Serbs of Bosnia and Herzegovina
Encyclopedia
The Serbs of Bosnia and Herzegovina are people of Serb
ethnicity inhabiting the Balkan
regions of Bosnia
and Herzegovina
, or, since the establishment of Bosnia and Herzegovina
as a state in the 1990s, the Serbs who have its citizenship. The Serbs are one of the three constitutive nations of this state, predominantly residing in its political-territorial entity
named Republika Srpska
. They are frequently referred to as Bosnian Serbs in English, regardless of whether they are from Bosnia or Herzegovina.
. The modern estimate is that they form more likely about 37.1% (2000). The vast majority live on the territory of the Republika Srpska, and West Bosnia and Una-Sana
cantons of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina
. Bosnian Serbs are the most territorially widespread nation of Bosnia and Herzegovina. The majority of Bosnian Serbs are adherents of the Serbian Orthodox Church
, while some are atheists
. The Bosnian Serbs of Bosnia and Herzegovina speak the Serbian language
in its Jekavian and Ijekavian variant, similar to that of Montenegro
and Croatia
. Their total population world wide is estimated to be over 2 million.
rule (527–565), when eventually up to 100,000 Slavs raided Thessalonica. The Western Balkans was settled with Sclaveni (Sklavenoi), the east with Antes
.
In 577 some 100,000 Slavs poured into Thrace
and Illyricum
, pillaging cities and settling down.
According to 10th-century De Administrando Imperio
, Serbs
settled most of present-day Bosnia and Herzegovina during the rule of Byzantine Emperor Heraclius
(r. 610-641). Their leader, the Unknown Archont
, was given lands that would subsequently evolve into principalities; Pagania, Zahumlje
, Travunija, Duklja
and Rascia
. Bosnia, centered at river Bosona, was explained as having been a region of Serbliae together with Rascia, and had two inhabited cities; Kotor
and Desnik. Herzegovina was part of Zahumlje and Travunija; present-day Canton 10
, West Herzegovina, Herzegovina-Neretva and Trebinje Region.
The regions were constantly changing hands, as the Slavic nobles fought each other for the supreme rule.
Prince Višeslav
, who managed to unite several provinces and tribes, directly ruled the hereditary lands (Župa
nias) of Neretva
, Tara, Piva
, Lim
. Višeslav ruled during Charlemagne
(fl. 768-814)).
According to the Royal Frankish Annals
(822), Pannonia
n Duke Ljudevit
fled his seat in Sisak
to the Serbs
(during the rule of Radoslav
or his son Prosigoj
) somewhere in western Bosnia
who controlled a great part of Dalmatia
("Sorabos, quae natio magnam Dalmatiae partem obtinere dicitur").
Prince Vlastimir (r. 831-851), after defeating the Bulgars in the three-year Bulgarian–Serbian Wars (839-842), continued to expand to the west, taking southeast Bosnia
and northeast Herzegovina
(Hum
). Vlastimir ensured further unity by marrying his daughter to Krajina Belojević
, who gained the title of Prince of Trebinje.
During the rule of Mutimir
(r. 851-891), the Serbs were Christianized. Serbia became an important Byzantine ally; The fleets of Zahumlje, Travunia and Konavli (Serbian Pomorje
) were sent to fight the Saracens who attacked the town of Ragusa
(Dubrovnik) in 869, on the immediate request of Basil I
, who was asked by the Ragusians for help.
Prince Petar (r. 892-917), defeated Tišemir of Bosnia, annexing the valley of Bosna. He continues taking the Neretva
, annexing the Narentines, where he seems to have come into conflict with Michael, a Bulgarian vassal ruling Zahumlje (with Travunia and Duklja).
The golden age of Serbs in the early Middle Ages comes with Prince Časlav
(r. 927-960), who managed to incude all former territories; He concluded a voluntary confederation with the chiefs of Bosnia
that brought them out of Venetian-Croatia
's control. With other Slavic principalities of Zahumlje
, Pagania, Travunia
, Duklja
and Raška
, Časlav established a state that encompassed the shores of the Adriatic Sea
, the Sava river
and the Morava valley as well as today's northern Albania
. Časlav defeated the Magyars and their ruler Kisa
on the banks of river Drina
when protecting Bosnia, however, in the second battle against the Magyars, Časlav was hurt in battle, captured and thrown to drown together with his fellow Serbian warriors, in the Sava.
The Serbian rule in westernmost Bosnia crumbled after Časlav's fall. It would take King Constantine Bodin and war against the Byzantines in 1082-1085 to restore it. There he installed Stefan of Bosnia as Ban
.
, which the Serbs strongly opposed. On June 28, 1914, Bosnian Serb Gavrilo Princip
made international headlines after assassinating Arch Duke Francis Ferdinand in Sarajevo
. This sparked World War I leading to Austria-Hungary
's defeat and the incorporation of Bosnia and Herzegovina into the Kingdom of Yugoslavia
.
. Under Ustaša rule Serbs along with Jews and Roma people, were subjected to systematic genocide
, known as the Serbian genocide, where hundreds of thousands of civilian serbs were murdered.
Between 1945 and 1948, following World War II
, approximately 70,000 Serbs
migrated from the People's Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina
to Vojvodina
after the Germans had left. Serbs were the larger of the two constitutive nations of Bosnia and Herzegovina (later the second largest of three, when Bosniaks, then known as Muslims by nationality
, gained constitutive status in 1968).
After the government of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina
declared independence, which was not accepted by the federal Serb controlled government of Yugoslavia, the Serbian Autonomous Area of the Bosnian Frontier
was formed in the western Bosnian Frontier
region of Bosnia and Herzegovina with its capital in Banja Luka
, which was not recognised by the central government. SAO Bosnian Frontier made attempts to unite with the Autonomous Region of the Serbian Frontier
in Croatia
. The Serb political leadership martialled its own force assisted by the Yugoslav People's Army
and declared independence from Bosnia and Herzegovina in late 1992. During this period there was notable support for the idea of a Greater Serbia
being made reality, both within Bosnia and in Serbia proper. This ideology advocated the joining of Serb-populated regions into a contiguous territory. BiH's Bosniak and Bosnian Croat dominated government did not recognize the new Serbian Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina
, whose president was Radovan Karadžić
seated in Banja Luka
. The Serb side accepted the proposed ethnic cantonization of Bosnia and Herzegovina (the Carrington-Cutileiro peace plan), as did the Bosniak and Bosnian Croat sides in Lisbon
in 1992, in the hope that war would not break out. The Bosniak political leadership under President Alija Izetbegović
of Bosnia and Herzegovina
subsequently revoked the agreement refusing to decentralize the newly created country based on ethnic lines. The Bosnian War
began.
