Papers by Domagoj Madunic
Povijesni Prilozi, 2023
Jedan od presudnih događaja iz vremena Kandijskoga rata, s najdalekosežnijim posljedicama za povi... more Jedan od presudnih događaja iz vremena Kandijskoga rata, s najdalekosežnijim posljedicama za povijest Dalmacije, svakako je pobuna osmanskih kršćanskih podanika naseljenih duž mletačko-habsburško-osmanske granice, zabilježenih u mletačkim izvorima kao Morlaci. Potaknute uspjehom mletačkoga oružja tijekom 1647. i 1648., cijele zajednice Morlaka pobunile su se protiv osmanske vlasti i u tisućama prešle na mletački teritorij, postajući novim podanicima Republike. Namjera je ovoga rada na temelju u historiografiji još uvijek uvelike neobrađene izvorne građe pohranjene u Državnom arhivu u Veneciji – njezinom opsežnom kontekstualizacijom, analizom diskurzivnih praksi, korištenih literarnih figura i glavnih toposa – rekonstruirati glavne odrednice koje su tvorile osnovu shvaćanja vlastitoga identiteta tih novih podanika Mletačke Republike u okviru njihove nove domovine.
Conversion and Islam in the Early Modern Mediterranean: The Lure of the Other, 2019
The problem of conversion in the circumstances of a major armed conflict constitutes the main res... more The problem of conversion in the circumstances of a major armed conflict constitutes the main research topic of this study. Outbreak of the new war between the Republic of Venice and the Ottoman Empire, in 1645, over the Island of Crete resulted in drastic increase of violence along the Venetian-Ottoman frontier in the Adriatic. Full scale military campaigns, raids and counter-raids represented realities of everyday life for the populations on the both sides of the frontier, with war prisoners being one of the most valuable commodities that could be obtained form the enemy lands. In the course of twenty-five years both Venetian and Ottoman forces, captured unaccounted number of prisoners in this battlefield, and all of these faced similar dilemma. For Christians prisoners, only way out of captivity, (except of escaping) were either paying of high ransom, or conversion to Islam. Similar choice was also faced by Muslims captured by Venetian irregulars; for them also the payment of ransom was the most secure way to avoid slave markets of Southern Italy. Muslims captured by Venetian regular forces, fared no better; for them baptism was the only way to escape very deadly service of chained rowers aboard Venetian war galleys. Through analysis of several well documented cases, typical for this region, and this war (a captured Montenegro chieftain who willfully turned Muslim and advanced in the Ottoman administrative hierarchy, a Bosnian Franciscan who converted to Islam under the threat of loss of), this study explores the problem of conversion in the circumstances of the major armed conflict. As this study argues, the conversion did not provide equal opportunities for Muslims and Christians. While for captured Muslims it was simply a means of survival (converts were mainly offered to bring their families and settle on Venetian territories in Dalmatia), turning renegade could prove to be a path for considerable social advancement for adroit Christian prisoner.
Anali Zavoda Za Povijesne Znanosti Hrvatske Akademije Znanosti I Umjetnosti U Dubrovniku, May 15, 2014
Članak se bavi odnosom Venecije i Dubrovnika u jednom od najdramatičnijih trenutaka dubrovačke po... more Članak se bavi odnosom Venecije i Dubrovnika u jednom od najdramatičnijih trenutaka dubrovačke povijesti-prvim tjednima nakon velikog potresa 1667. godine. U izvanrednim okolnostima katastrofe, kad nije razoren samo fizički Grad, već i njegov sociopolitički poredak, odnos dviju jadranskih republika promijenio se iz temelja. Polazeći od uvjerenja da situacije krize omogućuju privilegiran uvid u prirodu povijesnih fenomena, ovaj tekst koncentrira se na mikrofaktografiju tog dramatičnog perioda. S jedne strane rekonstruira razne diplomatske kontakte, spekulacije i planove u samoj Veneciji, među kojima je vjerojatno najzanimljivija bila inicijativa za ujedinjenje dviju republika i njihovih plemstava. S druge strane, članak prati situaciju u okolini samog Dubrovnika gdje je generalni providur Cornaro više puta pokušao uvjeravanjem i pritiscima nagovoriti preostalo plemstvo na predaju Prejasnoj Republici.
