Uskoks The Uskoks ( , ; singular : Uskok ; names in other languages ) 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 " ( " the ones who ambushed " ) in Croatian . Bands of Uskoks fought a fairly successful guerrilla war against the Ottomans , and they formed small units and rowed swift boats . Since the uskoks were checked on land and were rarely paid their annual subsidy , they resorted to acts of piracy . The exploits of the Uskoks contributed to a renewal of war between Venice and the Ottoman Empire ( 1571 – 1573 ) . An extremely curious picture of contemporary manners is presented by the Venetian agents , whose reports on this war resemble a knightly chronicle of the Middle Ages . These chronicles contain information pertaining to single combats , tournaments and other chivalrous adventures . Many of these troops served abroad . At the Battle of Lepanto in 1571 , for example , a Dalmatian squadron assisted the allied fleets of Spain , Venice , Austria and the Papal States to crush the Ottoman navy . After a series of incidents that escalated into the Uskok War ( 1615 – 1618 ) , the Uskok activity in their stronghold of Senj mostly ceased . History . Early period . The Ottoman conquest of Bosnia and Herzegovina during the early years of the 16th century drove large numbers of Croats from their homes , which in the town of Klis prompted the formation of the " Uskok " military . Owing to its location , Klis Fortress was an important defensive position which stands on the route by which the Ottomans could penetrate the mountain barrier separating the coastal lowlands from around Split in Croatia , from Turkish - held Bosnia . A body of these " uskoks " led by Croatian captain Petar Kružić 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 , who obtained the Croatian crown in 1527 , Kružić and his freebooting Uskoci were a law unto themselves . After Petar Kružić ' s death , and the lack of water supplies Klis defenders finally surrendered to the Ottomans in exchange for their freedom . On March 12 , 1537 , the city and the fortress was released to the Turk hands , many of the citizens left the town while the Uskoci went to the city of Senj on the Croatian coast , where they continued fighting the Turkish invaders . As early as 1520 the Uskok bands started to gather in areas surrounding Senj , Croatia . Large portions of the population began to travel to Senj in 1520 when the Ottoman Empire invaded the Balkan Peninsula with raids and destruction , bringing Senj natives together with those from the lands of Habsburg , other Croatians from Dalmatia and Dubrovnik , Albanians from southern Venetian territories , and Italians from the western shores of the Adriatic . At Senj , the Uskoci of Klis were soon joined by other refugees from Novi Vinodolski in northwestern Croatia , from Otočac on the Gacka River , and from other Croatian towns and villages . Also , large numbers of Serbian and Croatian fugitives from Bosnia and Serbia fleeing Ottoman persecution , joined the ranks of the Uskok bands . In 1522 the border territory of Senj was taken over by the Habsburgs under the authority of Archduke Ferdinand , forming a state - controlled Militärgrenze , or Military Frontier . The Austrian Emperor Ferdinand I instituted a system of planting colonies of defenders along the Military Frontier . Moreover , the uskoks were promised an annual subsidy in return for their services . Numerous refugees from Ottoman areas began settling along this territory , crossing the border to escape the terror of Ottoman attacks . Reasons for fleeing Ottoman areas changed after the Battle of Mohács in 1526 when Ottoman authorities , the Turks , put a limit on the privileges that Christians were given , unless these Christians were to convert to the Muslim faith . Christian guerilla resistance in Turk - occupied areas of Dalmatia and Bosnia caused these people to flee and settle down , first at the fortress of Klis along the Military Frontier , then at Senj . The new Uskok stronghold , screened by mountains and forests , was unassailable by cavalry or artillery . However , the fortress was admirably suitable to the lightly armed uskoks who were excellent in guerrilla warfare . The Martelossi were employed by the Ottomans to discourage Uskok penetration of Turkish territory , which was not very profitable anyhow . Since the uskoks were checked on land and were rarely paid their annual subsidy , they resorted to acts of piracy . Large galleys could not anchor in the bay of Senj , which is shallow and exposed to sudden gales . So , the uskoks fitted out a fleet of swift boats , which were light enough to navigate the smallest