The Republic of Ragusa: An Episode of the Turkish Conquest

by Luigi Villari

A new Power now makes its appearance as a factor in the history of Europe, the Ottoman Turks, who were destined in the space of two centuries to conquer the whole of the Balkan peninsula, a large part of Dalmatia, and nearly the whole of Hungary, humbling that kingdom to the dust. The Serbs and other South Slavonic peoples by their civil wars and mutual jealousies prepared the way for their greatest enemy and that of all Christendom. In these events the part played by Ragusa was a curious one. At one moment the Republic actually tried to arbitrate in the quarrels of the Servian princes and to induce them to unite against the invader. But from the point of view of general European history its chief interest lies in the action of its Government in obtaining information as to the movements of the Turkish armies. The Ragusans were subsequently on good terms with the Turks, and permitted to visit all parts of the Empire, even when other Europeans were excluded. Ragusan merchants and agents sent home despatches which are preserved in the city records, and in them we can follow the Turkish conquest step by step, as city after city, province after province, was first raided, then rendered tributary, and finally absorbed into the Sultan’s dominions. This is not the place to tell the story of the conquest, but it will be well to remind the reader of a few of its more important events and dates.

The first Turkish invasion of Europe occurred in 1341, when Orhan crossed the Bosporos to intervene in the civil wars of the Eastern Empire. Several minor raids followed, while the Emir Orchan (1326-1360), who may be regarded as the founder of the Ottoman power, established his capital at Brusa. In 1358 his son Suleiman again invaded Europe, and the Chersonnese was soon filled with colonies of Ottomans.[288] In 1359 Gallipoli, “the key of Europe,” was occupied and rebuilt as a Turkish town. In 1360 both Orchan and his son Suleiman died, and his second son Murad succeeded to the throne. The latter in the following year captured Adrianople, which henceforward was to be the seat of the Turkish Government, and the headquarters for the attacks on the Greek Empire, the Serbs, and the Bulgarians. In 1370 a Turkish army of 70,000 men under Murad spread into Macedonia, but was driven back by the Serbs under King Vukašin and his brother Ulješa. He advanced again the following year, and encountered the Serbs at Černomen,[289] on the right bank of the Marica, a day’s march from Adrianople. The Serbs won in the first instance, but during the night the Turks rallied, and inflicted a terrible defeat on them. Vukašin and his brother fell with the flower of the Servian chivalry.[290] The Turks now overran Macedonia and Servia, and forced Marko Kraljević, Vukašin’s eldest son, and other Slave princes to pay tribute to them. The vassals who had hitherto obeyed Vukašin now rebelled against his son, and the Servian Empire was definitely broken up, while the Turks became ever more powerful.

The exchange of Hungarian supremacy in the place of that of Venice brought about less change in the internal situation of Ragusa than might have been expected, but the dignity of the Republic was enhanced by the further extension of its autonomy, for it now becomes to all intents and purposes an independent State. When the last Venetian Count departed a commission of three Rectors, elected by the citizens, was appointed to carry on the affairs of the Government, and they were to be changed every two months. But a few months later the number was reduced to one,[291] and his tenure of office limited to one month. Formerly, in the periods during which Ragusa had been independent, the ruler of the State had held office for six months, and had enjoyed considerable authority. But the example of Damiano Juda had made the citizens chary of entrusting their destinies to a too powerful magistrate, and they now curtailed his initiative till he became a mere figure-head. His chief duties were the safe-keeping of the keys of the castles and of the State seals, the summoning of the Grand Council, the Senate, and the Minor Council, and the proposal of the affairs to be discussed in these assemblies, in which, however, he himself had only one vote. During his brief tenure of office he might never leave his official residence save in full state, i.e. accompanied by twenty-four retainers attired in scarlet, two musicians, and all the chief secretaries and palace functionaries. His own robe was like that of a Venetian senator. Under these circumstances we can hardly imagine him taking much pleasure in a quiet walk for a breath of fresh air. If he was ill or excluded from the Council “in his own interest or in that of his relations,”[292] his place was taken by the senior member of the Minor Council. If he died while in office he was borne to the grave on the shoulders of the nobles, the bell of the Palace tolled, and the city gates were closed. In 1441 Ladislas, King of Hungary, conferred upon the chief magistrate of Ragusa the title of Arch-Rector, which was confirmed by King Matthew Corvinus in 1463, but the Senate refused to allow him to use it, lest it should inspire him with dangerous ambitions! He was, however, permitted to accept the knighthood of the Golden Spur with which he had been invested by the same monarch. No other important changes were made in the constitution from this date until the fall of the Republic.