To the most Illustrious and Excellent noble, known for every honour and worthy of every praise, S... more To the most Illustrious and Excellent noble, known for every honour and worthy of every praise, Sir Antonio Bernardo, Governor-General in Dalmatia and Albania, a bow and warmest salutations. After the fortunate victory of Your Excellency, who has, accompanied by his potent army, come to (aid) the noble City [Kotor], where Your valorous prudence made Your enemies retreat shamefully, with furled banners, and shame on their faces, whom the Lord, the Holy Virgin and the glorious St. Trifun had not permitted the fulfillment of their desires […]. 1 This is an excerpt from a letter received by Antonio Bernardo, Venetian governor-general of Dalmatia and Albania, in September 1657, at the end of the unsuccessful two-month Ottoman siege of the Venetian town of Kotor, whose defence he personally supervised. At first glance this may seem a typical letter, written in flowery Baroque style, congratulating the Venetian commander on this victory with characteristic invocations of God, the Virgin Mary and a local town saint, St. Trifun. However, what makes this letter more interesting is that it was written by Ali Pasha Čengić, governor (sancakbey) of the subprovince (sancak) of Herzegovina, one of two commanders in charge of the besieging force; a commander who moreover, by his own testimony, did practically everything in his power (short of attacking the forces of the other sancakbey) to undermine the success of this siege: from sabotaging artillery to revealing the plans of attack to the defenders. The intriguing personality of Ali Pasha Čengić, member of one of the most prominent families of Bosnian Ottoman lords, 2 and his conduct during 1 "All Ill[ustrissi]mo et Ecc[ellentissi]mo nobile sapiente di ogni honore, et honorata laude degno Sig[no]re Antonio Bernardo G[e]n[er]al di Dalmatia, et Albania inchino, et molto cara salutatione. Doppo felicita la vittoria di V.E. la quale si porto bene in quella nobil Città con sua potente Armata, et sua prudenza valorosa facendo ritirare vergognosamente li vostri nemici con bandiere in sacco, et con faccia vergognosa, alli quali Dio, la Beata Vergine, et il glorioso San Trifone non permisse di adempire il suo desiderio [...]," Archivio di Stato di Venezia (ASVe) Senato, Dispacci, Provveditori da Terra e da Mar (PTM) b[usta] 482. [letter] num[ber] 134. (Cattaro, 13. Ottobre 1657), the attachment to the letter. 2 The Čengić family gained popular fame in the latter nineteenth century through the epic poem "Smrt Smail Age Čengića [Death of Ismail Čengić Ağa]," published in 1846 by the famous the Eastern shore of Adriatic, see Wendy C. Bracewell, "The Historiography of the Triplex Confinium: Conflict and Community on the Triple Frontier, 16 th-18 th Centuries," in Frontiers and the Writing of History, 1500-1850, ed. Steven Ellis and Raingard Esser (Hannover and Laatzen, 2006), 211-228. The only exception to the model of writing described above are studies by authors of Bosnian Muslim provenience, such as Hamdija Kreševljaković, previously mentioned.
e main research subjects of this study are: (1) the naval force under the command of the Governor... more e main research subjects of this study are: (1) the naval force under the command of the Governor-general of Dalmatia and Albania, in this paper referred to as the Adriatic squadron, and (2) the problems of organization of defense of the Adriatic during the War for Crete (1645-1669). More precisely, this article deals with the operational tasks assigned to the Adriatic squadron during this war, its composition, governance, administration and main logistics problems related to keeping this force operational in an armed con ict lasting for more than 20 years. Furthermore, the essay also addresses the question of the strategic importance of Adriatic for the Venetian Republic in case of war in the Levant, and it argues that the rulers of the Republic were clearly aware of the threat that the loss of control over the sea lanes of communication in the Adriatic would have for the overall Venetian war e ort and consequently committed signi cant naval forces to the Adriatic theater of operations.
The main research subject of this study is the intriguing person of Ali Pasha Čengić, member of o... more The main research subject of this study is the intriguing person of Ali Pasha Čengić, member of one of the most prominent family of the Bosnian Ottoman lords and his conduct during the Venetian-Ottoman War of Crete. Ali Pasha Čengić, for almost two decades was one of the most dominating persons of the Bosnian eyalet, yet also maintained the close and friendly ties with the Republic o Venice, and even openly sabotage Ottoman attack on Kotor in 1657. So far historiography has treated the person of Ali Pasha Čengić in rather negative light, as a traitor of the Empire who served his Venetian masters for money and personal gains, and who was even for the Turkish standards extremely greedy, corrupt and cruel. Yet, was it really so? The case of this controversial Bosnian grandee well illustrates complexities of the Empire’s frontier. As this paper will attempt to show, through detailed reconstruction of Ali Pasha's historical context, he was also moved by other motives than a simple ma...
