Jelena Mrgić-Radojčić Faculty of Philosophy Belgrade RETHINKING the TERRITORIAL DEVELOPMENT of the MEDIEVAL BOSNIAN STATE* In
ИСТОРИЈСКИ ЧАСОПИС, књ. LI (2004) стр. 43-64 HISTORICAL REVIEW, Vol. LI (2004) pр. 43-64 УДК : 94(497.15) ”04/14” : 929 Jelena Mrgić-Radojčić Faculty of Philosophy Belgrade RETHINKING THE TERRITORIAL DEVELOPMENT OF THE MEDIEVAL BOSNIAN STATE* In many ways, the medieval Bosnian state developed at the cross- roads – between West and East, the Hungarian Kingdom, a predomi- nantly Western European state, and the Serbian Kingdom, under the strong influence of the Byzantine Empire. One may, without any further elaboration, say that Bosnia formed the periphery of both the Byzantine Empire, and Western Europe (first the Frankish and then the Hungarian state). Bosnia was far away from the most important communication line of the Balkans: the valleys of the rivers Morava and Vardar, Via militaris and also those of the rivers Ibar and Sitnica. The axis of the Bosnian state was the valley of the river Bosna, but not of the Drina ill suited for 1 communication with it steep banks and many canyons. * The author wishes to thank Prof. J. Koder, University of Vienna, Prof. S. Ćirković, Prof. M. Blagojević, and Prof. S. Mišić of Belgrade University for their usuful com- ments and corrections of the following text. 1J. Ferluga, Vizantiska uprava u Dalmaciji, (Byzantine Administration in Dalmatia), Beograd 1957; J. Koder, Der Lebensraum der Byzantiner. Historisch-geographischer Abriß ihres Mittelalterlichen Staates im östlichen Mittelmeerraum, Byzantische Geschichtsschreiber 1, Graz-Wien-Köln 1984, 20012, 13-21, passim; S. Ćirković, Bosna i Vizantija (Bosnia and Byzantium), Osam Stotina godina povelje bana Kulina, Sarajevo 1989, 23-35. Even though Bosnia was situated on the »cross-roads«, it is unacceptable to depict it as being “more of a no-man's-land than a meeting ground between the two worlds“, as J.V.A.
[Show full text]