During the XVI century the hinterland of Trogir, like the entire Dalmatia, suffered a significant economic and demographic decrease. The abandoned lands and villages from the border region between the Ottoman Empire and the Venetian Republic became a new home for the semi-nomadic Morlach shepherds. Some of the former owners of the properties abandoned during the military conflict with the Ottomans moved to the coast cities and decided to rent their lands to these Morlachs arrived from beyond the border. This happened with the villages of Radosich, Triloque and Suchi Dol that were rented to some Morlach families which, according to some public documents had to fulfill a list of obligations established by the Dalmatian owners. The types of duties that must have been accomplished by the Morlachs in front of the Venetian landlords and also to the Ottoman rulers were not so different from the obligations fulfilled by other Vlach communities identified in the inner of the Balkan Peninsula. Considering that the goal of the Veneto – Ottoman border region was to maintain the peace between them in Dalmatia, the Venetian decision of renting lands to the Ottoman subjects appeared as an advantageous solution for all the parties involved: the inhabitants of Dalmatia, the Ottoman authorities from the Balkans and the semi-nomadic Morlachs.
Published paper here
