Kingdom of Bosnia: Map & History

History

Bosnia reached its peak under Tvrtko I, a member of the Kotromanić dynasty, who came to power in 1353. In 1372, Tvrtko formed an alliance with Prince Lazar Hrebeljanović, one of the regional lords in the territory of the disintegrated Serbian Empire. The next year, Tvrtko and Lazar attacked the domain of Nikola Altomanović, the most powerful Serbian noble at the time. After defeating Altomanović, they divided his lands, except for his littoral districts of Dračevica, Konavle, and Trebinje, which were seized by Đurađ I Balšić, the Lord of Zeta. Tvrtko received parts of Zahumlje, the upper reaches of the Drina and Lim rivers, and the districts of Onogošt and Gacko.

Economy

Important mining towns like Fojnica, Kreševo, Olovo, Srebrenica, Dusina, Kamenica, and Deževice began to be mentioned in contemporary sources during Tvrtko I's reign. Srebrenica was a very lucrative possession with its silver mines. Caravan trade was frequent between the Republic of Ragusa and Bosnia, and Ragusan merchants had trading colonies in Podvisoki, Fojnica, Srebrenica, Kreševo and others. Economic activity allowed for the creation of new župas like Nenavište in Posavina and Trebotić in Podrinje. Via Narenta and Via Drine were economically crucial as they provided access to Drijeva and Dubrovnik, which in turn provided access to the Adriatic Sea. In 1382 Tvrtko built a new fortress in the Bay of Kotor on the Adriatic coast to form the basis of a new salt trading centre.

Culture and religion

The territory of Bosnia and today's Herzegovina is littered with medieval gravestones called stećak, which first appeared in the middle of the 12th century. They were a tradition among Bosnian, Catholic and Orthodox Church followers alike. While Bosnia had many architecturally impressive stone fortresses, its medieval churches were small, especially compared to Catholic churches along the coast and Orthodox monasteries in neighboring Serbia, possibly because of the indifference of Bosnian nobles towards formal religion.

Medieval Bosnia and Herzegovina had three Christian faiths: Catholic and Orthodox Christians, and some who simply called themselves Bosnians, belonging to the so-called Bosnian Church.

Background

The Banate of Bosnia was a medieval state comprising, at its peak, most of what is today Bosnia and Herzegovina, as well as parts of Dalmatia (in Croatia), Serbia, and Montenegro. Although nominally belonging to the Kingdom of Hungary crown lands, it was a de facto independent state. After the reign of Ban Kulin, rulers of Bosnia enjoyed virtual independence from Hungary, and although they formally held a vassal position for much of this time, in reality they managed to maintain independent functions and even expand their rule in Serbia, Croatia, and Dalmatia.