Unit for Special Operations Јединица за специјалне операције Jedinica za specijalne operacije | |
---|---|
Common name | Red Berets Frankies |
Abbreviation | JSO |
Agency overview | |
Formed | 1991 (de facto) 1996 (de jure) |
Dissolved | 25 March 2003; 16 years ago |
Superseding agency | None (de jure) |
Employees | 200 (+600 in reserves) |
Jurisdictional structure | |
Operations jurisdiction | FR Yugoslavia |
Headquarters | Kula |
Agency executives |
|
Parent agency | State Security Service(1996–2001) |
Unit for Special Operations (Serbian: Јединица за специјалне операције, romanized: Jedinica za specijalne operacije; abbr. ЈСО or JSO) or Special Operations Unit, also known as Red Berets (by berets; Serbian: Црвене беретке, romanized: Crvene beretke) or Frankies (by Franko Simatović; Serbian: Френкијевци, romanized: Frenkijevci), was an elite special forces police unit of the FR Yugoslav State Security Service (RDB).
The JSO was created in 1996 by merging paramilitary units under the command of Željko Ražnatović 'Arkan' and Franko Simatović and incorporating them into the security system of the FR Yugoslavia under the auspice of Jovica Stanišić, head of the Serbian State Security (RDB). From 1996 to November 2001, it was formally under the competence of the RDB. The unit was finally disbanded in March 2003, after the Prime Minister of SerbiaZoran Đinđić was assassinated as a result of a conspiracy in which some members of the unit were involved.[1]
24 November 2018. Urota pictures, plot summary, trivia, quotes, news, reviews, cast, crew. Urota photos, posters, stills and award nominations. UrukundoUmunara w'Umurinzi utangaza Ubwami bwa Yehova—2007. Numvaga nsa n'urota inzozi mbi, nkumva ko nyuma yaho ndi buze gukanguka.
Patrons and numerous members of the unit and its predecessors have been implicated and some sentenced, for war crimes during the Yugoslav Wars, as well as criminal activity. The unit's official commander Franko Simatović and its gray eminenceJovica Stanišić (head of RDB during the first half of Slobodan Milošević's rule) were acquitted at International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia for various war crimes. Various other members are convicted or being tried for the Ibar Highway assassination attempt and for the murders of Ivan Stambolić and Slavko Ćuruvija. The JSO was also reportedly involved in instances of war crimes in the Kosovo War.[2]
History[edit]
The origins of the JSO can be traced back to April 1991, on the eve of Croatian War of Independence, when a paramilitary group led by Franko Simatović and Dragan Vasiljković set off from Belgrade to Knin, capital of the self-proclaimed Republic of Serb Krajina. Several days earlier, on March 16, Milošević promised 'preparations of appropriate units capable of defending interests of Serbia and Serb people outside Serbia' in a closed session with Serbian municipal presidents.[3] The order of creating such a unit was given to Jovica Stanišić, Milošević's strongman and head of RDB, which committed the task to Stanišić. The unit had not had any formal connections with Belgrade, so the operation was taken solely within RDB, without the involvement of Serbian Ministry of the Interior. In Knin, Simatović and Vasiljković contacted Milan Martić, minister of the interior of Republic of Serbian Krajina, who subordinated a group of fighters under Vasiljković's command, who gave them thorough training and imposed the discipline;[3] the unit would later become known under the name Knindže (a portmanteau of 'Knin' and 'ninja'), and Vasiljković under the war name 'Kapetan Dragan'.[4] The name 'Red Berets' came after the battle for Glina, when Vasiljković distributed the berets to his men.[3]
The other wing of the unit was apparently formed in May 1991, in Eastern Slavonia. According to the hints given by Simatović, the unit seems to have been involved in Borovo Selo killings on 1–2 May, when 12 Croatian policemen were killed and several tens wounded. May 4 will later be taken as the unit's anniversary. According to several witness accounts, Radovan Stojičić 'Badža', an official of the Serbian ministry of interior, was in charge of operations in Eastern Slavonia.[3][5] Upon the arrival in the Eastern Slavonia theater, Željko Ražnatović 'Arkan' took over the paramilitary unit under the name of 'Serbian Volunteer Guard', better known as 'Arkan's Tigers'.[6] On 23 November 1991, after taking control over Laslovo from Croatian forces, the Guard captured two Croatian T-55 tanks and began utilizing them.[7][8] The Guard later took part in various operations in Bosnia: in Bijeljina in 1992, near Bihać in 1994, and at the Sana river in 1995. The Bihać operation, code-named 'Operation Spider' ('Operacija Pauk') was done in cooperation with the Army of Serb Krajina and the Army of Republika Srpska. The goal was to assist the fledgling Autonomous Province of Western Bosnia, a Serb-allied Muslim entity fighting against the central Bosnian government. During 'Operation Spider', members of the Serbian Volunteer Guard fought under the ad hoc name 3rd Tactical Group.[9] In September 1995, at Sana river, the unit assisted the Army of Republika Srpska in re-establishing the defense lines against the joint Croatian-Bosniak offensive codenamed 'Operation Mistral 2'/'Operation Sana'.