Povijesni Prilozi, Dec 30, 2013
Th e main research subjects of this study are: (1) the naval force under the command of the Gover... more Th e main research subjects of this study are: (1) the naval force under the command of the Governor-general of Dalmatia and Albania, in this paper referred to as the Adriatic squadron, and (2) the problems of organization of defense of the Adriatic during the War for Crete (1645-1669). More precisely, this article deals with the operational tasks assigned to the Adriatic squadron during this war, its composition, governance, administration and main logistics problems related to keeping this force operational in an armed confl ict lasting for more than 20 years. Furthermore, the essay also addresses the question of the strategic importance of Adriatic for the Venetian Republic in case of war in the Levant, and it argues that the rulers of the Republic were clearly aware of the threat that the loss of control over the sea lanes of communication in the Adriatic would have for the overall Venetian war eff ort and consequently committed signifi cant naval forces to the Adriatic theater of operations.
The main question of this study is how seventeenth-century European societies attempted to regula... more The main question of this study is how seventeenth-century European societies attempted to regulate the conduct of warfare. It deals with a peculiar aspect of seventeenth-century siege warfare, namely the customs, ceremonies and rituals that regulated various aspects of a siege, such as the observation of truces and immunities, the negotiation of surrenders, the treatment of prisoners etc. So far, most historians dealing with Early Modern siege warfare have been more concerned with its technical and operational aspects: the digging of trenches, the development of various elements of fortifications, wastage rates of combatants, hardships brought about by lack of food and epidemics, and so on, than they have been with these " decorative elements " of engagement. Nevertheless, these activities, although usually without any obvious operational military value, provided a medium for a discourse between the besieger and besieged and thus, as I argue, played an important role in the final outcome of a siege. Through descriptive analyses of three cases, each dealing with one siege operation in the Dalmatian theater of operations during the War for Crete (1645–69), this inquiry provides an account of customs, rituals, ceremonies and rules of " proper " conduct of a siege, with particular emphasis on the most critical part of a siege: the surrender of a fortified site.
The article examines the Venetian-Ragusan relations during one of the most dramatic moments in Du... more The article examines the Venetian-Ragusan relations during one of the most dramatic moments in Dubrovnik’s history―the first few weeks after the Great Earthquake of 1667. This large-scale crisis which not only destroyed the city physically, but also its socio-political order, had a profound impact on the relations between the two Adriatic republics. Starting from the assumption that the situations of crisis allow a privileged insight into the nature of historical phenomena, this text centres on the microfactography of this dramatic period. On the one hand, it reconstructs various diplomatic contacts, speculations and plans in Venice itself, among which the most intriguing was the initiative for the union between the two republics and their patriciates. On the other hand, the article traces the situation in the surroundings of Dubrovnik, where general governor Cornaro made recurrent attempts at pressuring the remaining nobility into aggregation with the Most Serene Republic.
Anali Zavoda za povijesne znanosti Hrvatske akademije znanosti i umjetnosti u Dubrovniku, No.52/1 (2014): pp. 173-218., May 2014
Članak se bavi odnosom Venecije i Dubrovnika u jednom od
najdramatičnijih trenutaka dubrovačke p... more Članak se bavi odnosom Venecije i Dubrovnika u jednom od
najdramatičnijih trenutaka dubrovačke povijesti - prvim tjednima nakon velikog potresa 1667. godine. U izvanrednim okolnostima katastrofe, kad nije razoren samo fizički Grad, već i njegov sociopolitički poredak, odnos dviju jadranskih republika promijenio se iz temelja. Polazeći od uvjerenja da situacije krize omogućuju privilegiran uvid u prirodu povijesnih fenomena, ovaj tekst koncentrira se na mikrofaktografiju tog dramatičnog perioda. S jedne strane rekonstruira razne diplomatske kontakte, spekulacije i planove u samoj Veneciji, među kojima je vjerojatno najzanimljivija bila inicijativa za ujedinjenje dviju republika i njihovih plemstava. S druge strane, članak prati situaciju u okolini samog Dubrovnika gdje je generalni providur Cornaro više puta pokušao uvjeravanjem i pritiscima nagovoriti preostalo plemstvo na predaju Prejasnoj Republici.