creeks and inlets of the shores of Illyria . Moreover , these boats were helpful in providing the uskoks a temporary landing on shore . With these they were able to attack numerous commercial areas on the Adriatic . The uskoks saw their ranks swell as outlaws from all nations joined them . Eventually , the whole city of Senj lived from piracy . The expeditions were blessed in the local church and the monasteries of the Dominicans and the Franciscans received tenths from the loot . After the War of the Holy League in 1537 against the Ottoman Empire , a truce between Venice and the Ottomans was created in 1539 . This led to the evacuation of all Uskoks in Dalmatia in 1541 where they had been defending a Christian enclave in the mountains during the war . Throughout the following years the Habsburgs were up in arms with the Turks , giving the Uskoks the opportunity to repeatedly raid Bosnia and Dalmatia . The Uskoks were able to continue doing so up until 1547 when peace was established between the two , forcing the Uskoks to find other ways of making ends meet . As with other Slavic pirates , the Uskok territory was not suitable for any form of agriculture , forcing them to turn to piracy once more . Uskok Code . As a group whose central reason for being brought together was Christianity , the Uskoks ’ explanation for piracy and warfare rested in their religion . These people felt they were fighting a holy war against the Muslim enemy in defense of the boundaries of Christendom . Seeing that these people were once refugees from Ottoman nations , they were given no choice but to leave in order to continue following the religion they had been their entire lives . The Uskok people established a code to follow , holding Senj honor and its values in a central place of that code . Honor is what they believed to be the most important quality that a hero could have , which all Uskoks strived to be . Other important aspects of the Uskok heroic honor are : loyalty to their city , army , and band ; honorable attention to every knight and obligation ; readiness to lay down their lives or spill their blood in time of war ; experience in warfare ; ability to benefit their city ; success and glory in duels with the Turks and other enemies of the Christian faith ; and severity in punishing those who were disobedient or rebellious . It was also made known the Uskok qualities that would cancel out one ’ s honor : reluctance to shed one ’ s own blood ; failure to engage the enemy in battle ; groundless boasting ; avoidance of risks on the frontier ; failure to take prisoners , trophies , or booty ; meanness in rewards to comrades or spies ; the absence of any general recognition of one ’ s manliness ; and the lack of battle scars or wounds . From these principles it is clear that the Uskoks admired the strength and arrogance of a hero and despised the weakness displayed by a coward . The importance of these principles was instilled in boys at a young age . Taught to take part in competitions , they would test their strength and dexterity though racing , fighting , and throwing stones at one another until blood ran . Over time , this code would be broken , ignored , and overlooked as the Uskok attitude and motives would change . Ottoman invasion and Venice . Beginning as inland pirates , the Uskoci shortly turned to the seas once realizing the full potential of the geography of Senj . The land was protected by thick forests and mountains while the jagged cliffs near the seas prevented warships from entering . The seas in the Gulf of Quarnero were quite rough , which posed navigational hazards as further protection from their enemies . Uskoks began their attacks upon Turkish ships with boats large enough to hold thirty to fifty men . After 1540 , however , Venice , as mistress of the seas , guaranteed the safety of Ottoman merchant vessels , and provided them with an escort of galleys . The uskoks retaliated by ravaging the Venetian islands of Krk , Rab and Pag . Moreover , they utilized the Venetian territories in Dalmatia as a springboard in order to launch attacks against the Ottomans . After 1561 the Uskoci attacked Christian shipping in Dubrovnik with numbers never exceeding 2000 men . By 1573 the Uskoks caused considerable concern in Venice with frequent attacks once Venetian attempts of protection had proven to be ineffective . The following years led the reputation of the Uskoks to spread , becoming the resort of refugees and outlaws of all kinds from all nations . Meanwhile , the corsairs of Greece and Africa were free to raid the unprotected southern shores of Italy . Venice was besieged with complaints from