These two paramilitary units were allegedly the core of future JSO. The joint unit was officially formed in 1994, under the name of Unit for anti-terrorist action ('Jedinica za antiteroristička dejstva', JATD), one year before the wars in Bosnia and Croatia came to an end.[10][11] The JATD first consisted of light mobile artillery and infantry. The unit operated as a part of the Serbian State Security (Resor Državne bezbednosti), which was then a part of Serbia's Interior ministry.
The members of the unit first came into the public eye during a 1995 hostage crisis when UN personnel were being held captive by the Army of Republika Srpska. The unit members provided support for Jovica Stanišić, head of the Serbian State Security (RDB) who, acting as a mediator, arranged for the safe release of the hostages.[10][12]
In 1996, one year after the Dayton Agreement and the end of conflicts in Croatia and Bosnia, JATD was re-structured and renamed to Jedinica za specijalne operacije, or JSO. A former Yugoslav People's Army barracks in Kula was chosen for its base camp.
At the very beginning of the Kosovo War, the unit was ordered to set up a temporary base of operations on the Goč mountain, near Kosovo. From there, JSO launched a number of operations aimed against the Kosovo Liberation Army. One of their first actions was the 1998 successful assault on the KLA commander Adem Jashari's hideout. Later in 1999, the unit engaged in a fierce battle in and around Peć.[13] The unit operated a wide variety of armored vehicles, including American-made Hummers procured via Cyprus, which all proved to be effective for quick operations under constant NATO aerial bombardment. After the Kumanovo Agreement and the subsequent end of the war, the JSO, alongside the police and armed forces, left Kosovo.
On 3 October 1999, a vehicle column of Serbian Renewal Movement (SPO), one of Serbia's largest opposition parties at the time, was attacked while moving down Ibar Highway. A tipper truck rammed into the moving vehicles. SPO officials Veselin Bošković, Zvonko Osmajlić, Vučko Rakočević, and Dragan Vušurović were killed in the staged accident and SPO president Drašković was injured. In a ruling by the Belgrade District Court on February 16, 2007, former State Security officer and unit's commander Milorad Ulemek, was sentenced to 15 years in prison and former State Security chief Radomir Marković received eight years. Members of the Special Operations Unit, JSO, Duško Maričić, Branko Berček, Nenad Bujošević, and Leonid Milivojević were sentenced to 14 years in prison.[14]
On 25 August 2000, former president of Serbia and once a rival of Milošević's, Ivan Stambolić was detained by the police.[15] Soon after, he was gone missing during his every-day jogging routine. His remains were uncovered on 28 March 2003, in Fruška Gora.[16] After a yearlong trial in Serbia's special court in Belgrade, a judge found Radomir Marković and Milorad Ulemek, guilty of planning and carrying out the assassination of Ivan Stambolić.[17]
The unit's role in the 2000 overthrow of Slobodan Milošević remained, to this day, somewhat controversial. On 4 October, opposition leader Zoran Đinđić met with Milorad Ulemek. Ulemek struck a bargain with Đinđić that he and his unit would stand down as long as the police were not attacked.[18] The unit was most likely given the order to storm the protesters, who rallied in downtown Belgrade on 5 October. But soon after the unit's characteristic armored Hummers appeared in front of the protesters, the vehicles simply returned to base. Later, in his book titled 'Peti oktobar' ('October 5'), former State Security chief Radomir Marković claimed he was the one who ordered the unit to be deployed in Belgrade.[19]
The policy of the new government, especially regarding the indictment of the former Serbian war leaders by the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia, was met with harsh disagreement from the unit's commanding officers. In 2001, JSO engaged in a mutiny, blocking the Belgrade-Niš highway.[20] The official reason for the mutiny, was an order given to the unit to arrest the Banović brothers, wanted by the ICTY. After a few days of harsh negotiations, the JSO's mutiny ended.
