Central Bosnia (, ) is a central

subregion A subregion is a part of a larger region or continent and is usually based on location. Cardinal directions, such as south are commonly used to define a subregion. United Nations subregions The United Nations Statistics Division, Statistics ...

Bosnia Bosnia and Herzegovina ( sh, / , ), abbreviated BiH () or B&H, sometimes called Bosnia–Herzegovina and often known informally as Bosnia, is a country at the crossroads of south and southeast Europe, located in the Balkans. Bosnia and He ...

, which consists of a core mountainous area with several basins, valleys and mountains. It is bordered by

Bosnian Krajina Bosanska Krajina ( sr-cyrl, Босанска Крајина, ) is a geographical region, a subregion of Bosnia, in western Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is enclosed by a number of rivers, namely the Sava (north), Glina (northwest), Vrbanja and Vrbas ...

to the northwest,

Tropolje Tropolje was a historical Croatian duchy, which was located on the borderland of Croatia, Bosnia and Zachlumia. Its exact borders are disputed among historians. History Vjekoslav Klaić thought that Tropolje encompassed the Cetinsko Polje, ...

(

Livno Livno ( sr-cyrl, Ливно, ) is a city and the administrative center of Canton 10 of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, an entity of Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is situated on the river Bistrica in the southeastern edge of the Livno Field ...

area) to the west,

Herzegovina Herzegovina ( or ; sh-Latn-Cyrl, Hercegovina, separator=" / ", Херцеговина, ) is the southern and smaller of two main geographical region of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the other being Bosnia. It has never had strictly defined geogra ...

to the south,

Sarajevo Sarajevo ( ; cyrl, Сарајево, ; ''see Names of European cities in different languages (Q–T)#S, names in other languages'') is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Bosnia and Herzegovina, with a population of 275,524 in its a ...

to the east and

Tuzla Tuzla (, ) is the third-largest city of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the administrative center of Tuzla Canton of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina. As of 2013, it has a population of 110,979 inhabitants. Tuzla is the economic, cultural, ed ...

to the northeast. It is a part of the

Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina The Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina is one of the two Political divisions of Bosnia and Herzegovina, entities within the State of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the other being Republika Srpska. The Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina consists ...

and is divided between the

Central Bosnia Canton The Central Bosnia Canton ( bs, Srednjobosanski kanton/Средњобосански кантон, hr, Županija Središnja Bosna) is one of 10 cantons of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The most populous se ...

and the

Zenica-Doboj Canton The Zenica-Doboj Canton (; hr, Zeničko-dobojska županija; sr, Зеничко-добојски кантон) is one of 10 cantons of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The cantonal seat is the City of Zenica. ...

, with a population of around 800,000. The largest city in the region is

Zenica Zenica ( ; ; ) is a city in Bosnia and Herzegovina and an administrative and economic center of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina's Zenica-Doboj Canton. It is located in the Bosna (river), Bosna river valley, about north of Sarajevo. Th ...

, with the Sarajevo-Zenica basin being the most densely populated area. Its highest peaks are

Vranica Vranica ( sr-cyrl, Враница) is a mountain range in the Dinaric Alps of central Bosnia and Herzegovina, located between the town of Gornji Vakuf in the west and the town of Fojnica in the east, within the territory of the Federation. The hig ...

(2,110 m), Šćit (1,780 m) and Bitovnja (1,700 m).

History

The area was inhabited by Neolithic farmers during the

First Agricultural Revolution The Neolithic Revolution, or the (First) Agricultural Revolution, was the wide-scale transition of many human cultures during the Neolithic period from a lifestyle of hunting and gathering to one of agriculture and settlement, making an incre ...

. The first inhabitants of the region were the

Kakanj Kakanj ( sr-cyrl, Какањ) is a town and municipality located in Zenica-Doboj Canton of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, an entity of Bosnia and Herzegovina. As of 2013, the town has a population of 11,796 inhabitants, with 38,937 inh ...

