Diocletian Cult

The largest dispersion of Jews was in the 8th century before the common era, however most of the Jews in Split came during the 3rd-4th century Romaniote immigration, along with the Syrian and Iranian exiles. This formed a strong Jewish presence on the East Adriatic Coast. The East Adriatic Coast was a smart place to settle because of its location for economic trade, not to mention its mild climate and beautiful geography. Salona, Dalmatia, and Split are all prime examples of the settlement of Jews in the Adriatic. Between 295 and 305 AD Emperor Diocletian built the awe-inspiring and massive Diocletian Palace. The huge villa built for Emperor Diocletian was originally conceived as a textile workshop but the construction was modified to fit the entire Emperor’s apartment. The southeastern part of the palace contained a large Jewish presence, with all of the Menorahs concentrated in the imperial dining room. In addition, the spaces around the synagogue were used as the first Jewish quarter within Diocletian’s palace. The end of the 14th century has the synagogue mapped out in the same location as today’s archaeologists pinpointed. In Split the ghetto was open except for during a short period at the end of the 18th century: unlike in most European cities where Jews were
The community is very inclusive and annually holds a traditional chess tournament of national minorities. The Split synagogue currently has 100 members and wants a Jewish museum so that they can tell their large and beautiful store while they are still there, along with showing the Jewish culture to local and foreign visitors. This is especially important because they might not be around at the end of the century based on the gradual decline in membership due to the main demographic of the synagogue being too old to have