The local tribes of Illyrians eventually took the island back from the Greeks but held it for less than a generation before the Romans took over in 219. They came to stamp out the pirates based here that were menacing Adriatic shipping. They created villas with mosaic floors that are still being excavated today. When the Western Roman empire collapsed, the eastern Roman (Byzantine) empire took over in 535 -- but local bishops kept Dalmatia Catholic, not Orthodox. Dubrovnik (Ragusa) dominated the islandByzantine rule never quite took, especially after the Slavs swept through the Neretva river valley (remember those lakes we saw earlier) and populated Dalmatia during the 7th century. They stayed while Byzantine kept conquering and losing the same territory. Finally Croatia became a vassal of Hungary (but administratively somewhat independent) in 1102.Then came Venice.
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