"The main research subjects of this study are: (1) the naval force under the command of the Gover... more "The main research subjects of this study are: (1) the naval force under the command of the Governor-general of Dalmatia and Albania, in this paper referred to as the Adriatic squadron, and (2) the problems of organization of defense of the Adriatic during the War for Crete (1645-1669). More precisely, this article deals with the operational tasks assigned to the Adriatic squadron during this war, its composition, governance, administration and main logistics problems related to keeping this force operational in an armed conflict lasting for more than 20 years. Furthermore, the essay also addresses the question of the strategic importance of Adriatic for the Venetian Republic in case of war in the Levant, and it argues that the rulers of the Republic were clearly aware of the threat that the loss of control over the sea lanes of communication in the Adriatic would have for the overall Venetian war effort and consequently committed significant naval forces to the Adriatic theater of operations.
Keywords:
Republic of Venice, War for Crete, Ottoman Empire, New Military History, Adriatic, Naval warfare, Early Modern Period, Galleys, Barche Armate, Fuste, Galeotte."
Türkenkriege und Adelskultur in Ostmitteleuropa vom 16. bis zum 18. Jahrhundert, eds. Robert Born i Sabine Jagodzinski, (Leipzig: GWZO, 2013) pp. 29-47., Dec 2013
Europe and the 'Ottoman World' Exchanges and Conflicts, Jun 2013
The European Tributary States of the Ottoman Empire in the Sixteenth and Seventeenth Centuries, Jun 1, 2013
""The intriguing person of Ali Pasha Čengić, member of one of the most prominent family of the Bo... more ""The intriguing person of Ali Pasha Čengić, member of one of the most prominent family of the Bosnian Ottoman lords and his conduct during the Venetian-Ottoman War of Crete are the main focus of the research of this study. Ali Pasha Čengić, for almost two decades was one of the most dominating persons of the Bosnian eyalet, yet also maintained the close and friendly ties with the Republic o Venice, and even openly sabotage Ottoman attack on Kotor in 1657. So far historiography has treated the person of Ali Pasha Čengić in rather negative light, as a traitor of the Empire who served his Venetian masters for money and personal gains, and who was even for the Turkish standards extremely greedy, corrupt and cruel.
Yet, was it really so? The case of this controversial Bosnian grandee well illustrates complexities of the Empire’s frontier. As this paper will attempt to show, through detailed reconstruction of Ali Pasha's historical context, he was also moved by other motives than a simple material gain, and one should not look this Bosnian grandee in the black and white colors, judging him as the simple traitor. Above all Ali Pasha Čengić should be seen as the great feudal lord for whom the family/dynastic interests came before anything else.
As the war between the Venetian Republic and the Ottoman Empire - that begun so well for the Ottomans - progressed from year to year the casualties among the Ottoman frontier elite amounted. Moreover, even before the war the landed incomes of the Ottoman elites on this frontier were bellow the Empire's standards, in the conditions of protracted warfare with their estates frequently raided and plundered many were facing complete material ruin. Without the prospect of imminent victory and peace, it should come as no surprise that some concluded that their dynastic/family interests diverge from those of the Empire they serve, and decided to search for their own means to ensure survival in what was more and more turning into endless conflict.""
In the year 1525 on the island of Hvar, in front of a selected audi- ence who represented the soc... more In the year 1525 on the island of Hvar, in front of a selected audi- ence who represented the social and intellectual elite of this prosperous Adriatic community, the learned Dominican monk Vinko (or Vicko) Pribojević (Vincentius Priboevius) delivered an oration, “On the origin and the glory of the Slavs” (Oratio de origine successibusque Slavorum). Only a few years later, in 1532, embellished with praises and poems by other Dalmatian humanists, Pribojević’s oration was published for the first time. As such, the Oratio was among the earliest of its kind in Dalmatian/Croatian historiography. It abandoned the use of medieval forms of the chronicle or annals, and was instead inspired by the revival of antiquity and the art of rhetoric. Furthermore, it encompassed both a timespan and a territorial scope previously unknown in Dalmatian historiography.
