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{{Short description|Habsburg region bordering the Ottomans (1553–1881)}}
{{More footnotes needed|date=April 2009}}
{{Infobox country
| native_name = {{native name|de|Militärgrenze}}
| conventional_long_name = Military Frontier
| status      = Military [[province]]
| empire      = [[Habsburg monarchy]]
| status_text =
| common_name = Vojna Krajina
| era         = [[Early Modern period]]
| event_start =
| year_start  = 1553
| date_start  =
| event_end   =
| year_end    = 1881
| date_end    =
| event_pre   =
| date_pre    =
| p1          =
| flag_p1     =
| border_p1   = no
| s1          =
| flag_s1     =
| image_flag  =
| image_coat  =
| image_map   = Militargrenze, Wojwodowena und Banat.jpg
| image_map_caption = Map of the Military Frontier (marked with a red outline) in 1800
| common_languages  =
| government_type   =
| title_leader =
| leader1      =
| year_leader1 =
| leader2      =
| year_leader2 =
|
| title_deputy =
| deputy1      =
| year_deputy1 =
| deputy2      =
| year_deputy2 =
| legislature =
| capital     =
| religion    = [[Catholic Church]]<br />[[Eastern Orthodox Church]]
| currency    =
}}
{{History of Austria}}
{{History of Croatia}}
{{History of Hungary}}
{{History of Serbia}}
{{History of Slovenia}}

The '''Military Frontier'''<ref>({{langx|de|Militärgrenze}}; {{lang-sh-Cyrl-Latn|Војна крајина|Vojna krajina}}, {{lang-sh-Cyrl-Latn|Војна граница|Vojna granica|label=none}}; {{langx|hu|Katonai határőrvidék}}; {{langx|ro|Granița Militară}})</ref> was a [[marches|borderland]] of the [[Habsburg monarchy]] and later the [[Austrian Empire|Austrian]] and [[Austro-Hungarian Empire]]. It acted as the ''[[Cordon sanitaire (medicine)|cordon sanitaire]]'' against incursions from the [[Ottoman Empire]].

The establishment of the new defense system in [[Kingdom of Hungary|Hungary]] and [[Kingdom of Croatia (Habsburg)|Croatia]] took place in the 16th century, following the election of [[Ferdinand I, Holy Roman Emperor|Ferdinand I]] as king. Six districts under special military administration were established in Hungary and Croatia. The [[Croatian Military Frontier]] and the [[Slavonian Military Frontier]] came under the jurisdiction of the [[Croatian Parliament|Croatian Sabor]] and [[Ban of Croatia|ban]]. In 1627, they were placed under the direct control of the Habsburg military. For more than two centuries, they would retain complete civilian and military authority over the area, up to the abolition of the Military Frontier in 1881.<ref>{{cite book|author=Aleksa Djilas|title=The Contested Country: Yugoslav Unity and Communist Revolution, 1919–1953|url=https://archive.org/details/contestedcountry00djil_0|url-access=registration|year=1991|publisher=Harvard University Press|isbn=978-0-674-16698-1|pages=[https://archive.org/details/contestedcountry00djil_0/page/11 11]–}}</ref> 

During the 17th century, the territory was expanded towards the east and new sections were created. By then, it stretched from [[Croatia proper]] in the west to eastern [[Transylvania]] in the east and included parts of present-day [[Croatia]], [[Bosnia and Herzegovina]], [[Serbia]], [[Romania]] and [[Hungary]]. During this period, the defence system was also changed, from a conventional garrison model to one of 'soldier-settler' communities.

The inhabitants of the area were known as the {{lang|de|Grenzer}} (or frontiersmen). They were mostly Serbian, Croatian, German, Vlach and other colonists.<ref>{{cite book|first=Richard|last=Frucht|date=2004|title=Eastern Europe, An Introduction to the People, Lands, and Culture|pages=422|publisher=ABC-CLIO|isbn=1576078000}}</ref><ref name="Stoianovich">{{cite book|first=Traian|last=Stoianovich|author-link=Traian Stoianovich|date=1992|title=Balkan Worlds: The First and Last Europe|pages=152|publisher=Routledge|isbn=1563240335}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|first=Guðmundur|last=Hálfdanarson|date=2003|title=Racial Discrimination and Ethnicity in European History|publisher=PLUS, Università di Pisa |isbn=9788884922809|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=479mAAAAMAAJ&q=vlachs+ethnicity}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|editor-first=Carlile Aylmer |editor-last=Macartney |editor-link=Carlile Aylmer Macartney|date=2017|title=Hungary: From Ninth Century Origins to the 1956 Uprising|page=116|publisher=Routledge|isbn=978-1138525542}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|first=Noel|last=Malcolm|date=1996|title=Bosnia: A Short History|pages=98|publisher=NYU Press|isbn=0814755615}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last1=Pál|first1=Fodor|last2=Geza|first2=David|last3=Gábor|first3=Agoston|last4=Klára|first4=Hegyi|last5=József|first5=Kelenik|last6=Kybinyi|first6=András|author-link6=:hu:Kubinyi András |last7=Géza|first7=Pálffy|author-link7=Géza Pálffy|date=2000|title=Ottomans, Hungarians, and Habsburgs in Central Europe: The Military Confines in the Era of Ottoman Conquest (Ottoman Empire and Its Heritage) |page=62 |publisher=Brill |isbn=9004119078}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|first=Marie-Janine|last=Calic|author-link=:de:Marie-Janine Calic |date=2019|title=The Great Cauldron: A History of Southeastern Europe|pages=79|publisher=Harvard University Press|isbn=978-0674983922}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|first=Ivo|last=Banac|author-link=Ivo Banac|date=1984|title=The National Question in Yugoslavia: Origins, History, Politics|pages=43|publisher=Cornell University Press|isbn=0801416752}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|first=Karl|last=Kaser|date=2012|title=Household and Family in the Balkans: Two Decades of Historical Family Research at University of Graz|pages=123–124|publisher=LIT Verlag|isbn=978-3643504067}}</ref>{{Excessive citations inline|date=November 2022}} In exchange for land-grants, religious freedom and favorable tax rates, they colonized the area and served as the bulwark for the [[Habsburg monarchy|monarchy]] against Ottoman incursions. Germans had been recruited by Hungary in the late 18th century to resettle and develop the Danube River Valley, and became known as [[Danube Swabians|Donauschwaben]]. The military regiments formed by the settlers had a vested reason to stand and fight and were familiar with local terrain and conditions. They soon gained a formidable military reputation.

