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TheRepublic of Poljica orduchy (Croatian:Poljička republika, in older formPoljička knežija) was an autonomous community which existed in the lateMiddle Ages and the early modern period in centralDalmatia, near modern-dayOmiš,Croatia. It was organized as a "peasants' republic" and is best known because of thePoljica Statute (14-15th century).
The namepoljica stems from the wordpolje for "field", karstpolje in particular, a common geographic feature in the area. The Poljica region was first titled a "republic" by the Venetian writerAlberto Fortis in 1774. It was also known asPoglizza (in Italian).
Poljica is best known for theeponymous statute. The oldest preserved revision is from 1440, it refers to an older one from the 14th century,[1] and was further revised in 1475, 1515, 1665, and on several occasions up to the 19th century, growing to 116 articles. It is today kept in Omiš's museum. This document contains a description of the Poljicacommon law and its system of government, and is one of the most important Croatian historical legal statutes (together with theVinodol codex of 1288), written in a mixture ofChakavian andShtokavian dialects, and inCyrillic (the name appears in the annex of the Statute of Poljica from 1655) (poljičica andpoljička azbukvica).
One of the items of the Poljica Statute states that "everyone has theright to live", contrary to many mediaeval European laws replete withcapital punishments including torture.
A number of other documents dated from the 12th to 17th century regarding the republic have been preserved, such asPoljički molitvenik (1614) andStatut poljičke bratovštine Sv.Kuzme i Damjana (1619).
The territories of the Republic of Poljica lay chiefly within the south-easterly curve made by the riverCetina before it enters theAdriatic at Omiš. They also comprised the fastnesses of theMosor mountain (1,370 m or 4,500 feet) and the fertile strip of coast from Omiš toStobreč, 16 km (10 mi) W.N.W.[2]
Poljica is divided into three zones: Upper Poljica (Zagorska), behind Mosor, is farthest from the Adriatic Sea and is in the hinterland of Mosor; Middle Poljica (Zavrska), the largest part of Poljica (50%) extends from the Žrnovnica River to the Cetina River at Zadvarje; Lower Poljica (Primorska), built on the remnants of the ancient Greek colony Epetion, which extends along the sea from Omiš to the village of Stobreč.
The people of Poljica organized and founded the "parish commune" where they could live according to their own laws. The parish commune was divided into twelve villages (katuni), which they named after twelve larger villages of Poljica:
Five of the twelve villages were greatly populated by free peasants ofSplit origin, and are therefore called free peasant composite villages. The other composite villages were populated by descendants of the three brothers (noted to be founders of Poljica). Each of the twelve villages elected an elder, or little duke (knez), to serve as leader. The little dukes of free peasant composite villages did not share the same rights as little dukes of the other villages—they could vote, but not be elected to the government of Poljica due to their ties with Split.
The inhabitants lived in scattered villages, twelve of them, each ruled by itscount, and all together ruled by the supreme count. These officers, with the three judges, were always of noble birth, though elected by the whole body of citizens. There were two orders ofnobles:[2] but because both noble groups were Croats, and to distinguish them from the original nobles "didići" (the term also existed in theZadar Archipelago[3]), the later from mid-14th century got nickname "ugričići" after the assumption that they came from the areas under control ofKingdom of Hungary.[4]Didići according to legends are the descendants of three sons of KingMiroslav of Croatia (each of them forming a tribe of Tišimiri, Limići and Kremenićani[5]), and were "koljenovići", as they had rights on lands ("didovina").Vlastela could become the part of "poljički stol", but they needed the confirmation of the assembly of Poljica nobles. The descendants of the office holders were allowed to use titles of duke and count. Below these ranked thecommoners and theserfs. At a very early date the warlike highlanders of Poljica became the friends and allies of the Omišcorsairs, who were thus enabled to harass the seaborne trade of their neighbors without fear of a sudden attack by land.[2]
Omiš received a charter fromAndrew II of Hungary in 1207, and remained under the nominal protection of Hungary until 1444, when both Omiš and Poljica accepted thesuzerainty ofVenice, while retaining their internal freedom.[2]
The occupation ofBosnia as well as by theOttoman Empire gravely impacted the Republic of Poljica. Notable battles were fought by the local forces against the Turks in 1530 and 1686, and in both occasions the Ottoman army was repelled. A local young woman by the name ofMila Gojsalić became a heroine after sacrificing herself for the good of the Poljica community in one of the conflicts with the Turks—she infiltrated the Turkish camp and blew up the munitions stockpile. A statue of Mila Gojsalić byIvan Meštrović stands in Poljica overlooking the mouth of Cetina,[6] and the story was also made into a theatre play.
After the fall of theVenetian Republic in 1797, Poljica was taken over byAustria. The population of Poljica numbered 6,566 in 1806. In the following year, however, the republic incurred the enmity ofNapoleon by rendering aid to theRussians andMontenegrins inDalmatia, and it was invaded byFrench troops, who plundered its villages, massacred its inhabitants, and finally deprived it of independence.[2]
After the Napoleonic era, Poljica was absorbed byAustria.
Poljica area were also important to Croatian national renaissance on Croatian South, because the votes from Poljica contributed a lot to the victory of thePeople's Party (Narodna stranka, the Croatian unionist party) in 1882 on the elections in Split county, bringing the pro-Croat forces on ruling level.
It since passed toYugoslavia, and in 1912, the Poljica region was reconstituted as a single municipality. In 1945, it was split again between several municipalities, and remained that way until the present day, when the villages are part ofCroatian municipalities of Omiš, Podstrana, Dugi Rat and Split. Today this area of around 250 km2 (97 sq mi) is inhabited by around 20,000 people.
Recently the republic was "re-established" as a cultural organization. The reigning prince (veliki knez) is elected once a year and Petar Rodić was re-elected several times.[7]
The title of the rulers of the Principality of Poljica wasžupan (count) at first, later changing toknez (prince) and finallyveliki knez (grand prince). The early 11-12th century list of rulers is highly doubtful, as the terms "poliscico", "postelnico" and "polstico/i" probably denote Croatian court officier of "postelnik" and not somebody from Poljica, meanwhile others were citizens of Split and are poorly confirmed in historical sources.[8][9]
One or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Poglizza".Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 21 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 891.