Usora ( la, Vozora, hu, Ózora) was important '' zemlja'' (; feudalna oblast ) of the

medieval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire a ...

Bosnian state, first

banate Ban () was a noble title used in several states in Central and Southeastern Europe between the 7th century and the 20th century. The most common examples have been found in Croatia. Sources The first known mention of the title ''ban'' is in the ...

and later kingdom, although it also had some periods outside its jurisdiction and royal authority, when it was connected with neighboring banates of

Slavonia Slavonia (; hr, Slavonija) is, with Dalmatia, Croatia proper, and Istria, one of the four historical regions of Croatia. Taking up the east of the country, it roughly corresponds with five Croatian counties: Brod-Posavina, Osijek-Baranja, ...

, or

Mačva Mačva ( sr-Cyrl, Мачва, ; hu, Macsó) is a geographical and historical region in the northwest of Central Serbia, on a fertile plain between the Sava and Drina rivers. The chief town is Šabac. The modern Mačva District of Serbia is named ...

at times. The administrative seat of this ''zemlja'' was

Srebrenik Srebrenik ( sr-cyrl, Сребреник) is a city located in Tuzla Canton of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is located in northeastern Bosnia and Herzegovina, near Tuzla. As of 2013, it has a population of 39,678 inhabitants. The t ...

, which also served as residence for its rulers for entire period of existence of the medieval Bosnian state. It took its name from the river Usora.

Ethimology

The name of the land of Usora derives from the eponymous river, which runs through its territories for approximately 80 kilometers, in direction south-southwest to north-northeast, and spills into the river Bosna just south of town of

Doboj Doboj ( sr-cyrl, Добој, ) is a city located in Republika Srpska, an entity of Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is situated on the banks of Bosna river, in the northern region of the Republika Srpska. As of 2013, it has a population of 71,441 ...

Geography and location

Usora was the northernmost Bosnian land (''zemlja''), occupying very fertile

Pannonian Plain The Pannonian Basin, or Carpathian Basin, is a large basin situated in south-east Central Europe. The geomorphological term Pannonian Plain is more widely used for roughly the same region though with a somewhat different sense, with only th ...

, and its geographical location roughly correspond to modern-day Northern Bosnia gravitating toward

Posavina Posavina ( sr-cyr, Посавина) is a geographical region that stretches along the Sava river, encompassing only the inner areas of the Sava river basin, that are adjacent or near to the Sava river itself, namely catch region spanning from ...

. Its territory stretched roughly from the area of Kulaši and Prnjavor to its west, to

and

Lukavac Lukavac ( sr-cyrl, Лукавац) is a city located in Tuzla Canton of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, an entity of Bosnia and Herzegovina. According to the 2013 census, the town has a population of 12,061 inhabitants, with 44,520 inha ...

to its east, the river

Sava The Sava (; , ; sr-cyr, Сава, hu, Száva) is a river in Central and Southeast Europe, a right-bank and the longest tributary of the Danube. It flows through Slovenia, Croatia and along its border with Bosnia and Herzegovina, and finally t ...

to its north and

Žepče Žepče ( sr-cyrl, Жепче) is a town and municipality located in Zenica-Doboj Canton of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, an entity of Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is situated in central Bosnia and Herzegovina, between Doboj and Zenica. ...

to its south. The land of Usora had many strong fortresses and towns on its territory, the most famous ones being

(13th century),

(1333), Dobor fortress (1387), Glaž (12th century), Soko fortress (14th century),

Tešanj Tešanj ( sr-cyrl, Тешањ) is a town and municipality located in the Zenica-Doboj Canton of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, an entity of Bosnia and Herzegovina. As of 2013, it has a population of 43,063 inhabitants, while the town o ...

(14th century), Modriča town (13th century), and

Maglaj Maglaj ( sr-cyrl, Маглај) is a town and municipality located in the Zenica-Doboj Canton of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, an entity of Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is located in northern Bosnia and Herzegovina, south of Doboj. It ...

(15th century).

History

The region of Usora was first mentioned in a bull (decree) dated 20 July 1244 by the King Bela IV of Hungary, in which he assigned some properties to the

Bishop of Bosnia Diocese of Bosnia (Latin: ''Dioecesis Bosniensis'') was a Roman Catholic diocese that existed in Bosnia between the 11th and 15th centuries, and remained formally in existence until 1773.Soli, and Olfeld to Donji Kraji). Although it was nominally included into the

Hungarian Crown Lands The "Lands of the Hungarian Crown"Laszlo PéterHungary's Long Nineteenth Century: Constitutional and Democratic Traditions in a European Perspective BRILL, 2012, pp. 51–56 was the titular expression of Hungarian pretensions to the various territo ...

, the Banate of Bosnia was a de-facto independent state for the course of its existence, including Usora, which under Bosnia always retained certain amount of autonomy.

Battles

Notable battles include

Battle of Srebrenik (1363) A battle is an occurrence of combat in warfare between opposing military units of any number or size. A war usually consists of multiple battles. In general, a battle is a military engagement that is well defined in duration, area, and fo ...

