The First Monarchs of Bosnia

The first important Bosnian monarch was called Ban Kulin; he managed to strengthen and consolidate his power by signing trade treaties with regional powers including those based in Dubrovnik and Venice. He managed to fend off Hungarian desires to invade the country by aligning the Bosnian Church with the Catholic Church and thus impeding attempts to create internal strife. There was still failed Hungarian invasion fifty two years after his death in 1254, but this was unsuccessful and Bosnia remained free for the time being.

With Bosnia relatively strong and consolidated it was understandable that two important families wrestled for control of the country, namely the Šubić and Kotromanić families. Their conflict ended in 1322 with Stjepan II Kotromanić becoming the Ban of the country. His nephew succeeded him but after his death the country started to decline and Ottomans began their advance into the region.

The Ottoman Times

The Ottomans killed of the nobility and took complete control over the country; however they left it as a principality, so it could keep its identity in terms of its geographic borders and name, which is unique for countries the Ottomans occupied in the Balkans. The country also benefited as it was far behind the front lines and the fighting caused by the Ottoman expansion into Europe. Sarajevo and Mostar as well as other important cities were established and much wealth was brought to the province through the resulting trade.

As History ran its course the Ottoman Empire started the crumble and as they were pushed back east Bosnia had the unfortunate position of sitting on the western frontier. The hardship this brought led to many deaths, plagues and revolts. Eventually the area was handed over to Austria-Hungary via the treaty of Berlin in 1878.

Austro-Hungarian Rule Through to Communist Yugoslavia

The new rulers quickly put down the first signs of armed rebellion and set about trying to make the state a ‘model colony’ to quell rising Slav nationalism across their Empire. This included economic reforms and the creation of a multi-confessional country. However nationalism continued to grow and the idea of a southern Slavic state headed by Serbia took hold of politics and history until the famous assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, in Sarajevo which kick started World War One. The formation of Yugoslavia which followed this war was ravaged by internal nationalist division, in which the Bosnians played their part. However they were forced to stop their infighting with the invasion of the country by Nazi Germany in 1941. After the war, Bosnia fell within the Socialist Republic of Yugoslavia where it played an important role as a strategic military base. The consequent build up of arms and arms factories in the area brought it some advantages at the time although it proved disastrous with the break up of the country following the fall of communism in 1989.

The 1992-1995 Bosnian War and Modern Times

Bosnia declared itself independent from Yugoslavia following a referendum; however it was boycotted by over one third of the country, most of whom were ethnic Serbs and so lacked some legitimacy. The following war and the atrocities by all sides have been much documented and the consequences of this can still be felt throughout the region although there has been a significant drop in tensions. The Washington accords in 1994 divided Yugoslavia pretty much along today’s lines and since then Bosnia and Herzegovina has been rebuilding itself and the relations with its neighbours. Currently the country is moving forward; it remains a beautiful place and is attracting many tourists which massively aid its economy.