Throughout most of the war the Serbs fought against both the Bosniaks and the Bosnian Croats. During Bosniak-Croat hostilities the Serbs co-operated largely with the Croats. There were exceptions to this however, as Serb forces were also allied with the pro-Yugoslav
Bosniaks of the Autonomous Province of Western Bosnia
under Fikret Abdić
. Serb forces also carried out ethnic cleansing
operations against non-Serbs living within their territory, the most formidable was the Srebrenica massacre
in July 1995. However, many Serbs also were targets of atrocities during the war. During most of the war, the Serb Republic
comprised around 70% of Bosnia and Herzegovina's soil. During the entire length of war the Army of the Serb Republic
maintained the Siege of Sarajevo
, allegedly in order to tie down the Bosnian Muslim (Bosniak) forces and resources in what was the capital of the Bosnian-Herzegovinian state. Serb Republic
maintained close ties with the Republic of the Serb Frontier and received volunteers and supplies from the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia during the war. The Serb Republic received a large number of Serb refugees from other Yugoslav
hotzones, particularly non-Serb held areas in Sarajevo
, Herzeg-Bosnia and Croatia
. In 1993, the Owen-Stoltenberg peace treaty was suggested that would give 52% of BiH to the Serb side. It was refused by the Bosniak side as too large of a concession.
In 1994, the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia imposed sanctions after the National Assembly of the Serb Republic refused the Vance-Owen peace plan
. In 1995, Operation Storm
eliminated the Republic of the Serb Frontier. The Croatian Army continued the offensive into the Serb Republic under General Ante Gotovina
(convicted of War Crimes by the ICTY and sentenced to 24 years). Some 250,000 Serbs fled to the Serb Republic
and Serbia from Croatia, as the Serb side continued a full retreat of Serbs from the Una to the Sana river
. The Croatian Army, supported by the forces of the Muslim-Croat Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina came within 20 km of the de facto Bosnian Serb capital, Banja Luka
. The war was halted with the Dayton Peace Agreement which recognized Republika Srpska
, comprising 49% of the soil of BiH, as one of the two territorial entities of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina
. The Serb side suffered a total 30,700 victims - 16,700 civilians and 14,000 military personnel, according to the Demographic Unit at the ICTY. Although exact numbers are disputed, it is generally agreed that the Bosnian War claimed the lives of about 100,000 people - Serbs, Croats and Bosniaks. See: Casualties of the Bosnian War
The demographics of Bosnia-Herzegovina as well as Republika Srpska were tremendously affected by the war. Current estimates indicate that some 400,000 Serbs no longer live in the Federation of BiH. By the same token, it is estimated that some 450,000 Bosnian Muslims (Bosniaks) and Bosnian Croats that used to live in Republika Srpska no longer live there. Many Bosnian Serbs emigrated abroad to Canada, the United States, Australia, western Europe, Serbia and Montenegro.
use regional names among each other, such as the wider: Frontiersmen
(Krajišniks), Semberians, Bosnians
, Herzegovinians
.
A part of the Bosnian Serbs trace their origins in some of the Serb clans
.
, a municipality which is of Serb majority under the local government of Canton 10
based in Livno
(which is of Croat majority), are still denied schooling in Serbian language, instead, the school teaches in the Croatian language (2010).
The municipality of Glamoč has asked the government to return hundreds of hectars of land that has been taken from ethnic Serbs and has become land of the Army of Bosnia and Herzegovina. They sent a plea beginning in 2006, with more than 187 suits, seeking return of lands, restoration of destroyed land and objects, but the government has declined. Some 2,000 Serbs are in very low state, without any jobs, and this is a way to fix the problem, says Radovan Marković, head of the Glamoč municipality.
Serbs
The Serbs are a South Slavic ethnic group of the Balkans and southern Central Europe. Serbs are located mainly in Serbia, Montenegro and Bosnia and Herzegovina, and form a sizable minority in Croatia, the Republic of Macedonia and Slovenia. Likewise, Serbs are an officially recognized minority in...
ethnicity inhabiting the Balkan
Balkans
The Balkans is a geopolitical and cultural region of southeastern Europe...
regions of Bosnia
Bosnia (region)
Bosnia is a eponomous region of Bosnia and Herzegovina. It lies mainly in the Dinaric Alps, ranging to the southern borders of the Pannonian plain, with the rivers Sava and Drina marking its northern and eastern borders. The other eponomous region, the southern, other half of the country is...
and Herzegovina
Herzegovina
Herzegovina is the southern region of Bosnia and Herzegovina. While there is no official border distinguishing it from the Bosnian region, it is generally accepted that the borders of the region are Croatia to the west, Montenegro to the south, the canton boundaries of the Herzegovina-Neretva...
, or, since the establishment of Bosnia and Herzegovina
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Bosnia and Herzegovina , sometimes called Bosnia-Herzegovina or simply Bosnia, is a country in Southern Europe, on the Balkan Peninsula. Bordered by Croatia to the north, west and south, Serbia to the east, and Montenegro to the southeast, Bosnia and Herzegovina is almost landlocked, except for the...
as a state in the 1990s, the Serbs who have its citizenship. The Serbs are one of the three constitutive nations of this state, predominantly residing in its political-territorial entity
Political divisions of Bosnia and Herzegovina
The political divisions of Bosnia and Herzegovina were created by the Dayton Agreement, which recognized a second tier of government in Bosnia and Herzegovina comprising two entities—a joint Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Republika Srpska -- each presiding over roughly one half of...
named Republika Srpska
Republika Srpska
Republika Srpska is one of two main political entities of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the other being the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina...