But most important of all, Pribojević’s Oratio promoted a new model of Dalmatian patriotism, one that was consciously built on the Slavic character of sixteenth century Dalmatia. Contrary to the medieval Dalmatian historiographical tradition that associated Slavs with Goths, and promoted the Latin-Roman character of Dalmatian towns, Pribojević strongly emphasized Dalmatian distinctiveness through their Slavic identity.
Based on the false premise of the autochthonism of the Slavs in the Balkan peninsula Pribojević constructed his version of the history of the Slavs, covering the period from times immemorial to the present day and incorporating in it not only the history of the Illyrians but also that of other ancient ethnic groups, such as the Thracians, Macedonians, Sarmatians, Vandals, Gepids, Goths, Getae and even Amazons— all of whom he declared to be members of glorious Slavic natio.
By doing so, Pribojević created a completely new historical tradition, one in which the Slavs not only played a role in, but actually came to dominate the most crucial epoch for the humanists, namely antiquity, and in which, not surprisingly, his homeland, Dalmatia, held the most illustrious position. In the case of such invented tradition, as Pribojević’s history of the Slavs is, one can easily note the obvious connection between the claim to a glorious history and the author’s ability to identify a particular historical person or entire ethnic groups as valid members of a communal past. The main question of this study is: how all those ancient peoples in Pribojević’s story of the past have become Slavs.
The 1527 Zadar census is the oldest preserved census of a Dalmatian commune. It is not only the s... more The 1527 Zadar census is the oldest preserved census of a Dalmatian commune. It is not only the starting point for the study of the population trends in the Dalmatian metropole in the 1500s, but also, thanks to the richness and diversity of the information it contains, an excellent source for an enquiry into the Zadar society in the early decades of the sixteenth century. This article uses data from the census to examine the structure of the Zadar society. The examination includes analyses of class groups (citizens, plebeians, patricians, clergy and representatives of the Venetian civil and military government) and professional (artisans, craftsmen, tradesmen and sailors) groups as well as the studies of the demographic structure of the society and the chief migration trends that may be recognized in the census.
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Papers by Domagoj Madunic
najdramatičnijih trenutaka dubrovačke povijesti - prvim tjednima nakon velikog potresa 1667. godine. U izvanrednim okolnostima katastrofe, kad nije razoren samo fizički Grad, već i njegov sociopolitički poredak, odnos dviju jadranskih republika promijenio se iz temelja. Polazeći od uvjerenja da situacije krize omogućuju privilegiran uvid u prirodu povijesnih fenomena, ovaj tekst koncentrira se na mikrofaktografiju tog dramatičnog perioda. S jedne strane rekonstruira razne diplomatske kontakte, spekulacije i planove u samoj Veneciji, među kojima je vjerojatno najzanimljivija bila inicijativa za ujedinjenje dviju republika i njihovih plemstava. S druge strane, članak prati situaciju u okolini samog Dubrovnika gdje je generalni providur Cornaro više puta pokušao uvjeravanjem i pritiscima nagovoriti preostalo plemstvo na predaju Prejasnoj Republici.
Keywords:
Republic of Venice, War for Crete, Ottoman Empire, New Military History, Adriatic, Naval warfare, Early Modern Period, Galleys, Barche Armate, Fuste, Galeotte."
Yet, was it really so? The case of this controversial Bosnian grandee well illustrates complexities of the Empire’s frontier. As this paper will attempt to show, through detailed reconstruction of Ali Pasha's historical context, he was also moved by other motives than a simple material gain, and one should not look this Bosnian grandee in the black and white colors, judging him as the simple traitor. Above all Ali Pasha Čengić should be seen as the great feudal lord for whom the family/dynastic interests came before anything else.
As the war between the Venetian Republic and the Ottoman Empire - that begun so well for the Ottomans - progressed from year to year the casualties among the Ottoman frontier elite amounted. Moreover, even before the war the landed incomes of the Ottoman elites on this frontier were bellow the Empire's standards, in the conditions of protracted warfare with their estates frequently raided and plundered many were facing complete material ruin. Without the prospect of imminent victory and peace, it should come as no surprise that some concluded that their dynastic/family interests diverge from those of the Empire they serve, and decided to search for their own means to ensure survival in what was more and more turning into endless conflict.""
