, 6km east of Benkovac , part of templon of a church in
Šopot i
Kotaranka'' The first traces of human life in the Benkovac area were found around the village of
Smilčić that belonged to the
Danilo culture. Before
Roman conquest the area was inhabited by the
Illyrian tribe of
Liburnians. During the
Roman Civil war the Liburnians sided with
Caesar. The Romans mention the following Liburnian settlements:
Nedinum (
Nadin),
Carinium (
Karin),
Varvaria (
Bribir) and
Asseria (Podgrađe). In the 7th century the area was settled by Croats. The area of Benkovac was at the crossroads of four Croatian župas - Novljanska, Sidraška, Bribirska and
Karinska. Near the village of
Šopot, an
inscription from the 9th century was found that mentions
Branimir as a Croatian Duke. In 1409 King
Ladislaus of Naples sold his rights of
Dalmatia to the
Republic of Venice and the Benkovac area became a border region. New fortresses around the border were built - Korlat, Kličevica,
Polača, and behind them Benković i
Perušić. The fortress of Benković was named after the
Croatian noble family that built it and the city of Benkovac was established. Today it has been restored and houses a modern museum. In 1527 Benkovac became part of the
Ottoman Empire. It was settled by
Croats-
Bunjevci,
Serbs and
Vlachs. In October 1683, the population of
Venetian Dalmatia, principally
Uskoks of
Ravni Kotari, took arms and together with the
rayah (lower class) of the Ottoman frontier regions rose up, taking
Skradin,
Karin,
Vrana, Benkovac and
Obrovac. It became part of the
Republic of Venice following the
Morean War. After the
Treaty of Campo Formio in 1797 and
Treaty of Poznań in 1805, Benkovac came under
French administration. In 1813, when it came under Austrian administration, Benkovac had 5,200 inhabitants. Until 1918, the town (with bilingual name
BENKOVAC - BENCOVAZ) was part of the
Habsburg monarchy in the district of the same name, one of 13
Bezirkshauptmannschaften in
Dalmatia. The name was
BENCOVACZ before 1867. From 1929 to 1939, Benkovac was part of the
Littoral Banovina and from 1939 to 1941 of the
Banovina of Croatia within the
Kingdom of Yugoslavia. During
World War II Benkovac was under administration of
Fascist Italy. The local population was driven to the collection center in Benkovac, and then by boat to
Molat concentracion camp. The area was also bombed by the
Allies. In 1990, during a
HDZ campaign rally in Benkovac, stones, eggs and bottles were constantly thrown at the speakers, and occasionally gunshots were heard. A Serbian man pulled out a gas pistol near the podium. Croatian media described the incident as an assassination attempt on
Franjo Tuđman. The incident further worsened ethnic tensions. On 17 March 1990, tensions erupted when groups of local Serbs rebelled against the decision of the
Croatian government to disarm local police in which Serbs were most of the employees. During that time the provincial Croatian government continued arming police forces and paramilitaries in villages with ethnic Croat majorities. In August 1990, the Serbs began what became known as the
Log Revolution, where barricades of logs were placed across roads throughout the South as an expression of their secession from Croatia. Tensions continued to boil, and five months later, Benkovac was included in the quasi-state
Republic of Serbian Krajina. The
Yugoslav People's Army took an active role in events in Benkovac on 19 May, distributing a leaflet with the names of 41 Croats targeted for immediate execution and providing weapons to
SAO Krajina forces in the area. By the end of May 1991, entire families of Croats fled to
Zadar. Croats that stayed after occupation in Benkovac and the surrounding area swere killed by Serb rebels. On 5 August 1995, Benkovac was liberated by the
Croatian Army during
Operation Storm. In 2004
Prime Minister of Croatia Ivo Sanader, together with
Minister of Foreign Affairs of Bulgaria Solomon Passy and the President of the
Serb National Council Milorad Pupovac visited Serb returnees who left the country in 1995 at the time of the Operation Storm in Donje Biljane and Buković as well as new Croat settlers in the village of Benkovačko Selo. In 2013, criminal charges were filed against eight persons who were responsible for the deaths of 231 persons in the period from July 1991 to March 1993, in the area of the former municipalities of Benkovac and Obrovac. ==Towns and villages==