. They are frequently referred to as Bosnian Serbs in English, regardless of whether they are from Bosnia or Herzegovina.
Population
The last 1996 UNHCR population census registered 1,484,530 Serbs or 37.9% of the total population of Bosnia and HerzegovinaBosnia and Herzegovina
Bosnia and Herzegovina , sometimes called Bosnia-Herzegovina or simply Bosnia, is a country in Southern Europe, on the Balkan Peninsula. Bordered by Croatia to the north, west and south, Serbia to the east, and Montenegro to the southeast, Bosnia and Herzegovina is almost landlocked, except for the...
. The modern estimate is that they form more likely about 37.1% (2000). The vast majority live on the territory of the Republika Srpska, and West Bosnia and Una-Sana
Una-Sana Canton
The Una-Sana Canton is one of the 10 cantons of Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is located in the northwest of the country and has been named after the rivers Una and Sana. The center of canton government is Bihać.-Population:...
cantons of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina
Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina
The Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina is one of the two political entities that compose the sovereign country of Bosnia and Herzegovina . The two entities are delineated by the Inter-Entity Boundary Line...
. Bosnian Serbs are the most territorially widespread nation of Bosnia and Herzegovina. The majority of Bosnian Serbs are adherents of the Serbian Orthodox Church
Serbian Orthodox Church
The Serbian Orthodox Church is one of the autocephalous Orthodox Christian churches, ranking sixth in order of seniority after Constantinople, Alexandria, Antioch, Jerusalem, and Russia...
, while some are atheists
Atheism
Atheism is, in a broad sense, the rejection of belief in the existence of deities. In a narrower sense, atheism is specifically the position that there are no deities...
. The Bosnian Serbs of Bosnia and Herzegovina speak the Serbian language
Serbian language
Serbian is a form of Serbo-Croatian, a South Slavic language, spoken by Serbs in Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Croatia and neighbouring countries....
in its Jekavian and Ijekavian variant, similar to that of Montenegro
Montenegro
Montenegro Montenegrin: Crna Gora Црна Гора , meaning "Black Mountain") is a country located in Southeastern Europe. It has a coast on the Adriatic Sea to the south-west and is bordered by Croatia to the west, Bosnia and Herzegovina to the northwest, Serbia to the northeast and Albania to the...
and Croatia
Croatia
Croatia , officially the Republic of Croatia , is a unitary democratic parliamentary republic in Europe at the crossroads of the Mitteleuropa, the Balkans, and the Mediterranean. Its capital and largest city is Zagreb. The country is divided into 20 counties and the city of Zagreb. Croatia covers ...
. Their total population world wide is estimated to be over 2 million.
Early Medieval
The Slavs came to the Balkans during Justinian IJustinian I
Justinian I ; , ; 483– 13 or 14 November 565), commonly known as Justinian the Great, was Byzantine Emperor from 527 to 565. During his reign, Justinian sought to revive the Empire's greatness and reconquer the lost western half of the classical Roman Empire.One of the most important figures of...
rule (527–565), when eventually up to 100,000 Slavs raided Thessalonica. The Western Balkans was settled with Sclaveni (Sklavenoi), the east with Antes
Antes
Antes may refer to:*Antes people, an ancient tribe in Eastern EuropePeople named Antes*Horst Antes , German sculptor*John Antes , American composer-See also:...
.
In 577 some 100,000 Slavs poured into Thrace
Thrace
Thrace is a historical and geographic area in southeast Europe. As a geographical concept, Thrace designates a region bounded by the Balkan Mountains on the north, Rhodope Mountains and the Aegean Sea on the south, and by the Black Sea and the Sea of Marmara on the east...
and Illyricum
Illyricum (Roman province)
The Roman province of Illyricum or Illyris Romana or Illyris Barbara or Illyria Barbara replaced most of the region of Illyria. It stretched from the Drilon river in modern north Albania to Istria in the west and to the Sava river in the north. Salona functioned as its capital...
, pillaging cities and settling down.
According to 10th-century De Administrando Imperio
De Administrando Imperio
De Administrando Imperio is the Latin title of a Greek work written by the 10th-century Eastern Roman Emperor Constantine VII. The Greek title of the work is...
, Serbs
Serbs
The Serbs are a South Slavic ethnic group of the Balkans and southern Central Europe. Serbs are located mainly in Serbia, Montenegro and Bosnia and Herzegovina, and form a sizable minority in Croatia, the Republic of Macedonia and Slovenia. Likewise, Serbs are an officially recognized minority in...
settled most of present-day Bosnia and Herzegovina during the rule of Byzantine Emperor Heraclius
Heraclius
Heraclius was Byzantine Emperor from 610 to 641.He was responsible for introducing Greek as the empire's official language. His rise to power began in 608, when he and his father, Heraclius the Elder, the exarch of Africa, successfully led a revolt against the unpopular usurper Phocas.Heraclius'...
(r. 610-641). Their leader, the Unknown Archont
Unknown Archont
The Unknown Archont is a conventional name given by historians to the Serbian leader who led the White Serbs from their homeland to settle in the Balkans after 610, during the reign of Byzantine Emperor Heraclius ....
, was given lands that would subsequently evolve into principalities; Pagania, Zahumlje
Zahumlje
Zachlumia or Zahumlje was a medieval principality located in modern-day regions of Herzegovina and southern Dalmatia...
, Travunija, Duklja
Duklja
Doclea or Duklja was a medieval state with hereditary lands roughly encompassing the territories of present-day southeastern Montenegro, from Kotor on the west to the river Bojana on the east and to the sources of Zeta and Morača rivers on the north....
and Rascia
Rascia
Rascia was a medieval region that served as the principal province of the Serbian realm. It was an administrative division under the direct rule of the monarch and sometimes as an appanage. The term has been used to refer to various Serbian states throughout the Middle Ages...