But most important of all, Pribojević’s Oratio promoted a new model of Dalmatian patriotism, one that was consciously built on the Slavic character of sixteenth century Dalmatia. Contrary to the medieval Dalmatian historiographical tradition that associated Slavs with Goths, and promoted the Latin-Roman character of Dalmatian towns, Pribojević strongly emphasized Dalmatian distinctiveness through their Slavic identity.
Based on the false premise of the autochthonism of the Slavs in the Balkan peninsula Pribojević constructed his version of the history of the Slavs, covering the period from times immemorial to the present day and incorporating in it not only the history of the Illyrians but also that of other ancient ethnic groups, such as the Thracians, Macedonians, Sarmatians, Vandals, Gepids, Goths, Getae and even Amazons— all of whom he declared to be members of glorious Slavic natio.
By doing so, Pribojević created a completely new historical tradition, one in which the Slavs not only played a role in, but actually came to dominate the most crucial epoch for the humanists, namely antiquity, and in which, not surprisingly, his homeland, Dalmatia, held the most illustrious position. In the case of such invented tradition, as Pribojević’s history of the Slavs is, one can easily note the obvious connection between the claim to a glorious history and the author’s ability to identify a particular historical person or entire ethnic groups as valid members of a communal past. The main question of this study is: how all those ancient peoples in Pribojević’s story of the past have become Slavs.
najdramatičnijih trenutaka dubrovačke povijesti - prvim tjednima nakon velikog potresa 1667. godine. U izvanrednim okolnostima katastrofe, kad nije razoren samo fizički Grad, već i njegov sociopolitički poredak, odnos dviju jadranskih republika promijenio se iz temelja. Polazeći od uvjerenja da situacije krize omogućuju privilegiran uvid u prirodu povijesnih fenomena, ovaj tekst koncentrira se na mikrofaktografiju tog dramatičnog perioda. S jedne strane rekonstruira razne diplomatske kontakte, spekulacije i planove u samoj Veneciji, među kojima je vjerojatno najzanimljivija bila inicijativa za ujedinjenje dviju republika i njihovih plemstava. S druge strane, članak prati situaciju u okolini samog Dubrovnika gdje je generalni providur Cornaro više puta pokušao uvjeravanjem i pritiscima nagovoriti preostalo plemstvo na predaju Prejasnoj Republici.
Keywords:
Republic of Venice, War for Crete, Ottoman Empire, New Military History, Adriatic, Naval warfare, Early Modern Period, Galleys, Barche Armate, Fuste, Galeotte."
Yet, was it really so? The case of this controversial Bosnian grandee well illustrates complexities of the Empire’s frontier. As this paper will attempt to show, through detailed reconstruction of Ali Pasha's historical context, he was also moved by other motives than a simple material gain, and one should not look this Bosnian grandee in the black and white colors, judging him as the simple traitor. Above all Ali Pasha Čengić should be seen as the great feudal lord for whom the family/dynastic interests came before anything else.
As the war between the Venetian Republic and the Ottoman Empire - that begun so well for the Ottomans - progressed from year to year the casualties among the Ottoman frontier elite amounted. Moreover, even before the war the landed incomes of the Ottoman elites on this frontier were bellow the Empire's standards, in the conditions of protracted warfare with their estates frequently raided and plundered many were facing complete material ruin. Without the prospect of imminent victory and peace, it should come as no surprise that some concluded that their dynastic/family interests diverge from those of the Empire they serve, and decided to search for their own means to ensure survival in what was more and more turning into endless conflict.""
But most important of all, Pribojević’s Oratio promoted a new model of Dalmatian patriotism, one that was consciously built on the Slavic character of sixteenth century Dalmatia. Contrary to the medieval Dalmatian historiographical tradition that associated Slavs with Goths, and promoted the Latin-Roman character of Dalmatian towns, Pribojević strongly emphasized Dalmatian distinctiveness through their Slavic identity.
Based on the false premise of the autochthonism of the Slavs in the Balkan peninsula Pribojević constructed his version of the history of the Slavs, covering the period from times immemorial to the present day and incorporating in it not only the history of the Illyrians but also that of other ancient ethnic groups, such as the Thracians, Macedonians, Sarmatians, Vandals, Gepids, Goths, Getae and even Amazons— all of whom he declared to be members of glorious Slavic natio.
