The Dalmatian city states, having gradually lost all protection by Constantinople and being unable to unite in a defensive league hindered by internal dissension, had had to turn to either Venice or Hungary for support.

Each of the two political factions had had support within the Dalmatian city states, based mostly on economic reasons.

The Venetians, to whom the Dalmatians are already bound by language and culture, could afford to concede liberal terms as their main goal is to prevent the development of any dangerous political or commercial competitor on the eastern Adriatic.

The seafaring community in Dalmatia looks to Venice as mistress of the Adriatic.

In return for protection, the cities have often furnished a contingent to the army or navy of their suzerain, and sometimes paid tribute either in money or in kind.

Arbe (Rab), for example, annually paid ten pounds of silk or five pounds of gold to Venice.

Hungary, on the other hand, had defeated the last Croat king in 1097 and forced Croatian noblemen into a personal union with the treaty of 1102.

King Coloman in 1102–1105 had proceeded to conquer Dalmatia, and in 1108 control passes to Hungary.

The farmers and the merchants who trade in the interior favor Hungary as their most powerful neighbor on land that affirms their municipal privileges.

Subject to the royal assent they might elect their own chief magistrate, bishop and judges.

Their Roman law remains valid.

They are even permitted to conclude separate alliances.

No alien, not even a Hungarian, can reside in a city where he is unwelcome; and the man who dislikes Hungarian dominion can emigrate with all his household and property.

In lieu of tribute, the revenue from customs is in some cases shared equally by the king, chief magistrate, bishop and municipality. (As the age progresses, these rights and the analogous privileges granted by Venice will, however, too frequently be infringed. Hungarian garrisons will be quartered on unwilling towns, while Venice will interfere with trade, the appointment of bishops, or the tenure of communal domains. Consequently, the Dalmatians are to remain loyal only while it suits their interests, and insurrections will occur frequently.)

Venice, with aid from the Norman kingdom of Sicily in 1172, seizes Ragusa and …

The joining of the Croatian and Hungarian crowns had automatically made Hungary and Venice rivals for domination of Dalmatia.

Hungary seeks access to the sea, while Venice wishes to secure its trade routes to the eastern Mediterranean and to use Dalmatian timber for shipbuilding.

Between 1115 and 1420, the two powers will wage twenty-one wars for control of the region, and Dalmatian cities will change hands repeatedly.

Serbia and Bosnia also compete for Dalmatia.

Serbia seizes the coast south of the Gulf of Kotor on the southern Adriatic around 1196 and holds it for one hundred and fifty years; Bosnia dominates central Dalmatia during the late fourteenth century.

Dalmatian cities struggle to remain autonomous by playing off one power against the others.

Most successful in this strategy is Ragusa (today Dubrovnik), whose riches and influence at times rival those of Venice.

In the fourteenth century, Ragusa becomes the first Christian power to establish treaty relations with the Ottoman Empire, which is at this time advancing across the Balkans.

Ragusa will prosper by mediating between Europe and the new Ottoman provinces in Europe and by exporting precious metals, raw materials, agricultural goods, and slaves.

After centuries as the only free South Slav political entity, the city will wane in power following a severe earthquake in 1667.

…Dubrovnik/Ragusa—continue to regain their self-governing status, whether possessed by Hungary or its regional rival, Venice.

…the Republic of Dubrovnik (Ragusa), formerly under Serbian control, which in 1358 accepts Hungarian sovereignty.

… Dubrovnik, or Ragusa, whose riches and influence at times rival those of Venice.

The Rebublic of Ragusa in the fourteenth centur becomes the first Christian power to establish treaty relations with the Ottoman Empire, which is now advancing across the Balkans.

Dubrovnik prospers by mediating between Europe and the new Ottoman provinces in Europe, and by exporting precious metals, raw materials, agricultural goods, and slaves.

The city-state republic of Ragusa acquires the area between Ragusa and ...

…the Republic of Ragusa.

This move by the Venetians had been made in response to the threatening expansion of the late Gian Galeazzo Visconti, Duke of Milan.

Control over the northeast main land routes is also a necessity for the safety of Venetian trade.

The Republic of Ragusa had signed a treaty with the Ottoman Empire in 1458 that made it a tributary of the sultan.

Moreover, it was obliged to send an ambassador to Constantinople by November 1 of each year in order to deliver the tribute.

When the city-state passes into Ottoman protection in 1481, it pays an increased tribute of twelve thousand five hundred ducats.

For all other purposes, however, Ragusa is virtually independent.

It can enter into relations with foreign powers and make treaties with them (so long as they are not in conflict with the Porte's interests), and its ships sail under its own flag.

Ottoman vassalage also confers special rights in trade that extend within the Empire.

Ragusa handles the Adriatic trade on behalf of the Ottomans, and its merchants receive special tax exemptions and trading benefits from the Porte.

It also operates colonies that enjoy extraterritorial rights in major Ottoman cities.

Merchants from Ragusa can enter the Black Sea, which is otherwise closed to non-Ottoman shipping.

They pay less in customs duties than other foreign merchants, and the city-state enjoys diplomatic support from the Ottoman administration in trade disputes with the Venetians.

For their part, Ottomans regard Ragusa as a port of major importance, since most of the traffic between Florence and Bursa (an Ottoman port in northwestern Anatolia) is carried out via Ragusa.

Florentine cargoes leave the Italian ports of Pesaro, Fano or Ancona to reach Ragusa.

From this point on they take the land route Bosnasaray (Sarajevo)–Novibazar–Skopje–Plovdiv–Edirne.

Along with England, Spain and Genoa, Ragusa is one of the Venice's most damaging competitors in the fifteenth century on all seas, even in the Adriatic.

Thanks to its proximity to the plentiful oak forests of Gargano, it is able to bid cargoes away from the Venetians.

The spice trade no longer goes through the Mediterranean Sea after the great Portuguese explorations that open up new ocean routes.

Moreover, the discovery of America has started a crisis of Mediterranean shipping.

This is the beginning of the decline of both the Venetian and Ragusan Republics.

Charles VIII of France had granted trading rights to the Ragusans in 1497.

These rights are also granted by Louis XII in 1502.