. Bosnia, centered at river Bosona, was explained as having been a region of Serbliae together with Rascia, and had two inhabited cities; Kotor
Kotor
Kotor is a coastal city in Montenegro. It is located in a secluded part of the Gulf of Kotor. The city has a population of 13,510 and is the administrative center of the municipality....
and Desnik. Herzegovina was part of Zahumlje and Travunija; present-day Canton 10
Canton 10
Canton 10 or County 10 is the tenth canton of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, located in the western part of Bosnia and Herzegovina. The capital of County and its president is in Kupres...
, West Herzegovina, Herzegovina-Neretva and Trebinje Region.
The regions were constantly changing hands, as the Slavic nobles fought each other for the supreme rule.
Prince Višeslav
Višeslav of Serbia
Višeslav was Prince of the Serbs fl. 768-814. He united various Serb tribes into an unified state.-Life:Višeslav was the great-grandson of the Unknown Archont, the leader of the White Serbs that settled the Balkans after an agreement with the Byzantine Emperor Heraclius .He ruled the Županias of...
, who managed to unite several provinces and tribes, directly ruled the hereditary lands (Župa
Župa
A Župa is a Slavic term, used historically among the Southern and Western branches of the Slavs, originally denoting various territorial and other sub-units, usually a small administrative division, especially a gathering of several villages...
nias) of Neretva
Neretva
Neretva is the largest river of the eastern part of the Adriatic basin. It has been harnessed and controlled to a large extent by four HE power-plants with large dams and their storage lakes, but it is still recognized for its natural beauty, diversity of its landscape and visual...
, Tara, Piva
Piva
Piva may refer to:* Piva , a river in Montenegro* Piva, Montenegro, a region in Montenegro and the clan* Piva language, a member of the Piva-Banoni languages* Piva , an Italian folk instrument* Piva , a Renaissance dance...
, Lim
Lim River
The Lim is a river flowing through Montenegro, Albania, Serbia and Bosnia and Herzegovina. long, it's the right and the longest tributary of the Drina.- Montenegro and Serbia :...
. Višeslav ruled during Charlemagne
Charlemagne
Charlemagne was King of the Franks from 768 and Emperor of the Romans from 800 to his death in 814. He expanded the Frankish kingdom into an empire that incorporated much of Western and Central Europe. During his reign, he conquered Italy and was crowned by Pope Leo III on 25 December 800...
(fl. 768-814)).
According to the Royal Frankish Annals
Royal Frankish Annals
The Royal Frankish Annals or Annals of the Kingdom of the Franks ,are annals covering the history of early Carolingian monarchs from 741 to 829. Their composition seems to have soon been taken up at court, providing them with markedly official character...
(822), Pannonia
Pannonia
Pannonia was an ancient province of the Roman Empire bounded north and east by the Danube, coterminous westward with Noricum and upper Italy, and southward with Dalmatia and upper Moesia....
n Duke Ljudevit
Ljudevit Posavski
Ljudevit Posavski was a Croatian Duke of Pannonian Croatia from 810 to 823. The capital of his realm was in Sisak. As the ruler of the Pannonian Slavs, he led an unsuccessful resistance to Frankish domination. He held close ties with the Carantanian and Carniolan tribes and with the Serbian tribe...
fled his seat in Sisak
Sisak
Sisak is a city in central Croatia. The city's population in 2011 was 33,049, with a total of 49,699 in the administrative region and it is also the administrative centre of the Sisak-Moslavina county...
to the Serbs
Serbs
The Serbs are a South Slavic ethnic group of the Balkans and southern Central Europe. Serbs are located mainly in Serbia, Montenegro and Bosnia and Herzegovina, and form a sizable minority in Croatia, the Republic of Macedonia and Slovenia. Likewise, Serbs are an officially recognized minority in...
(during the rule of Radoslav
Radoslav of Serbia
Radoslav was a Serbian Prince who ruled over the Serbs from 800 to 822, he succeeded his father Višeslav who united the Serbian tribes, resulting in the formation of Raška in the 8th century...
or his son Prosigoj
Prosigoj
Prosigoj was a 9th-century Serbian Prince that ruled the Serbian Principality from 822 to 836.-Biography:He was the son of Radoslav. Prosigoj or his father was the ruler of Serbia during the uprisings of Ljudevit Posavski against the Franks...
) somewhere in western Bosnia
History of Bosnia and Herzegovina (until 958)
Within the boundaries of today’s Bosnia and Herzegovina, there have been many layers of prehistoric cultures whose creation and disappearance are linked to migrations of unidentified ethnic groups.-Prehistory:...
who controlled a great part of Dalmatia
Dalmatia (Roman province)
Dalmatia was an ancient Roman province. Its name is probably derived from the name of an Illyrian tribe called the Dalmatae which lived in the area of the eastern Adriatic coast in Classical antiquity....
("Sorabos, quae natio magnam Dalmatiae partem obtinere dicitur").
Prince Vlastimir (r. 831-851), after defeating the Bulgars in the three-year Bulgarian–Serbian Wars (839-842), continued to expand to the west, taking southeast Bosnia
Bosnia (region)
Bosnia is a eponomous region of Bosnia and Herzegovina. It lies mainly in the Dinaric Alps, ranging to the southern borders of the Pannonian plain, with the rivers Sava and Drina marking its northern and eastern borders. The other eponomous region, the southern, other half of the country is...
and northeast Herzegovina
Herzegovina
Herzegovina is the southern region of Bosnia and Herzegovina. While there is no official border distinguishing it from the Bosnian region, it is generally accepted that the borders of the region are Croatia to the west, Montenegro to the south, the canton boundaries of the Herzegovina-Neretva...
(Hum
Zahumlje
Zachlumia or Zahumlje was a medieval principality located in modern-day regions of Herzegovina and southern Dalmatia...
). Vlastimir ensured further unity by marrying his daughter to Krajina Belojević
Krajina Belojević
Krajina Belojević was the župan of Travunia, an administrative unit of the Principality of Serbia, in the 9th century. In 847/848, not long after the three-year Bulgarian–Serbian War in which Prince Vlastimir of Serbia Krajina Belojević was the župan of Travunia, an administrative unit of the...
, who gained the title of Prince of Trebinje.