==Background==
[[File:Eastern Adriatic 1500.svg|thumb|King [[Matthias Corvinus]]'s anti-Ottoman defense system in 1500]]
The [[Ottoman wars in Europe]] caused the border of the [[Kingdom of Hungary]]&nbsp;– and subsequently that of the [[Habsburg monarchy]]&nbsp;– to shift towards the northwest. Much of the old Croatian territory either became Ottoman land or bordered the new Ottoman domain.

In 1435, in an attempt to strengthen the defences against the Ottomans and Venice, King [[Sigismund, Holy Roman Emperor|Sigismund]] founded the so-called {{lang|sl|tabor}}, a military encampment, each in Croatia, Slavonia and [[Usora (region)|Usora]]. In 1463 King [[Matthias Corvinus]] founded the ''[[ban (title)|banovina]]'' of [[Jajce]] and [[Srebrenik]], and in 1469 the military captaincy of [[Senj]], modeled after the Ottoman captaincies in the [[Sanjak of Bosnia|Province of Bosnia]]. All these actions aimed to improve defence, but ultimately proved unsuccessful. But, they did lead to development of the [[Pandurs|Pandur]] infantry and the [[Hussar]] cavalry.

Soldiers known as "[[Martolos]]" and "[[Voynuks]]" were the most dangerous military element under Ottomans, while [[Vlachs]] and [[Great Migrations of the Serbs|Serbs]] which fled from the Ottomans in the 15th century had a similar military tradition which Habsburgs began to use on their side of the border. Under the Habsburgs a special system of land ownership and military organization was created, i.e. a military frontier. This military border was an area of some major war campaigns, but mostly consisted of eternal clashes between the Ottoman and the Habsburg forces.<ref>{{cite book|first=Noel|last=Malcolm|author-link=Noel Malcolm|date=1995|title=Povijest Bosne - kratki pregled|language=hr|trans-title=History of Bosnia - a brief overview|pages=98.99|publisher=Erasmus Gilda, Novi Liber|location=Zagreb, Dani-Sarajevo|isbn=953-6045-03-6}}</ref>

== History ==
=== 16th century ===
After the [[Croatian Parliament]] elected the [[House of Habsburg|Austrian Habsburgs]] as [[kings of Croatia]] in 1526,{{sfn|Fine|1994|p=595}} [[Ferdinand I, Holy Roman Emperor|Ferdinand I]] promised the Croatian Parliament that he would give them 200 cavalrymen and 200 infantrymen, and that he would pay for another 800 cavalrymen who would be commanded by the Croatians. Soon the [[Habsburg monarchy]] founded another captaincy in [[Bihać]]. In the short term, all this was ineffective, as in 1529 the Ottomans swept through the area, captured [[Buda]] and besieged [[Vienna]], wreaking havoc throughout the Croatian border areas.

The Habsburgs aimed at holding the Ottoman forces on Hungarian and Croatian territory before they could reach Austria, but did not have a clear defense plan. In the 1530s, significant reinforcements were sent only to the most important forts on the border with the Ottoman Empire.{{sfn|Pálffy|2012|p=38}} In the 1540s and following the Ottoman campaign of 1552, several conferences were held in which a new defense strategy was adopted. Separate defense zones were to be established in parts of Hungary and Croatia around the border forts. Austrian and Bohemian provinces were obligated to help finance this new system, beginning in the 1550s.{{sfn|Pálffy|2012|pp=40–41}} At the end of the 1560s, the new border system consisted of around 100–120 forts and extended from the [[Adriatic Sea]] to [[Transylvania]]. It was organized into six Border Fortress Captain Generalcies ({{lang|de|Grenzgeneralat}}):

# The Croatian and Adriatic Border Fortress Captain Generalcy ({{lang|de|kroatische und Meergrenze}}), centred initially in [[Bihać]], and from 1579 in [[Karlovac]];
# The Slavonian or Wendish Captain Generalcy ({{lang|de|slawonische/windische Grenze}}), centred in [[Varaždin]], after 1578 known as the Wendish-Bajcsavár Captain Generalcy;
# The Kanizsa Captain Generalcy ({{lang|de|kanischarische Grenze}}), centred in [[Nagykanizsa|Kanizsa]]. Renamed the Captain Generalcy across from Kanizsa ({{lang|de|gegenüber von Kanischa liegende Grenze}}) following the loss of Kanizsa in 1600;
# The Györ Captain Generalcy ({{lang|de|Raaber/raaberische Grenze}}), protecting Vienna;
# The Captain Generalcy Defending the Mining Towns ({{lang|de|bergstädtische Grenze}}), centred in [[Léva]], and in [[Érsekújvár]] after 1589;
# The [[Upper Hungary]] or Kassa Captain Generalcy ({{lang|de|oberungarische Grenze}}), centred in [[Košice|Kassa]].{{sfn|Pálffy|2012|pp=43–44}}

In addition, there were four District Captain Generalcies ({{lang|de|Kreisgeneralat}}).{{sfn|Pálffy|2012|pp=45–46}}

