Dalmatia

Hastings' Dictionary of the New Testament

(Δαλμαγία)

Till about the middle of the 1st cent. this term denoted the southern part of the Roman province of Illyricum ( q.v. [Note: quod vide, which see.] ). Thereafter it began to be extended to the whole province. Both Pliny and Suetonius reflect this change. For a time the two terms were convertible. From the Flavian period onward Dalmatia was the word regularly used. St. Paul, who consistently gave geographical names their Roman sense, first employed the old provincial term ( Romans 15:19), but in his last Epistle ( 2 Timothy 4:10 occurs in what is generally regarded as a genuine Pauline fragment) he adopted the new designation. In his own missionary progress he went as far as the frontiers of Illyricum (μέχρι τοῦ Ἰλλυρικοῦ), but probably did not enter it. His lieutenant Titus took possession of Dalmatia for Christ.

James Strahan.

Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible

DALMATIA . A mountainous district on the E. coast of the Adriatic Sea. More exactly used, it is the southern half of the Roman province Illyricum (wh. see). The writer of the Second Epistle to Timothy makes Titus journey there (  2 Timothy 4:10 ).

A. Souter.

American Tract Society Bible Dictionary

A province of Europe on the east of the Adriatic sea, and forming part of Illyricum. It was contiguous to Macedonia, Upper Moesia, and Liburnia, from which latter it was divided by the river Titius. Hither Titus was sent by Paul to spread the knowledge of Christianity,  2 Timothy 4:10 .

Morrish Bible Dictionary

District in Illyricum, on the east of the Adriatic Sea, visited by Titus, and perhaps by Paul, in going 'round about unto Illyricum.'  Romans 15:19;  2 Timothy 4:10 .

Fausset's Bible Dictionary

A region E. of the Adriatic Sea, forming part of Illyricum. Paul sent Titus there ( 2 Timothy 4:10), and had himself preached in the neighborhood ( Romans 15:19).

People's Dictionary of the Bible

Dalmatia ( Dal-Mâ'Shĭ-Ah ). A mountainous district on the east of the Adriatic Sea; visited by Titus.  2 Timothy 4:10.

Easton's Bible Dictionary

 2 Timothy 4:10 Romans 15:19

The present Emperor of Austria bears, among his other titles, that of "King of Dalmatia."

Smith's Bible Dictionary

Dalma'tia. A mountainous district on the eastern coast of the Adriatic Sea. St. Paul sent Titus there.  2 Timothy 4:10.

Watson's Biblical & Theological Dictionary

a part of old Illyria, lying along the gulf of Venice. Titus preached here,  2 Timothy 4:10 .

Holman Bible Dictionary

 2 Timothy 4:10 Romans 15:19

Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological and Ecclesiastical Literature

( Δαλματία , deriv. unknown), a mountainous country on the eastern shore of the Adriatic Sea (Pliny, 3, 28; Strabo, 7:315), between the rivers Titius and Drinus, and the Bebian and Scordian hills, south of Laburnia (Pliny, 3, 26), which, together with it, formed, after the expedition of Tiberius, A.D. 9, the Roman province of Illyricum, for which, indeed, it was often spoken of synonymously (Conybeare and Howson's St. Paul, 2:126). Its principal towns were Salona, Epidaurus, Lissus, etc. (Ptolemy, 2:17, 4). It derived its name from the Dalmatae, a barbarous but valiant race, supposed to be of Thracian origin, and who were very skillful in navigating the sea along their coasts, and extremely bold in their piracies. The capital, Dalminium, was taken and destroyed by the Romans, B.C. 157; the country, however, was not completely subdued till the time of Augustus. The modern name of the country is the same as the ancient. Education and morality are here at a lower ebb than in any other part of the Austrian empire (see the Penny Cyclopoedia, s.v.; Smith's Dict. of Class. Geog. s.v., and the travelers there referred to). (See Illyricum).

During Paul's second imprisonment at Rome, Titus left him to visit Dalmatia ( 2 Timothy 4:10), but for what purpose is not stated, unless we may conjecture that it was to regulate the affairs of the Church in that region (Cellarii Notit. 1:614 sq.), in the vicinity of which Paul had formerly preached ( Romans 15:19). (See Titus).

At present Dalmatia is a crown-land of the Austrian emperor, the emperor bearing among his other titles that of king of Dalmatia. According to the last census of 1887, the population amounted to 476,101, mostly Slavi. Of these, 396,836 were Roman Catholics, under the archbishop of Zara and five bishops (Sebenico, Spalato, Lesina, Ragusa, and Cattaro); 138 United. Greeks (in three congregations, belonging to the diocese of Kreuz, in Croatia; 78,744 members of the orthodox (non-United) Greek Church, under one bishop, who formerly resided at Sebenico, and since 1842 at Zara; 43 Lutherans; 34 Reformed; and 283 Israelites. The Roman Catholics have 297 parishes, 122 chaplaincies, and 69 monasteries; the orthodox Greeks, 92 parishes, 9 chaplaincies, and 11 monasteries. — Allgemeine Real-Encyklop. 3, 73.

International Standard Bible Encyclopedia

dal - mā´shi - a ( Δαλματία , Dalmatı́a , "deceitful"): A district of the Roman empire lying on the eastern shore of the Adriatic. Writing from Rome to Timothy during his second imprisonment (in 66 or 67 ad, according to Ramsay's chronology), Paul records the departure of Titus to Dalmatia ( 2 Timothy 4:10 ). No mention is made of his special mission, and we cannot tell whether his object was to traverse regions hitherto unevangelized or to visit churches already formed. Nor can we determine with certainty the meaning of the word Dalmatia as here used. Originally it denoted the land of the barbarous Dalmatae or Delmatae, a warlike Illyrian tribe subjugated by the Romans after a long and stubborn resistance; it was then applied to the southern portion of the Roman province of Illyricum, lying between the river Titius (modern Kerka ) and the Macedonian frontier; later the name was extended to the entire province. On the whole it seems most probable that the apostle uses it in this last sense. See further under the word Illyricum .

The Nuttall Encyclopedia

A crownland of Austria, lying along the NE. coast of the Adriatic, and bounded on the land side by Croatia, Bosnia, and Herzegovina; half the land is pasture, only one-ninth of it arable, which yields cereals, wine, oil, honey, and fruit.

Kitto's Popular Cyclopedia of Biblial Literature

Dalma´tia, a province of Europe on the east of the Adriatic Sea, forming part of Illyricum, and contiguous to Macedonia. Titus was sent into this region by Paul to spread the knowledge of the Gospel.