ON THE HISTORY OF BYZANTINE DALMATIA IN VIEW OF EARLY MEDIEVAL CHURCH ARCHITECTURE

The article presents examples of Byzantine church architecture, mostly in the towns of Dalmatia. After a short review of the Byzantine influence in the ecclesiastic architecture of the 6th century, the author shows its continuation during the early Middle Ages when the territory under Byzantine political authority was reduced to the coastal towns and northern Adriatic islands. Besides the famous rotunda of St. Donatus in Zadar, of the Byzantine influence in the medieval architecture speaks especially the cross in square church plan, which was accepted in several towns of Byzantine Dalmatia. The cross in square churches in Kotor and Dubrovnik were built in close connection with political and religious relationships with Byzantium, so the architecture can be seen in a broader historical frames.