During this period, Ulemek got involved in criminal activities of the Zemun Clan, providing both intelligence information and muscle for them. During 2001, the clan kidnapped several influential businessmen and demanded millions as ransom money. Among those men were Milija Babović and Miroslav Mišković, widely considered to be the most powerful business people in Serbia at the time. In both cases, Ulemek offered his help to the police, in his official capacity. He abused that position and provided insider information to the clan: for example, when he found out that Babović's family quickly and easily collected the ransom money, he advised the clan members to demand more. Eventually, all the hostages were released, however, some were severely beaten and tortured in the process.[21]
Disbandment[edit]
The JSO was disbanded by decision of the Government of Serbia on 25 March 2003, 13 days after the assassination of Prime Minister Zoran Đinđić.[11][22][23] Its remaining members were sacked or transferred to other police units.
- Milorad Ulemek was sentenced to 40 years in prison for assassinations of Ivan Stambolić and Zoran Đinđić each, and 15 years for Ibar Highway assassination.
- Jovica Stanišić and Franko 'Frenki' Simatović are being tried for crimes against humanity and war crimes in International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia[24] They were cleared of all charges on 30 May 2013.[25]
- Dragan Vasiljković moved to Australia and changed his name, but was arrested on an Interpol warrant on charges from Croatia; the case is pending.
- Željko 'Arkan' Ražnatović was assassinated on 15 January 2000 in Belgrade. His assassins, from Serbian criminal circles, were arrested and tried but the speculations on political background remained.
- Radovan 'Badža' Stojičić was assassinated on 11 April 1997, in Belgrade. His assassins are still at large.
- Serbian Interior Minister Ivica Dačić claimed that former members of the Red Berets took part in the Västberga helicopter robbery on 23 September 2009.[26]
In popular culture[edit]
- In 2005 Serbian film Jug-jugoistok (South by South-east), a series of flashbacks shows an unnamed black-ops unit assassinating Ivan Stambolić and Zoran Đinđić.
- In 2007 Croatian TV series Urota, a group of Croatian ultra-nationalists hire a hitman from Serbia to assassinate the Croatian prime minister, in order to put nationalists in power and blame Serbia for the murder. The hitman is a former member of JSO and a good friend of unit's commander Milorad Ulemek.
- In 2011 James Bond novel Carte Blanche, Bond goes to Serbia where he is met by his contacts from BIA. During the conversation, one of his contacts brags about his brother being a former member of both Arkan's Tigers and the JSO. After both men from the BIA are killed in action, the mentioned brother appears seeking vengeance.
Trivia[edit]
- Members of the unit have rosetattoo on their neck, which is noted by the press during the trial of Legija.[27]
See also[edit]
- State Security Service (SDB)
- Special Anti-Terrorist Unit (SAJ)
- Special Police Units (PJP)
References[edit]
- ^Zvezdan Jovanović, an officer of the JSO and Milorad Ulemek, former commander of the unit, were convicted on 23 May 2007, for their parts in the assassination.
- ^Serbian Police units that participated in the Cuska massacre
- ^ abcdFilip Švarm (2006-09-07). 'Feljton: Jedinica, Deo I' (in Serbian). Vreme. Archived from the original on 2006-09-25.
- ^'Dragan Vasiljkovic'. Trial Watch. 2007-04-12. Archived from the original on 2007-10-24.
- ^Milan Milosevic and Uros Komlenovic (19 April 1997). 'The State And The Mafia'. Vreme.
