During the Sixteen century the hinterland of the Dalmatian cities was visibly reduced given the Ottoman offensive. Many inhabitants of this territory searched protection and refuge in other Venetian places, while the conquered lands became part of the Ottoman Empire and home for all sorts of potential attackers. Strongly depopulated, the rural territory of Zadar (Zara), Šibenik (Senbenico) and Trogir (Traù) became a permanent target for the Ottoman subjects. The Morlachs were those who had the greatest experience in this kind of actions, especially through the frequent damages they made with their herds in the Dalmatian pasturelands since the Fourteenth century. Although, during the Sixteenth century the Morlach intrusions in the Venetian Dalmatia continued in numerous forms: they were soldiers in irregular Ottoman troops, were feared thieves and semi-nomadic shepherds who won′t obey any rule.
The peace period between the Venetian Republic and the Ottoman Empire set between 1540 and 1570 provided the Morlachs with the chance of becoming members of some organized and recognized communities. On one side, the Venetian efforts proved to have some positive consequences if it is to consider various Morlachs colonization in Venetian hinterlands or the rental contracts concluded by them with the locals. On the other side, the criminality involving the Morlachs (robberies, assassinates, kidnaps, rapes, etc.) continued to be an administrative challenge. In this context, names like Millia Popovich, feared Morlach malefactor from the hinterland of Trogir, keeped alive the outlaws image of the Dalmatian Morlachs.
Published as Soluțiile oficialilor venețieni din Dalmația la practicile criminale ale morlacilor în decursul secolului al XVI-lea. Cazul: Milia Popovich/Melia Popović in „Povestiri întretăiate. Istoria în cheie minoră”, ed. Ovidiu Cristea, Târgoviște, 2016, 295-314 and available here
