Balkan Wars

 Balkan Wars is a mighty tome by James Tracy, with a matching price tag (£70). It examines the long 16th-century conflicts between the Ottomans, Habsburgs, and Venetians in the Balkans. Even I baulked at the price until it arrived as a Christmas present.

The 15th century was the period when the Ottomans swept across the Balkans, occupying modern Greece, Bulgaria, large parts of Bosnia and Serbia, and capturing Constantinople. The 16th century started with further conquest based on the destruction of the medieval Kingdom of Hungary following the battle of Mohacs in 1526. This not only pushed the boundaries of the Ottoman Empire against the Austrian Habsburgs and the Venetians in Dalmatia, but it also consolidated the Ottoman administration of the Balkans for centuries to come. Wallachia, Transylvania and Moldavia (modern Romania) were organised as vassal states. Progress was limited for the rest of the 16th century until the boundaries largely stabilised after the Long Turkish War ended in 1606. 

This is the big picture that James Tracy breaks down into a narrative history of the individual conflicts and a study of how the armies were financed and recruited. This is often portrayed as a clash of Christendom against Islam. However, Tracy points out that this is a simplistic conclusion given the era's changing nature of religious belief. Many Habsburg regions became Protestant, and the Ottomans were often drawn back to their eastern borders to fight their own heretics in Persia. Language, trade and cultural ties were more important than shifting religious affinities.

The Ottomans had the best of the century primarily because they could mobilise greater warfighting resources on the front line. Bosnia provided the core of Ottoman manpower, supplemented by armies from across the empire during major wars. The small war was almost constant. Akinci raiders would spread across the border into Croatia, devastating the countryside, followed by the armies that could engage in battles and capture fortresses. The Sultan could direct the resources necessary to deliver his strategy.

The Habsburgs had less centralised control, relying on the nobility to play its part, which it did not consistently deliver. Subsidies from the Holy Roman Empire were increasingly crucial in paying for the troops that garrisoned the forts along the shifting border. Only when the border stabilised did the Military Border and the Grenzer become the institution that it became in the following centuries. It was government by consultation, which was inevitably slow to respond to events.

 The Venetians wanted Dalmatian ports as stopping points for their ships in peaceful trade and war. They were always conflicted between the need to develop positive trade relations with the Ottomans and the pressure on their territory. The land around the ports was often abandoned, making it difficult to sustain them without support from Venice. They often facilitated the uskok raiders until they became more of a nuisance than a benefit by the end of the century.

The author breaks down the story into bite-sized chunks, making this long book readable. It reminds me of John Fine's magnificent two-volume history of the medieval Balkans in style. It is thoroughly researched and is the most comprehensive study of the period. Other books cover individual combatants, but this book pulls it all together. It is as well it is robustly bound because it will be regularly coming off my shelves.

Croats in Habsburg service

And the Ottoman Sipahi on the other side of the border.