- ^Mirko Klarin (13 October 2001). 'ANALYSIS: Milosevic Indicted Over Croatian Crimes'. IWPR.
- ^https://hrvatskoobrambenostivo.com/pad-laslova-na-danasnji-dan-1991/
- ^http://crnemambe.hr/crne-mambe/stalne-rubrike/ratovi/u-vihoru-rata/3862-bitka-za-laslovo-2-2-domoljubni-portal-cm-u-vihoru-rata
- ^Filip Švarm and Jovan Dulović (3 April 2003). 'Od Arkana do Gumara'.
- ^ abhttp://www.crveneberetke.com/o-jedinici/
- ^ abPartos, Gabriel (26 March 2003). 'Serbia's 'elite' enemy within'. BBC News.
- ^http://www.sense-agency.com/icty/how-jovica-freed-un-hostages.29.html?cat_id=1&news_id=11354
- ^http://www.novosti.rs/dodatni_sadrzaj/clanci.119.html:276072-Tigar-zvani-Ulemek
- ^http://www.b92.net/eng/news/crimes.php?yyyy=2008&mm=03&dd=03&nav_id=48134B92 article on the trial for the Ibar Highway killings
- ^http://www.b92.net/feedback/misljenja/barovic-stambolic.php
- ^'Ex-Serb president's body found'. CNN. 28 March 2003.
- ^Wood, Nicholas (19 July 2005). 'Milosevic Aides Found Guilty of Yugoslav Political Assassination'. The New York Times.
- ^https://books.google.com/books?id=_y4r3AQDVtQC&pg=PA96 Transitions to Democracy: A Comparative Perspective
- ^http://www.novosti.rs/dodatni_sadrzaj/clanci.119.html:276073-Legija-izdao-vo273u
- ^http://www.balkaninsight.com/en/article/trial-for-munity-of-serbian-special-forces-said Balkan Insight, article on the mutiny charges
- ^''BILI SU BRUTALNI, ŽELEO SAM DA ME UBIJU' Sve jezive otmice poznatih biznismena surovog ZEMUNSKOG KLANA'. Blic. Retrieved 2019-02-20.
- ^'Serbia Disbands Police Unit of Suspect in Prime Minister's Death'. The New York Times. 27 March 2003. Retrieved 30 August 2013.
- ^http://english.pravda.ru/news/hotspots/23-05-2007/92026-djindjic_assassinating-0/
- ^'Stanišić and Simatović'(PDF). ICTY.
- ^'Oslobođeni Stanišić i Simatović' (in Serbian). B92. 30 May 2013. Retrieved 30 May 2013.
- ^'Officials: Serbs took part in Sweden chopper heist'. Associated Press. 28 September 2009. Retrieved 30 August 2013.
- ^Švarm, Filip (22 April 2004). 'Suđenje za ubistvo Zorana Đinđića: Srce tame' (694). Vreme. Retrieved 2 September 2016.
External links[edit]
- Unofficial JSO website(in Serbian)
- 'Feljton – Jedinica', Filip Švarm, Vreme (7–21 September 2006) Part I, Part II, Part III(in Serbian)
Retrieved from 'https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Special_Operations_Unit_(Serbia)&oldid=921255023'
The Magnate conspiracy, also known as the Zrinski-Frankopan Conspiracy (Croatian: Zrinsko-frankopanska urota) in Croatia, and Wesselényi conspiracy (Hungarian: Wesselényi-összeesküvés) in Hungary, was a 17th-century attempt to throw off Habsburg and other foreign influences over Hungary and Croatia.[1] The attempted coup was caused by the unpopular Peace of Vasvár, struck in 1664 between Holy Roman EmperorLeopold I and the Ottoman Empire. The poorly organized attempt at revolt gave the Habsburgs reason to clamp down on their opponents. It was named after Hungarian Count Ferenc Wesselényi, and by Croatian counts Nikola Zrinski, Petar Zrinski and Fran Krsto Frankopan.
