final siege of the Knin castle, it fell to the Ottoman Empire, and Croats left the town in large numbers. The Ottomans repopulated the town with new inhabitants from Bosnia. Ottoman and Venetian period The bishops who held the title no longer resided in Knin after it fell to the Ottoman Turks in 1522. It was initially part of the Sanjak of Kilis, later the centre of the Sanjak of Kırka, was founded in 1574. By 1540, Ottomans massively populated area between Skradin and Knin with Vlachs. It was briefly captured by Venice in 1648 during Cretan War. After Venice captured the district in 1688, the Bishop of Šibenik was appointed to administer the diocese, which was united in 1828 to Šibenik. The bishopric is today the titular see of Tinum. A century and a half later, on 11 September 1688, it was captured by the Venetian Republic. Subsequently, the Croatian population partially returned and the Franciscans built a monastery and a church there in 1708. Ottomans aimed to retake Knin during Ottoman-Venetian War, but their siege was repulsed in 1715. Habsburg era Knin passed on to the Habsburgs together with Dalmatia in 1797 according to the Treaty of Campo Formio. After the Peace of Pressburg in 1805, the French Empire gained the city and incorporated it into the Illyrian Provinces in 1809. By 1813, the Austrians regained control over the town. By the end of the 19th century, as a part of the Habsburg domain of Dalmatia, Knin grew steadily, becoming an important commercial as well as road and railway center. In 1867, Knin became a part of Dalmatia – a territorial entity within Cisleithania. Modern Kingdom of Yugoslavia and World War II After the First World War, Knin became a part of the State of Slovenes, Croats and Serbs in 1918, which after a brief Italian military occupation subsequently became part of the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes (named Kingdom of Yugoslavia after 1929). Previously only connected with rail to Šibenik and Split (with narrow gauge to Drvar and Prijedor as well), in 1925 Lika railway connected Knin with Zagreb and north in general. It gradually became a busy rail hub; already in 1927 a total of 58,000 passengers departed Knin rail station. In World War II, Knin was in the so-called second Italian occupation zone, administered by the civilian authorities of the collaborationist Independent State of