BOSNIA. 



BOSNIA. 



Gradiska. The roads are bad and almost impassable except for horses, 

 as is the case throughout the Turkish territories. The principal and 

 best road is that from Brod through Travnik, and thence to Bosna- 

 Serai and Constantinople. 



The inhabitants of Bosnia are composed of Bosniaks, Serbs, Croats, 

 Morlacks and Montenegrins (principally situated in the sanjak of 

 Herzek), Turks, who are settled in almost every town, and likewise 

 people exclusively the district of Kliucz in the valley of the Sauna, 

 Armenians, a few Greeks, and lastly, Jews. About half of the popula- 

 tion, including a large number of the Bosniaks and all the Turks are 

 Mohammedans. The rest of the population is pretty equally divided 

 into Catholics and followers of the Greek Church, the former slightly 

 predominating. The number of Jews and Armenians is small. 



The civil administration of Bosnia is on the same footing aa that of 

 the other eyalets of the Turkish dominions. It is governed by a 

 Vizir, who resides at Serajevo, to whom the governors of the six 

 sanjaks are subordinate. [TURKEY.] 



Divisions and Town*. The Eyalet of Bosnia includes, 1. Turkinh 



" which lies between the Verbitza and the Unua and forms the 



sanjak of Banjaluka. 2. Bomia Proper, which comprises the territory 



between the Verbitza and the Drina, the Save and the crest of the 



Dinaric Alps, and is divided into three sanjaks : Travnik, Srebernik, 



and Zvornik. 3. Herzegovina or Jderzek, which lies to the south of 



the two preceding, and is sometimes called Turkish Dalmatia. 4. 



or Novi-Bazar, which was taken from Serbia in 1815, and 



now forms a sanjak of Bosnia. The sanjak of Jeni-Bazar was formerly 



called Jl'tcgia it is said from the Kacsa or lioczka, a feeder of the Ibar. 



1. In Turkish Croatia, also called Kraina, the chief town is 

 anjalul:a, which is situated on the left bank of the Verbitza, 33 

 miles above its mouth in the Save, 45 miles N.W. from Travnik, and 

 has about 8000 inhabitants. The town contains 40 mosques, several 

 colleges, two baths, a large gunpowder manufactory, and several 

 bazaars. It is defended by a strong citadel. Bihacz, 60 miles W. 

 from Banjaluka, on an island in the Unnn, is a small town of about 

 3000 inhabitants but of great importance for its fortifications and its 

 position close to the Austrian frontier. Another fortress of great 

 importance is Graditica or Berbir, which is situated on the right bank 

 of the Save, opposite to the Austrian fortress of Alt-Gradiska, 30 

 miles N. from Banjaluka. The fortifications consist of ramparts and 

 a citadel About 23 miles W. from Gradiska stands the fortified town 

 of Dubicza or Doubiiza commanding the passage of the Unna. The 

 town was taken, after a long resistance, by the Austrians in 1788 : 

 lpulation, 6000. Jalcza, a walled town defended by a citadel, 

 situated on the left bank of the Verbitza, and near its confluence with 

 the Plieva, is a small town of about 3000 inhabitants. This was 

 formerly an important place. A large quantity of saltpetre is 

 manufactured. The town was taken after a strong resistance by Omer 

 Pasha from the Bosnian insurgents in the spring of 1851. 



2. In Bosnia Proper the chief towns are BOSNA-SERAI ; TRAVNIK, 

 population about 10,000, exclusive of the garrison which sometimes 

 numbers 8000 men; Srebernik, a small place 58 miles N.E. from 

 Travnik, situated among hills which contain rich silver-ores ; and 

 Zvornik or Itrornik, which is built on a narrow strip of land on the 

 left bank of the Drina, 55 miles N.E. from Bosna-Serai, and has about 

 6000 inhabitants. This town is walled and further defended by a 



< situated on a steep hill above the town ; it contains several 

 mosques, Catholic and Greek churches, and carries on a considerable 

 commerce with Belgrade. Some " of the houses are large and 

 surrounded by gardens. Large quantifies of timber and fire-wood 

 are floated down the Drina, the Save, and the Danube from Zvornik. 

 There are silver-lead mines in the neighbourhood. 



Tliu towns just enumerated (with the exception of Bosna-Serai) 

 give names to the sanjaks into which Bosnia Proper is divided. 

 Among the other towns we notice the following : Bielina, 20 miles 

 X. from Zvornik, in the plain of Orlovopolie, in the north-east of 

 tin,- province, is a town of about 8000 inhabitants, the majority of 

 whom are Turks. The houses are almost mil built of wood. There 

 are however a few good mansions, several mosques, and a large khan. 

