often well understood outside Veneto: in Trentino, Friuli, the Julian March, Istria, and some towns of Slovenia, Dalmatia (Croatia) and the Bay of Kotor (Montenegro) by a surviving indigenous Venetian population, and in Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, Mexico, the United States and the United Kingdom by Venetians in the diaspora.

Although referred to as an "Italian dialect" (Venetian: diałeto; Italian: dialetto) even by some of its speakers, the label is primarily political, referring to geography and not linguistics. In the realm of linguistics, Venetian is often considered a separate language from Italian, with its own local varieties. Its precise place within the Romance language family remains somewhat controversial however. Both Ethnologue and Glottolog group it into the Gallo-Italic branch (and thus, closer to French and Emilian–Romagnol than to Italian). Devoto, Avolio and Ursini reject such classification, and Tagliavini [it] places it in the Italo-Dalmatian branch of Romance.

The Duchy of Croatia (Modern Croatian: Kneževina Hrvatska; also Duchy of the Croats, Modern Croatian: Kneževina Hrvata; Latin: Ducatus Chroatorum; Greek: Χρωβατία) was a medieval state that was established by White Croats who migrated into the area of the former Roman province of Dalmatia c. 7th century AD. Throughout its existence the Duchy had several seats – namely, Klis, Solin, Knin, Bijaći and Nin. It comprised the littoral – the coastal part of today's Croatia – except Istria, and included a large part of the mountainous hinterland as well.

The Croats settled in Dalmatia after defeating the Pannonian Avars, during the time of Byzantine emperor Heraclius I. The Duchy was in the center of competition between the Byzantine Empire and the Carolingian Empire for rule over the area. Croatian rivalry with Venice emerged in the first decades of the 9th century and would continue through the following centuries. Croatia also waged battles with the Bulgarian Empire (founded c. 681; Bulgar-Croatian relations improved greatly afterwards) and with the Arabs; it also sought to extend its control over important coastal city-states under the rule of Byzantium. Croatia experienced periods of vassalage to the Franks or to the Byzantines and of de facto independence until 879, when Duke Branimir was recognized as an independent ruler by Pope John VIII. The Duchy was ruled by the Trpimirović and Domagojević dynasties from 845 to 1091. Around 925, during the rule of Tomislav, Croatia became a kingdom.

The invasion of Yugoslavia, also known as the April War or Operation 25, was a German-led attack on the Kingdom of Yugoslavia by the Axis powers which began on 6 April 1941 during World War II. The order for the invasion was put forward in "Führer Directive No. 25", which Adolf Hitler issued on 27 March 1941, following a Yugoslav coup d'état that overthrew the pro-Axis government.

The invasion commenced with an overwhelming air attack on Belgrade and facilities of the Royal Yugoslav Air Force (VVKJ) by the Luftwaffe (German Air Force) and attacks by German land forces from southwestern Bulgaria. These attacks were followed by German thrusts from Romania, Hungary and the Ostmark (modern-day Austria, then part of Germany). Italian forces were limited to air and artillery attacks until 11 April, when the Italian Army attacked towards Ljubljana (in modern-day Slovenia) and through Istria and Lika and down the Dalmatian coast. On the same day, Hungarian forces entered Yugoslav Bačka and Baranya, but like the Italians they faced practically light resistance. Italians moved into Dalmatia also from Italian-controlled Albania, after repelling an initial Yugoslav attack there.

The Independent State of Croatia (Croatian: Nezavisna Država Hrvatska, NDH) was a World War II–era quasi-protectorate of Fascist Italy (1941–1943) and puppet state of Nazi Germany (1941–1945). It was established in parts of occupied Yugoslavia on 10 April 1941, after the invasion by the Axis powers. Its territory consisted mostly of modern-day Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina, as well as some parts of modern-day Serbia and Slovenia, but also excluded many Croat-populated areas in Dalmatia (until late 1943), Istria, and Međimurje regions (which today are part of Croatia).

During its entire existence, the NDH was governed as a one-party state by the fascist Ustaše organization. The Ustaše was led by its Poglavnik, Ante Pavelić. The regime targeted Serbs, Jews and Roma as part of a large-scale campaign of genocide, as well as anti-fascist or dissident Croats and Bosnian Muslims. According to Stanley G. Payne, "crimes in the NDH were proportionately surpassed only by Nazi Germany, the Khmer Rouge in Cambodia and several of the extremely genocidal African regimes." In the territory controlled by the NDH, between 1941 and 1945, there existed 22 concentration camps. The largest camp was Jasenovac. Two camps, Jastrebarsko and Sisak, held only children.

The Gulf of Trieste is a shallow bay in the extreme northern part of the Adriatic Sea. It is part of the Gulf of Venice and is shared by Italy, Slovenia and Croatia. It is closed to the south by the peninsula of Istria, the largest peninsula in the Adriatic Sea, shared between Croatia and Slovenia. The entire Slovenian sea is part of the Gulf of Trieste.

