Croatian Cities Provide Backdrop for Game of Thrones Stories and Real History Lessons
For the past few years, Game of Thrones fans have traveled to Croatia to see various fortresses and other sites which were used as backdrops for the popular television series. Numerous scenes were filmed on castle walls, within dungeons, or around the many towers and rocky precipices of the Dalmatian coast. Croatian tourism has benefited greatly from the country's association with this series, but the public's fascination with the Game of Thrones has also focused new attention on the real stories and places like medieval Dubrovnik and Diocletian's palace in Split. Both locations remain must see places on any trip to the area.
Independent Dubrovnik Was Adriatic Power
Clinging to the Adriatic coast at the base of the towering Alps, the old city of Dubrovnik is protected by sturdy 50 foot high walls, which are so thick that hundreds of people can walk 2 miles around the perimeter ground parts. There are two main gates with entrances and moats which protect the land approaches to the city. Cannons look out over the water and a separate fort guards the northern approach. From a military perspective, Dubrovnik was an ideal defensive fortress. The city withstood many sieges over the centuries including one by the Saracens in the 1300s and bombardment by Serbian forces during the Balkan War in 1994.
The history of Dubrovnik is firmly grounded in using diplomacy and trade for protection. Located between competing empires over the years including the Byzantines, the Ottomans, the Venetians, and the Austria Hungarians, Dubrovnik used its fleet of merchant vessels and its location as a trade center to avoid conflict and preserve independent local rule. At times, it fell under the domination of its larger rivals, but Dubrovnik was generally ruled by a Great Council of noblemen from the 13th Century until 1808 as a republic. Eventually, natural forces like the Great Earthquake of 1667 and political rivalries between Europe's great powers left Dubrovnik as a vassal state excluded from modern commerce.
Well-Preserved Dubrovnik Attracts Daily Crowds
The avoidance of major battles and the slow pace of economic development in Croatia throughout the 20th Century left Dubrovnik broad thoroughfares, alleyways and medieval design intact and ready to be rediscovered in the 21st Century. It can be difficult to see past that when the streets are clogged by cruise ship visitors while hundreds of tourists ride a cable car to the top of the mountain to view the beautiful city below. Nevertheless, the producers of the Game of Thrones visualized vistas that conjured up the mystical kingdoms of their story. Dubrovnik stood in as the location of the Red Keep in many GOT scenes, and Cersei's walk of atonement ordered by the religious zealots known as the Sparrows was filmed on the Jesuit staircase of the town.
Diocletian's Legacy as Emperor
The city of Split emerged as a Croatian attraction largely because of its waterfront promenade and the legacy of the important Roman emperor Diocletian. Diocletian ruled in the early 4th Century and helped restore some stability to a faltering and divisive empire during his 20 year reign. A native of Solonia, a large Roman town of 30,000 people located near modern Split, he was what the Romans referred to as a "new man", who rose in stature despite not being of noble birth. After serving as a border defense officer along the Danube River, he became a cavalry commander within the imperial bodyguard of the Emperor Carus.
When Carus was killed by a bolt of lightning and his son also died suddenly, Diocletian was named emperor in 285 AD by the military which competed with a weakened Roman Senate for political influence at the time. Facing many crises and challenges, Diocletian surprisingly proved to be an effective leader and administrator. He reformed the bureaucracy, took efforts to stabilize the currency, and secured the porous borders of the empire against rebellions, barbarian incursions, and traditional Roman enemies such as the Persians.
Diocletian's most significant accomplishment was the design of a succession plan for running the Roman Empire called the tetrarchy or "rule of four". Diocletian recognized that the government needed a visible imperial presence to rule over an area that included most of modern Europe, North Africa, and the Middle East. He appointed himself as "Augustus" or senior emperor for the eastern half of the empire, and named his lieutenant Maximianus to rule the western half of the empire. He also appointed two new Caesars to serve as regional leaders and succession emperors below them. In 305 AD, Diocletian and his fellow regent abdicated the throne to their successors and he retired to his newly constructed palace in Split to tend to his gardens. Diocletian's system did not last for many years although it foreshadowed the later division of the empire between the western Roman empire and the eastern Byzantine empire. The last years of his reign were also marred by the establishment of a state religion to promote unity and the persecution of the growing Christian community.
Beautiful Palace Became Foundation for Modern Split
While Diocletian's major reform in government practices did not unify the Empire, his palace survived largely intact. It became the foundation and walls for Split's beautiful waterfront promenade. Originally built to serve not only as the emperor's palace, but also as his military and administrative headquarters, there were large walls on all four sides, guard posts and several gates. Within the walls were temples to the Gods, living quarters for the Emperor, his family and servants, a military compound, and entertainment venues.
As the empire came under increasing pressure from Goths, Franks and Huns, in succeeding centuries, Roman control over Dalmatia eroded and the provincial capital of Solonia was destroyed. Dalmatian's Palace became a sanctuary for nobility and peasants seeking a safe haven. This ultimately preserved the palace since the basements were turned into stables and storage areas, temple walls supported workshops, and the mausoleum of Diocletian became part of a cathedral built to honor the Christian martyrs he had once condemned to death.
Today, the restaurants and shops of the expanded old town of Split are interspersed with Diocletian's palace. You can walk through the now underground chambers of the palace which supported this massive structure, see the reception area and grand dome where Diocletian greeted visitors, or stroll the marble portions where the emperor lived and which once looked out directly onto the bay. If a different kind of fantasy is your preference, a visitor can enter the dungeons where Daenerys chained up her dragons and burned one of the rebellious noblemen of Mereen to set an example for the others. Just north of Split, Fort Klis is a popular stop for GOT tours since it served as location for Meereen.
There is a certain irony in the fact that Split was once the actual center of the greatest empire of ancient times since Emperor Diocletian ruled over kingdom and people throughout most of the known world from his palace. Today, Split, Dubrovnik and other Croatian locations nearby are used to represent the power of the kings and queens who sat on the Iron Throne in Westeros and ruled over the seven kingdoms of that fantasy empire.