Considerations Regarding the Status of the Morlachs from the Trogir`s Hinterland at the Middle of the 16th Century: Being Subjects of the Ottoman Empire and Land Tenants of the Venetian Republic

Abstract

In the middle of the 16^th century the hinterland of Trogir, like the entire Dalmatia, suffers a significant economic and demographic decrease. The abandoned lands and villages from the border region established between the Ottoman Empire and the Venetian Republic became a new home for the semi-nomadic Morlach shepherds. Some of the former owners of the abandoned properties moved during the military conflict with the Ottomans to the coast cities and decide to rent their lands to these Morlachs who arrived from beyond the border. This happens with the villages of Radosich, Triloque and Suchi Dol that were rented to some Morlach families which, according to some public documents, had to fulfill a list of obligations established by the Dalmatian owners. The types of duties that must have been accomplished by the Morlachs for the Venetian landlords and also for the Ottoman rulers were not so different from the obligations fulfilled by other Vlach communities identified in the inner part of the Balkan Peninsula. Considering that the goal of the Veneto – Ottoman border region was to maintain the peace between them in Dalmatia, the Venetian decision of renting lands to the Ottoman subjects appears as an advantageous solution for all the parties involved: the inhabitants of Dalmatia, the Ottoman authorities from the Balkans and the semi-nomadic Morlachs.