In the dynastic crisis and the wars that followed the death of King Louis I Angevin in 1382, the Croatian nobility played the leading role. Nevertheless, the members of the Croatian nobility did not have enough power to turn that crisis to their own advantage by supporting a king of their own choice to mount the throne. The alliance with the Bosnian king was in that respect of little use since Stephan Tvrtko I availed himself of the opportunity of the existing political conflicts to extend his power to the Dalmatian cities and the areas in the south of Croatia. The party disunion, dissension and irreconcilableness with the crowning of Sigismund Luxembourgian King of Hungary and Croatia was silently supported by the Venetian Republic that wished to regain its power and rule over the Dalmatian cities and the coastal part of Croatia. New developments of the situation were turning gradually to the advantage of Venice, which inevitably lead to the destruction of unity of the Croatian territories, which in turn could not be opposed by either the nobility or King Sigismund. The separation of this area from its hinterland was disastrous for Croatia, while at the same time its north-eastern part was under even greater threat. The defeat suffered by the Serbian army at Kosovo polje in 1389 smoothed the way for the Ottoman Empire toward Hungary and Croatia, the targets of their future campaigns and military expeditions. Already in 1391 the area between the rivers Drava, Danube and Sava was exposed to violent attacks of the Ottoman light cavalry, which plundered, devastated and annihilated everything along their way, showing thus what kind of an enemy was to fight. Thanks to personal courage and decisiveness of Ivan Morovic Viceroy of Macva, this attack was repulsed; however, the whole region became deserted and the frightened population evacuated from their settlements.

More:
http://www.hercegbosna.org/eng/history/croats-and-the-ottoman-empire/croats-and-the-ottoman-empire-96.html

---

IZAKOVIC