The Dalmatae or Delmatae were an ancient people who inhabited the core of what would then become known as Dalmatia after the Roman conquest - now the eastern Adriatic coast in Croatia, between the rivers Krka and Neretva. The Delmatae are mostly classed as an Illyrian tribe, although for most of their history they were independent of the Illyrian kingdom which bordered to the southeast of them.

The name Dalmatae is connected with the Illyrian word delmë, dele in modern Albanian, which means sheep in English. The Illyrian town of Delminium has the same etymology.

Archaeology and onomastic shows that the Delmatae were akin to eastern Illyrians and northern Pannonii. Delmatae were a younger nomadic^{[citation needed]} tribe in ancient Illyria (West Balkans); they emerged there since 4th century BC, partly repulsing^{[citation needed]} from their area the earlier peoples of Liburni westwards, Daorsi and Ardiaei (Vardaei) eastwards. They were formed as a tribal alliance^{[citation needed]} of culturally similar communities in 4th-3rd century BC, like the Tariotes and the others. The tribe was subject to Celtic influences..One of the Dalmatian tribes was called Baridustae that later was settled in Roman Dacia.