The university was originally founded by the Dominicans in 1396 as Universitas Iadertina, a theological seminary, Iadera being the Latin name for Zadar.It was a continuation of the University of Dyrrachium, in Durrës (Dyrrhachium), Venice, then Republic of Venice, which had been created around 1380, and then transferred to Zadar in 1396, amid the mounting Turkish threats in Southeastern Europe, thereby becoming the University of Zadar.Finally, in 2002, more than six centuries after the university's initial founding, the Croatian Parliament passed an act to allow for its full-fledged refounding.Now independent, the renewed University of Zadar opened its doors to students in January 2003.[5] This allowed it to engage in collaborative research agreements and student exchange programmes with other reputable universities around the continent.