Bosnia and Herzegovina's History

Bosnia and Herzegovina has been settled by humans since the Stone Age. Illyrians and Celts were joined by Romans, especially former legionnaires encouraged to retire here after Rome’s conquest in 9AD. When the Roman Empire split in 395 this part initially sided with the Western Roman Empire but was soon ravaged by Barbarians who were subdued by Byzantium in the 6th Century. At the same time Slavs arrived looking for a new home. For centuries the region was contested between Croats, Serbs and Hungarians but in the 12th Century it found itself independent and crowned its first king in 1377. Bosnia fell to Ottoman Turks in 1463 and Herzegovina followed in 1482. The region thrived under Ottoman rule and substantial numbers voluntarily converted to Islam. In 1878 Austria-Hungary occupied Bosnia & Herzegovina and annexed it in 1908. The assassination of Austria’s Imperial heir in Sarajevo triggered WWI which saw Bosnia & Herzegovina become part of Yugoslavia in 1918 and again in 1945 after it had been part of Croatia during WWII. The breakup of Yugoslavia was nowhere more bloody than here.

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Josip Tito understood the explosive potential of ethnic rivalry and attempted unsuccessfully to replace communal affiliation with a new Yugoslav identity. Following his 1980 passing, rising Serbian nationalism and domination of Yugoslavia drove others to seek independence. No region was more diverse than Bosnia and Herzegovina. In 1991 Croatia separated from Yugoslavia and soon after the Bosnian Serb community declared independence followed by the Croats, leaving a rump Bosnia & Herzegovina to separate in 1992. A bloody three way civil war was fought until 1995 when the Dayton Peace Accord created the current two region federal republic, that still sits on a tinderbox.

• Serbia
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• Croatia