The Seressaner (german: Serezaner, hr, serežani, sr, сережани) were an Habsburg military police unit in Lika,

Croatian Military Frontier The Croatian Military Frontier ( hr, Vojna krajina or ') was a district of the Military Frontier, a territory in the Habsburg monarchy, first during the period of the Austrian Empire and then during Austria-Hungary. History Founded in the late 1 ...

. The name is derived from Saracens ("tent dwellers"). The Seressaner troops were established after the

Treaty of Karlowitz The Treaty of Karlowitz was signed in Karlowitz, Military Frontier of Archduchy of Austria (present-day Sremski Karlovci, Serbia), on 26 January 1699, concluding the Great Turkish War of 1683–1697 in which the Ottoman Empire was defeated by th ...

(1699). It had both military and police duties. The members were not paid, but were freed from paying all taxes. As an irregular unit, they wore folk costumes rather than military uniforms. Over the following century, each regiment had one section of the ''serežani'', led by a ''oberbaša'' or ''harambaša'' (sergeant), several ''unterbaša'' (corporal) and ''vicebaša'' (lance corporal). They organized the border patrols towards Bosnia, particularly on difficult terrain, and stopped incursions of bandits. They required extensive knowledge of the territory, good marksmanship and to be constantly under arms. They also maintained public law and order in the area of their regiment. There were also cavalry serežan units that served as escort to the high officers of Frontier regiments, carried urgent orders and carried out special patrol duties.

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* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Seressaner Military history of Croatia Military units and formations of the Early Modern period Military units and formations established in the 18th century Croatia under Habsburg rule History of Lika Military Frontier Army of the Habsburg Monarchy

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