'Bosnia and Herzegovina' is a country on the
Balkan peninsula of
Southern Europe with an area of 51,280
square kilometres (19,741
sq mi). Around 4.3 million people lived in Bosnia and Herzegovina in 1991, prior to its 1992–1995 war. In 2007 its population was estimated at 4 million people.
The country is home to three ethnic "
constituent peoples":
Bosniaks,
Serbs and
Croats. Regardless of ethnicity, a citizen of Bosnia and Herzegovina is often identified in
English as a
Bosnian. In Bosnia however, the distinction between a Bosnian and a
Herzegovinian is maintained as a regional, rather than an ethnic distinction. The country is decentralized and comprised of two political entities, the
Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina and
Republika Srpska.
Bordered by
Croatia to the north, west and south,
Serbia to the east, and
Montenegro to the south, Bosnia and Herzegovina is
mostly landlocked, except for 26
kilometres of the
Adriatic Sea coastline,
[1][2] centered around the town of
Neum. The interior of the country is mountainous in the center and south, hilly in the northwest, and flat in the northeast. The nation's capital and largest city is
Sarajevo, seated between several high mountains and was thus the host of the
1984 Winter Olympic Games.
The region of
Bosnia is the largest geographic region of the modern state with moderate
continental climate, marked by hot summers and cold, snowy winters. Smaller
Herzegovina is the southern tip of the country, with
Mediterranean climate and topography. Bosnia and Herzegovina's natural resources are abundant.
Formerly one of the six federal units constituting the
Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, Bosnia and Herzegovina gained its independence during the
Yugoslav wars of the 1990s. As a result of the
Dayton Accords, the civilian peace implementation is supervised by the
High Representative for Bosnia and Herzegovina selected by the
Peace Implementation Council. The High Representative has many governmental and legislative powers, including the dismissal of elected and non-elected officials. More recently, several central institutions have been established (such as defense ministry, security ministry, state court, indirect taxation service etc.) in the process of transferring part of the jurisdiction from the entities to the state.
Bosnia is a potential candidate for membership in the European Union and a candidate for NATO.
Etymology
The first preserved mention of the name "Bosnia" is in the ''
De Administrando Imperio'', a politico-geographical handbook written by
Byzantine emperor Constantine VII in
958. The
Chronicle of the Priest of Duklja from 1172–1196 also names Bosnia, and refers to an earlier source from the year
753. The exact meaning and origin of the word is unclear. The most popular theory holds that Bosnia comes from the name of the
Bosna river around which it has been historically based.
[3] Philologist Anton Mayer proposed a connection with the
Indo-European root ''bos'' or ''bogh'', meaning "running water".
[4] Certain
Roman sources similarly mention ''Bathinus flumen'', or the
Illyrian word ''Bosona'', both of which would mean "running water" as well.
Other theories involve the rare
Latin term ''Bosina'', meaning boundary, and possible
Slavic origins.
The origins of the word ''Herzegovina'' can be identified with more precision and certainty. During the
Early Middle Ages the region was known as
Hum or Zahumlje, named after the ''Zachlumoi'' tribe of Slavs which inhabited it. In the
1440s, the region was ruled by powerful nobleman Stefan Vukčić Kosača. In a document sent to
Friedrich III on
January 20,
1448, Stefan Vukčić Kosača called himself ''Herzog of
Saint Sava, lord of Hum and Primorje, great duke of the Bosnian kingdom'' (''Herzog'' means
duke in
German) and so the lands he controlled would later become known as ''Herzog's lands'' or ''Herzegovina''.
The name Herzegovina was first included in the official name of the then Ottoman province in the mid-
nineteenth century.
History
Main articles: History of Bosnia and Herzegovina
Pre-Slavic period
Main articles: History of Bosnia and Herzegovina (until 958)
Bosnia has been inhabited at least since
Neolithic times by Illyrian tribes. In the early
Bronze Age, the Neolithic population was replaced by more warlike
Indo-European tribes known as the Illyres or
Illyrians.
Celtic migrations in the
fourth century BC and
third century BC displaced many Illyrian tribes from their former lands, but some Celtic and Illyrian tribes mixed.
Concrete historical evidence for this period is scarce, but overall it appears that the region was populated by a number of different peoples speaking distinct languages.
Conflict between the Illyrians and
Romans started in
229 BC, but Rome would not complete its annexation of the region until
AD 9. In the Roman period, Latin-speaking settlers from all over the
Roman empire settled among the Illyrians and Roman soldiers were encouraged to retire in the region.
