The Harsh Life on the 15th Century Croatia-Ottoman Empire Military Border: Analyzing and Identifying the Reasons for the Massacre in Cepin

摘要

Excavation of the historic period ceme-ntery in C ˇ epin, Croatia revealed the presence of a largennumber of perimortem injuries distributed among males,nfemales, and subadults. Archaeological and historical datansuggest these individuals were victims of a raid carriednout by Turkish akinji light cavalry in 1441. Comparisonsnwith the frequencies of perimortem trauma in 12 other,ntemporally congruent skeletal series from the Balkans (nn5 2,123 skeletons) support this assumption. The role ofnthe akinji in the Ottoman army was twofold: to supplynwar captives, and to terrorize and disperse local popula-ntions before the advance of regular troops. This articlentests the hypothesis that the purpose of the 1441 raid wasnthe latter. To accomplish this, perimortem trauma in thenseries were analyzed by sex, age, location, and depth ofnthe injury. A total of 82 perimortem injuries were recordednin 12 males, 7 females, and 3 subadults. The demographicnprofile of the victims suggests that young adults were spe-ncifically targeted in the attack. Significant sex differencesnare noted in the number, distribution, and pattern of peri-nmortem trauma. Females exhibit significantly more peri-nmortem injuries per individual, and per bone affected,nthan males. The morphology and pattern of perimortemntrauma in females is suggestive of gratuitous violence.nCumulatively, analysis of the osteological data suggestnthat the objective of the 1441 akinji raid was to spread ter-nror and panic in the C ˇ epin area, either as revenge fornrecent military setbacks, or as part of a long-term strategynintended to depopulate the area around Osijek.