From the 1530s, immigration to the Military Frontier began to include a large number of [[Martolos]], Vlach military colonists and other irregulars who were part of the Ottoman military system, they were mostly Christians and some were Muslims.<ref>{{cite book|first=Catherine Wendy|last=Bracewell|date=2011|title=The Uskoks of Senj: Piracy, Banditry, and Holy War in the Sixteenth-Century Adriatic|pages=27–31|publisher=[[Cornell University Press]]|isbn=978-0801477096}}</ref>

The new military expenditures became a considerable concern, and the Congress of [[Inner Austria]]n lands in [[Bruck an der Mur]] in 1578 defined the obligations of each land in covering the military expenses and defined the priorities in improving the defensive strategy. It was determined that the [[Duchy of Styria]] will finance the Slavonian and Hungarian Frontiers, and the [[Duchy of Carniola]] will finance the Croatian Frontier. The [[Duchy of Carinthia]] put their finances at the disposal of Styria and Carniola, to direct the money where needed.{{sfn|Štefanec|2011|pp=349, 355–356}} In the 2nd half of the 16th century, there were around 20,000 troops stationed in Hungarian and Croatian border forts.{{sfn|Pálffy|2012|p=52}}

By the end of the 16th century Slavicized Vlachs, other [[Vlachs]] and [[Great Migrations of the Serbs|Serbs]] flee from Ottoman territory to Military Frontier and [[Dalmatia]].<ref name="Stoianovich"/> At the same time the Croatian Military Frontier became known as the {{lang|de|cat=no|[[Karlovac]] generalate}}, and from the 1630s the Upper Slavonian Military Frontier was known as the [[Varaždin]] {{lang|de|generalat}}. During the 16th and 17th centuries, the military administration of the Frontier was moved away from the Croatian [[ban (title)|ban]] and the [[Sabor]] (Parliament) and instead instated in the high command of [[Charles II, Archduke of Austria|Archduke Charles]] and the [[War Council (Austria)|War Council]] in [[Graz]].{{citation needed|date=July 2015}}

=== 17th century ===
Despite the financial support of the Inner Austrian nobility, the financing of the Military Frontier was not efficient enough. The military leadership in Graz decided to try solutions other than mercenary units. In the 1630s the Imperial Court decided to give land and certain privileges to immigrants into the Frontier (the [[uskok]] guerrillas as well as refugees from Ottoman-controlled lands) at the area of [[Žumberak]]. In return they would serve in the Imperial army. The remaining local population was also encouraged to remain by receiving the status of free peasants (rather than [[serf]]s) and other privileges. These new units were organized into ten or more ''[[voivodeship]]s'' per each captaincy.

In 1627, the Military Frontier was removed from the control of the Croatian Sabor and put under direct rule of the Habsburg military. It would have complete civilian and military authority over it until abolition of the Military Frontiers.<ref>{{cite book|author=Aleksa Djilas|title=The Contested Country: Yugoslav Unity and Communist Revolution, 1919–1953|url=https://archive.org/details/contestedcountry00djil_0|url-access=registration|year=1991|publisher=Harvard University Press|isbn=978-0-674-16698-1|pages=[https://archive.org/details/contestedcountry00djil_0/page/11 11]–}}</ref> In November 1630, [[Emperor Ferdinand II]] proclaimed the so-called ''[[Statuta Valachorum]]'' ("Vlach Statute"),<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.skdprosvjeta.com/page.php?id=33|title=Statuta Valachorum (prevod)|access-date=2016-03-23|archive-date=2021-11-22|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211122183531/http://www.skdprosvjeta.com/page.php?id=33|url-status=dead}} {{better source needed|date=June 2015}}</ref> which regulated the status of so-called Vlach settlers (which included [[Croats]], [[Serbs]] and [[Vlachs]]) from the Ottoman Empire with regard to military command, their obligations, and rights to internal self-administration. Over time, the population of the Frontier (as it was then) became mixed between the autochthonous [[Croats]] and Croatian serfs who had fled the Ottoman territories, and the numerous minority of the [[Serbs|Serb]] and [[Vlachs|Vlach]] (who were later assimilated into [[Croats]] and [[Serbs]]) refugees who strove to expand their rights as a major contributor in the defense of the land. By creating the new military class in the Frontier, the territory of the Frontier eventually became fully detached from the Croatian Parliament and the [[ban (title)|ban]]. As freedom of faith was granted to them, they preserved their Orthodox faith in spite of their living in a Catholic country. Eventually, the whole male population of the Military Frontier became professional soldiers who served the Empire on several fronts and through many European wars, even after the relaxation of the Ottoman threat.

[[File:Serbmigra.jpg|thumb|''Migration of the Serbs'' (''Seoba Srba''), by [[Paja Jovanović]], portrays Serbian Patriarch [[Arsenije III Čarnojević]], surrounded by soldiers, flocks of sheep and women with babies, leading some 36,000 families from his seat in [[Peć]], to what is now Vojvodina in 1690, after the failure of a Serb revolt.]]
During the 17th century territory of the Military Frontier was expanded towards the East and new sections were created. By then, it stretched from Croatia in the west to eastern [[Transylvania]] in the east and included parts of present-day [[Croatia]], [[Serbia]], [[Romania]] and [[Hungary]].<ref name="magocsi">Historical Atlas of Central Europe, Paul Robert Magocsi, p. 34</ref> The area was settled primarily with Croatian, Serbian and German colonists (known as ''grenzer'' and ''graničari'') who, in return for land grants, served in the military units defending the empire against Ottomans.<ref name="magocsi"/> The majority of immigrants were Serbs, and some were ethnic Croats, mainly from Bosnia.{{sfn|Jelavich|1983|p=145}} A [[Great Migrations of the Serbs|large migration of Serbs]] to Habsburg lands was undertaken by Patriarch [[Arsenije III Čarnojević]].{{sfn|Jelavich|1983|p=145}} The large community of Serbs concentrated in Banat, southern Hungary, and the Military Frontier included merchants and craftsmen in the cities, but mainly refugees who were peasants.{{sfn|Jelavich|1983|p=145}}