In the second half of the 17th century, Vienna was interested in centralising the administration of the state so that it could introduce a consistent economic policy of mercantilism and so lay the foundations for an absolute monarchy.[2] The main obstacle on that path was the independence of magnates. Nikola and Petar Zrinski and their associate Fran Krsto Frankapan resisted Vienna's policy and were angered by its leniency toward the Ottomans. The Habsburgs were paying more attention to their European goals and less to freeing Croatia and Hungary from Ottomans.[3]
- 3Aftermath
Causes[edit]
The expansion of the Ottoman Empire into Europe began in the middle of the 14th century leading to confrontation with both Serbia and the Byzantine Empire and culminating in the defeat of both nations in, respectively, the Battle of Kosovo (1389) and the Fall of Constantinople (1453). The expansionist policy eventually brought them into conflict with the Habsburgs a number of times during the 16th and 17th centuries.[4] After the 1526 Battle of Mohács, the middle part of the Kingdom of Hungary was conquered; by the end of the 16th century, it was split into what has become known as the Tripartite: the Habsburg-ruled Royal Hungary to the north, the Ottoman-ruled pashaluk to the south, and Transylvania to the east. A difficult balancing act played itself out as supporters of the Habsburgs battled supporters of the Ottomans in a series of civil wars and wars of independence.[5]
By September 1656, the stalemate between the two great powers of Eastern Europe began to shift as the Ottoman SultanMehmed IV with the aid of his Grand VizierKöprülü Mehmed Pasha set about reforming the Ottoman military and preparing it for larger conflict. The changes made it possible for the Sultan to invade and conquer the Transylvanian-held areas of Hungary in May 1660. The ensuing battles killed the Transylvanian rulerGeorge II Rákóczi. Following a fairly easy victory there, the Ottomans directed their large army towards portions of Royal Hungary.
The invasion of the Transylvanian state and Habsburg territory upset the balance in the region.The Grandmaster of the Teutonic Knights, who have been expelled from Transylvania in 1225 and since then had been put under the sovereignty of the Pope in Rome and were no longer under the sovereignty of the Holy Crown of Hungary, unlike before 1225, attempted from 1660 to get involved in the supreme command of the Military Frontier, but the organization of the Military Frontier was not as obvious as it seemed and was a protected secret.
These moves drew in Habsburg forces under Leopold I. Although initially reluctant to commit forces and cause an outright war between the Habsburgs and the Ottomans, he had by 1661 sent some 15,000 of his soldiers under his field marshalRaimondo Montecuccoli. Despite the intervention, the Ottoman invasion of Hungary had not slowed.[6] In response, by 1662 Montecuccoli had been given another 15,000 soldiers and had taken up positions in Hungary. Adding to this force was an army of native Croats and Hungarians led by the Croatian noble Nikola Zrinski. Montecuccoli also had additional German support thanks to the diplomatic efforts of the Hungarian magnate Ferenc Wesselényi, which became very important, especially because it seemed that Hungary without Habsburg, perhaps with the help of France, had its own diplomacy in Rome.
In 1662, the Order of the Golden Fleece showed an alliance of the Teutonic Knights and Wesselenyi as naive because he became a member of the Golden Fleece order although neither order was under the sovereignty of the Holy Crown of Hungary. That started the Magnate conspiracy because in Hungary and Croatia were also knighthood-orders and some foreign orders, such as the Order of the Golden Fleece, which forbade non-royal members to be member in other knighthood orders. That seemed very difficult especially during a war in Hungary or in Croatia.
Leopold I, Holy Roman Emperor and Archduke of Austria from 1657-1705
By late 1663 and early 1664, the coalition had not only taken back Ottoman-conquered land but also cut off Ottoman supply lines and captured several Ottoman-held fortresses within Hungary. In the meantime, a large Ottoman army, led by the Grand Vizier Köprülü Fazıl Ahmed Pasha and numbering up to 100,000 men, was moving from Constantinople to the northwest. In June 1664, it attacked Novi Zrin Castle in Međimurje County (northern Croatia) and conquered it after one-month-long siege. However, on August 1, 1664, the combined Christian armies of Germany, France, Hungary and the Habsburgs won a decisive victory against the Ottomans in the Battle of Saint Gotthard.
