Authors

Anđelko Vlašić¹;  ¹ Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, Josip Juraj Strossmayer University of Osijek, Croatia

Discussion

The paper will outline the characteristics of the Habsburg-Ottoman frontier in the territory of what is today Croatia, which was during the 17th century divided between the Habsburg and Ottoman empires. The aim is to present new research results based on mostly narrative sources (Ottoman chronicles, correspondence between commanders, the Travel Book of Evliya Çelebi, etc.) describing the serhad, i.e., the Ottoman frontier. This region, which is still insufficiently researched, experienced economic and cultural influences from the Ottoman Central European provinces (the territory of present-day Hungary) and South-East European provinces (the territory of present-day Bosnia and Serbia) and represented a transitional form between those two Ottoman areas. In place of Ottoman tahrir defters of the 15th and 16th centuries as main sources for the history of this area, for the 17th century we do not have kadı court records or other sources generally used by Ottomanist historians. This disruption forces us to find new sources, such as the mentioned narrative sources. The region was characterised by a fully constructed system of forts on both sides of the border, manned with the greatest numbers of soldiers than ever before during Ottoman presence in the area. Other features were constant raids by both Habsburg and Ottoman subjects across the border; provincial governors and commanders defending this frontier, far from the imperial capital, possessed extended powers, and their appointments lasted longer; their military function was accentuated, as they had to defend turbulent frontier provinces. The paper will focus on the specificities of the serhad in Croatia that distinguish it from the regions away from the frontier, e.g., the disruptions caused by enemy raids, etc.