The 17th century was a relatively peaceful period, during which only smaller raids were made from the [[Eyalet of Bosnia|Province of Bosnia]]. After the Ottoman army was repelled at the [[Battle of Vienna]] in 1683, the [[Great Turkish War]] ended with much of the former Croatian lands under Habsburg control. Despite this, the Frontier system was retained, and expanded onto former Ottoman territories in [[Lika]], [[Kordun]], [[Banija]], lower [[Slavonia]], [[Srem (region)|Syrmia]], [[Bačka]], [[Banat]], [[Pomorišje]], and [[Transylvania]]. The Habsburg Empire valued the ability to centrally control the area and to draft cheap and numerous army units.

After the [[Treaty of Karlowitz]] of 1699, the [[Seressaner]] troops were established with both military and police duties. They were not paid, but were exempted from taxes. Over the following century, each regiment had one section of Seressaners that organized border patrols towards Bosnia, particularly on difficult terrain, and stopped incursions of bandits.{{cn|date=August 2025}}

Orthodox Christians who settled Military Frontier from the Ottoman Empire were called in sources as "Vlachs schismatics" and Vlachs or [[Uskoks]], other names which are mentioned are "Valachi seu Rasciani" 
"Valachi seu Serviani", "Valachi seu Graeci", Vlachs or [[Morlachs]], "Illirica gens graeci ritus" and "homines Ritus Ruthenici seu Graeci". During the 17th and first half of the 18th century Catholic natives and Catholics immigrated from Bosnia and [[Kingdom of Croatia (Habsburg)|Kingdom of Croatia]] also converted to Orthodoxy. Most documents state that the Vlachs arriving "from Turkey" or "from Bosnia", ie the [[Bosnia Eyalet]].<ref>Zlatko Kudelić, 2010, Čaplovičeva povijest Marčanske biskupije, https://hrcak.srce.hr/56775 #page=137-138</ref>

===18th century===
When in 1699 and 1718 the lands of Croatia and Hungary returned, which was previously occupied by the Ottomans, the vast majority of that area became the Military Frontier. Throughout the entire region of this frontier various ethnic groups were settled including Croats, Serbs, Albanians and others which were also all together called Vlachs.<ref>Ilona Czamańska; (2015) ''The Vlachs – several research problems'' p. 13; BALCANICA POSNANIENSIA XXII/1 IUS VALACHICUM I, [https://pressto.amu.edu.pl/index.php/bp/article/view/3895/0]</ref> 
From 1718 to 1739 the Military Frontier also included the Habsburg-controlled northern parts of present-day [[Bosnia and Herzegovina]].<ref name="Mitev2010">{{cite book|author= Plamen Mitev|title= Empires and Peninsulas: Southeastern Europe Between Karlowitz and the Peace of Adrianople, 1699–1829|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=Cz7pbGvCqhwC&pg=PA171|year= 2010|publisher= LIT Verlag Münster|isbn= 978-3-643-10611-7|pages= 171–}}</ref> In the mid-18th century the Frontier was once again reorganized and modelled after the Imperial army and its regular regiments. In 1737 the Vlach Statute was formally abolished. All previous captaincies and voivodships were discarded, and the area was instead subdivided into general-commands, regiments ({{langx|sh|pukovnije}}) and companies:

{{div col|colwidth=20em}}
* [[Varaždin]] general command
** [[Križevci, Croatia|Križevci]] regiment
** [[Đurđevac]] regiment
* [[Karlovac]] general command
** [[Lika]] regiment
** [[Otočac]] regiment
** [[Ogulin]] regiment
** [[Slunj]] regiment
* [[Zagreb]] general command
** [[Glina, Croatia|Glina]] regiment
** [[Petrinja]] regiment
* [[Slavonia]] general command
** [[Nova Gradiška|Gradiška]] regiment
** [[Slavonski Brod|Brod]] regiment
** [[Petrovaradin]] regiment
* [[Banat]] general command
** Serb (Illyrian) section
** German section
** Romanian (Vlach) section
{{div col end}}
[[File:Krajišnici, 1756. g.jpg|thumb|Various Frontier troops, 1756]]
After 1767, every twelfth inhabitant of the Military Frontier was a soldier – in contrast to every 62nd inhabitant in the rest of the Habsburg Monarchy. The Frontier soldiers became a professional military, ready to move to all European battlefields. Due to further immigration of refugees from the Ottoman domain, and to the expansion of the territory to places previously controlled by the Ottomans, the population of the Frontier became even more mixed. There were still many autochthonous Serbs and Croats in Slavonia and in parts of present-day Vojvodina (in Syrmia, Bačka and Banat). However, at this time they became outnumbered by the Serb, Croat and Vlach refugees/immigrants. Some [[Ethnic German|Germans]], [[Polish people|Poles]], [[Magyars]] and [[Slovaks]] also came to the Frontier, mostly as administrative personnel, and a number of other settlers and military personnel arrived from other parts of the Habsburg Empire – [[Czechs]], [[Polish people|Poles]], [[Slovaks]], [[Ukrainians]], [[Pannonian Rusyns|Rusyns]] and others.

