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, post-classical period of World history (field), global history. It began with t ...

Bosnian state, first

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

and later

kingdom Kingdom commonly refers to: * A monarchy ruled by a king or queen * Kingdom (biology), a category in biological taxonomy Kingdom may also refer to: Arts and media Television * ''Kingdom'' (British TV series), a 2007 British television drama s ...

, 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 nam ...

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 the ...

, 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 fro ...

. 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 Soko ( sh-Cyrl, Соко) was a Yugoslav aircraft manufacturer based in Mostar, SR Bosnia and Herzegovina. The company was responsible for the production of many military aircraft for the Yugoslav Air Force. SOKO was created in 1950 by the rel ...

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 ...

(14th century),

Modriča Modriča ( sr-cyrl, Модрича) is a town and municipality located in Republika Srpska, an entity of Bosnia and Herzegovina. As of 2013 census, the town has a population of 10,137 inhabitants, while the municipality has a population of 25,72 ...

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 Donji Kraji or Donji Krajevi (''Lower Regions'' or ''Lower Ends'', la, Partes inferiores, italic=yes, ), was a small medieval ''zemlja'' (county, župa) in today's northwestern Bosnia and Herzegovina, mostly expanding within the territory of tod ...

). Although it was nominally included into the Hungarian Crown Lands, 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), 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 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 Stephen ...

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, starting with 1324 and

Stephen II Kotromanić Stephen II ( sh-Cyrl-Latn, separator=" / ", Стефан II, Stjepan II) was the Bosnian Ban from 1314, but in reality from 1322 to 1353 together with his brother, Vladislav Kotromanić in 1326–1353. He was the son of Bosnian Ban Stephen I Ko ...

, 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.

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 Orthodo ...

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 hr, Sloboda se ne prodaje za sve zlato svijeta it, La libertà non si vende nemmeno per tutto l'oro del mondo"Liberty is not sold for all the gold in the world" , population_estimate = 90 000 in the XVI Century , currency = ...

, 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 and the

Hungarian king This is a list of Hungarian monarchs, that includes the grand princes (895–1000) and the kings and ruling queens of Hungary (1000–1918). The Principality of Hungary established 895 or 896, following the 9th-century Hungarian conquest of the ...

s who viewed them as subordinate. Usora was also famous for well developed falconry 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 Matej Ninoslav ( sr-cyr, Матеј Нинослав; died 1250) was the Ban of Bosnia in the period of 1232–50. Most of Bosnia was under the Kingdom of Hungary from 1235 to 1241. Ninoslav was also a Prince of Split in 1242–1244 during the lo ...

, 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, 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 Vukmir ( sr-cyr, Вукмир) is a Slavic male given name and surname. It is derived from the Slavic noun ''vuk'' (wolf) and ''mir'' (peace). It is one of many Serbian given names derived from ''vuk''. All the derivatives from ''vuk'' were regar ...

, 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 ov ...

; *1424-1430: Vukašin Zlatonosović, 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, 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 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 1471 ...

, 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 Matija Sabančić or Matija Šabančić ( 1463–71) was the titular King of Bosnia in the period of 1465–1471, as the first of two Ottoman-installed puppets in Bosnia. He was one of the last known members of the Kotromanić dynasty. Life Saba ...

-Radivojević, son of Radivoj Ostojić, 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 Matija Vojsalić was the last member of the Bosnian noble family, the Hrvatinić. He was the last mentioned in 1476, in the document stored in the archives of Republic of Ragusa. He was installed as King of Bosnia by the Ottoman Sultan as an answ ...

, 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 Bela may refer to: Places Asia *Bela Pratapgarh, a town in Pratapgarh District, Uttar Pradesh, India *Bela, a small village near Bhandara, Maharashtra, India *Bela, another name for the biblical city Zoara * Bela, Dang, in Nepal *Bela, Janakpur ...

, 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 Ernye from the kindred Ákos (''Erne''; hu, Ákos nembeli Ernye; died after January 1275) was a Hungarian baron and landowner. He is best known for saving the life of king Béla IV after the disastrous Battle of Mohi in 1241. He participated in v ...

, 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 neigh ...

, 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