Ottoman Bosnia and Herzegovina

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Ottoman Bosnia and Herzegovina
Bosna i Hercegovina u Osmanlijskom Carstvu (
Serbo-Croatian
)
1463–1878
Flag
Location of Ottoman Bosnia and Herzegovina
Common languagesSerbo-Croatian
Religion
Islam (Official)
Christianity
Demonym(s)Bosnian/Herzegovinian
Government
Beylerbey, Pasha, Agha, Millitia 
History 
1463
1878
Today part ofBosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, Montenegro, Croatia

The Ottoman Empire era of rule in Bosnia and Herzegovina (first as a sanjak, then as an eyalet) and Herzegovina (also as a sanjak, then eyalet) lasted from 1463/1482 to 1878 de facto, and until 1908 de jure.

Part of a series on the
History of
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Sclavonia Croatia Bosnia cum Dalmatiæ parte
Early history
Middle Ages
  • Bosnia in the Early Middle Ages
    (before 10th c.)
  • Zachumlia
    (~9th–14th c.)
  • Podrinje
    )
  • Bosansko Krajište (1451-1463)
  • Duchy of Herzegovina
    (1463–1482)
Ottoman era
  • Ottoman conquest
  • (Bosansko Krajište (1451-1463))
  • Herzegovina Uprising
    (1875–1877))
Habsburg era
  • Bosnian crisis
    )
Yugoslavia
Contemporary
Republika Srpska)
flag Bosnia and Herzegovina portal

Ottoman conquest

Main article: Ottoman conquest of Bosnia and Herzegovina

The

House of Berislavić, and fell finally in 1527 with the fall of its capital Jajce.[1] The first occupation administration was established
that same year.

Main article: Islamization of Bosnia and Herzegovina

A significant number of

Balkan region. This conversion appears to have been not sudden but a gradual process based on various rules imposed by the Ottomans — it took more than a hundred years for the number of Muslims to become the majority religion.[2] The general view among scholars is that the Islamization of the Bosnian population was not the result of violent methods of conversions but was, for the most part, peaceful and voluntary.[3]

Ottoman Rule

Main articles: Bosnia Eyalet and Herzegovina Eyalet

The Turks had conquered Slavonia and most of Hungary by 1541. In the next century, most of the Bosnian province wasn't a borderland and developed in relative peace. It was administered by the Ottoman Bosnia Eyalet and Herzegovina Eyalet.

However, when the Empire lost the war of 1683–1697 with Austria, and ceded Slavonia and Hungary to Austria at the Treaty of Karlowitz, Bosnia's northern and western borders became the frontier between the Austrian and Ottoman empires.

In 1716, Austria occupied northern Bosnia and

northern Serbia, but this lasted only until 1739 when they were ceded to the Ottoman Empire at the Treaty of Belgrade
. The borders set then remained in place for another century and a half, though the border wars continued.

The

Eastern Orthodox Christians, mostly from Kosovo but also including those from Serbia and Bosnia, resettled across the Bosnian border in Slavonia and the Military Frontier
at the invitation of the Austrian Emperor.

According to an Ottoman Muslim account of the

Austro-Russian–Turkish War (1735–39) translated into English by C. Fraser, Bosnian Muslim women fought in battle since they "acquired the courage of heroes" against the Austrian Germans at the siege of Osterwitch-atyk (Östroviç-i âtık) fortress.[4][5] Bosnian Muslim women and men were among the casualties during the Battle of Osterwitchatyk.[6] Bosnian Muslim women fought in the defense of the fortress of Būzin (Büzin).[7] Women and men resisted the Austrians at the Chetin (Çetin) Fortress.[8] The women of the Bosnians were deemed to be militaristic according to non-Ottoman records of the war between the Ottomans and Austrians and they played a role in the Bosnian success in battle against the Austrian attackers. Yeni Pazar, Izvornik, Östroviç-i âtık, Çetin, Būzin, Gradişka, and Banaluka were struck by the Austrians.[9] A French account described the bravery in battle of Bosnian Muslim women who fought in the war.[10]

The Ottoman Sultans attempted to implement

various economic and military reforms
in the early 19th century in order to address the grave issues mostly caused by the border wars. The reforms, however, were usually met with resistance by the military captaincies of Bosnia.