Ragusa’s international position, however, was now considerably altered. The King of Hungary allowed the citizens the most absolute liberty to manage their own affairs, and not only had he no Hungarian representative in the town, but he did not even attempt to interfere indirectly with the Government. Ragusa was merely bound to pay him a tribute and to provide a naval contingent in time of war on the terms set forth in the treaty of Višegrad. She always remained the faithful friend and ally of Hungary, and was quite content to render this not very onerous allegiance; in her relations with that Power there was no trace of the constant recriminations and bickerings that there were with Venice. The reason of this difference of feeling towards the two Powers lies in the character of Venetian as compared with Hungarian policy. Venice was ever extending her influence down the Adriatic coast, consolidating her dominion, and destroying local autonomies. Above all, Venice was a great maritime Power and could swoop down on Ragusa or any other Adriatic town with her swift galleys at any moment; commercial rivalry, too, had its effect, for Venice aspired to the monopoly of the same trades as those in which Ragusa dealt. Hungary, on the other hand, was purely a military State. Its aims were internal consolidation and the security of its own immediate frontiers. It did not aspire to distant dominions, as it had no powerful navy, and it merely desired to possess Dalmatia so as to secure a wider outlet to the sea than the Croatian coast; and it had no sea-borne trade to interfere with that of Ragusa. On the land side it wished to secure the allegiance of the Bosnian Banus, but there was little danger of its establishing an absolute sway over the Slave lands immediately behind Ragusa.

The Ragusans now set to work to consolidate their independence and develop their trade, but they were not destined to enjoy a long period of absolute peace. Their first quarrel was with Vojslav Voinović, Count of Hlum (“Comes Chelmi Magnus Procer Imperatoris Sclavoniæ”).[293] Early in 1359 the Republic sent an envoy to him, offering to pay a sum of 4000 ipperperi as tribute due to the Emperor of Slavonia; but shortly after he raided the Ragusan districts of Astarea and Gionchetto, burned the houses and churches, cut down the vineyards, took a number of prisoners, and arrested the Ragusan traders in his territories. Vojslav was known to be meditating an expedition against Stagno and even Ragusa, so that defensive measures were taken. All the city gates except two were walled up, a special guard of night watchmen was formed, troops and sailors levied throughout the Republic’s dominions, and a band of mercenaries was raised at Curzola with the permission of the Venetian Count for the defence of Stagno. A master-mechanic was sent for from Messina to superintend the war engines, and a master-crossbowman from Italy. In the meanwhile the Senate sent envoys to the King of Hungary and to his lieutenant the Banus of Croatia and Dalmatia, complaining of Vojslav’s conduct, and asking for assistance against him.[294] He was described as being “like a wolf who wishes to devour us lambs,”[295] and a price of 10,000 ipperperi was put on his head the following year.[296] Ragusa also tried to resort to another measure against Vojslav. The latter’s territory reached as far as the neighbourhood of Cattaro, which town served him as a port. Ragusa now proposed an alliance with the Cattarini, and suggested that they should break off all relations with the lord of Hlum and cease to provide him with provisions and salt. But Cattaro was unable to accede to this plan from fear of Vojslav’s power. Ragusa then determined to punish that town, and made an alliance to this end with the Balšas, lords of Zedda. Negotiations were opened with the Servian Tsar Uroš and with his most powerful vassals, and envoys were sent to the King of Bosnia and to Sanko to arrange a plan of campaign against Hlum. Operations began by sea, and on July 6, 1361, Ragusa itself appears to have been attacked by Vojslav’s ships.[297] The Republic confiscated the money which that prince had deposited in the town,[298] and a naval expedition was fitted out to operate against Cattaro and raid the Bocche. Raids were also made into Vojslav’s territories on the land side, and doubtless the Ragusans were able to pay their enemy back in his own coin. The quarrel with Cattaro and Vojslav lasted nearly two years, and only ended through Venetian and Servian mediation.