The Iapodes (or Iapydes, Japodes; Greek: Ἰάποδες and Ἰάπυδες; Serbo-Croatian: Japodi) were an ancient people who dwelt north of and inland from the Liburnians, off the Adriatic coast and eastwards of the Istrian peninsula. They occupied the interior of the country between the Colapis (Kupa) and Oeneus (Una) rivers, and the Velebit mountain range (Mons Baebius) which separated them from the coastal Liburnians. Their territory covered the central inlands of modern Croatia and Una River Valley in today's Bosnia and Herzegovina. Archaeological documentation confirms their presence in these countries at least from 9th century BC, and they persisted in their area longer than a millennium. The ancient written documentation on inland Iapodes is scarcer than on the adjacent coastal peoples (Liburni, Delmatae, etc.) that had more frequent maritime contacts with ancient Greeks and Romans.

The Iapodes had their maximal development and territorial expansion from the 8th to 4th centuries BC. They settled mostly in inland mountain valleys between Pannonia and the coastal Adriatic basin, but in disputation with southern Liburni they periodically reached also the northern Adriatic coast at Vinodol valley (classical Valdevinum).

Istrian Italians (Italian: istriani italiani; Slovene: Italijanski Istrani; Croatian: Talijanski Istrani) are an ethnic group from the Adriatic region of Istria in modern northwestern Croatia and southwestern Slovenia. Istrian Italians descend from the original Latinized population of Roman Histria, from the Venetian-speaking settlers who colonized the region during the time of the Republic of Venice, from the local Croatian people who culturally assimilated, and from colonization between the two world wars.

While nationalization processes were still underway, in 19th century Istria the west side of the peninsula had a majority of Italian language and Romance verniculars speakers, while Croatian language was spoken by the majority in the central and eastern regions and on the islands, and Slovene in the north. Italian language was the official language in the territories of the former Venetian Republic, which encouraged many Istrians to identify as Italians, in spite of their mother tongue and ethnic origins. Italian speaking population made up about a third of the population in 1900, and 36% in 1910. The Italian population growth was followed by a stark decline during the Istrian–Dalmatian exodus (1943–1960), with estimates of those who left ranging from 163,000, to 230,000 and 350,000. A significant Italian minority still lives in the Croatian County of Istria (5.01%) and in Slovenian Istria (3.3%), where they are granted minority rights. According to the official Slovenian and Croatian censuses conducted in 2001 and 2002 respectively, they number around 22,000.

Italian irredentism (Italian: irredentismo italiano [irredenˈtizmo itaˈljaːno]) was a political movement during the late 19th and early 20th centuries in the Kingdom of Italy. It originated to promote the annexation of majority Italian-speaking territories which were still retained by the Austrian Empire after three wars of independence (1848-1849, 1859 and 1866); specifically, Trento and Trieste were designated as the main "irredent lands". Both provinces were ultimately annexed as a result of World War I, considered in Italian discourse to be the "fourth war of independence": the conclusion of the conflict on November 4, 1918, is still commemorated in Italy as National Unity Day. Thereafter, Italian irredentism waned in importance; however, Italian nationalists and fascists would use irredentist arguments to justify the Italianization of other territories Italy annexed in World War I (such as South Tyrol and the Slavic parts of Istria) and claim many other lands beyond Trento and Trieste. Those latter policies and claims have been abandoned by the Italian Republic.

The counties of Croatia (Croatian: hrvatske županije) are the first-level administrative subdivisions of the Republic of Croatia. Since they were re-established in 1992, Croatia has been divided into 20 counties and the capital city of Zagreb, which has the authority and legal status of both a county and a city (separate from the surrounding Zagreb County). As of 2015, the counties are subdivided into 128 cities and 428 (mostly rural) municipalities. The divisions have changed over time since the medieval Croatian state. They reflected territorial losses and expansions; changes in the political status of Dalmatia, Dubrovnik and Istria; and political circumstances, including the personal union and subsequent development of relations between the Kingdom of Croatia-Slavonia and the Kingdom of Hungary.

The Kingdom of Croatia (Modern Croatian: Kraljevina Hrvatska, Hrvatsko Kraljevstvo; Latin: Regnum Croatiæ), and since 1060 known as Kingdom of Croatia and Dalmatia (Latin: Regnum Croatiae et Dalmatiae), was a medieval kingdom in Southern Europe comprising most of what is today Croatia (without western Istria, some Dalmatian coastal cities, and the part of Dalmatia south of the Neretva River), as well as most of the modern-day Bosnia and Herzegovina. The Croatian Kingdom was ruled for part of its existence by ethnic dynasties, and the Kingdom existed as a sovereign state for nearly two centuries. Its existence was characterized by various conflicts and periods of peace or alliance with the Bulgarians, Byzantines, Hungarians, and competition with Venice for control over the eastern Adriatic coast. The goal of promoting the Croatian language in the religious service was initially introduced by the 10th century bishop Gregory of Nin, which resulted in a conflict with the Pope, later to be put down by him. In the second half of the 11th century Croatia managed to secure most coastal cities of Dalmatia with the collapse of Byzantine control over them. During this time the kingdom reached its peak under the rule of kings Peter Krešimir IV (1058–1074) and Demetrius Zvonimir (1075–1089).

