Siege of Klis
Encyclopedia
Klis Fortress
The Klis Fortress is a medieval fortress situated above a village bearing the same name, near the city of Split, in central Dalmatia, Croatia. From its origin as a small stronghold built by the ancient Illyrian tribe Dalmatae, becoming a royal castle that was the seat of many Croatian kings, to...
in the Kingdom of Croatia
Kingdom of Croatia (Habsburg)
The Kingdom of Croatia was an administrative division that existed between 1527 and 1868 within the Habsburg Monarchy . The Kingdom was a part of the Lands of the Crown of St. Stephen, but was subject to direct Imperial Austrian rule for significant periods of time, including its final years...
within Habsburg Monarchy
Habsburg Monarchy
The Habsburg Monarchy covered the territories ruled by the junior Austrian branch of the House of Habsburg , and then by the successor House of Habsburg-Lorraine , between 1526 and 1867/1918. The Imperial capital was Vienna, except from 1583 to 1611, when it was moved to Prague...
. For more than two decades, Croatian
Croats
Croats are a South Slavic ethnic group mostly living in Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and nearby countries. There are around 4 million Croats living inside Croatia and up to 4.5 million throughout the rest of the world. Responding to political, social and economic pressure, many Croats have...
feudal lord Petar Kružić
Petar Kružić
Petar Kružić was a Croatian knez, captain, soldier and defender of Klis, and the captain of Senj.In the early 16th century Petar Kružić defended the Klis Fortress against Turk invasion...
, also called (Prince of Klis), defended the fortress against Ottoman
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...
invasion. The final battle around Klis
Klis
Klis is a village located around a mountain fortress bearing the same name. It is located in central Dalmatia, Croatia, located just northeast of Solin and Split near the eponymous mountain pass...
and the siege of the castle which lasted until 12 March 1537, between the defending Christian
Christian
A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as recorded in the Canonical gospels and the letters of the New Testament...
forces and the invading Ottoman
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...
army, resulted in an Ottoman victory.
Background
After the fall of the Kingdom of BosniaKingdom of Bosnia
The Kingdom of Bosnia or the Bosnian Kingdom was one of the medieval kingdoms of the Balkans, existing between 1377 and 1463.- Establishment :...
into the Ottoman
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...
hands in 1463, the southern and central parts of the Kingdom of Croatia
Kingdom of Croatia (medieval)
The Kingdom of Croatia , also known as the Kingdom of the Croats , was a medieval kingdom covering most of what is today Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina in the Balkans.Established in 925, it ruled as a sovereign state for almost two centuries...
remained unprotected, the defense of which was left to Croatian gentry who kept smaller troops in the fortified border areas at their own expense. Decisive Ottoman victory at the Battle of Krbava field
Battle of Krbava field
The Battle of Krbava field , was fought between the Ottoman Empire of Bayezid II and a Croatian army of the Kingdom of Croatia in personal union with the Kingdom of Hungary on September 9, 1493 in the Krbava field, a part of Lika region, southern Croatia...
shook all Croatia. However, it did not dissuade the Croats
Croats
Croats are a South Slavic ethnic group mostly living in Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and nearby countries. There are around 4 million Croats living inside Croatia and up to 4.5 million throughout the rest of the world. Responding to political, social and economic pressure, many Croats have...
from making even more decisive and persistent attempts at defending themselves against the attacks of the much more superior enemy.
On August 29, 1526, at the Battle of Mohács
Battle of Mohács
The Battle of Mohács was fought on August 29, 1526 near Mohács, Hungary. In the battle, forces of the Kingdom of Hungary led by King Louis II of Hungary and Bohemia were defeated by forces of the Ottoman Empire led by Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent....
, the Christian
Christian
A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as recorded in the Canonical gospels and the letters of the New Testament...
forces led by King Louis II were defeated by Ottoman
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...
forces led by Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent
Suleiman the Magnificent
Suleiman I was the tenth and longest-reigning Sultan of the Ottoman Empire, from 1520 to his death in 1566. He is known in the West as Suleiman the Magnificent and in the East, as "The Lawgiver" , for his complete reconstruction of the Ottoman legal system...
