The Serbian militia consisted of both infantry and cavalry, engaging in irregular warfare, frontier defence, and auxiliary operations alongside the Imperial Army.

Following the Ottoman failure at the Battle of Vienna in 1683, a coalition of European states, under Habsburg leadership and with support from the Holy See, intensified military operations against Ottoman-held territories.

[3] By 1686, the Habsburg capture of Belgrade marked a turning point in the war, as Serbian forces provided strategic value due to their regional knowledge and experience in irregular warfare.

[3] The force adhered to a četa based structure, emphasising small, mobile units suited for rapid deployment and flexible engagements.

[6] After Belgrade had been liberated from the Ottomans in 1688, Serbs from the territories in the south of Sava and Danube rivers began to join Serbian Militia units.

[6] The Ottoman Empire had suffered partial military collapse against the Austrians in the 1680s, most notably at the Battle of Vienna in 1683, and the loss of Belgrade to Maximilian II of Bavaria in 1688 and Bosnia in 1689.

[14] Jovan Monasterlija, who was appointed as captain of Serbian Militia in 1690, recruited Serbs into his units in the summer of 1690 on the southern border of the Austrian Empire.

[15] During the Battle of Slankamen on August 19, 1691, Serbian Militia with 10,000 Serbs under the command of Jovan Monasterlija participated in the important victory over Ottoman forces.

Efforts to Catholicize the Orthodox Serbian population, along with attempts to curtail their privileges, including their right to own arable land, led to growing dissatisfaction.

These conditions prompted many Serbian militia members to consider migration to the Russian Empire where Tsar Peter the Great actively encouraged the settlement of experienced military personnel.

The Serbian Militia played an important role in the conflict, with the Austrian government supporting its privileged position, seeing it as a counterbalance to the separatist aspirations of Hungarian officials.