Illyrian Provinces

Illyrian Provinces

Former territory, Dalmatian coast of Europe. When the French victory in 1809 compelled Austria to cede part of its southern Slav lands to France, Napoleon combined Carniola, West Carinthia, Görz, Istria, and parts of Croatia, Dalmatia, and Ragusa to form the Illyrian Provinces, which he incorporated into his empire. The end of the French administration in 1814 returned them to the Austrian Empire.

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Illyrian Provinces 

(Provinces Illyriennes), a state federation (1809–14) in vassalage to France; composed of Slovene and Croatian lands ceded to France according to the terms of the Treaties of Pressburg (1805) and Schonbrunn (1809).

The Illyrian Provinces included Western Koruska (Ca-rinthia), Krajina, Civilian Croatia, Venetian Istria, most of Dalmatia, Dubrovnik, and Military Croatia (the Military Frontier). The city of Ljubljana was the administrative center. The name of the Illyrian Provinces was derived from the Illyrians—tribes that had settled the territory in ancient times. In 1813, after Napoleon’s defeat in his war of 1812 against Russia, Austria occupied the provinces. By a resolution of the Congress of Vienna (1814–15) they were annexed to Austria.