, Battle of Dobor (1394) and (1408), and the Battle of Doboj (1415). During its history, this ''zemlja'' had been separated several times from the

Banate of Bosnia The Banate of Bosnia ( sh, Banovina Bosna / Бановина Босна), or Bosnian Banate (''Bosanska banovina'' / Босанска бановина), was a medieval state based in what is today Bosnia and Herzegovina. Although Hungarian kings ...

and later

Bosnian Kingdom The Kingdom of Bosnia ( sh, Kraljevina Bosna / Краљевина Босна), or Bosnian Kingdom (''Bosansko kraljevstvo'' / Босанско краљевство), was a medieval kingdom that lasted for nearly a century, from 1377 to 1463, and ...

, mostly by the

Kingdom of Hungary The Kingdom of Hungary was a monarchy in Central Europe that existed for nearly a millennium, from the Middle Ages into the 20th century. The Principality of Hungary emerged as a Christian kingdom upon the coronation of the first king Stephe ...

which appointed rulers of this region, and sometimes attached it to Slavonian Banate. Prominent families, such as Babonići had estates there while the territories were part of Slavonian Banate. Bosnian bans and

kings Kings or King's may refer to: *Monarchs: The sovereign heads of states and/or nations, with the male being kings *One of several works known as the "Book of Kings": **The Books of Kings part of the Bible, divided into two parts **The ''Shahnameh' ...

, starting with 1324 and Stephen II Kotromanić, who reclaimed Usora, and added both Usora and Soli to his title have relinquished direct rule over Land of Usora and started appointing their vassals as rulers, ending with the last Duke of Usora, Tvrtko Stančić, who died in May 1463 during

Ottoman conquest of Bosnia The Ottoman conquest of Bosnia and Herzegovina was a process that started roughly in 1386, when the first Ottoman attacks on the Kingdom of Bosnia took place. In 1451, more than 65 years after its initial attacks, the Ottoman Empire officially est ...

Religion

On its territory

Bosnian Church The Bosnian Church ( sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=/, Crkva bosanska, Црква Босанска) was a Christian church in medieval Bosnia and Herzegovina that was independent of and considered heretical by both the Catholic and the Eastern Orthodox ...

flourished since the 13th century, strongly supported by local nobility. The Church held spacious land possessions, located between Dobor, in the south, and Dubnica near the Sava, in the north. Presence of Christian slavery was outlawed and frowned upon in Southeastern Europe, however, there are numerous documents citing free sales of Usoran women and children on the slave-markets of Dubrovnik Republic, as late as mid 15th century, as they were considered adherents of heretical Bosnian Church and thus, non-Christian in the official canonical view.

Economy

Because of its geographical location, descending from the region of low hills in its south ends and spreading through north-Bosnian lowlands into the fertile Pannonian plains towards the

River, Usora had rich agriculture based economy. The Sava was always frequent trading route, and had rich fisheries. This economic potential, more often than not, made Usora most common battleground between

Bosnians Bosnians ( Bosnian language: / ; / , / ) are people identified with the country of Bosnia and Herzegovina or with the region of Bosnia. As a common demonym, the term ''Bosnians'' refers to all inhabitants/citizens of the country, regardless ...

and the Hungarian kings who viewed them as subordinate. Usora was also famous for well developed

falconry Falconry is the hunting of wild animals in their natural state and habitat by means of a trained bird of prey. Small animals are hunted; squirrels and rabbits often fall prey to these birds. Two traditional terms are used to describe a person ...

among its nobility.

List of rulers

*1190s-1220: Stjepan, Ban of Bosnia, likely also ruled Soli, first historically documented ruler of Usora; *1220-1241: Sibislav, son of ban Stjepan, supported Hungary in its crusade against Bosnian Church; *1241–1247: Matej Ninoslav, the Ban of Bosnia, waged defensive war against Hungary, and after the loss of Usora to Hungarians, he remained the ban of all other Bosnian lands until his death in 1250; *1322-1329: Stjepan II, also ban of Bosnia, grandson of Vladislav; from 1322, when Stephen II Kotromanic became a ban of Bosnia, Usora was part of his realm and was included in the titles of all subsequent bans and kings in Bosnia; *1329-1353: Vojko, Duke of Usora (land of Soli absorbed into Usora as ''župa'' Soli by 1330), Bosnian nobleman and vassal to Stjepan II, ban of Bosnia; *1353-1377: Tvrtko Ivanić, Duke of Usora, Bosnian nobleman and vassal to the first Bosnian King Tvrtko I Kotromanić; *1377-1395:

Vlatko Tvrtković Vlatko ( sr-Cyrl, Влатко) is a masculine given name of South Slavic origin. It may refer to: * Vlatko Andonovski (born 1976), football manager *Vlatko Blažević (born 1994), Croatian football player *Vlatko Čančar (born 1997), Slovenian ...

, son of Duke Tvrtko of Usora, Bosnian nobleman and vassal to king Tvrtko I; *1395-1400: Vučina Vlatković, son of Duke Vlatko of Usora, Bosnian nobleman and vassal to Bosnian king Dabiša; *1400-1424: Vukmir Zlatonosović, Bosnian nobleman and vassal to Bosnian royal

Kotromanić dynasty The Kotromanić ( sr-cyrl, Котроманић, Kotromanići / Котроманићи) were members of a late medieval Bosnian noble and later royal dynasty. Rising to power in the middle of the 13th century as bans of Bosnia, with control over ...