. After King Louis was killed in the battle, both the Kingdom of Hungary
Kingdom of Hungary
The Kingdom of Hungary comprised present-day Hungary, Slovakia and Croatia , Transylvania , Carpatho Ruthenia , Vojvodina , Burgenland , and other smaller territories surrounding present-day Hungary's borders...
and Croatia became disputed territories between the Habsburg and Ottoman empires. Habsburg Emperor Ferdinand I
Ferdinand I, Holy Roman Emperor
Ferdinand I was Holy Roman Emperor from 1558 and king of Bohemia and Hungary from 1526 until his death. Before his accession, he ruled the Austrian hereditary lands of the Habsburgs in the name of his elder brother, Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor.The key events during his reign were the contest...
became king of Hungary and Croatia.On January 1, 1527, the Croatian nobles at Cetin unanimously elected Ferdinand, Archduke of Austria
Ferdinand I, Holy Roman Emperor
Ferdinand I was Holy Roman Emperor from 1558 and king of Bohemia and Hungary from 1526 until his death. Before his accession, he ruled the Austrian hereditary lands of the Habsburgs in the name of his elder brother, Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor.The key events during his reign were the contest...
as their king, and confirmed the succession to him and his heirs. In return for the throne, Archduke Ferdinand, at Parliament on Cetin
Parliament on Cetin
The Parliament on Cetin was a gathering of the Croatian nobility in the town of Cetin caused by a monarchical crisis after the death of their king Louis II and a major defeat of the Kingdom of Hungary at the Battle of Mohács...
, promised to respect the historic rights, freedoms, laws, and customs the Croats had when united with the Hungarian kingdom and to defend Croatia from Ottoman
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...
invasion. (R. W. Seton -Watson:The southern Slav question and the Habsburg Monarchy page 18)
Owing to its location, Klis Fortress was an important defensive position during the Ottoman conquest of the Balkans. The fortress stands along the route by which the Ottomans could penetrate the mountain barrier separating the coastal lowlands from around Split, from Turkish-held Bosnia. The Croat feudal lord Petar Kružić
Petar Kružić
Petar Kružić was a Croatian knez, captain, soldier and defender of Klis, and the captain of Senj.In the early 16th century Petar Kružić defended the Klis Fortress against Turk invasion...
gathered together a garrison composed of Croat refugees, who used the base at Klis both to hold the Turks at bay, and to engage in marauding and piracy against coastal shipping. Although nominally accepting the sovereignty of the Habsburg Emperor Ferdinand I
Ferdinand I, Holy Roman Emperor
Ferdinand I was Holy Roman Emperor from 1558 and king of Bohemia and Hungary from 1526 until his death. Before his accession, he ruled the Austrian hereditary lands of the Habsburgs in the name of his elder brother, Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor.The key events during his reign were the contest...
, who obtained the Croatian crown in 1527, Kružić and his freebooting Uskoks
Uskoks
The Uskoks were Croatian Habsburg soldiers that inhabited the areas of the eastern Adriatic and the surrounding territories during the Ottoman wars in Europe. Etymologically, the word uskoci itself means "the ones who jumped in" in Croatian...
were a law unto themselves.
Failed attempts
The Ottomans attempted to conquer the Klis FortressKlis Fortress
The Klis Fortress is a medieval fortress situated above a village bearing the same name, near the city of Split, in central Dalmatia, Croatia. From its origin as a small stronghold built by the ancient Illyrian tribe Dalmatae, becoming a royal castle that was the seat of many Croatian kings, to...
on several occasions. The first major attempt was in 1515 by Skender-beg Ornosović. The Ottomans captured Klis, a village bearing the same name just below the fortress, but the garrison in the fortress above held. The second major attempt was in 1520, and a year later by Makut-paša with additional 2,000 infantry, 50 horseman and siege equipment. Another attempt in 1522 by Hasan-paša from Mostar
Mostar
Mostar is a city and municipality in Bosnia and Herzegovina, the largest and one of the most important cities in the Herzegovina region and the center of the Herzegovina-Neretva Canton of the Federation. Mostar is situated on the Neretva river and is the fifth-largest city in the country...
i Mehmed-beg Mihalbegović also failed. Later in 1522, Mehmed-beg Mihalbegović with 3,000 men again failed. Attempts were also made in 1526 and in 1528 by Gazi Husrev-beg
Gazi Husrev-beg
Gazi Husrev-beg was a Bosniak bey in the Ottoman Empire during the first half of the 16th century...
