It is believed that Dubrovnik was founded in the fist half of the 7th century, shortly after the destruction of the Roman city Epidaurum (present day Cavtat) during the Avaro-Slavic invasion, when the refugees fled to nearby islet of Laus where they established a settlement called Ragusium. Dubrovnik took its present form in the 12th century by joining Ragusium and Dubrava (a Croatian settlement at the foothills of the Srđ Mountain, established in the 8th century) after the narrow channel between them had been filled forming present day Placa (Stradun), the main and most famous street in the city. The two parts were completely unified by the
			completion of the system of defence walls in the late 12th century. This also sped up the assimilation of the Latin population into Croatian majority, but the Latin name Ragusa remained in use until the 15th century.