In 1783 the Croatian and Slavonian frontiers came under the unified control of the Croatian General Command headquartered in [[Zagreb]].{{sfn|Fine|2005|p=370-371}}<ref>Karl Kaser: ''Freier Bauer und Soldat: die Militarisierung der agrarischen Gesellschaft and der kroatisch-slowanischen Militärgrenze (1535–1881),'' Böhlau Verlag Wien, 1997, p. 369</ref><ref>Gunther Erich Rothenberg: ''The Military Border in Croatia, 1740–1881: a study of an imperial institution,'' University of Chicago Press, 1966, p. 63</ref>

The [[Serbian Free Corps]] of 5,000 soldiers had been established in Banat, composed of refugees who had fled earlier conflicts in the Ottoman Empire.<ref name="Schroeder1996">{{cite book|author= Paul W. Schroeder|title= The Transformation of European Politics, 1763–1848|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=BS2z3iGPCigC&pg=PA59|year= 1996|publisher= Oxford University Press|isbn= 978-0-19-820654-5|pages= 58–59}}</ref> The Corps would fight for the liberation of Serbia and for unification under Habsburg rule.<ref name="Schroeder1996"/> Several ''[[freikorps]]'' operated along the Habsburg-Ottoman frontier.<ref name=GSUD20-69>{{cite book|title= Glasnik Srpskoga učenog društva|volume= 20|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=RkwBAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA69|year= 1866|pages= 69–|last1= Društvo|first1= Srpsko Učeno}}</ref> The Austrians used the Corps in two failed attempts to seize Belgrade, in late 1787 and in early 1788.<ref name="Schroeder1996"/>

Serbia was subsequently liberated, and organized into [[Habsburg-occupied Serbia (1788–92)|a Habsburg protectorate]]. On 8 October 1789 [[Ernst Gideon von Laudon]] [[Siege of Belgrade (1789)|took over Belgrade]]. Austrian forces occupied Serbia, and many Serbs fought in the Habsburg free corps, gaining organizational and military skills.<ref name="Alexander2012">{{cite book|author= R. S. Alexander|title= Europe's Uncertain Path 1814–1914: State Formation and Civil Society|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=-XzKVba8xN8C&pg=PA19|date= 30 January 2012|publisher= John Wiley & Sons|isbn= 978-1-4051-0052-6|pages= 19–}}</ref> By 1791, however, the Austrians were forced into withdrawal across the [[Danube]] and [[Sava]] rivers, joined by thousands of Serb families who feared Ottoman persecution. The [[Treaty of Sistova]] (1791) ended the [[Austro-Turkish War (1787–91)|Austro-Turkish War of 1787]].

In 1787 the civil administration became separate from the military, but this was reversed in 1800.

===19th century===
By the end of the 18th century, it had already become apparent for some time that the Ottomans [[decline of the Ottoman Empire|were on the decline]] and were not likely to attempt any further invasions north of the Sava River. The Military Frontier thus began to outlive its usefulness. In 1848, [[Josip Jelačić]], [[Ban of Croatia]], became the commander of the Military Frontier. He pressed for the unification of Croatia, Slavonia, Dalmatia, and the Croatian-Slavonian Frontier. Although he did not have the power to abolish it, he secured approval for reforms and in 1848 the Military Frontier sent representatives to the Croatian Sabor,<ref>Tanner, Marcus (2001). ''Croatia : A Nation Forged in War'' (2nd ed.). New Haven; London: Yale University Press, p. 86-87</ref> however, this was revoked in the 1850s.<ref name=tanner>Tanner, (2001). ''Croatia'', p. 104</ref> From 1850 the Frontier, Croatia and Slavonia formally constituted a single land, but with separate administration and representation.{{sfn|Horvat|1906|pp=157}} The whole area of Military Frontier was under military administration. All population, regardless of age and sex, belonged to the army and was subject to Austrian military legislation.{{sfn|Valentic|1978|pp=53}} The Main Command had its headquarters in [[Zagreb]], but remained directly subordinate to the Ministry of War in Vienna.
 [[File:Militargrenze, Wojwodowena und Banat.jpg|400px|thumb|center|Map of the Military Frontier in the middle of the 19th century (marked with a red outline)]]
The Croatian Parliament made numerous pleas to demilitarize the Frontier after the Turkish wars subsided. The demilitarization began in 1869 and on 8 August 1873, under [[Franz Joseph]], the [[Banat Military Frontier|Banat Frontier]] was abolished and incorporated into the [[Kingdom of Hungary]], while part of the [[Croatian Military Frontier|Croatian Frontier]] (Križevci and Đurđevac regiments) was already incorporated into [[Kingdom of Croatia-Slavonia|Croatia-Slavonia]] on 1 August 1871. The decree in which the rest of the Croatian and [[Slavonian Military Frontier|Slavonian]] frontiers were incorporated into Croatia-Slavonia was proclaimed on 15 July 1881, while incorporation began on 1 August 1881, when [[Ban of Croatia]] [[Ladislav Pejačević]] took over from the Zagreb General Command.{{sfn|Horvat|1906|pp=289–290}}

== Administration ==
=== Divisions ===
In the 18th and 19th centuries, the frontier was divided into several districts:

{|class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:center"
|-
! Division
! Period
! Notes
|-
| Danube Military Frontier || 1702–1751 || Comprised parts of southern [[Bačka]] (including [[Bačka Palanka|Palanka]], [[Bački Petrovac|Petrovac]], [[Novi Sad|Petrovaradinski Šanac]], [[Titel]], etc.) and northern [[Syrmia]] (including [[Petrovaradin]], [[Šid]], etc.). After the abolishment of this section of the Frontier, one part of its territory was placed under civil administration and another part was joined with other sections of the Frontier.
|-
| Tisa Military Frontier || 1702–1751 || Comprised parts of north-eastern [[Bačka]] (including [[Sombor]], [[Subotica]], [[Kanjiža]], [[Senta]], [[Bečej]], etc.). After the abolishment of this section of the Frontier, most of its territory was placed under civil administration, while one small area in the south remained under military administration as part of the [[Šajkaška|Šajkaš Battalion]].
|-
| Mureș Military Frontier || 1702–1751 || This frontier included the region of [[Pomorišje]], the area on the northern bank of the river Mureș. After the abolishment of this section, its entire territory was placed under civil administration.
|-
| Sava Military Frontier || 1702–1751 || It was located along the Sava river.
|-
| [[Banat Military Frontier]] || 1751–1873 || It was located on the present-day [[Serbia]]n-[[Romania]]n border. It was divided into [[Serbs|Serbian]] (''Illyrian''), [[Germans|German]] (''Volksdeutscher'') and [[Romanians|Romanian]] (''Vlach'') sections.
|-
| [[Slavonian Military Frontier]] || 1745–1881 || It was located along [[Posavina]], from eastern [[Croatia]], following the river [[Sava]], along the border with [[Bosnia-Herzegovina]] and [[Serbia]], and stretched into [[Syrmia]], until inflow into Danube near [[Zemun]] (today part of [[Belgrade]]). Its north-eastern border followed the [[Danube]] up until the [[Petrovaradin]].
|-
| [[Croatian Military Frontier]] || 1553–1881 || It was located on the border of Croatia and [[Bosnia (region)|Bosnia]]. This part of the Military Frontier included the geographic regions of [[Lika]], [[Kordun]], [[Banovina (region)|Banovina]] (named after "Banska krajina"), and bordered the [[Adriatic Sea]] to the west, [[Venetian Republic]] to the south, Habsburg Croatia to the west, and the Ottoman Empire to the east. It extended onto the [[Slavonian Military Frontier]] near the confluence of the rivers [[Una (Sava)|Una]] and [[Sava]].
|-
| [[Šajkaš Battalion]] || 1763–1873 || It was a small part of the Frontier that was formed in 1763 from parts of the previously abolished Danube and Tisa sections of the frontier. In 1852, Šajkaš battalion was transformed into Titel infantry battalion. It was abolished in 1873, and its territory was incorporated into Bačka-Bodrog County.
|-
| [[Transylvanian Military Frontier]] || 1762–1851 || It was located in the eastern and southern parts of [[Transylvania]]. It was composed of two [[Székelys|Székely]] and two [[Romanians|Romanian]] regiments. The establishment of the frontier was followed by the ''[[Mádéfalva]] Massacre'' or [[Siculicidium]].
|}

=== Maps ===
<gallery>
File:Eyalet of temesvar1699.png|Map of Military Frontier sections in Syrmia, Bačka, and Pomorišje in 1699-1718
File:Banat03.png|Map of Military Frontier sections in Syrmia, Bačka, and Pomorišje in 1718-1744
File:Tamis banat06.png|Map of Military Frontier sections in Syrmia, Bačka, and Pomorišje in 1744-1750
File:Tamis banat1751 1778.png|Map of Military Frontier sections in Syrmia, Bačka, and Banat in 1751-1873
File:Vojvodina18 19 cen.png|Map of Military Frontier sections in Banat, Syrmia, and Bačka (18th-19th century)
File:Map of Voivodeship of Serbia and Banat of Temeschwar (1849-1860).png|Map of Military Frontier sections in Banat, Syrmia, and Bačka in 1849 - Banatian and Slavonian military frontier and Schajkasch Battalion
File:Slavonia02.png|Map of the Slavonian Military Frontier in 1849
File:Croatian Military Frontier-1868.png|Map of the Croatian Military Frontier in 1868
</gallery>

== Demographics ==
=== 1828 ===
In 1828 the population included:<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=wCxPAAAAcAAJ Versuch einer Darstellung der oesterreichischen Monarchie in statistischen Tafeln], p. 7</ref>

* 543,154 (50.60%) [[Eastern Orthodox]]
* 434,344 (40.46%) [[Roman Catholics]]
* 53,073 (4.95%) [[Greek Catholics]]
* 42,659 (3.98%) [[Protestants]]
* 450 (0.05%) [[Jews]]

=== 1846 ===
An Austrian statistical yearbook for 1846 notes that 1,226,408 residents lived in the Military Frontier:<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=VLQAAAAAcAAJ Uebersichts-Tafeln zur Statistik der österreichischen Monarchie: besonderer Abdruck des X. und XI. Heftes der "Statistischen Mittheilungen". 1850, page 2]</ref>
* 598,603 (48.82%) Eastern Orthodox
* 514,545 (41.96%) Roman Catholics
* 62,743 (5.12%) Greek Catholics
* 49,980 (4.08%) Protestants
* 537 (0.05%) Jews

=== 1857 ===
The first modern population census in the Austrian Empire was conducted in 1857 and recorded the religion of the population. The population of the Military Frontier numbered 1,062,072 inhabitants,{{sfn|Bundesministerium für Inneres|1859|p=179}} while the religious structure of the Military Frontier was:

* 587,269 (55.30%) Eastern Orthodox
* 448,703 (42.26%) Roman Catholics
* 20,139 (1.91%) Protestants
* 5,533 (0.53%) Greek Catholics
* 404 (0.05%) Jews

Population data by divisions:

Croatian-Slavonian Military Frontier (Total 675,817){{sfn|Bundesministerium für Inneres|1859|p=172}}

* 396,843 (58.72%) Roman Catholics
* 272,755 (40.36%) Eastern Orthodox
* 5,486 (0.81%) Greek Catholics
* 733 (0.11%) others

Banat Military Frontier (Total 386,255){{sfn|Bundesministerium für Inneres|1859|p=176}}

* 314,514 (81.43%) Eastern Orthodox
* 51,860 (13.43%) Roman Catholics
* 19,418 (5.03%) [[Protestantism|Evangelicals]]
* 393 (0.1%) Jews
* 70 (0.01%) others