(Husref-beg), and later in 1531 and 1532. In 1534 the Ottomans under Mehmed-beg Mihalbegović laid a months-long siege with a constant concentrated cannonade to a fortress. Ferdinand urged the Pope to send ships to relive the Ottoman siege. Although the Ottomans eventually lifted the siege, Ferdinand was displeased that the Pope had provided no assistance in the defense of the fortress. In 1535 the Ottomans tried to seize the fortress by treachery, and again in 1536, but they failed. During that year the Ottomans started a new siege which would last until the final fall of the fortress.
When a large Ottoman force threatened the fortress, Kružić appealed to Ferdinand I for help, but the Emperor's attention was diverted by a Turkish invasion into Slavonia
Slavonia
Slavonia is a geographical and historical region in eastern Croatia...
. Kružić led the defense of Klis, and with his soldiers fought almost alone against the Ottomans, as they hurled army after army against the fortress. No troops would come from the Hungarian king, as they were slaughtered by the Ottomans at the Battle of Mohács
Battle of Mohács
The Battle of Mohács was fought on August 29, 1526 near Mohács, Hungary. In the battle, forces of the Kingdom of Hungary led by King Louis II of Hungary and Bohemia were defeated by forces of the Ottoman Empire led by Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent....
in 1526, and the Venetians
Republic of Venice
The Republic of Venice or Venetian Republic was a state originating from the city of Venice in Northeastern Italy. It existed for over a millennium, from the late 7th century until 1797. It was formally known as the Most Serene Republic of Venice and is often referred to as La Serenissima, in...
baulked at sending any help. Only the pope
Pope
The Pope is the Bishop of Rome, a position that makes him the leader of the worldwide Catholic Church . In the Catholic Church, the Pope is regarded as the successor of Saint Peter, the Apostle...
s were willing to provide some men and money.
Final battle
Pope Paul IIIPope Paul III
Pope Paul III , born Alessandro Farnese, was Pope of the Roman Catholic Church from 1534 to his death in 1549. He came to the papal throne in an era following the sack of Rome in 1527 and rife with uncertainties in the Catholic Church following the Protestant Reformation...
claimed some rights in Klis, and in September, 1536, there was talk in the Curia
Roman Curia
The Roman Curia is the administrative apparatus of the Holy See and the central governing body of the entire Catholic Church, together with the Pope...
of strengthening the defenses of the fortress. The Pope notified Ferdinand
Ferdinand I, Holy Roman Emperor
Ferdinand I was Holy Roman Emperor from 1558 and king of Bohemia and Hungary from 1526 until his death. Before his accession, he ruled the Austrian hereditary lands of the Habsburgs in the name of his elder brother, Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor.The key events during his reign were the contest...
that he was willing to share the costs of maintaining a proper garrison in Klis. Ferdinand I did send aid to Klis and was apparently hopeful of holding the fortress, when the Ottomans again laid siege to it. Ferdinand I recruited men from Trieste
Trieste
Trieste is a city and seaport in northeastern Italy. It is situated towards the end of a narrow strip of land lying between the Adriatic Sea and Italy's border with Slovenia, which lies almost immediately south and east of the city...
and elsewhere in the Habsburg lands, and Pope Paul III sent soldiers from Ancona
Ancona
Ancona is a city and a seaport in the Marche region, in central Italy, with a population of 101,909 . Ancona is the capital of the province of Ancona and of the region....
. There were about 3,000 infantry in the reinforcements, which made a sizeable relief force, that were commanded by Petar Kružić, Niccolo dalla Torre, and a papal commissioner Jacomo Dalmoro d'Arbe. On March 9, 1537, they disembarked near Klis, at a place called S. Girolamo, with fourteen pieces of artillery. After Ibrahim's death, Suleiman the Magnificent
Suleiman the Magnificent
Suleiman I was the tenth and longest-reigning Sultan of the Ottoman Empire, from 1520 to his death in 1566. He is known in the West as Suleiman the Magnificent and in the East, as "The Lawgiver" , for his complete reconstruction of the Ottoman legal system...
sent 8,000 men under the command of Amurat Vaivoda, a Croatian renegade who had been born in Šibenik
Šibenik
Šibenik is a historic town in Croatia, with population of 51,553 . It is located in central Dalmatia where the river Krka flows into the Adriatic Sea...
, to go and lay siege to Klis fortress (Clissa), and fight against Petar Kružić. An initial encounter of the Christian relief force with the Ottomans was indecisive, but, on March 12, they were overwhelmed by the arrival of a great number of Ottomans.
