War FantasyDemographic Losses in Croatian-Ottoman Wars
Croatia has fought against the Ottomans for four hundred years, from 1391, when Ottoman raids began penetrating southern reaches of Hungaro-Croatian kingdom, until 1791, when last Austrian-Ottoman war concluded with rather meagre Austrian gains due to threat of Prussian intervention. Most of the warfare however consisted of constant raids and attacks, which targeted the civilian population in order to destroy the opponent’s demographic and economic basis. Robbery, enslavement and slaughter of civilians was normal. Raiders would watch the water sources and even villages, capturing people, cattle and valuables. Even worse were demographic losses, making the Ottoman Wars one of the greatest biological disasters in Croatian history, matched only by the Second World War and the entrance to European Union.
These raids caused demographic damage which was devastating on multiple levels. Most obviously, loss of population destroyed the demographic, financial and recruitment base which the kingdom depended on. But the loss of nobility was devastating also on more etheral basis. Croatian nobility were the carriers of the proto-national identity and sovereignity of Croatia; they were the first defenders of Croatian sovereignty against depredations not just from Constantinople, but also from Vienna and later Buda. Yet these two groups were heavily codependent. Nobility obviously depended on the work of common people for their wealth, and was highly motivated to defend them. Common people meanwhile depended on nobility for protection against depredations not just of Ottoman raiders, but also of bandits and, as time went on, German mercenaries that were increasingly present in Croatia following the 1527 election of Habsburgs for kings of Croatia.
Period from 1493 until 1593 – from Battle of Krbava until Battle of Sisak – was especially bloody. During this war, Croatia lost significant portion of its population. In some areas, losses exceeded 80% of the population. In fact, just during the Great Turkish War or Long Vienna War, 1683 – 1699, Slavonia had lost 80% of population while Lika and Krbava had lost 95%. This led to massive demographic changes, as the the emptied areas were settled by Serbs and Wlachs (who were later Serbianized), which ended up causing no end of trouble to Croatia through 19th and 20th centuries. At the same time, Kosovo had been completely emptied of its Serbian population, and empty areas were settled by the Albanians.
But that is just the top of the iceberg.
As noted, first Ottoman raids started hitting Croatia and southern Hungary sometime in 1390 or 1391. These crossed Sava, robbing and destroying the villages and taking people to slavery – those that they didn’t kill outright anyway. Defense against these raids fell mostly to local nobles: while king attempted to form a standing army formed of garrisons in border forts, these were not able to reliably intercept the raiders.
Already in the 15th century many parts of Croatia had been entirely depopulated. Conquests of course caused the most immediate damage: following the conquest of Bosnia in 1463, Ottomans enslaved 100 000 people of both genders and also made 30 000 Bosnian youths into Janissaries. In 1526, following the Battle of Mohacs, Hungary and Srijem had lost 200 000 people taken into slavery.
But over the time, far greater damage was caused by the Ottoman raids. A single Ottoman raiding party could number thousands of cavalry, and could take thousands, sometimes over ten thousand, people into slavery in a single raid. And what they couldn’t take, they killed.
These raids were devastating for several major factors: high frequency of the raids, lack of warning and lack of any seasonal pattern. Ottomans could carry out several major raids in a single month. A raiding party of several hundred to several thousand cavalrymen could assemble in a matter of days and enter the kingdom before any warning could be given. And raids could, and did, happen throughout the entire year. Hot, rainless summers and extremely cold winters also meant that rivers provided no barrier to raids.
Nature of Ottoman raids is nicely encapsulated in a report from 1523: “although the Turk […] will perhaps send some new troops alongside those that are already stationed along the borders, he (i.e. the sultan) will not come himself, neither a great army this year, but in the usual way (the Turks) will make trouble through several incursions at different places, and see if anything can be taken”.
I will note only several raids here to illustrate how damaging they could be.
Ottoman army of 20 000 raided Carniola in 1469, returning with 60 000 prisoners. On return, they devastated parts of Croatia, in particular the Modruša county, where they captured further 10 000 – 15 000 captives. Modruša was again raided in 1470. In 1471, Izabeg raided Carniola, taking 30 000 people into Bosnia. Another Ottoman army devastated the surroundings of Zagreb. Year 1472 saw multiple raids, some of whom reached Styria, Carniola and Furlania as well as Istria. In 1474, Ottomans raided Zagorje, Turopolje and nearby Križevci, taking 14 000 people to slavery as well as masses of cattle. Nearly half of the peasant lands were destroyed. Raids continued into 1476 and 1477, with a mid-1477 raid by 32 000 Ottomans devastating Carniola, Styria, Carinthia and Furlania.