== Legacy ==
Many Serbs emigrated northwards into the southern regions of Hungary during the period when the territory of Serbia was largely under Ottoman rule. In order to attract Serbs into Hungary, emperor [[Leopold I, Holy Roman Emperor|Leopold I]] decreed that they would be allowed to elect their own ruler, or ''Vojvoda,'' from which the name ''[[Vojvodina]]'' derives. In 1690, about 30,000 to 70,000 Serbs settled eastern Slavonia, Bačka and Banat in what became known as the [[Great Migrations of the Serbs|Great Serbian Migrations]]. Later the Habsburgs did not allow Serbs to elect their own vojvoda; they incorporated the region into the military frontiers of eastern Slavonia and the Banat. However, the strong Serb presence in the region resulted in Vojvodina serving as the cradle of the [[Serbian renaissance]] during the 19th century.<ref name="magocsi"/>

From October 1990, eight months before Croatia [[Independence of Croatia|declared independence]] (June 25, 1991) from [[SFRY|Yugoslavia]], the Serbs who lived in the region of the former Military Frontier (Vojna Krajina) started an [[Log Revolution|insurrection]] and adopted the name (Krajina) for their unrecognised ''[[Republic of Serbian Krajina]]''. The occupied territory was largely identical to that of the Military Frontier,{{sfn|Miller|1997|p=10}} however also including some territories that were never a part of former Military Frontier, such as northern [[Dalmatia]] with town of [[Knin]]. Other territories that had constituted the Military Frontier remained under control of [[Republic of Croatia]]. Croatian forces regained control over Serb occupied territories after [[Operation Storm]] in 1995.

==See also==
{{commons category|Habsburg Military Frontier}}
* [[Grenz infantry]]
* [[March (territory)]]
* [[Buffer zone]]
* [[Hundred Years' Croatian–Ottoman War]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

==Sources==
{{refbegin|2}}
* {{cite book|author-last=Fine |author-first=John Van Antwerp Jr. |author-link=John Van Antwerp Fine Jr. |title=The Late Medieval Balkans: A Critical Survey from the Late Twelfth Century to the Ottoman Conquest |year=1994 |orig-date=1987 |location=Ann Arbor, Michigan |publisher=[[University of Michigan Press]] |isbn=0472082604 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=LvVbRrH1QBgC}}
* {{cite book|author-last=Fine |author-first=John Van Antwerp Jr. |author-link=John Van Antwerp Fine Jr. |title=When Ethnicity Did Not Matter in the Balkans: A Study of Identity in Pre-Nationalist Croatia, Dalmatia, and Slavonia in the Medieval and Early-Modern Periods |year=2005 |location=Ann Arbor, Michigan |publisher=[[University of Michigan Press]] |isbn=0472025600 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=wEF5oN5erE0C}}
* {{cite book |author-last=Horvat |author-first=Rudolf |title=Najnovije doba hrvatske povjesti |language=hr |trans-title=The latest era of Croatian history |url=https://archive.org/details/najnovijedobahr00horvgoog |publisher=[[Matica hrvatska]] |year=1906}} ([[:s:hr:Najnovije doba hrvatske povjesti (R. Horvat)|Wikisource]])
* {{cite book |author-last=Valentic |author-first=Mirko |title=Vojna Krajina u austrijskoj politici 1849-1860 |language=hr |trans-title=Military Border in Austrian politics in 1849-1860 |url=https://hrcak.srce.hr/en/file/319804 |year=1978}} 
* {{cite book|author=Bundesministerium für Inneres |title=Statistische Übersichten Über Die Bevölkerung und Den Viehstand Von Österreich. Nach Der Zählung Vom 31. Oktober 1857 |language=de |trans-title=Statistical surveys of the population and livestock of Austria. According to the census of October 31, 1857 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zxv1MgEACAAJ |year=1859}}
* {{cite book|author-last=Jelavich |author-first=Barbara |author-link=Barbara Jelavich |title=History of the Balkans: Eighteenth and Nineteenth Centuries |volume=1 |year=1983 |publisher=[[Cambridge University Press]] |isbn=9780521252492 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qR4EeOrTm-0C}}
* {{cite web|author-last=Kulauzov |author-first=Maša |year=2008 |title=The emergence, development and demilitarization of the military border of the Austrian Monarchy |url=http://www.doiserbia.nb.rs/ft.aspx?id=0352-57320825141K |publisher=Matica srpska |language=sr}}
* {{cite book|author-last=Miller |author-first=Nicholas J. |title=Between Nation and State: Serbian Politics in Croatia Before the First World War |year=1997 |location=Pittsburgh |publisher=[[University of Pittsburgh Press]] |isbn=9780822939894 |url=https://archive.org/details/betweennationsta00mill_0 |url-access=registration}}
* {{cite book|author-last=Pálffy |author-first=Géza |author-link=Géza Pálffy |editor-last=Davies |editor-first=Brian |title=Warfare in Eastern Europe, 1500-1800 |chapter=The Habsburg Defense System in Hungary Against the Ottomans in the Sixteenth Century: A Catalyst of Military Development in Central Europe |year=2012 |publisher=[[Brill Publishers]] |isbn=9789004221987 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ie8xAQAAQBAJ}}
* {{cite book|author-last=Štefanec |author-first=Nataša |title=Država ili ne. Ustroj Vojne krajine 1578. godine i hrvatsko-slavonski staleži u regionalnoj obrani i politici |trans-title=State or Not. Organization of the Military Border in 1578 and Croatian-Slavonian Estates in Regional Defense and Politics |publisher=Srednja Europa |location=Zagreb |year=2011 |isbn=978-953-6979-73-8 |url=https://www.bib.irb.hr/516493|language=hr}}
{{refend}}

