HistoryThe name Ragusa is of uncertain origin. Constantine Porphyrogenitus, in the I oth century, connects its early form, Lausa, with Xciii, a precipice. Jire~ek dissents from this view, and from the common opinion that Dubrovnik is derived from the Slavonic dubrava, woody. The city first became prominent during the 7th century. In 639 and 656 the flourishing Latin communities of Salona and Epidaurum were destroyed by the Avars, and the island rock of Ragusa was colonized by the survivors. Tradition identifies Epidaurum, whence the majority came, with the neighboring village of Ragusavecchia; but some historians, including Gelcich, place it on the shores of the Bocche di Cattaro. Both sites show signs of Roman occupation. A colony of Slays soon joined the Latin settlers at Ragusa, and thus, from an early date, the city formed a link between two great civilizations (see VLACHS). In the 9th century it is said to have repulsed the Saracens; in the joth it defended itself against the Narentine pirates, and Simeon, tsar of the Bulgarians. Some writers consider that it submitted to Venice in 998, with the rest of Dalmatia; but this is generally denied by the native historians. During the 11th century an enforced alliance with the Normans drew the republic into war with Venice and Byzantium; and in the 12th century it was attacked by the Bosnians and Serbs. From 1205 to 1358 it acknowledged Venetian suzerainty; its chief magistrate was the Venetian count; and its archbishops, who wielded much political influence, were often Venetian nominees. The constitution took shape during this period, and the first statute-book was published in 1272. Only patricians could hold office in the senate, grand council and lesser council, three bodies which shared the work of government with the count, or, after 1358, the rector. The ancient popular assembly was almost obsolete before the i4th century. Ragusan policy was usually peaceful, and disputes with other nations were frequently arranged by a system of arbitration called stanicum. To refugees of all nations, even to those who had been its own bitter foes, the city afforded asylum; and by means of treaty and tribute it worked its way to a position of mercantile power which Europe could hardly parallel. It was conveniently situated at the seaward end of a great trade route, which bifurcated at Plevije to Byzantium and the Danube. A compact with the Turks, made in 1370 and renewed in the next century, saved Ragusa from the fate of its more powerful neighbors, Servia and Byzantium, besides enabling the Ragusan caravans to penetrate into Hungary, Croatia, Bosnia, Servia, Bulgaria and Rumania. From 1358 to 1526 the republic was a vassal state of Hungary, and no longer controlled by its greatest commercial rival. It acquired, among other territories, the important ship-building and saltproducing centre Stagno Grande (Ston Veliki), on the promontory of Sabbioncello; and from 1413 to 1416 it held the islands of Curzola, Brazza and Lesina by lease from Hungary. Meanwhile, Ragusan vessels were known not only in Italy, Sicily, Spain, Greece, the Levant and Egypt, but in the more northern parts of Europe. The English language retains in the word argosy a reminiscence of the carracks of Ragusa, long known to Englishmen as Argouse, Argusa or Aragosa. In the 16th century the Ragusan merchants went even to India and America, but they were unable to compete with their rivals from western Europe. Many of their seamen took service with Spain; and twelve of their finest ships were lost with the Invincible Armada in 1588. After 5526 the downfall of Hungary left Ragusa free; and about this time a great development of art and literature, begun in the i5th century and continued into the 17th, earned for the city its title of the South Slavonic Athens. (See SERVIA, Literature.) The earthquake of 1667, which had been preceded by lesser shocks in 1520, 1521, 5536 and 1639, destroyed a considerable portion of the city, and killed about one-fifth of the inhabitants. Only during the Napoleonic wars did the republic regain its prosperity. From 18oo to 5805 it was the sole Mediterranean state remaining neutral, and thus it secured a very large share of the carrying trade. In 1805, however, it was seized by the French; Napoleon deprived it of independence; and in 1814 it was annexed to Austria.