According to some authorities[299] Vojslav died in 1363, and was succeeded by his cousin Nicholas Altomanović; according to others[300] in 1371. The latter date is probably the correct one, the confusion having arisen from the fact that Nicholas came to reign jointly with his brother in 1363 or 1364, and after that date we find them both mentioned in the Ragusan documents. This system of dual or plural sovereignty, prevalent in Servian lands, caused much trouble, and also weakened the resistance against the Turkish invaders, as the rival princes were always quarrelling among themselves and intriguing with outside foes against each other. At this time a coalition of a number of Servian princelings and nobles against others was formed, and produced the most fatal consequences by breaking up the organisation of the country. During this war the Balšas, in order to consolidate their power, began to make political and commercial alliances with their neighbours. For this purpose they applied to Ragusa, requesting the honour of Ragusan citizenship for themselves. The Senate was well pleased to accede to this desire, as the Republic was feeling by no means safe from Vojslav, and Hungarian help delayed in coming. A treaty of offensive and defensive alliance was concluded, by which it was agreed that the Balšas should attack Cattaro, Vojslav’s ally, by land and the Ragusans by sea. The Ragusan envoy, Clemente Dersa, informed the Balšas that Vojslav was meditating a coup de main on Budua, and that this would be a serious menace to their territory. Budua is a small town on the Adriatic, just south of the entrance to the Bocche di Cattaro. It is of ancient origin, and has one of the earliest municipal statutes in existence.[301] It was under the direct protection of the Servian Tsars, who were represented by a castellano, and independent of the vassal feudatories. Ragusa had had a quarrel with the town in 1359 owing to the alleged acts of piracy committed by its inhabitants, but afterwards peace was made when Budua became in a manner subject to the Balšas and helped them in their revolt against Servia. During the hostilities the Cattarini besieged Budua and nearly captured it, taking a number of prisoners in the sorties, until a Ragusan flotilla came to the rescue and drove them back.[302] In April 1362 Ragusan ships blockaded Cattaro by sea, while the Balšas attacked it by land.[303] During these hostilities the Ragusans captured the property of some Venetian merchants as contraband of war, and this caused further unpleasantness with Venice. Cattaro then requested Venetian mediation, and in January 1362 Paolo Quirini and a Hungarian representative were sent to Dalmatia to arbitrate, but without success. At last, in August, the Servian Tsar intervened, and on August 22 peace was signed at Onogost.[304] All parties regained their former privileges, prisoners were liberated, and compensation paid for injuries. The chief result for Ragusa was the introduction of the plague from the lands beyond the mountains.[305] The Balšas, however, were able to extend their territory along the coast as far as Dulcigno, and in 1367 the dignity of warden of Budua passed to George Balša, and he and his brothers thenceforward styled themselves “magnificent barons of Maritime Slavonia.” They were now able to negotiate with Venice, and became an important Power in the Adriatic. This ultimately proved advantageous for the Ragusans, to whom they granted many privileges and opened the trade routes up the rivers of Northern Albania. They also obtained for the Republic from the Servian Tsar the full possession of the island of Meleda.[306]

But the peace failed to prevent the molestations of the lawless Count of Hlum, Nicholas Altomanović. In April 1371[307] the Ragusans wrote to the King of Hungary complaining of his raids, and describing him as “the worst of all the Rascian barons, although they are all false and infamous.” Not content with the gifts they had made to him, he had demanded the tribute due to the Servian Tsar, and on their refusal he invaded their territory and tortured the prisoners he made by pouring boiling lard over them. The Ragusans added that the Banus of Mačva, who was the King of Hungary’s vassal, had done nothing to restrain Altomanović, but was secretly his friend. The whole of the interior being in a state of anarchy, inland trade was almost at a standstill, and the Republic requested the King to intercede with the Pope for the renewal of the licence to send two ships every year to the lands of the Infidel.

The Ragusan forces, however, managed on several occasions to defeat the bands of Altomanović, and later in the year the Republic joined the alliance of Knez Lazar and Tvrtko, Banus of Bosnia, against that prince. The latter now had won the Balšas to his side by the gift of Canali, Trebinje, and Dračevica, but the coalition succeeded in conquering a large part of his possessions. Knez Lazar occupied Rudnik, and Tvrtko the upper valley of the Drina, and drove George Balša from Trebinje. The King of Bosnia’s possessions were thus extended by 1376 over the greater part of the Servian lands as far as Trebinje, Cattaro, and Nikšić in the south, to Senice in the east, and included the important monastery of Mileševo, where St. Sava, the Apostle of the Serbs, was buried.[308] He was now the most powerful ruler in this part of the Balkans, and had himself crowned at Mileševo with two crowns, styling himself “Stephen Tvrtko in the name of Our Lord Christ King of Servia and Bosnia and the Primorije (coast land).”[309] Ragusa was the first State to recognise him, and proved quite willing to pay the 2000 ipperperi a year due to him as lord of Servia.

The Ragusan Senate had the foresight to understand the growing importance of the Ottoman Turks, and having obtained from Urban V. an exemption to trade with the Infidel, it contracted commercial agreements with the Sultans of Egypt, Syria, and Konia in 1359, and in 1365 obtained from the Sultan Murad a firman granting the citizens of Ragusa freedom to trade in all parts of the Ottoman dominions and protection for their commercial factories, in exchange for a yearly tribute of 500 ducats. Ragusa was thus the first Christian State to make a treaty with the Ottoman Turks, and its citizens were enabled to penetrate into the remotest parts of the Turkish Empire and form permanent settlements there at a time when other Christians were either excluded altogether or limited to a few coast towns. The tribute which they paid for these advantages, although often raised subsequently, proved a most profitable investment.