The History of Lika, Croatia: Land of War and Warriors

Book excerpt: "This is a history of Lika, a region of Croatia known for its soldiers and poverty. It is the only known history of Lika in English. What follows is a history of Lika which the author has divided into four epochs, the first, ancient Lika, when Lika was part of the Roman Empire. The second is Slav-Croatian Lika that existed prior to the arrival of the Ottomans, when Lika was integrated into the European feudal system. The third section is the Turkish wars, when the Habsburgs and their army controlled Lika. The fourth and last section is from the 19th century to the present, when the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes, the country that became Yugoslavia, replaced Austrian rule in Lika. The author's family is from the Lika region of western Croatia"--