At the end of the First Balkan War the map of the region changed considerably. The Ottoman Empire was almost completely expelled from Europe, having held on only to Greece. New independent states of Munetnia, Hungary, Montenegro, Bulgaria and Dalmatian Hercegovina emerged, and the Sicilian involvement in the war resulted in Albania becoming a protectorate of the Two Sicilies.
In 1901, the kings of Dalmatian Hercegovina, Muntenia and Italy signed a mutual defence treaty and an economic and cultural cooperation treaty, based on their common Roman heritage. This pact became known as the Triple Entente. King Nikolu of DH also signed a cultural cooperation treaty with France in 1904.
During this time events occured in Austria as well. The Dalmatians living under Austrian rule began agitating for independence, and the Austrian authorities (note that Fransesk Yosef was on the throne at this time, the same Fransesk Yosef who earlier granted the Dalmatians a degree of autonomy) responded with mass arrests of prominent Dalmatians and the banning of the Dalmatian language and national symbols. In 1905 the name of the state was officially changed from "Austro-Dalmatian Monarchy" to "Austrian Empire" ("Österreichische Kaiserreich").
In 1908 Dalmatian Hercegovina sent a legation to Vienna officially to complain about the treatment of ethnic Dalmatians in Austria, but the legation was expelled before having had a chance to meet with the Kaiser or his representatives, on the grounds that Austria had not formally recognised the Kingdom of Dalmatian Hercegovina. In the following months Italian and DH warships harrassed Austrian shipping in the Adriatic, and war almost broke out in 1909 when an Austrian cruiser and a DH frigate exchanged shots over the bow. The captain of the DH ship realised that he would have no chance of defeating the far larger Austrian ship, and broke off.
In 1911 the Austrian authorities stripped ethnic Dalmatians of their passports and closed their border with Dalmatian Hercegovina. The situation remained tense until 3 February 1914, when Archduke Ferdinand was assassinated in Agram. The Austrian gendarmerie arrested an ethnic Dalmatian and executed him after finding him guilty of the murder, though evidence discovered in the 1930s give reason to believe that the assassination was the work of the Austrian secret police.
Austria then issued Dalmatian Hercegovina an ultimatum on 7 February, which, had it been accepted by DH, would have effectively ceded the sovereignty of DH to Austria. After the deadline for accepting the ultimatum passed, with DH naturally rejecting it, Austria declared war on Dalmatian Hercegovina on 17 February 1914. Three days later, Muntenia and Italy declared war on Austria, bringin the Balkans into the First Great War.
