Delminium

Delminium /dælmɪinəm/ was an Illyrian city and the capital of the Dalmatae which was located in today's Tomislavgrad, Bosnia and Herzegovina, in between known as Duvno, under which name it also was the seat of a Latin bishopric (also known as Delminium).

Etymology

The toponym Delminium has the same origin with the name of the tribe of the Dalmatae, which is connected with the Illyrian word delmë, dele in modern Albanian, which means sheep in English.

History

Illyrian rule

The area has been inhabited by the Illyrian tribe of Dalmatae and Delminium was a town established by them in present-day Tomislavgrad. Daelminium was situated on the site of today's Roman Catholic basilica, named after the first Croatian saint, Nikola Tavelić.

The area of Tomislavgrad was populated even before Illyrians arrived, as attested by a few remains of polished stone axes dating from the Neolithic (4000 BC – 2400 BC). Similarly few remains date from the ensuing Bronze Age (1800 BC – 800 BC): 34 bronze sickles, 3 axes and 2 spears found in Stipanjići and Lug near Tomislavgrad, and a bronze axe found in Letka, were kept at the archaeological collection at the monastery in Široki Brijeg, which was destroyed in a fire at the end of World War II. Only one sickle and one axe survived the blaze. Those findings attest that the population of the area at the time were cattlemen, farmers and warriors.