, later replaced by the Neolithic

Butmir Butmir ( sr-cyrl, Бутмир) is a neighborhood in Ilidža municipality in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Sarajevo International Airport, the main airport of Bosnia and Herzegovina is located in Butmir. Horse races are held at Butmir.Archived aGhosta ...

culture. The largest Butmir site is in Okolište, near

Visoko Visoko ( sr-cyrl, Високо, ) is a city located in the Zenica-Doboj Canton of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, an entity of Bosnia and Herzegovina. As of 2013, the municipality had a population of 39,938 inhabitants with 11,205 livi ...

At its height, with a population numbering between 1000 to 3000 inhabitants, Okolište is one of the largest

Neolithic The Neolithic period, or New Stone Age, is an Old World archaeological period and the final division of the Stone Age. It saw the Neolithic Revolution, a wide-ranging set of developments that appear to have arisen independently in several parts ...

settlements in

southeast Europe Southeast Europe or Southeastern Europe (SEE) is a geographical subregion of Europe, consisting primarily of the Balkans. Sovereign states and territories that are included in the region are Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia (al ...

. Some of the first Indo-Europeans are thought to be members of

eneolithic The asterisk ( ), from Late Latin , from Ancient Greek , ''asteriskos'', "little star", is a typographical symbol. It is so called because it resembles a conventional image of a heraldic star. Computer scientists and mathematicians often v ...

Vučedol culture The Vučedol culture ( sh-Latn-Cyrl, Vučedolska kultura, Вучедолска култура) flourished between 3000 and 2200 BCE (the Eneolithic period of earliest copper-smithing), centered in Syrmia and eastern Slavonia on the right bank of ...

which flourished between 3000 and 2200 BC. The Iron Age saw the emergence of the

Central Bosnian cultural group Central Bosnian culture () was a Bronze and Iron Age cultural group. This group, which ranged over the areas of the upper and mid course of the rivers Vrbas (to Jajce) and Bosna (to Zenica, but not including the Sarajevo plain), constituted an ...

, with its significant site of Fortress Pod in

Bugojno Bugojno ( sr-cyrl, Бугојно) is a town and municipality located in Central Bosnia Canton of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, an entity of Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is situated on river Vrbas, to the northwest from Sarajevo. Acco ...

. This group is commonly associated with the later Illyrian tribe of

Daesitiates Daesitiates were an Illyrian tribe that lived on the territory of today's central Bosnia, during the time of the Roman Republic. Along with the Maezaei, the Daesitiates were part of the western group of Pannonians in Roman Dalmatia. They were pr ...

, which dominated Central Bosnia until the arrival of

Roman Empire The Roman Empire ( la, Imperium Romanum ; grc-gre, Βασιλεία τῶν Ῥωμαίων, Basileía tôn Rhōmaíōn) was the post-Republican period of ancient Rome. As a polity, it included large territorial holdings around the Mediterr ...

, when the Illyrians were conquered by Roman Emperor

Augustus Caesar Augustus (born Gaius Octavius; 23 September 63 BC – 19 August AD 14), also known as Octavian, was the first Roman emperor; he reigned from 27 BC until his death in AD 14. He is known for being the founder of the Roman Pri ...

. The Daesitiates were the first to revolt under the leadership of

Bato the Daesitiate Bato the Daesitiate (also known as Bato of the Daesitiates) was a chieftain of the Daesitiates, an Illyrian tribe which fought against the Roman Empire between 6 and 9 AD in a conflict known as ''Bellum Batonianum'' ("Bato's War"). Biography ...

in the

Great Illyrian revolt The (Latin for 'War of the Batos') was a military conflict fought in the Roman province of Illyricum in the 1st century AD, in which an alliance of native peoples of the two regions of Illyricum, Dalmatia and Pannonia, revolted against the Roma ...

, which began in the spring of 6 AD. The role of the Daesitiates in the rebellion would be their demise, and after subsequent

Romanization Romanization or romanisation, in linguistics, is the conversion of text from a different writing system to the Roman (Latin) script, or a system for doing so. Methods of romanization include transliteration, for representing written text, and ...

, they disappeared as a distinct group.

Notes

References

Sources

* {{Historical regions of Bosnia and Herzegovina Regions of Bosnia and Herzegovina Bosnia (region)

History

See also

Notes

References

Sources