Solin (Latin and Italian: Salona) is a town in Dalmatia, Croatia. It is situated 8 km northeast of Split, on the Adriatic Sea and the Jadro River.
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Salona, the capital of the Roman Province of Dalmatia, is situated at the foot of Kozjak Mountain, along the delta of the River Salon (today the Jadro). A favourable gegraphical position in the central part of the East Adriatic coast and good connections with the hinterland through the Pass of Klis both contributed towards fast development and increasing prosperity of the city in the antiquity.
Salona had originally been a coastal base, fortification and a port used by the Illyrian tribe of Delmati who, according to the most recent archaeological finds, had their fortification – oppidum – on the slopes of Kozjak Mountain. It was in the immediate vicinity of the Greek cities of Tragurion and Epetion, founded in the 3rd century B.C.
The first historical record of Salona goes back to 119 B.C. when , in the course of Roman-Illyrian wars, the city was conquered by the Roman proconsul Lucius Caecilius Metellus. Apart from the native Illyrians and Greek colonists, Salona was at the time populated by a considerable number of Italics.
During the Civil War in 48 B.C. Salona supported Caesar against Pompey, which resulted in the city being raised by the victorious Caesar to the status of a Roman colony, its full name being COLONIA MARTIA IVLIA SALONA. The city was soon to become the centre of Illyricus, and subsequently the Province of Dalmatia. After the last Illyrian uprising led by Bato (6-9) had been suppressed, a period of peace and prosperity set in, contributing to the city's rapid construction and urban development.
The original urban nucleus, trapezoidal in shape, was encircled by walls and fortified towers. The main city centre, the forum with the Capitolium, was located in the south-east part. From the 1st century B.C. the city began to expand outside the walls, eastwards and westwards. These suburbs were in 170 encompassed by the newly constructed city walls, extending from the amphitheatre in the west to the River Jadro in the east.