Following this clash, many Hungarians assumed that the combined forces would continue their offensive to remove all Ottomans from Hungarian lands.[7] However, Leopold was more concerned with events unfolding in Habsburg Spain and the brewing conflict that would come to be known as the War of the Spanish Succession. Leopold saw no need to continue combat on his eastern front when he could return the region to balance and concentrate on potential conflict with France over the rights to the Spanish throne. Moreover, the Ottomans could have committed more troops within a year, and a prolonged struggle with the Ottomans was risky for Leopold. To end the Ottoman issue quickly, he signed what has come to be known as the Peace of Vasvár.
Despite the common victory, the treaty was largely a gain for the Ottomans. Its text, which inflamed Hungary's nobles, stated that the Habsburgs would recognize the Ottoman-controlled Michael I Apafi as ruler of Transylvania and that Leopold would pay 200,000 German florins to the Ottomans each year for the promise of a 20-year truce. While Leopold could concentrate on the issues in Spain, the Hungarians remained divided between two empires. Moreover, many Hungarian magnates were left feeling as if the Habsburgs had pushed them aside at their one opportunity for independence and security from Ottoman advances.[8] In response, a number of nobles decided that they would physically remove foreign influence from Hungary.
Unfolding[edit]
The most influential military person in Austria, whose son was married to the niece of Fran Krsto Frankopan, died in 1668.
One of the primary leaders of the conspiracy was Nikola Zrinski, the Croatian ban who had led the native forces alongside the Habsburg commander Montecuccoli. By then, Zrinski had begun to plan a Hungary free of outside influence and with a population protected by the state rather than used by it. He hoped to create a united army with Croatian and Transylvanian support to free Hungary.[7] However, he died within months during a struggle with a wild boar on a hunting trip; this left the revolt in the hands of Nikola Zrinski's younger brother Petar as well as Ferenc Wesselényi.
The conspirators hoped to gain foreign aid in their attempts to free Hungary and even overthrow the Habsburgs. The conspirators entered into secret negotiations with a number of nations, including France, Sweden, the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth and the Republic of Venice, in an attempt to gain support. Wesselényi and his fellow magnates even made overtures to the Ottomans offering all of Hungary in return for the semblance of self-rule after the Habsburgs had been removed, but no state wanted to intervene. The Sultan, like Leopold, had no interest in renewed conflict; in fact, his court informed Leopold of the attempts being made by the conspirators in 1666.
While the warnings from the Sultan's court cemented the matter, Leopold already suspected the conspiracy. The Austrians had informants inside the group of nobles and had heard from several sources of their wide-ranging and almost desperate attempts to gain foreign and domestic aid. However, no action was taken because the conspirators had made little traction and were bound by inaction. Leopold seems to have considered their actions as only half-hearted schemes that were never truly serious.[8] The conspirators invented a number of plots that they never carried out such as the November 1667 plot to kidnap Emperor Leopold, which failed to materialize, and the most influential military person in Austria, who was familiary connected with Fran Krsto Frankopan, died shortly after in 1668. If it was no accident but caused by unknown perpetrators was perhaps an intrigue against scapegoats Zrinski and Frangipani (Frankopan). It was not in the interest of some that German soldiers abroad were led to religious wars after the Thirty Years' War (1618-1648). Katarina Zrinska traveled to Paris and talked with Louis XIV.
After yet another failed attempt for foreign aid from the pasha of Buda, Zrinski and several other conspirators turned themselves in. However, Leopold was content to grant them freedom to gain support from the Hungarian people. No action was taken until 1670, when the remaining conspirators began circulating pamphlets inciting violence against the Emperor and calling for invasion by the Ottoman Empire. They also called for an uprising of the Protestant minority within Royal Hungary. When the conspiracy's ideals began to gain some support within Hungary, the official reaction was swift.
In March 1670, the leaders of the group, including Wesselényi, Petar Zrinski and Francesco Cristoforo Frangipani Fran Krsto Frankopan were arrested and executed; some 2,000 nobles were arrested as part of a mass crackdown (many of the lesser nobles had had no part in the events, but Leopold aimed to prevent similar revolts in the future).