Some claim that
Christianity arrived in the region by the end of the first century, but there are no artifacts or objects from the time testify to this. There were only 2 Roman Catholic churches in Bosnia-Herzegovina up until the occupation of Austro-Hungary, and no Serb Orthodox churches at all. Hoewever, the Fransciscans founded their permanent missions in Bosnia as early as the 11th century. The land originally was part of the Illyria up until the Roman occupation. Following the split of the Roman Empire between
337 and
395, Dalmatia and Pannonia became parts of the
Western Roman Empire. Some claim that the region was conquered by the
Ostrogoths in
455. It subsequently changed hands between the
Alans and
Huns. By the sixth century, Emperor
Justinian had reconquered the area for the
Byzantine Empire. The Slavs, an intruding people from eastern Europe (Russia), were conquered by the
Avars in the sixth century.
Medieval Bosnia
Bosnia during the tenth century.
Bosnian state during Ban Kulin 1180-1204
Bosnian state during king Tvrtko 1353-1391
Borders of Bosnian state in second part of fifteenth century
Bosnia and Herzegovina in second part of nineteenth century
Bihaćka kula in the City of
Bihać ("the tower of Bihać").
Modern knowledge of the political situation in the west Balkans during the
Dark Ages is patchy and confusing. Upon their arrival, the Slavs brought with them a tribal social structure, which probably fell apart and gave way to
Feudalism only with
Frankish penetration into the region in the late
ninth century.
It was also around this time that the south Slavs were Christianized. Bosnia, due to its geographic position and terrain, was probably one of the last areas to go through this process, which presumably originated from the urban centers along the
Dalmatian coast.
The principalities of
Serbia and
Croatia split control of Bosnia and Herzegovina in the ninth and tenth century, but by the
High Middle Ages political circumstance led to the area being contested between the
Kingdom of Hungary and the Byzantine Empire. Following another shift of power between the two in the late twelfth century, Bosnia found itself outside the control of both and emerged as an independent state under the rule of local
bans.
The Charter of Kulin Ban - tretie with Dubrovnik. Now in Ermitrage in Petersburg.
Kulin Ban's plate found in Biskupići, near
Visoko.
The first notable Bosnian monarch,
Ban Kulin, presided over nearly three decades of peace and stability during which he strengthened the country's economy through treaties with
Dubrovnik and
Venice. His rule also marked the start of a controversy with the
Bosnian Church, an indigenous Christian sect considered heretical by both the
Roman Catholic and
Eastern Orthodox churches. In response to Hungarian attempts to use church politics regarding the issue as a way to reclaim sovereignty over Bosnia, Kulin held a council of local church leaders to renounce the heresy and embraced Catholicism in 1203. Despite this, Hungarian ambitions remained unchanged long after Kulin's death in 1204, waning only after an unsuccessful invasion in 1254.
Bosnian history from then until the early
fourteenth century was marked by the power struggle between the
Šubić and
Kotromanić families. This conflict came to an end in 1322, when
Stjepan II Kotromanić became ''ban''. By the time of his death in 1353, he was successful in annexing territories to the north and west, as well as Zahumlje and parts of Dalmatia. He was succeeded by his nephew
Tvrtko who, following a prolonged struggle with nobility and inter-family strife, gained full control of the country in 1367. Tvrtko crowned himself on
26 October 1377 as Stefan Tvrtko I ''by the mercy of God King of
Serbs,
Bosnia and the Seaside and the Western Lands''.
Historians considered that he was crowned in the
Serbian Orthodox Mileševa monastery, even though there is no archeological evidences.
[ Dr. Željko Fajfric: Kotromanići] Another possibility, advanced by P. Anđelić and based on archeological evidence, is that he was crowned in Mile near
Visoko in the church which was built in time of
Stephen II Kotromanić's reign, where he was also buried alongside his uncle Stjepan II.
[ Mile declared as national monument. 2003.][Anđelić Pavao, Krunidbena i grobna crkva bosanskih vladara u Milima (Arnautovićima) kod Visokog. Glasnik Zemaljskog muzeja XXXIV/1979., Zemaljski muzej Bosne i Hercegovine, Sarajevo, 1980,183-247] Following his death in 1391 however, Bosnia fell into a long period of decline. The
Ottoman Empire had already started its
conquest of Europe and posed a major threat to the
Balkans throughout the first half of the fifteenth century. Finally, after decades of political and social instability, Bosnia officially fell in 1463. Herzegovina would follow in 1482, with a Hungarian-backed reinstated "Bosnian Kingdom" being the last to succumb in 1527.
Ottoman era
The Ottoman province of Bosnia in the seventeenth century.
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