Population est. Capital and largest city est Sarajevo, , Bosnia and Herzegovina make up a triangular-shaped republic, about half the size of Kentucky, on the Balkan peninsula. The Bosnian region in the north is mountainous and covered with thick forests. The Herzegovina region in the south is largely rugged, flat farmland.
It has a narrow coastline without natural harbors stretching 13 mi 20 km along the Adriatic Sea. Emerging democracy, with a rotating, tripartite presidency divided between predominantly Serb, Croatian, and Bosnian political parties. Called Illyricum in ancient times, the area now called Bosnia and Herzegovina was conquered by the Romans in the 2nd and 1st centuries B.
In the 4th and 5th centuries A. Slavs began settling the region during the 7th century. Around , Bosnia won independence from Hungary and endured as an independent Christian state for some years. The expansion of the Ottoman Empire into the Balkans introduced another cultural, political, and religious framework. The Turks defeated the Serbs at the famous battle of Kosovo in They conquered Bosnia in A Bosnian Islamic elite gradually developed and ruled the country on behalf of the Turkish overlords.
As the borders of the Ottoman Empire began to shrink in the 19th century, Muslims from elsewhere in the Balkans migrated to Bosnia. Bosnia also developed a sizable Jewish population, with many Jews settling in Sarajevo after their expulsion from Spain in However, through the 19th century the term Bosnian commonly included residents of all faiths. A relatively secular society, intermarriage among religious groups was not uncommon. Neighboring Serbia and Montenegro fought against the Ottoman Empire in and were aided by the Russians, their fellow Slavs.
Although the provinces were still officially part of the Ottoman Empire, they were annexed by the Austro-Hungarian Empire on Oct. As a result, relations with Serbia, which had claims on Bosnia and Herzegovina, became embittered. The hostility between the two countries climaxed in the assassination of Austrian archduke Franz Ferdinand in Sarajevo on June 28, , by a Serbian nationalist.
This event precipitated the start of World War I ? The name was later changed to Yugoslavia in During the German and Italian occupation, Bosnian and Herzegovinian resistance fighters fought a fierce guerrilla war against the Ustachi, the Croatian Fascist troops.
His authoritarian control kept the ethnic enmity of his patchwork nation in check. Tito died in , and with growing economic dissatisfaction and the fall of the iron curtain over the next decade, Yugoslavia began to splinter. In Dec. In a March referendum, Bosnian voters chose independence, and President Alija Izetbegovic declared the nation an independent state.
Both the Croatian and Serbian presidents had planned to partition Bosnia between themselves. Attempting to carve out their own enclaves, the Serbian minority, with the help of the Serbian Yugoslav army, took the offensive and laid siege, particularly on Sarajevo, and began its ruthless campaigns of ethnic cleansing, which involved the expulsion or massacre of Muslims.
Croats also began carving out their own communities. By the end of Aug. About , died in the war between and The Russo-Turkish War broke out in and resulted in Bosnia and Herzegovina being placed under the rule of Austria-Hungary the following year. Attempting to free themselves from Yugoslavia and avoid Serbian rule, Bosnaks and Croats voted for independence in Though the vote was recognized internationally, local Serbs and troops from Serbia fought to declare their rule of the country and were met with resistance by Bosnaks.
War lasted for several years and two million people were displaced from their homes as a result. War came to an end in after a treaty, the Dayton Agreement, was established. What remains is a fractured state, consisting of two independent regions, the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Serb Republic of Bosnia Herzegovina. All rights reserved. Personality Quizzes. Funny Fill-In. Amazing Animals. Weird But True! Party Animals. Try This! Explore More. Mostar is a historic town in Bosnia and Herzegovina along the Neretva River.
Bosnia-Herzegovina is recovering from a devastating three-year war that accompanied the break-up of Yugoslavia in the early s. It is now an independent state, but remains partially under international oversight under the terms of the Dayton Peace Accords.
Its three main communities are Bosniak Muslims, Croats and Serbs. More than , people were killed and around two million displaced in the war, which also left the infrastructure and economy in tatters. The peace agreement set up two separate entities - the Bosniak-Croat Federation and Bosnian Serb Republic - overarched by a federal government and rotating presidency. Peace has not brought the two entities closer together, and Bosnian Serb leaders often raise the possibility of seceding from what they call a failed state.
President: The presidency rotates every eight months between a Serb, a Muslim, and a Croat. The responsibilities of the presidency lie largely in international affairs. Prime minister: Denis Zvizdic. Denis Zvizdic of the Muslim Party of Democratic Action became federal prime minister in February , after the party won the most votes in the October elections.
A former architecture teacher, Mr Zvizdic set himself the goal of pressing ahead with Bosnia's aim of joining the European Union, and made significant progress in March when EU foreign ministers approved a long-delayed Stabilisation and Association Agreement.
Ethnic divisions and the differences between the entities that make up Bosnia are evident in the media scene, and outlets run by the individual entities are more popular than the state-wide public broadcaster.
TV is the most popular medium.
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