The state was ruled mostly by the Trpimirović dynasty until 1091. At that point the realm experienced a succession crisis and after a decade of conflicts for the throne and the aftermath of the Battle of Gvozd Mountain, the crown passed to the Árpád dynasty with the coronation of King Coloman of Hungary as "King of Croatia and Dalmatia" in Biograd in 1102, uniting the two kingdoms under one crown.

Although a member of the Triple Alliance, Italy did not join Germany and Austria-Hungary when the conflict started in 1914, on the ground that war was initiated by the two Central Powers while the Triple Alliance was a defensive bloc. Italians protested for the lack of consultation before Austria issued the ultimatum to Serbia and invoked a clause of the Triple Alliance, according to which both Italy and Austria-Hungary were interested in the Balkans and whoever changed the status quo in the region had to compensate the other; Austria-Hungary refused any compensation before the end of the war. In May 1915, after secret parallel negotiations with both sides, the Italians entered the war as one of the Allied Powers, hoping to acquire the Italian-speaking "irredent lands" of Trento and Trieste (in Italian discourse the conflict was described as the "fourth war of independence" against Austria) and other territories (German-speaking South Tyrol, the largely Slavic-speaking regions of Istria and Dalmatia where Italians lived in coastal cities, some colonial compensations) promised them by the allies in the 1915 treaty of London.

Italy opened a front against Austria-Hungary along the Eastern Alps and the Isonzo river. Fighting was marked by trench warfare and attrition. On the Julian sector, the Italian army launched numerous offensives and made several conquests (most significantly Gorizia in 1916 and Bainsizza in 1917), but both sides suffered heavy casualties. On the Asiago plateau, in 1916, an Austrian offensive was followed by an Italian counter-offensive. Italy was forced to retreat in 1917 by a German-Austrian offensive at the Battle of Caporetto, after the Russian collapse allowed the Central Powers to move reinforcements to the Italian Front from the Eastern Front.

Yugoslavs or Yugoslavians is an identity that was originally conceived to refer to a united South Slavic people. It has been used in two connotations: the first in a sense of common shared ethnic descent, i.e. panethnic or supraethnic connotation for ethnic South Slavs, and the second as a term for all citizens of former Yugoslavia regardless of ethnicity. Cultural and political advocates of Yugoslav identity have historically purported the identity to be applicable to all people of South Slav heritage, including those of modern Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Serbia, and Slovenia. Although Bulgarians are a South Slavic group as well, attempts at uniting Bulgaria with Yugoslavia were unsuccessful, and therefore Bulgarians were not included in the panethnic identification. Since the dissolution of Yugoslavia and establishment of South Slavic nation states, the term ethnic Yugoslavs has been used to refer to those who exclusively view themselves as Yugoslavs with no other ethnic self-identification, many of these being of mixed ancestry.

In the former Yugoslavia, the official designation for those who declared themselves simply as Yugoslav was with quotation marks, "Yugoslavs" (introduced in census 1971). The quotation marks were originally meant to distinguish Yugoslav ethnicity from Yugoslav citizenship, which was written without quotation marks. The majority of those who had once identified as ethnic "Yugoslavs" reverted to or adopted traditional ethnic and national identities, sometimes due to social pressure, intimidation, detrimental consequences, or prevention to continue identifying as Yugoslav by new political authorities. Some also decided to turn to sub-national regional identifications, especially in multi-ethnic historical regions like Istria, Vojvodina, or Bosnia (hence Bosnians). The Yugoslav designation, however, continues to be used by many, especially in the United States, Canada, and Australia by the descendants of Yugoslav migrants who emigrated while the country still existed.

Chakavian or Čakavian (/tʃæˈkɑːviən/, /tʃə-/, /-ˈkæv-/, Croatian: čakavski [tʃǎːkaʋskiː]; proper name: čakavica or čakavština [tʃakǎːʋʃtina]; endonym: čokovski, čakavski, čekavski) is a South Slavic supradialect or language spoken along the eastern Adriatic coast in the historical regions of Dalmatia, Istria, and the Croatian Littoral; and in parts of coastal and southern Central Croatia. It is also spoken by the Burgenland Croats as Burgenland Croatian in southeastern Austria, northwestern Hungary, and southwestern Slovakia, as well as in a few municipalities in southern Slovenia on the border with Croatia.

Due to the centuries-long rule of the Republic of Venice over Dalmatia and Istria, the vocabulary and prosody of Chakavian are heavily influenced by the Venetian language and to some extent by standard Italian, although its grammar is functionally Slavic and is similar to Croatian grammar.

The Istro-Romanian language (rumârește, vlășește) is an Eastern Romance language, spoken in a few villages and hamlets in the peninsula of Istria in Croatia, as well as in the diaspora of this people. It is sometimes abbreviated to IR.

While its speakers call themselves Rumeri, Rumeni, they are also known as Vlachs, Rumunski, Ćići and Ćiribiri. The last one, used by ethnic Croats, originated as a disparaging nickname for the language, rather than its speakers.