De bello ragusino

The novel De bello ragusino by Feđa Šehović is a historical work that, through irony, satire and elements of a chronicle, depicts the fate of the Dubrovnik Republic during the great wars in the Adriatic. The title in Latin means "On the Dubrovnik War", and refers to the historical conflicts that marked the survival of the small Republic between the interests of the great European powers. The novel is part of Šehović's Dubrovnik Tralalogy, a cycle in which the author critically but also humorously depicts Dubrovnik society.

The plot follows Dubrovnik nobles, city officials, merchants, soldiers and ordinary citizens. They experience war, political decisions and everyday difficulties differently. While the government tries to preserve the neutrality and independence of the Republic through diplomacy, ordinary people suffer the consequences of hunger, insecurity and uncertainty. The characters represent different social classes, and their fates form a mosaic of life in old Dubrovnik, with the author showing how ordinary people are often victims of the decisions of the powerful.

The historical context is based on the position of the Dubrovnik Republic as a small trading state that survived thanks to skillful diplomacy between great powers such as the Ottoman Empire and the Venetian Republic. Šehović does not depict war primarily through battles, but through its consequences on society and everyday life.

Humor, irony and satire serve him to expose political hypocrisy, greed and the struggle for power, but also to highlight the values ​​of freedom, reason and responsibility. In this way, the novel goes beyond the historical theme and becomes a reflection on the relationship between the individual, the government and the state, showing that history often repeats itself, and the survival of a community depends on the wisdom of its people.