the Porte , the Vatican , and the Viceroy of Naples with his sovereign , the King of Spain . A Venetian appeal to Austria for help met with little success , and the offenses of the uskoks against the Venetians were outweighed by their attacks against the Ottomans . Minuccio Minucci , a Venetian envoy at Graz , states that a share of the uskoks ' spoils of silk , velvet and jewels , went to the ladies of the Archducal Court of Graz , where important matters between Venice and Austria were negotiated . From 1577 onwards , Venice endeavored to crush the pirates without offending Austria , enlisting Albanians in place of their Dalmatian crews , who feared reprisals at home . For a time the uskoks only ventured forth at night , during the winter season and even during stormy weather . In 1592 , a strong Ottoman army invaded Croatia hoping to capture Senj . Led by Telli Hasan Pasha , the beylerbey of Bosnia , the Ottomans managed to capture a number of uskok settlements , killing and enslaving the population . However , the army was routed and dispersed in the following year . Austria was involved in war with the Ottomans and the Venetian admiral Giovanni Bembo blockaded Trieste and Rijeka ( Fiume ) , where the pirates forwarded their booty for sale . They also erected two forts to command the passages from Senj to the open sea . A raid by the Uskoks upon Istria resulted in an agreement between Venice and Austria , and Count Joseph de Rabatta was appointed to act as commissioner to those in Senj as well as the chief negotiator with the Venetians . Rabatta came to Senj in 1600 with a strong bodyguard detail , and was very energetic . His time ruling over the Uskoks was brutal where many Uskoks were hung or sent to fight in the Turkish war , revealing his favor over the Venetian side . He soon lost all military support , giving the Uskoks the opportunity to overthrow his rule and was ultimately killed in January 1602 , enabling Senj to return to its usual state , with the fugitive Uskoks returning to Senj where they resumed their acts of piracy . Up until 1611 the Uskoks were relatively undisturbed . Piracy was strictly forbidden at this point but it was tolerated in order to avoid payment of subsides owed to those of Senj . A Venetian squadron intercepted an Uskok fleet in the spring of 1613 in response to the complaints regarding Uskok activity and , as reported , sixty Uskoks were beheaded with their heads then displayed in St . Mark ’ s Square . In response to this offense the Uskok captured a galley of Venetians , slaughtered the crew , and used the blood of the victims to flavor their bread . The uskoks would conduct such acts up until 1615 when their piracy went so far as creating an open war between Venice and Austria . Venice , frustrated with the piracy , launched an attack after the Archduke Ferdinand of Styria refused to reprimand the uskoks . A peace treaty was signed at Madrid in autumn 1617 which arranged for the uskoks be disbanded , as well as their ships and fortresses be destroyed . An agreement between the Habsburg and Venetians in 1618 expelled the Uskoks from Senj , sending them more inland into Croatia with very few families who were proven to be peaceful remaining in Senj , bringing their reign to its end . The pirates and their families were , accordingly , transported to the interior of Croatia , where they gave their name to the " Uskoken Gebirge " , a group of mountains on the borders of Carniola now called Žumberak / Gorjanci . They were also settled in the nearby White Carniola and Kostel in what is now Slovenia . Their presence has also been traced near Učka in Istria , where such significant family names as Novlian ( from Novi Vinodolski ) , Ottocian ( from Otočac ) and Clissan ( from Klis , older orthography ) , were noted by Franceschi in 1879 . However , the Austrian Military Sea Frontier authority survived , and Uskok activity resumed in later years , almost causing another war between Habsburg and Venice in 1707 . Modern . Today , a traditional unit of uskoks called " Kliški uskoci " ( " Klisian uskoks " ) exists as a ceremonial regiment in honour of the national legacy of uskoks in Croatia . The unit of Klis uskoks are composed entirely of Croatian war veterans . After the war for independence , the former soldiers wanted to revitalize the historical and cultural heritage of Klis , the town whose bloody history gave much inspiration during the war . The veterans participate in historical and cultural events to renew the memory of the uskoks of Klis . They were among the six historic Croatian military units represented at the funeral of Otto von Habsburg in July 2011 .