Položaj i značaj otoka Mljeta u razdoblju rimske uprave / The position and importance of the island of Mljet in the Roman period

Mljet (Latin: Melita) is eighth island in Croatia by size, one of the largest south Dalmatian islands and Dubrovnik archipelago’s largest island. Due to its beauty and living standard, the island of Mljet has a rich but insufficiently explored history. The remains of a Roman palace in Polače, according to which the place got its Slavicized name, bear witness of a strong Roman influence and the period of progress of the island of Mljet. The palace in Polače is certainly the most important Roman-period monument on the island. It was built as a villa rustica. Together with Diocletian’s Palace in Split, it represents the largest Roman monument on the entire territory of Dalmatia. The port in Polače is quite hidden and as such offered protection to ships and served as dilivery port for agricultural produce from the entire Roman empire. In the Roman period, this palace served as a headquarters of island’s governor, military, administration and clergy. All previous research suggest that this settlement  was inhabited from 1st to 11th century with all the features of an ancient and early  medieval town. Using previously analyzed sources and available literature, the paper tries to point out the importance and position of the island during the Roman  period. Particular attention was paid to the analysis of two legal acts - the charter of the German army chief and the barbarian king of Italy Odoacer, from the second  half of the 5th century and the fragment of the testament of an unknown testator  from the mid VI century, within which, in the period of a century, is mentioned the  same amount of yield (earnings) from the island of Mljet.