Osmansko zaposjedanje napuštenih utvrda uz Hrvatsku i Primorsku krajinu 1620-ih – 1640-ih

Abstract

After more than a century of expansion, the Ottoman advance into HungarianCroatian territory was finally halted during the Long Turkish War of 1593-1606, i.e., after the conclusion of the Peace of Zsitvatorok in 1606. From that moment onward, the border zone between the Habsburg Monarchy and the Ottoman Empire became more stable and did not endure major territorial changes until the beginning of the Great Vienna War of 1683-1699. However, although no major territorial shifts occurred until the 1680s, there was still some territorial adjustments on both opposing sides. Even though such changes were not considered insurmountable problems sufficient to break the peace agreement and spark open warfare, they had great socio-political significance from the Croatian standpoint. From the 1620s to the 1640s, the Ottomans occupied a series of abandoned fortifications between opposing empires adjacent to the Croatian Military Frontier, which, according to the Zsitvatorok Treaty, had to be completely abandoned. This development caused quite a stir among the Habsburgs, heavily burdened by the conflicts of the Thirty Years War (1618-1648), and then prompted a limited Habsburg military response. In this paper I shall analyse the manner in which this Ottoman expansion unfolded and the reactions from the Habsburg side.