Croatian Military Frontier - History

History

Founded in the late 16th century out of lands of the Habsburg Kingdom of Croatia, it was initially a nominal part of that Kingdom, to be later transferred fully under direct imperial rule as part of the Military Frontier. The Frontier was located on the border with the Ottoman Empire. In the Krajina zone, the king-emperors promised free land and freedom of religion to people who came to the area with the majority of the population being Croatian and Serbian. In exchange, the people who lived in the area had an obligation to militarily fight for the Empire, and to protect the land. The laws of the Frontier were established in 1630 with the imperial Statuta Valachorum. It was known that the soldiers had to fulfill military service from the age of 16 until 66. In the end of the 17th century, Habsburg Monarchy expanded its borders and territory of Croatian Military Frontier was also expanded to include some former Ottoman territories in the east. Croatian Military Frontier existed until 1882, when it was abolished and incorporated into the Kingdom of Croatia-Slavonia.