An Ottoman raiding party of 7 000 cavalry – one of three that entered Croatia in autumn of 1483 – devastated Croatia and Carniola. It had taken 10 000 slaves, mostly women and children. This party was ambushed on return by Croatian army under viceroy Matthias Gereb (Matijaš Gereb), which destroyed the Ottoman force and freed the captives; but many such raids were back in the Ottoman territory before they could be intercepted. In this the Ottomans were often assisted by the Venetian Republic which provided them with intelligence and sometimes even open help. In 1484, an Ottoman raiding party took thousands of people from Carniola into slavery, but were intercepted and destroyed by Bernard Frankapan. And these raids were having quite an effect: already by 1486, Urbar of Modruša by Duke Bernardin Frankapan had shown that out of 704 serf households, only 270 remained in use. That is, by 1486, over 60% of households had been abandoned.
In 1491 alone, Ottomans had launched multiple raids on Carniola, in September and October, both of whom were itercepted and destroyed (one in Carniola, other in Croatia). In the latter case, 18 000 captured slaves were liberated. In August 1494, Ottoman army raided Slavonia and Styria, capturing 7 000 people. Another army entered Croatia in September, crossing Una.
Over the year 1499, according to Venetian sources, Ottomans had taken 3 000 people from Krbava. They had also devastated area of Zadar, taking with them 674 adult men, 314 women and children, and 37 987 pieces of cattle.
Records show that the Ottomans had raided Carniola 27 times by the year 1508, enslaving or killing 200 000 Slovenes in the process. Croatia, being between the Ottoman Empire and Carniola, had suffered far more. In a single raid in 1510, Ottomans took several thousand serfs from Keglević’s lands to slavery. In 1511, Ottomans devastated Modruš, Ribnik, Ozalj and Dubovac. Near Ozalj, they found and captured 300 people hiding in a cave.
Ottoman raid of 1513 saw 2 000 inhabitants of Modruš and area taken into slavery. Raid by Wallachian Martologs in 1514 aimed at Lika saw them capturing 3 000 men, 12 000 large and 8 000 small cattle. Several hundred families abandoned Lika for safer areas, and this will increase as situation became even more desperate. In the period from 1522 to 1524, Lika was nearly entirely abandoned. As elsewhere, Ottomans would proceed to settle the area with their servants – Wlachs and Serbs, changing the ethnic character of the land. After 1522, area of Brlog near Otočac was completely abandoned. Areas of Modruš and Ozalj were devastated by Akincis eight times in 1523 alone. By 1524, Udbina was completely abandoned. Croatian noble Ivan Kobasić reports that the Croatian viceroy Ivan Karlović had completely lost use of his lands in Krbava, as they had been completely abandoned by his serfs. Yet he still has to spend money on maintaining the garrison in Udbina, and so Kobasić is asking Archduke Ferdinand for help. Bočać, Kosinje, as well as surroundings of Krasno and Kutarevo are also nearly completely empty by this time. Ottomans devastated Modruš twice in 1525, leading to 500 families leaving the area.
Defeat in Battle of Mohacs in 1526 means that now only Habsburgs are assisting defense of Croatian lands. By 1526, Croatia had already lost half of its original territory, being reduced to 50 000 km2.
Raids of course did not stop even after 1526. On 22.7.1540. Ottoman army of 10 000 cavalry and 5 000 infantry raided Croatia, capturing 3 000 Christians in the process. In the same year, Ottoman census lists large areas of Sanjaks of Bosnia and Klis – specifically Lika, Krbava, Bukovica and Ravni Kotari – as empty (hali) as there was nobody there to work the land. Meanwhile, Ottoman raids remain a constant reality on the border. According to report of Venetian noble Sanudo, by 1533 Turks had taken to slavery from Croatian lands some 600 000 people.
Especially from 1550 onwards, Ottomans are settling thousands of Wlach (Wallachian) families into desolate areas near the Croatian-Ottoman border. Habsburgs will later imitate this policy. In the 19th century these Wlachs, being predominantly Orthodox, will accept Serbian ethnic identity. Result of this is that there are now millions of Serbs living to west of Drina despite these areas never having been a part of Serbian political or ethnic corpus.
Magnitude of devastation can be seen from finances as well. By 1555, Croatia was able to collect only 1 327 forints of war tax, whereas costs of defense of only Slavonian border were calculated at more than 140 000 forints while costs of defense of the Croatian border were calculated at 65 000 forints. Most of the costs were covered by Slovenian provinces of the Habsburg Empire.
By the mid-16th century territory had been halved again, to around 20 000 km2. Further 3 000 km2 will be lost before the Ottoman tide is finally stopped at Battle of Sisak in 1593.
