Brief Bosnian History Overview

In order to do some exploring for the ASK question, I investigated the different cultures that shaped Bosnian history. The main influential cultures, according to the quick google searches, are Roman, Byzantium, Ottoman Turks, and Austro-Hungarian. 

The Roman culture introduced Roman religion and Christianity to the region. The region's natural thermal waters and mineral wealth led to Roman movement and exploitation of the region. After the collapse of the Roman empire, the Byzantine empire took over. The Byzantine Empire was the continuation of the Eastern Roman Empire, so logically, they did not effect the culture as heavily. Livno will be a great city to explore the deeper history of Bosnia as it is an old city and has a museum detailing the rich history of the area. 

The Ottoman Turk rule introduced several major changes to Bosnian politics and cultures. The largest of these is the emergence of a Muslim community among the Slavic people. It was during the peaceful years of Ottoman occupation that Sarajevo grew into a cultural city. Because of this, the Ottoman Turk influence will likely be most apparent in Sarajevo. 

The Austro-Hungarian rule was short lived. However, Bosnia, and Sarajevo, were industrialized during that time period. 

Given these findings and previous research on Livno and Sarajevo, our journey through Bosnia will be somewhat chronological. In Livno, there is a great potential to explore the deep history of the Livno region. However, Livno is seemingly less affected by Ottoman Turks and the recent conflicts. As we move to Sarajevo, our historical timeline will progress to more recent eras. I think this will provide an interesting experience, almost as if we are "walking" through time in Bosnia. 

As for interactions, an interesting bit of information deals with how Bosnia was treated by the Ottoman Turks. Supposedly, the Bosnian identity was not subjugated as the Croatian and Serbian states were. This could potentially have lead to the current Bosnian identity, as several Bosnians become prominent members and characters in the history of the Ottoman empire. It offers an enticing explanation to why Bosnian culture and Islam are intertwined, and how Bosnians distinguish themselves from Croatia and Serbia. I suppose we will have to wait until we are on the ground to make any conclusions.