Persecution was also inflicted on Hungarian and Croatian commoners, as Habsburg soldiers moved in and secured the region. Protestant churches were burned to the ground in a show of force against any uprisings. Leopold ordered all Hungarian organic laws suspended in retaliation for the conspiracy. That gesture caused an end to the self-government which Royal Hungary had nominally been granted, which remained unchanged for the next 10 years. In Croatia, where Petar Zrinski had been a ban (viceroy) during the conspiracy, there would not be any new bans of Croatian origin for next 60 years.
Aftermath[edit]
Petar Zrinski and Francesco Cristoforo Frangipani (Fran Krsto Frankopan) were ordered to the Emperor's Court. The note said that, as they had ceased their rebellion and had repented soon enough, they would be given mercy from the Emperor if they would plead for it. They were arrested the moment they arrived in Vienna and put on trial. They were held in Wiener Neustadt and beheaded on April 30, 1671. Nádasdy was executed on the same day, and Tattenbach was executed later on December 1, 1671.
In those ages, nobility enjoyed a few privileges that commoners did not. One of them was the right to be tried by a court assembled of peers. The conspirators were first tried by the Emperor's court assembly. After the verdict, they requested their rights as nobles. Another court was assembled of nobility from parts of the empire which were far away from Croatia or Hungary, and accepted the previous (death) verdict. Petar Zrinski's verdict read: 'he committed the greatest sins than the others in aspiring to obtain the same station as his majesty, that is, to be an independent Croatian ruler and therefore he indeed deserves to be crowned not with a crown, but with a bloody sword'.
During the trial and after the execution, the estates of the royal families were pillaged, and their families scattered. The destruction of these powerful feudal families ensured that no similar event took place until the bourgeois era. Petar's wife (Katarina Zrinska) and two of their daughters died in convents, and his son, Ivan, died mad after a terrible imprisonment and torture as did Katarina, the very symbol of Croatia's destiny. She published the last letter of her husband to her. It was a motivation to end the war with the Ottomans. It needed interesting short time until the Treaty of Karlowitz 1699.
The bones of Zrinski and Frangipani (Frankopan) remained in Austria for 248 years, and it was only after the fall of the monarchy that their remains were moved to the crypt of Zagreb Cathedral.
Legacy in Hungary[edit]
In order to combat the perceived threat from Hungary's Protestants against the Roman Catholics in his lands, Leopold ordered some 60,000 forced conversions in the first two years of his reprisals for the conspiracy. In addition, 800 Protestant churches were closed down. By 1675, 41 Protestant pastors would be publicly executed after having been found guilty of inciting riots and revolts.
The bones of Zrinski and Frangipani (Frankopan) were to remain in Austria for 248 years, and it was only after the fall of the monarchy that their remains were moved to the crypt of the Zagreb Cathedral. Tom Keglević armed his subjects of his household and became the terror of Styria and German merchants who came to this region. Therefore, the Emperor invited him to a royal hearing in Laxenburg near Vienna. Tom Keglević came there with his gang of 200 heavily armed men, so the emperor himself became scared and did not rebuke him, but dismissed him with the words 'become better'. They caught the ducks from the lake in the park and ate them.[9] The grand-master of the Teutonic knights Count Palatine Francis Louis of Neuburg led the reorganization of the order of the Teutonic knights and he fought against the Kingdom of Prussia. The order of the golden fleece was divided into a Spanish and an Austrian branch.
The crackdown caused a number of former soldiers and other Hungarian nationals to rise up against the state in a sort of guerilla warfare. These Kuruc ('Crusaders') began launching raids on the Habsburg army stationed within Hungary. For years after the crackdown, Kuruc rebels would gather en masse to combat the Habsburgs; their forces' numbers swelled to 15,000 by the summer of 1672.[10]
These Kuruc forces were far more successful than the conspiracy, and remained active against the Habsburgs up until 1711; they were also more successful in convincing foreign governments of their ability to succeed. Foreign aid came first from Transylvania (which was under Ottoman suzerainty) and later by the Ottoman Empire. This foreign recognition would eventually lead to a large-scale invasion of Habsburg domains by the Ottoman Empire and the Battle of Vienna in 1683.
