Croatia Ottoman Wars

Shortly after the Battle of Mohács, Habsburg unsuccessfully sought to stabilise borders between the Ottomans and the Kingdom of Croatia by creating a captaincy in Bihać. However, in 1529, the Turks swept through the area and captured Buda and besieged Vienna; a movement which brought violence and turmoil to the Croatian border areas. After the failure of the first military operations, the Kingdom of Croatia was split into civilian and military units in 1553. From the military half, Habsburg created Croatian and Slavonian Krajina and both eventually became parts of the Military Frontier which was directly under the control of Vienna. Ottoman raids on Croatian territory continued until 1593 when the Battle of Sisak, after which borders stabilised for considerable time. The kingdom of that time has become known under the name of Reliquiae reliquiarum olim inclyti Regni Croatiae ("The remains of the remains of the Kingdom of Croatia").

During the Great Turkish War, Slavonia was restored but the hilly western Bosnia which had been a part of Croatia until the Ottoman conquest remained outside Croatia control and the current borders, which resemble a crescent or a horseshoe, is a remnant of this historical outcome. The southern part of the 'horseshoe' was created with by the Republic of Venice conquest following the Siege of Zara and was influenced by the 17-18th century wars with Ottomans. De jure reason for this Venetian expansion was the decision of the crowned king of Croatia, Ladislas of Naples, to sell his rights on Dalmatia to Venice in 1409.

During more 2 century of Ottoman Wars Croatia will have great demography change. The Croats fled the Turks from the riverland areas of Gacka, Lika and Krbava, Moslavina in Slavonia and an area of present day north-western Bosnia towards Austria where they have stayed and the present day Burgenland Croats are direct descendants from these settlers. On place of escaping Croats Habsburgs have called Ortodox population of Bosnia and Serbia which will need to give military service in Croatian and Slavonian Krajina. First massive coming will be of Vlachs which will take a Serbian identity during first part of the 18 century and then of Serbs which will slowly come during 16th century, but mostly during Great Serb Migrations in 1690 and in 1737-39. Right and obligations of new population in Military frontier it will be decided with Statuta Valachorum in 1630.