In the city of Split, on the eastern shore of Adraitic coast, Croatia

 The man who would become known as Gaius Aurelius Valerius Diocletianus Augustus was born in present-day Croatia in the year 244 CE. He first came to power as many emperors did, with an army under his command, and ultimately defeated other military rivals.

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(on the eastern shore of the Adriatic Sea) Croatia's second-largest city, Split, is a great place to see Dalmatian life as it is really lived. Always busy, this exuberant city has achieved a fine balance between tradition and modernity. Step inside Diocletian’s Palace (one of the world’s most impressive Roman monuments) and you will see lots of bars, restaurants, and shops thriving amid the old walls where Split has been humming along for thousands of years. Split's coastal mountains serve as a great backdrop to the turquoise waters of the Adriatic.

+ The largest city on the Croatian coast, Split is spread over a central peninsula, linked to the Adriatic islands and the Apennine Peninsula. The city was founded as the Greek colony of Aspálathos in the 3rd or 2nd century BCE on the coast of the Illyrian Dalmatae, and in 305 CE, it and was the site of the Palace of the Roman emperor Diocletian. It became a prominent settlement around 650 when it succeeded the capital of the Roman province of Dalmatia, Salona. After the sack of Salona by the Avars and Slavs, the Palace of Diocletian was settled by Roman refugees. Split then became a Byzantine city, but later drifted into the sphere of Venice and the Kingdom of Croatia. For much of the Middle Ages, Split enjoyed autonomy as a free city of the Dalmatian city-states, caught in the midst of a struggle between Venice and Croatia for control over Dalmatia. Venice prevailed, and during the early modern period, Split remained a Venetian city surrounded by Ottoman territory. Its hinterland was won from the Ottomans in 1699, and in 1797, as Venice fell to Napoleon, it was joined to the Habsburg monarchy. In 1805, it was added it to the Napoleonic Kingdom of Italy (and in 1806 it was included in the French Empire). After being occupied in 1813, it was granted to the Austrian Empire by the Congress of Vienna, where the city remained a part of the Austrian Kingdom of Dalmatia until the fall of Austria-Hungary in 1918 and the formation of Yugoslavia. In WWII, the city was annexed by Italy, then liberated by the Partisans after the Italian capitulation in 1943. It was then re-occupied by Germany, which granted it to its Independent State of Croatia. The city was liberated again by the Partisans in 1944, and was included in the post-war Yugoslavia, as part of its Republic of Croatia. In 1991, Croatia seceded from Yugoslavia amid the Croatian War of Independence.

+ The Old City is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and must-see historic attractions include Diocletian's Palace, the Cathedral of Saint Domnius, and the striking Grgur Ninski Statue. Take time to stroll along the Riva Harbor, browse through the Green Market, and sample the restaurants and wine cellars.