During the rule of Mutimir
Mutimir of Serbia
Mutimir of Serbia was Prince of the Serbs from ca 850 until 891. He defeated the Bulgar Army, allied himself with the Byzantine Emperor and ruled the First Serbian Principality when the Christianization of the Serbs took place and the Eparchy of Ras was established.He was the eldest son of Knez...
(r. 851-891), the Serbs were Christianized. Serbia became an important Byzantine ally; The fleets of Zahumlje, Travunia and Konavli (Serbian Pomorje
Pomorje
Pomorje or Primorje is a term used in historical contexts to describe one of the two geographical divisions that constituted Serbia in the Middle Ages...
) were sent to fight the Saracens who attacked the town of Ragusa
Dubrovnik
Dubrovnik is a Croatian city on the Adriatic Sea coast, positioned at the terminal end of the Isthmus of Dubrovnik. It is one of the most prominent tourist destinations on the Adriatic, a seaport and the centre of Dubrovnik-Neretva county. Its total population is 42,641...
(Dubrovnik) in 869, on the immediate request of Basil I
Basil I
Basil I, called the Macedonian was a Byzantine emperor of probable Armenian descent who reigned from 867 to 886. Born a simple peasant in the Byzantine theme of Macedonia, he rose in the imperial court, and usurped the imperial throne from Emperor Michael III...
, who was asked by the Ragusians for help.
Prince Petar (r. 892-917), defeated Tišemir of Bosnia, annexing the valley of Bosna. He continues taking the Neretva
Neretva
Neretva is the largest river of the eastern part of the Adriatic basin. It has been harnessed and controlled to a large extent by four HE power-plants with large dams and their storage lakes, but it is still recognized for its natural beauty, diversity of its landscape and visual...
, annexing the Narentines, where he seems to have come into conflict with Michael, a Bulgarian vassal ruling Zahumlje (with Travunia and Duklja).
Caslav Klonimirovic
Časlav Klonimirović or Časlav of Serbia was Prince of the Serbs from ca. 927 until his death in 960. He significantly expanded the Serbian Principality when he managed to unite several Slavic tribes, stretching his realm over the shores of the Adriatic Sea, the Sava river and the Morava valley...
(r. 927-960), who managed to incude all former territories; He concluded a voluntary confederation with the chiefs of Bosnia
Bosnia (region)
Bosnia is a eponomous region of Bosnia and Herzegovina. It lies mainly in the Dinaric Alps, ranging to the southern borders of the Pannonian plain, with the rivers Sava and Drina marking its northern and eastern borders. The other eponomous region, the southern, other half of the country is...
that brought them out of Venetian-Croatia
Kingdom of Croatia (medieval)
The Kingdom of Croatia , also known as the Kingdom of the Croats , was a medieval kingdom covering most of what is today Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina in the Balkans.Established in 925, it ruled as a sovereign state for almost two centuries...
's control. With other Slavic principalities of Zahumlje
Zahumlje
Zachlumia or Zahumlje was a medieval principality located in modern-day regions of Herzegovina and southern Dalmatia...
, Pagania, Travunia
Travunia
Travunia was a medieval region, administrative unit and principality, which was part of Medieval Serbia , and in its last years, the Bosnian Kingdom . The county became hereditary in a number of noble houses, often kin to the ruling dynasty. The region came under Ottoman rule in 1482...
, Duklja
Duklja
Doclea or Duklja was a medieval state with hereditary lands roughly encompassing the territories of present-day southeastern Montenegro, from Kotor on the west to the river Bojana on the east and to the sources of Zeta and Morača rivers on the north....
and Raška
Raška (state)
Principality of Serbia or Serbian Principality was an early medieval state of the Serbs ruled by the Vlastimirović dynasty, that existed from ca 768 to 969 in Southeastern Europe. It was established through an unification of several provincial chiefs under the supreme rule of a certain Višeslav,...
, Časlav established a state that encompassed the shores of the Adriatic Sea
Adriatic Sea
The Adriatic Sea is a body of water separating the Italian Peninsula from the Balkan peninsula, and the system of the Apennine Mountains from that of the Dinaric Alps and adjacent ranges...
, the Sava river
Sava River
The Sava is a river in Southeast Europe, a right side tributary of the Danube river at Belgrade. Counting from Zelenci, the source of Sava Dolinka, it is long and drains of surface area. It flows through Slovenia, Croatia, along the northern border of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and through Serbia....
and the Morava valley as well as today's northern Albania
Albania
Albania , officially known as the Republic of Albania , is a country in Southeastern Europe, in the Balkans region. It is bordered by Montenegro to the northwest, Kosovo to the northeast, the Republic of Macedonia to the east and Greece to the south and southeast. It has a coast on the Adriatic Sea...
. Časlav defeated the Magyars and their ruler Kisa
Kisa
Kisa or KISA may refer to the following:* KISA, A heavy rock n roll band formed in Louisville, KY, USA in 2003 as the Knights In Shively Armor* kisa, Icelandic for she-cat* kisa, Lingala for to sit...
on the banks of river Drina
Drina
The Drina is a 346 kilometer long river, which forms most of the border between Bosnia and Herzegovina and Serbia. It is the longest tributary of the Sava River and the longest karst river in the Dinaric Alps which belongs to the Danube river watershed...
when protecting Bosnia, however, in the second battle against the Magyars, Časlav was hurt in battle, captured and thrown to drown together with his fellow Serbian warriors, in the Sava.
The Serbian rule in westernmost Bosnia crumbled after Časlav's fall. It would take King Constantine Bodin and war against the Byzantines in 1082-1085 to restore it. There he installed Stefan of Bosnia as Ban
Ban (title)
Ban was a title used in several states in central and south-eastern Europe between the 7th century and the 20th century.-Etymology:The word ban has entered the English language probably as a borrowing from South Slavic ban, meaning "lord, master; ruler". The Slavic word is probably borrowed from...
.
Ottoman Era
After the Ottomans occupied Bosnia in the 15th century, many Serbs from east Herzegovina migrated up north and to the Bosnian frontier, the Bosnian Krajina, in the west.Austro-Hungarian Era
In 1878, Bosnia and Herzegovina became a protectorate of Austria-HungaryAustria-Hungary
Austria-Hungary , more formally known as the Kingdoms and Lands Represented in the Imperial Council and the Lands of the Holy Hungarian Crown of Saint Stephen, was a constitutional monarchic union between the crowns of the Austrian Empire and the Kingdom of Hungary in...