Legacy in Croatia[edit]
Zrinski-Frankopan tombstone on the Cathedral in Wiener Neustadt
The Ottoman conquests reduced Croatia's territory to only 16,800 km2 by 1592. The Pope referred to the country as the 'Remnants of the remnants of the Croatian kingdom' (Latin: Reliquiae reliquiarum regni Croatiae) and this description became a battle cry of the affected nobles.[11] This loss was a death warrant for most Croatian noble families which only in 1526 voted that Habsburgs become kings of Croatia. Without any territory to control they have become only pages in history. Only the Zrinski and Frangipani Frankopan families stayed powerful because their possessions were in the unconquered, western part of Croatia. In the time of the conspiracy, they were controlling around 35% of civilian Croatia (1/3 of Croatian territory was under the emperor's direct control as the Military Frontier). After the conspiracy failed, these lands were confiscated by the emperor, who could grant them upon his discretion. Nothing better shows the situation in Croatia after the conspiracy than the fact that between 1527 - 1670 there were 13 bans (viceroys) of Croatia of Croatian origin. But between 1670 and the revolution of 1848, there would be only 2 bans of Croatian nationality. The period from 1670 to the Croatian cultural revival in the 19th century was Croatia's political dark age. Since the Zrinski-Frankopan conspiracy up to the French Revolutions Wars in 1797, no soldiers were recruited from Istria, where in the 17th century a total of 3,000 soldiers had been recruited.
Without influence in the Habsburg Court, Croats were not in a position to demand reconquest of lost territories in today's Bosnia and Herzegovina (example: Banja Luka, Bihać etc.) during the Habsburg-Ottoman wars in the 17th and 18th century, so this territory has remained outside Croatian control.
Conspirators[edit]
Memorial plaques in honour of Frankopan and Zrinski written in Latin, German and Croatian in Wiener Neustadt
The leaders of the conspiracy were ban Nikola Zrinski (viceroy of Croatia) and Hungarian palatine Ferenc Wesselényi (viceroy of Hungary). The conspirators were soon joined by dissatisfied members of the noble families from Croatia and Hungary, like Fran Krsto Frankopan (Italian: Francesco Cristoforo Frangipani), Nikola's brother Petar, the prince of Transylvania Francis I Rákóczi, high justice of the Court of Hungary Ferenc Nádasdy, Esztergom archbishop György Lippay and Erazmo Tatenbach, a feudal lord from Steiermark. The conspiracy and rebellion was entirely led by nobility.[12] Francis I Rákóczi was the only leading conspirator of the conspiracy whose life was spared, due to his mother Sophia Báthory's intervention and a ransom payment.[13][14]
References[edit]
- ^Magyar Régészeti, Művészettörténeti és Éremtani Társulat. Művészettörténeti értesítő. (Budapest: Akadémiai Kiadó. 1976), 27
- ^Goldstein, Ivo, Croatia - A History (2011), Hurst&Company, London, pp 44.
- ^Goldstein, Ivo, Croatia - A History (2011), Hurst&Company, London, pp 44.
- ^Sugar, Peter F., Peter Hanak, and Frank Tibor, eds. A History of Hungary. (Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1994), 113
- ^Kontler, Laszlo. A History of Hungary. (New York: Palgrave MacMillan. 2002), 142
- ^Ingrao, Charles. The Habsburg Monarchy; 1618–1815. 2nd. ed. (Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 2000), 66
- ^ abKontler; A History of Hungary. 177.
- ^ abIngrao: The Habsburg Monarchy 1618–1815 p. 67.
- ^'Archived copy'. Archived from the original on 2012-03-04. Retrieved 2012-04-22.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
- ^Indiana Press: A History of Hungary, p. 115.
- ^'Catholic Encyclopedia (1913)'. Retrieved 2007-11-15.
- ^'Opća enciklopedija jugoslavenskog leksikografskog zavoda'. Opća enciklopedija, svezak 8. Zagreb: Jugoslavenski Leksikografski Zavod. 1982.
- ^Kenneth Meyer Setton (1991). Venice, Austria, and the Turks in the Seventeenth Century. American Philosophical Society. pp. 248–. ISBN978-0-87169-192-7.
- ^Istvan Lazar; Andrew L. Simon (30 May 2001). Transylvania: A Short History. Simon Publications LLC. pp. 108–. ISBN978-1-931313-21-6.
External links[edit]
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