Flag of Bosnia Vilayet gathered thousands of Bosniaks to seek independence in (1878).

The most famous of these insurrections was the 1831–1832 one, headed by Captain Husein Gradaščević (Zmaj od Bosne, the Bosnian Dragon), who raised a full-scale rebellion in the province, joined by thousands of native Bosnian soldiers. Despite winning several notable victories, the rebels were eventually defeated in a battle near Sarajevo in 1832. Internal discord contributed to the failure of the rebellion, because Gradaščević was not supported by much of the Herzegovinian nobility. The rebellion was extinguished by 1850, but the Empire continued to decline.


The Ottoman rule lasted for over four hundred years, until 1878, although nominally Bosnia-Herzegovina remained Ottoman territory (without actual effective rule) until 1908 when it officially became part of Austria-Hungary.

Governing structure

The Ottoman rule also saw many architectural investments in Bosnia and the creation and development of many new cities including Sarajevo and Mostar. This is mostly because of the high esteem the Bosniaks held in the eyes of the Sultans and the Turks.[citation needed] The Empire also promoted close relations between Turks and Bosniaks, and many Turks during Ottoman times felt a trust for and a kinship with the Bosniaks.[citation needed]

Administrative

See also:
State organisation of the Ottoman Empire

The area of the current Bosnia and Herzegovina was initially part of the Ottoman

feudal fiefs
.

Later as part of the Ottoman Tanzimat reforms, the region became the Bosnia Vilayet which encompassed entire present-day Bosnia and Herzegovina along with the Sandžak region (then the Sanjak of Novi Pazar), parts of Serbia and Montenegro.

Religion

See also: Millet (Ottoman Empire)

All of the Bosnian Church adherents eventually converted to Islam. There are conflicting claims on the exact ratios or whether or how much of it was voluntary or not. Since earliest Turkish defters clearly distinguish Bosnian Christians from Catholics or Orthodox, it is now general consensus that the number of Christians adherents in the times during Ottoman rule did not exceed a few hundred people, due to mainly Islamic converts.

Ottoman rule also changed the ethnic and religious makeup of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Many Catholic Bosnians retreated to Croatia, which was controlled by

Catholic Spain at the end of the 15th century, and many resettled in the Ottoman Empire because of its tolerance towards other religions (especially towards People of the Book), mainly in and around Istanbul. The first synagogue was built in Sarajevo
in 1581.

Taxation

During the Ottoman period,

Muslim subjects. Dhimmis were not required to join the army, but they paid a special tax called jizya
(glavarina in Bosnia).

During Ottoman rule, many children of Christian parents, regardless of whether Orthodox or Catholic, were separated from their families and raised to be members of the

Grand Viziers
.

References

  1. ISBN 0-932885-12-8
    . Retrieved 2014-08-01. The Ottomans conquered Bosnia in 1463; ... though last fortress in Herzegovina was to fall in 1481, and in Bosnia Jajce under Hungarian garrison actually held until 1527
  2. ^ Malcolm (1994), pp. 51—55
  3. ISBN 9781585442263
    ., p. 66
  4. ^ 'Umar (Būsnavī) (1830). History of the War in Bosnia During the Years 1737 - 1739. Oriental Translation-Fund. pp. 17–.
  5. ^ Oriental Translation Fund (1830). Publications. Royal Asiatic Society. pp. 17–.
  6. ^ 'Umar (Būsnavī) (1830). History of the War in Bosnia During the Years 1737 - 1739. Oriental Translation-Fund. pp. 19–.
  7. ^ 'Umar (Būsnavī) (1830). History of the War in Bosnia During the Years 1737 - 1739. Oriental Translation-Fund. pp. 45–.
  8. ^ 'Umar (Būsnavī) (1830). History of the War in Bosnia During the Years 1737 - 1739. Oriental Translation-Fund. pp. 48–.
  9. ISBN 90-04-10689-8
    .
  10. ^ Michael Robert Hickok (1995). Looking for the Doctor's Son: Ottoman Administration of 18th Century Bosnia. University of Michigan. p. 34.

Literature

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Ottoman_Bosnia_and_Herzegovina&oldid=1215298228"