; *1424-1430:

Vukašin Zlatonosović Vukašin (Cyrillic script: Вукашин) is an old Slavic name of Serbian origin. It is composed from two words: Vuk (wolf) and sin (son), so it means sin vuka (son of wolf). In some places in Croatia and Bosnia it can be found as a surname. ...

, Vukmir's brother, Bosnian nobleman and vassal to the Bosnian king Tvrtko II Kotromanić; *1435-1444: Matko Talovac, ban of Usora, vassal to king Tvrtko II; *1444-1463:

Tvrtko Stančić Tvrtko may refer to: * Tvrtko I of Bosnia, medieval king of Bosnia * Tvrtko II of Bosnia, medieval king of Bosnia * Tvrtko Jakovina, Croatian historian * Tvrtko Kale (born 1974), Croatian-Israeli footballer See also * Tvrtko of Bosnia (disambigua ...

, Duke of Usora, Bosnian nobleman and vassal to kings Thomas Kotromanić and Stjepan Tomašević, died in May 1463 while defending Bosnia from the Ottoman conquest.

List of Usora rulers after 1463

Last Usora rulers governed re-organized region after the fall of Kotromanićs and conquest of the

's territories south of

Jajce Jajce (Јајце) is a town and municipality located in the Central Bosnia Canton of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, an entity of Bosnia and Herzegovina. According to the 2013 census, the town has a population of 7,172 inhabitants, wit ...

and Usora 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) ...

in 1463. *1464-1477:

Nicholas of Ilok Nicholas of Ilok ( Hungarian: ''Újlaki Miklós'', Bosnian and Croatian: ''Nikola Iločki'', ; 1410–1477) was a Hungarian nobleman, Ban of Croatia, Slavonia, Dalmatia and Macsó, Voivode of Transylvania and titular King of Bosnia from 14 ...

, Duke of Usora, Macso, Slavonia and Dalmatia 1464-1471, and puppet king of Bosnia 1471-1477, installed by the Hungarians as a ruler of a buffer state against Ottomans. *1465-1476: Matija Sabančić-Radivojević, son of

Radivoj Ostojić Radivoj of Bosnia ( sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=/, Radivoj Ostojić, Радивој Остојић; died in late May or early June 1463) was anti-king of Bosnia from 1432 until 1435, when he lost all control over the kingdom but did not relinquish the ...

, younger brother of Bosnian king Tomas Kotromanić, puppet Bosnian king installed by Ottomans as a counter measure to Nicholas of Ilok. *1476-1476: Matija Vojsalić, second and last puppet king in Bosnia installed by Ottomans, ruled only 6 fortresses in central and south Usora (Doboj, Maglaj, Tešanj, Žepče, Vranduk and Travnik).

Interregnum and titular rulers under Hungarian suzerainty

Second half of the 13th century was a period after Matej Ninoslav lost it to Hungary, and the rulers were appointed by the King of Hungary. *1247–1262:

Rostislav Mikhailovich Rostislav Mikhailovich ( hu, Rosztyiszláv, Bulgarian and Russian: Ростислав Михайлович) (after 1210 / c. 1225 – 1262) was a Rus' prince (a member of the Rurik dynasty), and a dignitary in the Kingdom of Hungary. He was p ...

, Russian prince from Rurik dynasty, also Duke of Macso. *1262–1272: Bela, son of Rostislav, also Duke of Macso. *1272–1273:

Henry I Kőszegi Henry (I) Kőszegi from the kindred Héder ( hu, Héder nembeli (I.) Kőszegi Henrik, hr, Henrik II. Gisingovac, german: Heinrich II. von Güns; died 26/29 September 1274), commonly known as Henry the Great, was a Hungarian influential lord in th ...

, also titular ban of Soli. *1273-1275: Ernye Ákos, also titular ban of Soli. *1284-1316:

Stefan Dragutin Stefan Dragutin ( sr-cyr, Стефан Драгутин, hu, Dragutin István; 1244 – 12 March 1316) was King of Serbia from 1276 to 1282. From 1282, he ruled a separate kingdom which included northern Serbia, and (from 1284) the neig ...

, also king of Syrmia. *1316-1322:

Vladislav Vladislav ( be, Уладзіслаў (', '); pl, Władysław, ; Russian, Ukrainian, Bulgarian, Macedonian, sh-Cyrl, Владислав) is a male given name of Slavic origin. Variations include ''Volodislav'', ''Vlastislav'' and ''Vlaslav'' ...

, also king of Syrmia, son of the preceding.

Sources

* * * * * * * *

References

{{coord, 44, 42, N, 18, 29, E, region:BA, display=title Zemljas of the medieval Bosnian state Banate of Bosnia Kingdom of Bosnia Historical regions in the Kingdom of Hungary Banates of the Kingdom of Hungary Medieval Bosnia and Herzegovina Historical counties of Bosnia and Herzegovina