Marko Mesić was a Croatian priest and war hero from the Ottoman Wars

Ottoman wars in Europe

The wars of the Ottoman Empire in Europe are also sometimes referred to as the Ottoman Wars or as Turkish Wars, particularly in older, European texts.- Rise :...

. Under his command Croats

Croats

Croats are a South Slavic ethnic group mostly living in Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and nearby countries. There are around 4 million Croats living inside Croatia and up to 4.5 million throughout the rest of the world. Responding to political, social and economic pressure, many Croats have...

 liberated the region of Lika

Lika

Lika is a mountainous region in central Croatia, roughly bound by the Velebit mountain from the southwest and the Plješevica mountain from the northeast. On the north-west end Lika is bounded by Ogulin-Plaški basin, and on the south-east by the Malovan pass...

 in the 17th century.

Biography

In 1683 when Austro-Turkish war begun, Marko Mesić went to Ravni Kotari

Ravni Kotari

Ravni Kotari is a geographical region in Croatia. It is situated in northern Dalmatia, around Zadar. It is bordered by Bukovica to the northwest, lower Krka on the southeast and the Adriatic Sea. The biggest settlement of the region is the town of Benkovac...

 where he joined the local rebels against the Turks

Ottoman Empire

The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...

. Soon afterwards he goes to Krbava

Krbava

Krbava is a region of mountainous Croatia. It can be considered either located east of Lika, or indeed as the eastern part of Lika. The town of Udbina is the central settlement of the Krbava karst field....

 and Lika

Lika

Lika is a mountainous region in central Croatia, roughly bound by the Velebit mountain from the southwest and the Plješevica mountain from the northeast. On the north-west end Lika is bounded by Ogulin-Plaški basin, and on the south-east by the Malovan pass...

 and organizes uprising against the Turks from Brinje

Brinje

Brinje is a municipality in Lika-Senj County, Croatia, located about 35 miles from Gospić. According to 2001 census, Brinje had 4,108 inhabitants, out of which 92% were Croats. The municipality is part of Lika....

. On June 15, 1689 he captured Novi and a number of other villages who surrendered without a fight. Finally, Udbina

Udbina

Udbina is a village and a municipality in the Lika region of Croatia. It is an administratively part of in the Lika-Senj county.-Geography:The village is located in the large karst field called Krbava...

was liberated on 21 July, 1689.