== Bibliography ==
{{refbegin|2}}
* {{Cite journal|last=Dabić|first=Vojin S.|title=Wanderungen der Serben nach Kroatien und Slawonien vom Anfang des XVI bis Ende des XVII Jahrhunderts|journal=Историјски часопис|year=1992|volume=38|issue=1991|pages=43–76|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=o3pBCgAAQBAJ&pg=PA43}}
* {{Cite book|last=Dabić|first=Vojin S.|chapter=The Habsburg-Ottoman War of 1716-1718 and Demographic Changes in the War-Afflicted Territories|title=The Peace of Passarowitz, 1718|year=2011|location=West Lafayette|publisher=Purdue University Press|pages=191–208|isbn=9781557535948 |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=T3Sg_1wR4poC&pg=PA191}}
* {{Cite book|editor-last1=Fodor|editor-first1=Pál|editor-last2=Dávid|editor-first2=Géza|title=Ottomans, Hungarians, and Habsburgs in Central Europe: The Military Confines in the Era of Ottoman Conquest|year=2000|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=V9vom-ZAElcC|publisher=BRILL|isbn=9004119078}}
* {{Cite journal|last=Ilić-Mandić|first=Jelena|title=Forging the Wallachian Military Border, 1769-1772|journal=Banatica|year=2021|volume=31|number=2|pages=251–273|url=http://rih.iib.ac.rs/1118/1/Forging%20the%20Wallachian%20Military%20Border%201769-1772%2C%20Banatica%2031-2%2C%202021%2C%20251-273.pdf}}
* {{Cite book|last=Ilić-Mandić|first=Jelena|chapter=The Military Frontier and Emigration Challenges in the 18th Century|title=Migrations in the Slavic Cultural Space From the Middle Ages to the Present Day|year=2022b|location=Lódź|publisher=Wydawnictwo Universytetu Lódzkiego|pages=45–62|chapter-url=http://rih.iib.ac.rs/1121/1/Military%20Frontier%20and%20Emigration%20Challenges%20in%2018th%20c.%2C%202022.pdf}}
* {{cite book|author=Dragutin Pavličević|title=Vojna krajina: povijesni pregled, historiografija, rasprave|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zssKAAAAIAAJ|year=1984|publisher=Sveučilišna naklada Liber}}
* {{cite book|last=Vaníček|first=Fr|title=Specialgeschichte der Militärgrenze: aus Originalquellen und Quellenwerken geschöpft|publisher=Aus der Kaiserlich-Königlichen Hof- und Staatsdruckerei|date=1875|url=https://www.google.com/books/edition/Specialgeschichte_der_Milit%25C3%25A4rgrenze/S88Uupg44n8C?hl=e&pg=PA20|pp=}}
* Walter Berger: ''Baut dem Reich einen Wall. Das Buch vom Entstehen der Militärgrenze wider die Türken''. Leopold Stocker Verlag, 1979 {{ISBN|3-7020-0342-8}}
* Jakob Amstadt: ''Die k.k. Militaergrenze 1522 – 1881 (mit einer Gesamtbibliographie)''. Dissertation, University of Würzburg, 1969
* Heeresgeschichtliches Museum (Hrsg.): ''Die k. k. Militärgrenze (Beiträge zu ihrer Geschichte)''. ÖBV, 1973 (Schriften des Heeresgeschichtlichen Museums, 6) {{ISBN|3-215-73302-1}}
* Mirko Valentić: ''Vojna krajina i pitanje njezina sjedinjenja s Hrvatskom 1849–1881'', CHP, 1981, Zagreb
* Alexander Buczynski: ''Gradovi Vojne krajine 1–2'', HIP, 1997, Zagreb
* Milan Kruhek: ''Krajiške utvrde Hrvatskog kraljevstva'', HIP, 1995, Zagreb
* Potiska i pomoriška vojna granica (1702–1751), Muzej Vojvodine, Novi Sad, 2003.
{{refend}}

==External links==
* [http://terkepek.adatbank.transindex.ro/kepek/netre/43.gif Map]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20020615112845/http://srpska-mreza.com/library/facts/krajina-map.jpg Map]
* [http://www.conflicts.rem33.com/images/Ungarn/OESTEREICH%20ENTWICKLUNG.jpg Map]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20160304063911/http://lazarus.elte.hu/~mihalyi/proba/Hungary%201699.jpg Map]

{{Provinces of the Austrian Empire}}
{{Subdivisions of Austria-Hungary}}

{{coord missing|Europe}}

{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Military Frontier| ]]
[[Category:Croatia under Habsburg rule]]
[[Category:Military history of Croatia]]
[[Category:16th-century military history of Croatia]]
[[Category:17th-century military history of Croatia]]
[[Category:18th-century military history of Croatia]]
[[Category:Military history of Slovenia]]
[[Category:Military history of Serbia]]
[[Category:Modern history of Croatia]]
[[Category:Modern history of Slovenia]]
[[Category:Modern history of Serbia]]
[[Category:Hungary under Habsburg rule]]
[[Category:Serbia under Habsburg rule]]
[[Category:Austro-Hungarian rule in Bosnia and Herzegovina]]
[[Category:Vojvodina under Habsburg rule]]
[[Category:History of Banat]]
[[Category:History of Bačka]]
[[Category:History of Syrmia]]
[[Category:Ottoman period in Romania]]
[[Category:1553 establishments in the Habsburg monarchy]]
[[Category:1881 disestablishments in Austria-Hungary]]
[[Category:Ottoman period in the history of Bosnia and Herzegovina]]
[[Category:Disestablishments in the Kingdom of Hungary (1867–1918)]]
[[Category:States and territories disestablished in 1881]]