Montenegrin Littoral

The Coastline of Montenegro, also called the Montenegrin Littoral (Montenegrin and Serbian Cyrillic: Црногорско приморје), historically the Littoral or the Maritime, is the littoral region in Montenegro which borders the Adriatic Sea. Prior to the Creation of Yugoslavia, the Montenegrin Littoral was not part of the Kingdom of Montenegro, but rather a bordering region of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, latterly part of the State of Slovenes, Croats and Serbs.

Geography

The region was part of Serbia in the Middle Ages. With the fall of the Serbian Empire, most of it was subsequently part of the Serbian Despotate. Zeta, in the hands of the Crnojevići lost its status of independent state, though vassal of Ottoman Empire, when it was added to territory of Sanjak of Scutari in 1499.^[1] In 1514 this territory was separated from the Sanjak of Scutari and established as separate Sanjak of Montenegro, under the rule of Skenderbeg Crnojević. When he died in 1528, the Sanjak of Montenegro was joined to the Sanjak of Scutari, as a unique administrative unit with certain degree of autonomy.^[1] The Republic of Venice had greatly expanded under the years (see Venetian Albania).

1862 map,
Montenegrin Littoral (yellow);
Principality of Montenegro (red).

The westernmost parts of it was conquered by Napoleonic France in 1810. It was organized into the Cattaro subdélégation of the Illyrian Provinces (1811). In 1815 the same parts were taken by the Habsburg Monarchy, and organized into Kingdom of Dalmatia.