DALMATIA

(Dal·maʹtia).

An area in the mountainous region E of the Adriatic Sea in what is today Yugoslavia. After 9 C.E. it was considered the southernmost of two districts comprising the Roman province of Illyricum, though apparently Dalmatia was often used interchangeably with Illyricum as the name of the province. Paul’s companion Titus departed for Dalmatia sometime prior to the apostle’s execution, assumed to be about 65 C.E. (2 Tim. 4:6-10) In the same verse in which Demas is said to have “forsaken” Paul, Titus is mentioned as going there. However, while there are no definite statements as to the purpose of Titus’ mission to Dalmatia, it appears he left with Paul’s approval. Since Paul, when nearing the completion of his third missionary tour about nine years earlier, had said his circuit extended as far N as Illyricum (Rom. 15:19), some authorities reason that Titus was at this time being dispatched to that region to regulate its congregational affairs and engage in missionary activities. If so, he would be acting in a capacity similar to the one he exercised in Crete. (Titus 1:5) In his letter to Titus, Paul had asked him to leave Crete (Titus 3:12) and it seems likely that he was with the apostle until his assignment to Dalmatia.