Ottoman conquest of Kostajnica in 1556 allowed them to devastate areas between Una and Kupa, as they had now breached the border defense line. Until now mostly intact area between Una and Kupa, now known as Banovina, was directly threatened, and the Ottomans took to slavery some 46 000 men, women and children. In the same 1556, some 70 000 Catholics abandoned Pounje (areas around Una), settling down in Austria.
In 1559, Malkoč-beg raided Carniola and also devastated areas of Kočevjo, Ribnica, Pivka and Grobnik. By 1560, many of Islamized Croatians in Bosnia had already abandoned the Croatian ethnic name and are now calling themselves Muslims. By 20th century, these traitors will form the current Bosniak ethnic corpus.
In 1575, Ottomans burned down Brlog and Gusić. Escape of Croatians, both from Croatia and from the conquered territories, continued. In place of native populations, Ottomans settled Wlachs. Between 1576 and 1586, Ottomans had brought further 5 000 Wlachs to Lika. Ottomans failed to take Karlobag in 1576, but managed to capture Bužim. In 1577 Turks burned down Ledenice. Same year also saw mass organized migrations of Wlachs whom Ottomans moved from Balkans into Lika and Krbava. In 1578, Ottomans captured Metlika, slaughtering 2 000 inhabitants of Metlika and surroundings in the process.
By 1578, war expenses had reached 550 000 forints, covered mostly by Slovenian provinces. From 1578 until 1594, Slovenian estates would provide 12 000 000 forints for defense of Croatia (750 000 per year). This had delivered results: in 1593, Battle of Sisak marked the end of Ottoman expansion into Croatia and Hungary. Holy Roman Empire proper also helped: from 1576 until 1613, Germany would pay 2 250 000 forints for defense of Croatia (60 800 per year).
From 1580 onwards, Wlachs are regularly raiding Croatian territories.
By 1582, entire Kingdom of Croatia numbers 3 000 homesteads (called “chimneys” or “portae” in legal documents). For comparison, Križevac province alone used to number 12 000 homesteads before the Ottoman invasions. Repair and maintenance of forts depends on assistance sent from Carniola and Styria.
In 1584, Ottoman raid under Ferhad-pasha devastated Croatia and Carniola, but his army was ambushed and destroyed on return trip, near Slunj.
Having captured Bihać in 1592, Ottomans sent several thousand captured Croatians to Constantinople (now Istanbul).
Battle of Sisak in 1593 marks the end of Ottoman expansion into Croatia and Hungary. Wallachians begin to massively abandon the Ottomans and move over to Christian side, settling on areas devastated by Ottoman raids. Nevertheless, raids still continue. Between 1594 and 1617, Austria is spending nearly entire tax revenue on defense against Ottomans, including upkeep of troops and forts in Croatia.
But demographic effects of Ottoman conquests are still felt. In his report of 1615, Bishop Vicenz Martena states that the entire Senj Diocese has only 4 000 souls.
In 1609, Archduke Ferdinand settles Wlachs around Gacka and Brlog. Habsburgs are allowing Wlachs privileges which basically mean that Wlachs had become state within a state. In 1611, 12 Wlach families had abandoned Ottoman Podlapača and settled near Otočac. Meanwhile some Wlachs from Bosnia settled in Brlog. In 1612, 24 Wlach families migrated from Lika to Modruš. There, Wlachs are disobeying law and causing damage to local population.
By 1624, some 40 000 – 50 000 Croats in central Bosnia had converted to Islam. Catholics are also converting to Orthodoxy: by 1627, of 12 Catholic churches in Popovo Polje, seven had been taken by the Orthodox Church. In summer of 1646, many Christians from Lika migrated to Dalmatia, mostly near Zadar. Croatian raids of 1685 devastated Lika and Krbava, with many Wlachs being settled around Otočac. In 1685, Herberstein devastated Lika, burning 400 houses in Novi alone. Over 1 000 homes were destroyed in Lika overall, and Imperial army had also captured 4 000 heads of cattle. Lika would never recover from Herberstein’s devastation. Herberstein himself was enemy of Croatia, seeking to turn it into merely one of Habsburg hereditary provinces. In 1685, Venetian army devastated Lika, and many Christians left with the army when it went to return to Venetian territory.