, which the Serbs strongly opposed. On June 28, 1914, Bosnian Serb Gavrilo Princip
Gavrilo Princip
Gavrilo Princip was the Bosnian Serb who assassinated Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria and his wife, Sophie, Duchess of Hohenberg, in Sarajevo on 28 June 1914...
made international headlines after assassinating Arch Duke Francis Ferdinand in Sarajevo
Sarajevo
Sarajevo |Bosnia]], surrounded by the Dinaric Alps and situated along the Miljacka River in the heart of Southeastern Europe and the Balkans....
. This sparked World War I leading to Austria-Hungary
Austria-Hungary
Austria-Hungary , more formally known as the Kingdoms and Lands Represented in the Imperial Council and the Lands of the Holy Hungarian Crown of Saint Stephen, was a constitutional monarchic union between the crowns of the Austrian Empire and the Kingdom of Hungary in...
's defeat and the incorporation of Bosnia and Herzegovina into the Kingdom of Yugoslavia
Kingdom of Yugoslavia
The Kingdom of Yugoslavia was a state stretching from the Western Balkans to Central Europe which existed during the often-tumultuous interwar era of 1918–1941...
.
World War II
During the Second World War, Bosnian Serbs were put under the rule of the fascist Ustaša regime in the Independent State of CroatiaIndependent State of Croatia
The Independent State of Croatia was a World War II puppet state of Nazi Germany, established on a part of Axis-occupied Yugoslavia. The NDH was founded on 10 April 1941, after the invasion of Yugoslavia by the Axis powers. All of Bosnia and Herzegovina was annexed to NDH, together with some parts...
. Under Ustaša rule Serbs along with Jews and Roma people, were subjected to systematic genocide
Genocide
Genocide is defined as "the deliberate and systematic destruction, in whole or in part, of an ethnic, racial, religious, or national group", though what constitutes enough of a "part" to qualify as genocide has been subject to much debate by legal scholars...
, known as the Serbian genocide, where hundreds of thousands of civilian serbs were murdered.
Between 1945 and 1948, following World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, approximately 70,000 Serbs
Serbs
The Serbs are a South Slavic ethnic group of the Balkans and southern Central Europe. Serbs are located mainly in Serbia, Montenegro and Bosnia and Herzegovina, and form a sizable minority in Croatia, the Republic of Macedonia and Slovenia. Likewise, Serbs are an officially recognized minority in...
migrated from the People's Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Bosnia and Herzegovina , sometimes called Bosnia-Herzegovina or simply Bosnia, is a country in Southern Europe, on the Balkan Peninsula. Bordered by Croatia to the north, west and south, Serbia to the east, and Montenegro to the southeast, Bosnia and Herzegovina is almost landlocked, except for the...
to Vojvodina
Vojvodina
Vojvodina, officially called Autonomous Province of Vojvodina is an autonomous province of Serbia. Its capital and largest city is Novi Sad...
after the Germans had left. Serbs were the larger of the two constitutive nations of Bosnia and Herzegovina (later the second largest of three, when Bosniaks, then known as Muslims by nationality
Muslims by nationality
Muslims by nationality was a term used in Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia as an official designation of nationality of Slavic Muslims. They were one of the constitutive groups of Bosnia and Herzegovina...
, gained constitutive status in 1968).
- In the first population census conducted in the People's Republic of Bosnia in 1948, there were 1,136,116 Serbs for a total of 44.3% of BiH's population
- In 1953, there were 1,264,372 Serbs in BiH, equaling 44.4% of the total population.
- In the 1961 population census, there were 1,406,057 Serbs, accounting for 42.9% of the total population of the Socialist Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina
Bosnian War
Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina
The Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina was the direct main predecessor to the modern-day state of Bosnia and Herzegovina...
declared independence, which was not accepted by the federal Serb controlled government of Yugoslavia, the Serbian Autonomous Area of the Bosnian Frontier
SAO Bosanska Krajina
Serbian Autonomous Oblast of Bosanska Krajina was a self-proclaimed Serbian autonomous region within today's Bosnia and Herzegovina. It was sometimes called the Autonomous Region of Krajina . SAO Bosanska Krajina was located in the geographical region named Bosanska Krajina. Its capital was...
was formed in the western Bosnian Frontier
Bosanska Krajina
Bosanska Krajina or Bosnian Frontier is a geographical region, a subregion of Bosnia, in western Bosnia and Herzegovina enclosed by three rivers - Sava, Una and Vrbas. It is also a historic, economic and cultural entity of Bosnia and Herzegovina....
region of Bosnia and Herzegovina with its capital in Banja Luka
Banja Luka
-History:The name "Banja Luka" was first mentioned in a document dated February 6, 1494, but Banja Luka's history dates back to ancient times. There is a substantial evidence of the Roman presence in the region during the first few centuries A.D., including an old fort "Kastel" in the centre of...
, which was not recognised by the central government. SAO Bosnian Frontier made attempts to unite with the Autonomous Region of the Serbian Frontier
SAO Krajina
Serbian Autonomous Oblast of Krajina or SAO Krajina was a self proclaimed Serbian autonomous region within modern-day Croatia . It existed between 1990 and 1991 and was subsequently included into Republic of Serbian Krajina...
in Croatia
Croatia
Croatia , officially the Republic of Croatia , is a unitary democratic parliamentary republic in Europe at the crossroads of the Mitteleuropa, the Balkans, and the Mediterranean. Its capital and largest city is Zagreb. The country is divided into 20 counties and the city of Zagreb. Croatia covers ...
