Bosnia History

Bosnia and Herzegovina has been populated for more than 100,000 years. Cave drawings near Stolac and numerous remains exhibited in the National Museum in Sarajevo are a testament to these ancient civilizations. It is presumed that the name Bosna comes from Illyrian tribes, considering the fact that in their language the word “bos” signified water. At the same time, Bosna is also the name of one of the most important rivers in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

With the beginning of AD, Bosnia and Herzegovina was a part of the Roman Empire settled mostly by Illyrian tribes. Upon the division into the Eastern and Western Roman empires (395), Bosnia came under the rule of the Western Roman Empire. With the fall of this empire in 497, Bosnia is ruled by the Eastern Roman Empire, then Eastern Goths, and finally Byzantine Empire until the arrival of Slavs.

The Roman Period is significant for its road construction throughout the country, the opening of massive mines, and trade in its mineral wealth and agricultural products. Today traces of the Roman period can be seen in the cities of Central Bosnia: Zenica, Vareš, Breza, Kiseljak, Travnik, but also in Herzegovina as well. In fact, the large Roman Estate – Villa Rustica located in Mogorjelo, near Čapljina, Herzegovina remains one of the best examples of the Roman legacy to Bosnia and Herzegovina.

In the early 7th century AD Slavs began a mass settling of the region. The following centuries saw constant turmoil among Croats, Serbs, and Hungarians and from the Byzantine Empire. In the late 12th century, the first Bosnian State emerged and contributed to the development of the region, gained international recognition, and, at the same time, became the Bogomil asylum. Bogomils who fled Bulgaria were accepted and became a part of social life for many years to come. They left stećci for history—tombstones, carved stone blocks scattered all around the country.

In this period a special Order emerged, the Bosnian Church. Bosnian Kingdom, with Tvrtko I as its ruler, emerges in 1377 and becomes one of the most powerful states of middle ages on the western Balkan Peninsula. Bosnian Kings defended the Bosnian State from the Ottoman invasions that lasted over a century and a half. The medieval cities of Jajce, Travnik, Visoko, Fojnica and Kraljeva Sutjeska all mark the era of the heretic Bosnian Church and the establishment of the Bosnian vicarage by Franciscans who arrived to Bosnia and Herzegovina in the late 13th century. Franciscans, sent here by the Catholic Church to dissolve the Bosnian Church founded the Franciscan Provence of Bosna Srebrena (“Silver-Bosnia”), which remains to this day and represents the guardian of the Bosnian history.

This region flourished in the time of Ottoman rule, its tiny fortresses bloomed into major trade cities between East and West. Arrival of Turks has left traces to most other cities as well. Almost every mosque and numerous bridges, for instance, the Old Bridge in Mostar, were developed. The influence of Turkish tradition can be seen in the cuisine, literature, music, architecture, even life itself, and the distinct flavor of the Orient forever marked this region.

During a short reign of the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Western influence has changed the country in many ways: increased literacy, cultural upbringing, a transformation from Oriental to West-European styles and the mass construction of new buildings. These differences can be best observed in Ferhadija, pedestrian zone, which begins with an Oriental style and ends with the Western one.

The assassination of the heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne, Franz Ferdinand, which took place in Sarajevo, was the event that caused the beginning of World War I. Between the two world wars Bosnia was the part of the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenians, and the Kingdom of Yugoslavia, and only after World War II, it became one of the Yugoslav republics.

As a part of Yugoslavia, Sarajevo hosted the Winter Olympic Games in 1984. With the end of Yugoslavia and proclamation of the autonomy of Bosnia and Herzegovina (Declaration of Independence in March 1992) began one of the most difficult periods that brought the pain and suffering to the country. Only with the 1996 Dayton Peace Agreement has the country become stabilized and enabled massive reconstruction and historic restoration.

Ever since the war ended, Bosnia and Herzegovina has seen enormous recovery. Today, it is once again a paradise offering charming hospitality, endless well of cultural and historical sites, pristine nature, exquisite food, and a lifetime’s adventure for rafting, canoeing, hiking, paragliding… and it is now at the grasp of your hand.

 

Source: BHTourism