Likewise, during the liberation wars, many inhabitants left. Most of the Muslims had retreated with the Ottoman army, while few converted to Christianity. By 1689, Lika was completely uninhabited, losing 96% of its original population. During the same (Vienna) war, Slavonia had lost 80% of the population. Habsburg population census, done just after the war (1698), reveals the situation. In 1696, Osijek district had 8 populated and 313 abandoned villages. Požega district had 131 settled and 181 abandoned village. Eight villages of Osijek district had 471 homes, 3 292 inhabitants, 2 047 pieces of cattle, 1 998 jutars (1 150 Ha, 11,5 km2) of arable land and 558 hoes (446 400 m2) of vineyard. Požega area with 131 village had 1 628 homes, 8 202 inhabitants, 11 970 pieces of cattle, 1 894 jutars of arable land and 4 388 hoes of vineyard. By 1698 Slavonia as a whole had 491 settlement and between 70 000 and 80 000 inhabitants. Largest cities in Slavonia such as Osijek, Virovitica and Požega had between 600 and 800 inhabitants. Situation was somewhat improved with migrations of Croatians from Bosnia. Already by 1696 some 100 000 Croats had migrated from Bosnia to Croatia. And more were to come: following Eugene of Savoy’s 1697 campaign in Bosnia, some 40 000 Catholic Croats had abandoned Bosnia and settled in Slavonia. In 1723, there were some 25 000 Catholics left in Bosnia.
Emigrant Croatians are leaving primarily for Italy, Istra, Slovenia (Carniola, Styria) and Germany. Western Slavonia is particularly badly hit, but also hit are Bosnia, Lika, Krbava and other Croatian lands. Nobility primarily left for the unconquered areas of the Hungarian-Croatian Kingdom. Migrants were seeking primarily new life space and way of life similar to one they had left. Thus it is unsurprising that many of the internal migrations were organized by the nobility, moving tenants from their destroyed or conquered possessions to possessions in safer areas. Some peasants however did move to cities or else enter military service, latter of which would enable them to gain status of nobility. Migrations were done in groups for protection against bandits and raiders, and mostly knew precisely where to go thanks to the “locators” or “pioneers” which had already settled in potential targets of migrations.
Internal migrations were often organized by nobility as a way of protecting the peasants by moving them from high-risk areas into areas of lower danger. These could be temporary or permanent. Population from the first zone (greatest danger) of danger was thus used to fill in the gaps left by those that had abandoned the second zone and moved into the third, safest zone. Oftentimes, women, children and material possessions would be moved into safer areas while peasant (or soldier) himself stayed near the border to fulfill his obligations. This however limited just how far family could be displaced from the border.
Nobility, as the carrier of political sovereignty but also of the political, economic and cultural life, was also forced to adapt. Between the mass destruction caused by the Ottomans, mass emigration, unfavorable climate change and Ottoman depredations, Croatian nobility was devastated. The only solution was to join the new defensive arrangements based on standing professional military. The middle and lower nobility has the key role in these processes, and new structure of Croatian society would persist until the end of the 19th century. Nobility also had the key role in preservation of cultural and ethnic identity of Croatian emigrees. And this included more than just Croatian nobility. Ferenc Batthyany, Hungarian magnate and also ban (viceroy) of Croatia, provided for Croatian emigres numerous lands, objects, as well as the Catholic clergy versed in Croatian language. Nobility thus had the key role in survival of Croatian ethnic corpus.
Lastly, Islamization had done significant damage, as Muslims had largely abandoned any connection to the Croatian ethnic corpus they had originated from. And these losses had been major, as can be seen from two Ottoman censi:
- in 1528/29, in the modern-day BiH there were:
- 220 000 Muslims (34%)
- 360 000 Catholics (57%)
- 55 000 Orthodox (9%)
- in 1624 there were:
- 300 000 Muslims (67%)
- 100 000 Catholics (22%)
- 50 000 Orthodox (11%)
Almost all Muslims and a small part of Orthodox population originated from the domicile population, while the remainder were descendants of immigrants brought in by the Ottomans. Between 1463 and 1600, some 300 000 Bosnian Croats had converted to Islam, especially since open persecution of Catholics began in the Ottoman Empire after 1516 (destruction of churches, corporal punishment of believers, executions of clergy). Some 120 000 – 150 000 Croats may have accepted Islam during 1524 pogroms alone.
To sum it up:
- Croatia had permanently lost Bosnia (50% of population)
- By 1486, some 60% of households had been abandoned in certain areas.
- During the Vienna war, Slavonia had lost 80% and Lika 96% of the population.
In the end, between territorial losses, enslavement, deaths and emigration, it is entirely possible that Croatia had lost between 80% and 90% of total population during the Ottoman wars.
For Hungary, see a good article by Hungarian-Ottoman Wars site: “Ethnic Changes in Hungary Due to Ottoman Wars“.
#casualties #CroatianOttomanWars #demographicLosses #demography #OttomanWars #victims