. The Serb political leadership martialled its own force assisted by the Yugoslav People's Army
Yugoslav People's Army
The Yugoslav People's Army , also referred to as the Yugoslav National Army , was the military of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia.-Origins:The origins of the JNA can...
and declared independence from Bosnia and Herzegovina in late 1992. During this period there was notable support for the idea of a Greater Serbia
Greater Serbia
The term Greater Serbia or Great Serbia applies to the Serbian nationalist and irredentist ideology directed towards the creation of a Serbian land which would incorporate all regions of traditional significance to the Serbian nation...
being made reality, both within Bosnia and in Serbia proper. This ideology advocated the joining of Serb-populated regions into a contiguous territory. BiH's Bosniak and Bosnian Croat dominated government did not recognize the new Serbian Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina
Republika Srpska
Republika Srpska is one of two main political entities of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the other being the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina...
, whose president was Radovan Karadžić
Radovan Karadžic
Radovan Karadžić is a former Bosnian Serb politician. He is detained in the United Nations Detention Unit of Scheveningen, accused of war crimes committed against Bosnian Muslims and Bosnian Croats during the Siege of Sarajevo, as well as ordering the Srebrenica massacre.Educated as a...
seated in Banja Luka
Banja Luka
-History:The name "Banja Luka" was first mentioned in a document dated February 6, 1494, but Banja Luka's history dates back to ancient times. There is a substantial evidence of the Roman presence in the region during the first few centuries A.D., including an old fort "Kastel" in the centre of...
. The Serb side accepted the proposed ethnic cantonization of Bosnia and Herzegovina (the Carrington-Cutileiro peace plan), as did the Bosniak and Bosnian Croat sides in Lisbon
Lisbon
Lisbon is the capital city and largest city of Portugal with a population of 545,245 within its administrative limits on a land area of . The urban area of Lisbon extends beyond the administrative city limits with a population of 3 million on an area of , making it the 9th most populous urban...
in 1992, in the hope that war would not break out. The Bosniak political leadership under President Alija Izetbegović
Alija Izetbegovic
Alija Izetbegović was a Bosniak activist, lawyer, author, philosopher and politician, who, in 1990, became the first president of Bosnia and Herzegovina. He served in this role until 1996, when he became a member of the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina, serving until 2000...
of Bosnia and Herzegovina
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Bosnia and Herzegovina , sometimes called Bosnia-Herzegovina or simply Bosnia, is a country in Southern Europe, on the Balkan Peninsula. Bordered by Croatia to the north, west and south, Serbia to the east, and Montenegro to the southeast, Bosnia and Herzegovina is almost landlocked, except for the...
subsequently revoked the agreement refusing to decentralize the newly created country based on ethnic lines. The Bosnian War
Bosnian War
The Bosnian War or the War in Bosnia and Herzegovina was an international armed conflict that took place in Bosnia and Herzegovina between April 1992 and December 1995. The war involved several sides...
began.
Throughout most of the war the Serbs fought against both the Bosniaks and the Bosnian Croats. During Bosniak-Croat hostilities the Serbs co-operated largely with the Croats. There were exceptions to this however, as Serb forces were also allied with the pro-Yugoslav
Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia
The Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia was the Yugoslav state that existed from the abolition of the Yugoslav monarchy until it was dissolved in 1992 amid the Yugoslav Wars. It was a socialist state and a federation made up of six socialist republics: Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia,...
Bosniaks of the Autonomous Province of Western Bosnia
Western Bosnia
The Autonomous Province of Western Bosnia was a small unrecognized entity in the northwest of Bosnia and Herzegovina...
under Fikret Abdić
Fikret Abdic
Fikret Abdić is a politician and businessman from Bosnia and Herzegovina, convicted of war crimes against Bosniaks in the region of Velika Kladuša....
. Serb forces also carried out ethnic cleansing
Ethnic cleansing
Ethnic cleansing is a purposeful policy designed by one ethnic or religious group to remove by violent and terror-inspiring means the civilian population of another ethnic orreligious group from certain geographic areas....
operations against non-Serbs living within their territory, the most formidable was the Srebrenica massacre
Srebrenica massacre
The Srebrenica massacre, also known as the Srebrenica genocide, refers to the July 1995 killing, during the Bosnian War, of more than 8,000 Bosniaks , mainly men and boys, in and around the town of Srebrenica in Bosnia and Herzegovina, by units of the Army of Republika Srpska under the command of...
in July 1995. However, many Serbs also were targets of atrocities during the war. During most of the war, the Serb Republic
Republika Srpska
Republika Srpska is one of two main political entities of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the other being the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina...
comprised around 70% of Bosnia and Herzegovina's soil. During the entire length of war the Army of the Serb Republic
Army of Republika Srpska
The Army of Republika Srpska ; Serbian, Bosnian, Croatian Vojska Republike Srpske ) also referred to as the Bosnian Serb Army, was the military of today's Republika Srpska which was then the "Serbian Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina", a self-proclaimed state within the internationally recognized...
maintained the Siege of Sarajevo
Siege of Sarajevo
The Siege of Sarajevo is the longest siege of a capital city in the history of modern warfare. Serb forces of the Republika Srpska and the Yugoslav People's Army besieged Sarajevo, the capital city of Bosnia and Herzegovina, from 5 April 1992 to 29 February 1996 during the Bosnian War.After Bosnia...
, allegedly in order to tie down the Bosnian Muslim (Bosniak) forces and resources in what was the capital of the Bosnian-Herzegovinian state. Serb Republic
Republika Srpska
Republika Srpska is one of two main political entities of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the other being the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina...
maintained close ties with the Republic of the Serb Frontier and received volunteers and supplies from the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia during the war. The Serb Republic received a large number of Serb refugees from other Yugoslav
Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia
The Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia was the Yugoslav state that existed from the abolition of the Yugoslav monarchy until it was dissolved in 1992 amid the Yugoslav Wars. It was a socialist state and a federation made up of six socialist republics: Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia,...
hotzones, particularly non-Serb held areas in Sarajevo
Sarajevo
Sarajevo |Bosnia]], surrounded by the Dinaric Alps and situated along the Miljacka River in the heart of Southeastern Europe and the Balkans....
, Herzeg-Bosnia and Croatia
Croatia
Croatia , officially the Republic of Croatia , is a unitary democratic parliamentary republic in Europe at the crossroads of the Mitteleuropa, the Balkans, and the Mediterranean. Its capital and largest city is Zagreb. The country is divided into 20 counties and the city of Zagreb. Croatia covers ...