By doing so, Pribojević created a completely new historical tradition, one in which the Slavs not only played a role in, but actually came to dominate the most crucial epoch for the humanists, namely antiquity, and in which, not surprisingly, his homeland, Dalmatia, held the most illustrious position. In the case of such invented tradition, as Pribojević’s history of the Slavs is, one can easily note the obvious connection between the claim to a glorious history and the author’s ability to identify a particular historical person or entire ethnic groups as valid members of a communal past. The main question of this study is: how all those ancient peoples in Pribojević’s story of the past have become Slavs.
The acquisition of thousands of these new subjects, presented the Venetian government with several practical problems: first, how to provide food for countless Morlacchi families, second, how to organize the Morlacchi and achieve maximum utilization of their military potential, and finally how to secure their loyalty. Integration of tens of thousands of Morlacchi immigrants and their transformation from the Ottoman raya into obedient subjects of the Venetian Republic would represent a serious problem for the Venetian government even in the peacetime. In the war time the task was nearly impossible. Under Venetian rule, the Morlacchi enjoyed a large measure of autonomy. They were governed and led into action by their own leaders, elected by the Morlacchi and confirmed by the Venetian administration, who styled themselves with a mixture of Ottoman-Venetian titles (serdar, harambaša, capitano, knez, governatore). As this paper argues, such final result, an integration of the Morlacchi in the Venetian defensive system in Dalmatia as units of territorial irregular militia, with their separate command structure, was a not intended product of a single long term policy defined by the central organs of the Venetian government. Instead, it rather represents an outcome of combination of skilful improvisations on the part of various governor-generals in Dalmatia: their responses to the challenges of the daily needs and particular situations, material constraints within which they had to operate and general instructions formulated by the central organs of the state.
This is the excerpt from the letter received by the Venetian governor-general in Dalmatia, Antonio Bernardo in September 1657, after the end of two month long unsuccessful Ottoman siege of Venetian town of Kotor. Bernardo personally supervised defense and this is one of the typical letters, written in flowery baroque style that congratulate him on victory. However, what makes this letter interesting is the fact that it was written by Ali-paša Čengić, sandjak bey of Hercegovina, one of the two commanders that were in charge of the besieging force. Moreover, the commander that did practically everything that was in his power, short of attacking the forces of other sandjak bey, to undermine the success of this siege: from sabotage of artillery to the reveling the plans of attacks to the defenders. The goal of this paper is to attempt to shed some light on the events that led one Ottoman sandjak bey to put himself so openly in the Venetian service. By doing so this paper also aims to address one more general issues. That is: the relationship between the periphery and center, or more concretely between the local elites and the central government in the time of prolonged warfare.
In addition to the task of bearing the Ottoman military pressure on the thin strip of land under their control, the governor-generals were also charged with the equally important task of information gathering. Due to the proximity of the Ottoman lands, governor-generals functioned as the eyes and ears of the Republic, feeding the central government with enough data to enable the formulation of long term strategic policies. For this governor-generals relied on the network of confidents, or persons of trust, who either for some material benefit or other more altruistic reasons were ready to serve the Republic in this manner. These included persons of all ranks and statuses: from, simple Morlacchi harambassa sent on a spying mission, Jewish merchants in Sarajevo or Ragusa, Ottoman prisoners briefed at the time of their return to Venetian lands to pay their ransoms, to even several distinguished Bosnian Aghas and Beys with whom at one time or another various governor-generals held active correspondence.
Moreover, formal armed conflict was not the only aspect of the struggle in which the governor-generals were engaged. The so called sporca guerra (dirty war), or what would today be called "black ops", was a standard instrument for projecting power into areas otherwise beyond the reach of the Venetian arms. These activities included, to name just a few: sabotage of the shipyards in Castel-Nuovo (Herceg-Novi), guns in the camp of the Ottoman field army, or ordering the murder of persons in Ottoman lands. Finally, probably the most important activity in this secret war waged by governor-generals, were the attempts to instigate rebellions among the Ottoman subjects, which ranged from impractically grandiose plans to stir clans of Hercegovina and Montenegro or Albanian Christians to rise in arms, to much smaller and more practical attempts to capture the important stronghold of Valona through treason.
The goal of this paper is to demonstrate, through the comprehensive analysis of all of these activities, by Venetian governor generals in Dalmatia in Albania (shortly labeled in the title as the "secret war"), a means of the informal projection of influence and power in border areas of the two Empires in the times of open war.