The attempts to relieve the citadel ended in farce. Badly-drilled reinforcements sent by the Habsburgs fled in fear of the Ottomans, and their attempts to re-board their boats at Solin Bay caused many vessels to sink. Niccolo dalla Torre and the papal commissioner managed to escape. Kružić himself – who had left the fortress to make contact with the reinforcements was captured and executed: the sight of his head on a stick was too much for the remaining defenders of Klis, who were now willing to gave up the fortress in return for safe passage north. After Petar Kružić's death, and with a lack of water supplies, the Klis defenders finally surrendered to the Ottomans in exchange for their freedom, on March 12, 1537. Many of the citizens fled the town, while the Uskoci retreated to the city of Senj
Senj
Senj , German Zengg, Hungarian Zeng and Italian Segna) is the oldest town on the upper Adriatic, and it was founded in the time before the Romans some 3000 years ago on the hill Kuk. It was the center of the Illyrian tribe Iapydes. The current settlement is situated at the foot of the slopes Mala...
, where they continued fighting the Ottoman army.
Aftermath
During the Ottoman wars in EuropeOttoman wars in Europe
The wars of the Ottoman Empire in Europe are also sometimes referred to as the Ottoman Wars or as Turkish Wars, particularly in older, European texts.- Rise :...
, Klis Fortress was, for a century, an administrative centre or sanjak
Sanjak
Sanjaks were administrative divisions of the Ottoman Empire. Sanjak, and the variant spellings sandjak, sanjaq, and sinjaq, are English transliterations of the Turkish word sancak, meaning district, banner, or flag...
(Kilis Sancağı) of the Bosnia Eyalet
Bosnia Eyalet
The Eyalet of Bosnia or Bosnia Beylerbeylik was a eyalet and beylerbeylik of the Ottoman Empire, mostly based on the territory of the present-day state of Bosnia and Herzegovina as well as most of Slavonia, Lika, and Dalmatia in present-day Croatia...
. On April 7, 1596, Split noblemen Ivan Alberti and Nikola Cindro, along with Uskoci, Poljičani, and Kaštelani irregulars, organized a liberation of Klis. Assisted by dissident elements of the Turkish garrison, they succeeded. Bey Mustafa responded by bringing more than 10,000 soldiers under the fortress. General Ivan Lenković
Ivan Lenković
Ivan Lenković was a Croatian army general and the leader of the Uskoks. He is noted for the construction of Fortress Nehaj and as a captain of the Senj area. He also contributed in organizing the Military Frontier....
, leading 1,000 Uskoci, came in relief of the 1,500 Klis defenders. During the battle, Ivan Lenković and his men retreated after he was wounded in battle, and the fortress was lost to the Turks, on May 31. Nevertheless, this temporary relief resounded in Europe and among the local population.
The Venetians fought for decades before they finally managed to re-take Klis. During the Candian War (1645–1669)
Cretan War (1645–1669)
The Cretan War or War of Candia , as the Fifth Ottoman–Venetian War is better known, was a conflict between the Republic of Venice and her allies against the Ottoman Empire and the Barbary States, fought over the island of Crete, Venice's largest and richest overseas possession...
, the Venetians in Dalmatia enjoyed the support of the local population, particularly the Morlachs
Morlachs
Morlachs were a population of Vlachs. In another version their name comes from the slavic terms of "morski-Vlasi" or Sea Vlachs...
(Morlacchi). Venetian commander Leonardo Foscolo
Leonardo Foscolo
Leonardo Foscolo was a Venetian commander.During the Candian War , Leonardo Foscolo seized several forts, retook Novigrad, temporarily captured the Knin Fortress, and managed to compel the garrison of Klis Fortress to surrender.-Bibliography:...
seized several forts, retook Novigrad
Novigrad, Zadar County
Novigrad is a village and municipality in Croatia in the Zadar County. According to the 2001 census, there are 2,368 inhabitants, absolute majority which are Croats.- History :...
, temporarily captured the Knin Fortress
Knin Fortress
Knin Fortress is a partially ruined fortress located just above Knin, Croatia. It is one of the biggest and most significant defensive strongholds, and a historical town in the Šibenik-Knin county in the Dalmatian hinterland. The construction of the fortress started as early as 9th century, while...
, and managed to compel the garrison of Klis Fortress to surrender.