King of Rama ( la, Rex Ramae) was a title used by the
monarchs of Hungary to provide a legal basis for their pretence of supremacy over
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 ...
. The title refers to the river
Rama
Rama (; ), Ram, Raman or Ramar, also known as Ramachandra (; , ), is a major deity in Hinduism. He is the seventh and one of the most popular '' avatars'' of Vishnu. In Rama-centric traditions of Hinduism, he is considered the Supreme Bein ...
, a small tributary of the
Neretva. A state called Rama never existed; the title of King of Rama became incorporated into the royal style of the Hungarian monarchs due to some kind of misunderstanding.
[Engel, 50.]
King
Béla II of Hungary
Béla the Blind ( hu, Vak Béla; hr, Bela Slijepi; sk, Belo Slepý; 1109 – 13 February 1141) was King of Hungary and Croatia from 1131 to 1141. He was blinded along with his rebellious father Álmos on the order of Álmos's brother, ...
adopted the title of King of Rama in 1137, after his army had reached the mountains of Bosnia though it did not actually gain any land. Béla II, as the new "King of Rama", appointed his second son,
Ladislaus II, as
Duke of Bosnia
Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and sovereign princes. As royalty or nobility, they are ran ...
. Bosnia was administered by the
ban, who was either an appointed or an elected official, and acted for the child-king Ladislaus. Hungary did succeed in asserting control over Bosnia and the Bosnian rulers were vassals of the Hungarian monarchs until the
conquest of Bosnia by the
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University) ...
.
[Makk, 33.] Between late 1463 and 1527 (when the
kingdom itself fell to the Ottomans), Hungary controlled
Jajce, the former capital of the
Kingdom of Bosnia.
Since the reign of Béla II, all the kings and queens regnant of Hungary continued to claim supremacy over Bosnia. Thus, the title was in official use until 1918. In 1878,
Bosnia and Herzegovina
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 H ...
was occupied by
Austria-Hungary
Austria-Hungary, often referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire,, the Dual Monarchy, or Austria, was a constitutional monarchy and great power in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. It was formed with the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of ...
and in 1908, it was
annexed as a condominium, thereby giving the title a more practical significance than it had ever possessed.
History
An examination into published charters of the Hungarian rulers it is observed that Rama is equivalent to
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 ...
exclusively from the 15th century.
[
Mladen Ančić, Vol. 26 No. 1, 2015. Od zemlje do Kraljevstva Mjesto Bosne u strukturi archiregnuma, https://hrcak.srce.hr/index.php?show=clanak&id_clanak_jezik=226495 #page=39]
See also
*
King of Hungary
The King of Hungary ( hu, magyar király) was the ruling head of state of the Kingdom of Hungary from 1000 (or 1001) to 1918. The style of title "Apostolic King of Hungary" (''Apostoli Magyar Király'') was endorsed by Pope Clement XIII in 1758 ...
*
List of rulers of Bosnia
This is a list of rulers of Bosnia, containing bans and kings of Medieval Bosnia.
Duke (1082–1136)
Bans (1136–1377)
Kings and queen (1377–1463)
All Bosnian kings added the honorific Stephen to their baptismal name upon accession.
, ...
References
Bibliography
*Engel, Pál; Ayton, Andrew; Pálosfalvi, Tamás. ''The realm of St. Stephen: a history of medieval Hungary, 895-1526''. I.B.Tauris, 2005.
*Makk, Ferenc. ''The Árpáds and the Comneni: political relations between Hungary and Byzantium in the 12th century''. Akadémiai Kiadó, 1989. {{ISBN, 963-05-5268-X
Medieval Kingdom of Hungary
Banate of Bosnia
Austro-Hungarian rule in Bosnia and Herzegovina
European kings
Pretenders to the Bosnian throne