Dalmatian Nation...

I've always been enamored with Dals  & have wondered about the etymology of the name "Dalmatian" (& Pomeranians as well...another day though)...& so....let's visit the Balkans. When one investigates the word "Dalmatian"...one is immediately sent to "Dalmatae" which has it's roots in Illyrian (a group of Indo-Euro tribes who spoke Indo-Euro languages. Location? The western Balkans). "Delme" ("sheep")...is how it siphons down. With an occupancy  in the southeastern shores of the Adriatic Sea, the Dalmatae were known as nomadic herdsmen who lived in caves & had the characteristic detail of wearing a fur hat atop their heads. Before I make them sound too pastoral...let it be known that they were known for living rustically...yet, for having incredibly advanced weaponry. With neolithic settlement evident (see slideshow) (visit Croatia as soon as possible)...one can see, a STUNNING  evolution of society: complex, advanced, Hellenic, strange...etc.. Their militia must have been absolutely wicked...& their religious associations are fascinating. Despite the success of the Roman Conquest over these fascinating people...the shepherd faction refused to assimilate wholly...& when Rome fell....the Dalmatae shepherds were known to speak a form of old Dalmatic Romantic (that being the intermediary one between Italian & Rumanian). This continued right up until WW1!....So...knowing the temperaments & willful nature of the shepherds....I conclude that if temperamental heritability comes into play, it is quite possible that Dalmatians come from Dalmatae. If early: by way of trade. If later, as has been posed by other voices in other rooms, who knows? 
**As an aside: if you read my comments on some of the photos below...you might think that I'm fixated on the Dal's tail. I am. While the breed standard is nearly blase on the subject...("...an extension of the spine.......")...I'm acutely aware that the Dal's tail is the giveaway. No other dog has the sharp, finite, refined & absolute tail of a Dal. Other similar breeds have sickle tails, ring tails, curved tails, rudder-tails...& even lumbering baseball-bat tails....the Dal's tail is a glorious thing to behold...it is interested, alert & honest...as graceful as the day is long...how many Dal tails can you spy in the slideshow?**
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The now-extinct White English Terrier is to be held responsible for the Dal tail...(see print in slideshow)...& Dals play into our Bull Terriers as well...

​BELOW: There was a lot going on! & one can see that without being perpetually on the offense, one's position in this exceptional geography would be quashed. I can't help but admire the maritime commerce potential! I can see dogs, birds, spices, silks, livestock & all-sorts being shipped & traded en masse...

Credit for this image goes to: Wikimedia user MaryroseB54 / CC BY-SA [https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0]). The red dot (our addition to the image) marks Nakovana for which Peter Sommer Travels is acknowledged.