Ilija Peraica ( it, Elia Peraizza, sr-cyr, Илија Пераица; d. 1685), was a

Venetian Dalmatia Venetian Dalmatia ( la, Dalmatia Veneta) refers to parts of Dalmatia under the rule of the Republic of Venice, mainly from the 15th to the 18th centuries. Dalmatia was first sold to Venice in 1409 but Venetian Dalmatia was not fully consolidated f ...

n ''

harambaša Harambaša ( sr-cyr, Харамбаша) was the rank for a senior commander of a '' hajduk'' band ( brigand gangs). Etymology It is derived from Turkish word for bandit leader ( tr, haramibaşı; - "Bandit" + - "Head"), and was like some other ...

'' (bandit leader), with the title of '' serdar'', one of the commanders of the Morlach troops that participated in the

Great Turkish War The Great Turkish War (german: Großer Türkenkrieg), also called the Wars of the Holy League ( tr, Kutsal İttifak Savaşları), was a series of conflicts between the Ottoman Empire and the Holy League consisting of the Holy Roman Empire, Pol ...

Life

According to Venetian documents, his large family (clan) was listed as

Morlachs Morlachs ( sh-Latn-Cyrl, Morlaci, Морлаци or , ; it, Morlacchi; ro, Morlaci) has been an exonym used for a rural Christian community in Herzegovina, Lika and the Dalmatian Hinterland. The term was initially used for a bilingual Vlach past ...

. The clan inhabited large territories of

Dalmatia Dalmatia (; hr, Dalmacija ; it, Dalmazia; see names in other languages) is one of the four historical regions of Croatia, alongside Croatia proper, Slavonia, and Istria. Dalmatia is a narrow belt of the east shore of the Adriatic Sea, stre ...

, mostly centered on

Zadar Zadar ( , ; historically known as Zara (from Venetian and Italian: ); see also other names), is the oldest continuously inhabited Croatian city. It is situated on the Adriatic Sea, at the northwestern part of Ravni Kotari region. Zadar serv ...

and

Šibenik Šibenik () is a historic city in Croatia, located in central Dalmatia, where the river Krka flows into the Adriatic Sea. Šibenik is a political, educational, transport, industrial and tourist center of Šibenik-Knin County, and is also the ...

. They had their own parochial constitution (according to the document from 1611 first mentioned and listed by the Parish Zmino in the register of the priest Bonaventure Biloglava from 1679 and 1686). Venetian documents claim the "people of Peraizza" having 400 men-at-arms at the moment but were able to mobilize about 1,400 more. Peraica escaped from a Turkish prison and in 1685, with 1,600 soldiers and people from the

Cetina Cetina () is a river in southern Croatia. It has a length of and its basin covers an area of . From its source, Cetina descends from an elevation of above sea level to the Adriatic Sea. It is the most water-rich river in Dalmatia.Naklada Naprijed ...

district, started an uprising.Boško Desnica, Istorija kotarskih uskoka II – 1684.–1749., Zbornik za istoriju, jezik i književnost srpskog naroda, XIII, SAN, Beograd, 1951 He collaborated with the

Republic of Venice The Republic of Venice ( vec, Repùblega de Venèsia) or Venetian Republic ( vec, Repùblega Vèneta, links=no), traditionally known as La Serenissima ( en, Most Serene Republic of Venice, italics=yes; vec, Serenìsima Repùblega de Venèsia ...

against the Turks, thus changing the entire course of the

Morean War The Morean War ( it, Guerra di Morea), also known as the Sixth Ottoman–Venetian War, was fought between 1684–1699 as part of the wider conflict known as the "Great Turkish War", between the Republic of Venice and the Ottoman Empire. Military ...

. earning the title of the "sardar" and Venetian recognition of his rule over the liberated territory. Recent research indicates that in autumn 1685 ''

provveditore The Italian title ''prov ditore'' (plural ''provveditori''; also known in gr, προνοητής, προβλεπτής; sh, providur), "he who sees to things" (overseer), was the style of various (but not all) local district governors in the exten ...

generale'' Pietro Valier gave a large part of land around Zadar and Šibenik to "the new

Morlach Morlachs ( sh-Latn-Cyrl, Morlaci, Морлаци or , ; it, Morlacchi; ro, Morlaci) has been an exonym used for a rural Christian community in Herzegovina, Lika and the Dalmatian Hinterland. The term was initially used for a bilingual Vlach p ...

subjects from Lika and their harambasas Nakić (Nachich) and Peraica (Peraiza) although he doubted their intentions and had previously conducted long negotiations with them. (...)". Still, according to Venetian documents, Peraica was given rule to share with fellow

hajduk A hajduk ( hu, hajdúk, plural of ) is a type of irregular infantry found in Central and parts of Southeast Europe from the late 16th to mid 19th centuries. They have reputations ranging from bandits to freedom fighters depending on time ...

Stojan Janković. He died while fighting Ottomans at

Rogoznica Rogoznica is a municipality and a popular tourist village on the Dalmatian coast in Croatia that lies in the southernmost part of the Šibenik-Knin County, in a deep bay sheltered from wind, about 30 km from Šibenik. In the 2001 census, th ...

(1685).

Peraizza family name

Notably, another Peraizza, Francesco (Frano Peraica) was an official Venetian representative in

Split Split(s) or The Split may refer to: Places * Split, Croatia, the largest coastal city in Croatia * Split Island, Canada, an island in the Hudson Bay * Split Island, Falkland Islands * Split Island, Fiji, better known as Hạfliua Arts, entertain ...

around 1675. There might be confusion over the family name as it was written in four different ways in different documents (Peraizza, Peraiza, Perajica, Peraica) and by different governments. Today several variants of the name can still be found in Dalmatia.

References

Bibliography

* * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Peraica, Ilija 1685 deaths 17th-century military personnel Republic of Venice military personnel People of the Great Turkish War Venetian period in the history of Croatia Hajduks

Life

Peraizza family name

See also

References

Bibliography