Although the main intent of Vitezović was to prove that the borders of Croatia (back then part of the Habsburg monarchy) were originally considerably larger, it grew into a political program based on a separate pan-South Slavic identity, related to the rebirth of the Croatian national idea, called the Illyrian movement.

Following the 1699 treaty of Karlowitz, a commission was set up under the leadership of Luigi Ferdinando Marsili and meant to establish the borders between the Ottoman Empire and the territories of the Habsburg Monarchy.

[2][3] It begins with a dedication to Emperor Leopold, naming him, among others, "king of all Croatia", as a reflection of political ambitions outlined in this book.

The whole introductory part is meticulously structured, thoroughly stylized (demonstrating Vitezović abilities as a printer), and ornamented with rhetorical devices such as puns, litotes, homeoteleuton, etc.

[3] According to historian Ivo Banac, Vitezović treated his "pan-Croatianism" both as a historical construct and as a political programme, originating as an outrage against the centuries-long fragmentation of Croatian lands and the whole Slavic south.

[3] Ferdo Šišić once regarded the work as a "Bible of Croat national policy in the 19th century", inspiring such individuals as Ljudevit Gaj, Eugen Kvaternik and Ante Starčević.