. In 1993, the Owen-Stoltenberg peace treaty was suggested that would give 52% of BiH to the Serb side. It was refused by the Bosniak side as too large of a concession.
In 1994, the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia imposed sanctions after the National Assembly of the Serb Republic refused the Vance-Owen peace plan
Peace plans offered before and during the Bosnian War
Four major peace plans were offered before and during the Bosnian-Herzegovina War, commonly known as the Bosnian War, by European Community and United Nations diplomats before the conflict was settled by the Dayton Agreement in 1995....
. In 1995, Operation Storm
Operation Storm
Operation Storm is the code name given to a large-scale military operation carried out by Croatian Armed Forces, in conjunction with the Army of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina, to gain back control of parts of Croatia which had been claimed by separatist ethnic Serbs, since early...
eliminated the Republic of the Serb Frontier. The Croatian Army continued the offensive into the Serb Republic under General Ante Gotovina
Ante Gotovina
Ante Gotovina is a former Senior Corporal of the French Foreign Legion and former Lieutenant General of the Croatian Army who served in the Croatian War for Independence...
(convicted of War Crimes by the ICTY and sentenced to 24 years). Some 250,000 Serbs fled to the Serb Republic
Republika Srpska
Republika Srpska is one of two main political entities of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the other being the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina...
and Serbia from Croatia, as the Serb side continued a full retreat of Serbs from the Una to the Sana river
Sana river
Sana is a river in the north-western part of Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is a tributary of the Una, into which it flows near Novi Grad. It is longest of the nine rivers that flows through Sanski Most....
. The Croatian Army, supported by the forces of the Muslim-Croat Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina came within 20 km of the de facto Bosnian Serb capital, Banja Luka
Banja Luka
-History:The name "Banja Luka" was first mentioned in a document dated February 6, 1494, but Banja Luka's history dates back to ancient times. There is a substantial evidence of the Roman presence in the region during the first few centuries A.D., including an old fort "Kastel" in the centre of...
. The war was halted with the Dayton Peace Agreement which recognized Republika Srpska
Republika Srpska
Republika Srpska is one of two main political entities of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the other being the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina...
, comprising 49% of the soil of BiH, as one of the two territorial entities of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Bosnia and Herzegovina , sometimes called Bosnia-Herzegovina or simply Bosnia, is a country in Southern Europe, on the Balkan Peninsula. Bordered by Croatia to the north, west and south, Serbia to the east, and Montenegro to the southeast, Bosnia and Herzegovina is almost landlocked, except for the...
. The Serb side suffered a total 30,700 victims - 16,700 civilians and 14,000 military personnel, according to the Demographic Unit at the ICTY. Although exact numbers are disputed, it is generally agreed that the Bosnian War claimed the lives of about 100,000 people - Serbs, Croats and Bosniaks. See: Casualties of the Bosnian War
The demographics of Bosnia-Herzegovina as well as Republika Srpska were tremendously affected by the war. Current estimates indicate that some 400,000 Serbs no longer live in the Federation of BiH. By the same token, it is estimated that some 450,000 Bosnian Muslims (Bosniaks) and Bosnian Croats that used to live in Republika Srpska no longer live there. Many Bosnian Serbs emigrated abroad to Canada, the United States, Australia, western Europe, Serbia and Montenegro.
Culture
The Serbs in Bosnia and HerzegovinaBosnia and Herzegovina
Bosnia and Herzegovina , sometimes called Bosnia-Herzegovina or simply Bosnia, is a country in Southern Europe, on the Balkan Peninsula. Bordered by Croatia to the north, west and south, Serbia to the east, and Montenegro to the southeast, Bosnia and Herzegovina is almost landlocked, except for the...
use regional names among each other, such as the wider: Frontiersmen
Bosanska Krajina
Bosanska Krajina or Bosnian Frontier is a geographical region, a subregion of Bosnia, in western Bosnia and Herzegovina enclosed by three rivers - Sava, Una and Vrbas. It is also a historic, economic and cultural entity of Bosnia and Herzegovina....
(Krajišniks), Semberians, Bosnians
Bosna
The Bosna is the third longest river in Bosnia and Herzegovina, and is considered one of the country's three major internal rivers, along with the Neretva and Vrbas Rivers; the other three major rivers of Bosnia and Herzegovina are the Una, to the northwest, the Sava, to the north, and the Drina,...
, Herzegovinians
Herzegovina
Herzegovina is the southern region of Bosnia and Herzegovina. While there is no official border distinguishing it from the Bosnian region, it is generally accepted that the borders of the region are Croatia to the west, Montenegro to the south, the canton boundaries of the Herzegovina-Neretva...
.
A part of the Bosnian Serbs trace their origins in some of the Serb clans
Serb clans
Serb clans is a general term referring to what are known as plemena and bratstva , traditional geo-political units of the Western Balkans that now richly attest social anthropology and family history . The descendants of the clans are divided by regional and lately, national affiliation...
.
Music
Glamoč
Serbian schoolchildren in GlamočGlamoc
Glamoč is a town and municipality of the same name in western Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is in Canton 10, in the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina...
, a municipality which is of Serb majority under the local government of Canton 10
Canton 10
Canton 10 or County 10 is the tenth canton of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, located in the western part of Bosnia and Herzegovina. The capital of County and its president is in Kupres...
based in Livno
Livno
Livno is a town in western Bosnia and Herzegovina, in Canton 10 of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, located between Tomislavgrad, Glamoč, Bosansko Grahovo, Kupres and the Croatian border.- Position :...
(which is of Croat majority), are still denied schooling in Serbian language, instead, the school teaches in the Croatian language (2010).
The municipality of Glamoč has asked the government to return hundreds of hectars of land that has been taken from ethnic Serbs and has become land of the Army of Bosnia and Herzegovina. They sent a plea beginning in 2006, with more than 187 suits, seeking return of lands, restoration of destroyed land and objects, but the government has declined. Some 2,000 Serbs are in very low state, without any jobs, and this is a way to fix the problem, says Radovan Marković, head of the Glamoč municipality.