Sources for the Study of Relations between Lika and Northern Dalmatia in the Period from the Middle Ages to the Beginning of The 20th Century in The State Archives in Zadar

Abstract

 Based on research conducted on the archival materials of the State Archives in Zadar, the paper presents an overview of some of the written sources whose content covers 
historical events in the Lika region, which were created in the time span from the 
Middle Ages to the beginning of the 20th century. Given the wide time span it covers, the presented overview is compiled on the basis of a general overview of the archival materials, whereby through the presentation of selected examples of documents, official letters and other records, it attempts to point out to researchers the relevant 
archival funds and collections as sources for studying the relationship between Lika and the northern Dalmatian region, and to present several guidelines for their search.
Among the researched materials, they singled out thematic units relating to is
sues of church jurisdiction over the area of   medieval Lika, as well as those that testify to the presence of residents of the Lika-Krbava region in the area of the Zadar municipality in the Middle Ages. Furthermore, a large part of the researched materials covers the issue of determining the line of demarcation between two neighboring areas – Lika and Dalmatia, which extends through different time periods, or administrative periods of Dalmatian history. The regulation of mutual grazing rights, forest use, and the general coexistence of border populations is directly related to the aforementioned topics. research into archival funds and collections has also identified materials related to the course of economic events and the formation of the transport system, i.e. to issues of trade, road construction or, for example, the development of postal traffic.Further access to archival material, as well as the method of its future study, of course, depends on the issues that are at the center of the researcher’s interests. 
Since various thematic data are very often intertwined and complemented by mul
tiple archival units, or funds, as well as periods of different administrations, it is of great importance to gain a basic understanding of the functioning and docu
mentation organization system of the individual institutions through whose work the material was created, which, together with the studied literature and previous knowledge on the topic, will direct the research more precisely.