Battle of Grobnik field

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A morčić earring from Rijeka, said to represent the Turks defeated in the legendary 16th century battle.
A morčić earring from Rijeka, said to represent the Turks defeated in the legendary 16th century battle.

The Battle of Grobnik field refers to one of two legendary battles: one in 1242 between the Croats and the Mongols and the second in the 16th century between the Croats and the Turks.

Legend claims that, in 1242 in a last ditch struggle, Croats from all over the region gathered at Grobnik field and killed tens of thousands of Mongols, who subsequently withdrew, never to return.[1] The legend became the focus an early romantic poem entitled "Grobnik Field" written in 1842 by Dimitrija Demeter for the 600th anniversary of the supposed battle, as well as "On Grobnik", a poem written in 1851 by Petar Preradović.

A subsequent legend claims that the Zrinskis, a family of Croatian noblemen, led their countrymen in scaring off an army of Turks by wearing the heads of cows and other animals (see zvončari). The morčići, a type of jewelry distinctive to the Rijeka area, supposedly had its origin in this victory.[2]

Contents

[edit] The Mongol invasion

Further information: Mongol invasion of Europe

The Mongols began attacking Europe in the 1220s. They conquered most of Russia and then headed west in the late 1230s. In almost every battle the Christian armies were destroyed and much of Hungary, Poland, Austria and the Balkans were laid waste by Batu Khan, grandson of Genghis Khan. It is known that the Mongols overran Zagreb and swept through Lika and Dalmatia but were unable to take Vinodol. The extent of death and destruction dealt out by the Mongols was compared to an epidemic of the black plague.

[edit] Legend of the Mongol defeat

According to the legend, after a series of defeats along the eastern Adriatic coast the Mongols arrived at the Grobnik field (near Rijeka), where they encountered a native Croatian army that tried to stop their invasion. In the pitched battle that followed, Tatars were routed and destroyed, losing an entire army of 30,000 or, as some claim, even 56,000 people lead by the notorious army leader Batu Khan. They were beaten by units from all the corners of Croatia, and so peace was ensured. It is believed that Grobnik got its name from the many graves that were used after the battle.

According to legend there may have been as many as 100,000 dead on the battlefield, so that even the field beneath them could not have been seen.[citation needed] This figure is highly unlikely; the largest European states of the time could not have gathered an army of more than 30,000 men.[3] If the battle did take place it would have been one of the last battles of the Mongols in Europe, after which they retreated to their homeland in far Asia.

[edit] Controversy and history

Scholars have long doubted whether the battle ever took place[4]. There has been no physical evidence of a battle uncovered on the supposed battlefield, nor is the battle mentioned in any document from that time.[5]

The first accounts about this battle are mentioned in the documents from the 14th century,[citation needed] but some claim that they were either a hoax or not verifiable.[citation needed]

There are at least three 16th century authors who describe the battle against the Mongols:

  • Bishop Šimun Kožić Benja, November 1516,
  • Ivan Tomašić, 1562, and
  • Anton Vramec, 1578.[6]

In these accounts, Frankopani nobles are leaders of the army which defeats Mongols. These accounts have been called into question because at the time of their composition the Frankopani were a powerful Croatian noble family.[7]

Despite all controversies, many people still believe that the battle occured, although if the battle ever happened, it was on a far smaller scale than the legend claims.

[edit] References

 This article needs additional citations for verification.
Please help improve this article by adding reliable references. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (May 2008)
  1. ^ Hrvoje Hitrec, Hrvatska Povjesnica, p. 40.
  2. ^ Kos-Nalis, Mijana, "Ethnographic Timeline", Kvarner's Cultural History, accessed May 2008.
  3. ^ Igor Žic, Kratka povijest grada Rijeke, 1998, p. 20.
  4. ^ Goldstein, Ivo (1994) "The Use of History: Croatian Historiography and Politics", HeinOnline, accessed May 2008.
  5. ^ Županov, Josip, "Dan zahvalnosti: jesu li nacionalni mitovi prokletstvo ili blagoslov", accessed May 2008. Županov says "Taj se mit, doduše, sve manje spominje, jer je povjesničarima poznato da se ta navodna bitka na Grobničkom polju ne spominje ni u jednom povijesnom dokumentu iz toga vremena".
  6. ^ [1] Ivan Kukuljević Sakcinski:Borba Hrvatah s Mongoli i Tatari:Povjestno-kritična razprava
  7. ^ [2] Ivan Kukuljević Sakcinski:Borba Hrvatah s Mongoli i Tatari:Povjestno-kritična razprava

[edit] See also