Solin developed on the location of ancient city of "Salona" which was the capital of the Roman province of Dalmatia and the birthplace of Emperor Diocletian. After the arrival of Avars and Croats in the 7th-century, the town was destroyed, and its refugees moved to settlement in and around Diocletian's palace, "Spalatum" (Split), turning it into a fortified town. In the Early Middle Ages Solin was part of the Croatian territory and played an important role in Medieval Croatian state, being one of the political centres.