 To the west of the town lies a very hilly well-wooded country. Brod, 

 a fortress on the right bank of the Save, facing an Austrian town and 

 fort of the same name in the military frontier. There is some trade 

 between the two places in raw hides, wool, cotton, Ac. Upper and 

 Lower Tuzla, two adjacent towns, famous for their salt-springs, are 

 situated near the Spressa, a small tributary of the Bosna, 53 miles 

 N. K. from Trnvnik. Lower Tuzla is the larger, and has a population 

 estimated at 8000. It is surrounded by old walls and a ditch. On a 

 rising ground in the centre of the town is an old castle, now dis- 

 mantled, which commands a fine view of the town and the wooded 

 hilU that inclose it. The town itself consists of an assemblage of 

 dark wood houses, relieved only by an old konak or palace, or 

 'r minarets of the mosques. The insurrection 

 n defence of their feudal privileges, which were 

 tiou of the Tauzimat, commenced at Tuzla in 

 ~>0, by the insurgents seizing the arms and ammunition 

 lie used against the sultan's troops. The country 

 west of Tnzla is occupied by the high Tavornik range, which extends 

 to the Bosna. Tuzla gives title to a Greek bishop. Vranduk, a small 

 town of 2000 inhabitants, is important as commanding the valley of 



the Bosna, and a defile to which it gives name in the mountains 

 westward. It is defended by an old castle, which crowns a rocky pro- 

 montory 300 feet above the river. In the late insurrection of the 

 Mohammedan Bosniaks against the sultan, Omer Pasha fought two 

 sharp actions with the insurgents near Vranduk. 



3. In the sanjak of Herzegovina, or Herzek, the chief town is 

 Mottar, which is situated on the Nareuta, in 43 22' N. lat., 17 58' 

 E. long., and has about 9000 inhabitants. It stands on both banks 

 of the river, which are united by a stone bridge of a single arch. 

 The houses are built of stone and roofed with slate. The town is 

 inclosed by battlemented walls. It is famous for the manufacture of 

 sword-blades and other warlike weapons. Cattle, hides, corn, wool, 

 fruit, wax, and wine are the principal items in the trade of the town, 

 which is considerable. Frebiyne, 45 miles S. by E. from Mostar, is a 

 small town, defended by a square court flanked by four towers. It 

 gives title to a Catholic bishop. Lima, or Ultimo, a town of 4000 

 inhabitants, 50 miles N.W. from Mostar, is situated at the base of 

 Mount Liubaska, and on the eastern side of a ravine, in the bottom 

 of which the Bistritza a feeder of the Narenta flows. On the north- 

 east of the town is a series of heights which join the plateau of 

 Keupris, which lies on the south side of Mount Czernagora, and 

 forms the most southern part of Turkish Croatia. Livno is defended 

 by a wall flanked with towers, and also by a castle. The Bistritza is 

 spanned at Lubno by a stone bridge of five arches, over which the 

 road to the Austrian provinces is carried. The plain of Lubno, lying 

 between the Prologh Mountains on the south-west and the main 

 ridge of the Dinaric Alps on the other, is about 30 miles long and 

 8 miles wide ; it is well watered by the Bistritza and some other 

 streams, which are subject to considerable floods in winter and spring. 

 The plain produces abundantly corn and pasture ; the olive is culti- 

 vated ; other fruits are scarce ; horned cattle and horses are numerous. 



4. In the sanjak of Jeui-Bazar the chief town is Jeni-Bazar, or 

 Non-Bazar, which is situated on the Raczka, a feeder of the Ibar, 

 130 miles S.E. from Bosna-Serai, and has about 8000 inhabitants, 

 many of whom are descendants of a colony from Hagusa. The town, 

 which generally speaking is a filthy collection of hovels constructed 

 with timber and mud, is commanded by a castle situated on a height 

 in the centre. The mosques, 17 in number, and the shops in the 

 bazaar, are the only objects worth naming besides the castle. An 

 important market for various wares is held here, the situation being 

 central between Albania, Serbia, Bosnia, and Montenegro. The 

 neighbourhood of Jeui-Bazar is fertile and well cultivated. The 

 Kaczka and its feeders drive several mills. In the wars between the 

 Serbs and Turks Jeni-Bazar was burnt by the former. The only other 

 place worth mentioning in the sanjak is Wischeyrad, on the Drina, 

 which has about 3000 inhabitants, and is defended by a strong castle. 



The eastern boundary of the sanjak of Jeui-Bazar runs along the 

 Ibar to its mouth in the Morava ; thence south-west for several miles 

 along the crest of the Brusnik Mountains : it then sweeps round to 

 north-west across the Slatibor Mountains and the river Morava, to 

 the west of which it follows the Stolatz Mountains to near 44 N. lat., 

 where it strikes the Drina. 



The towns of Bosnia and of some other parts of Turkey are built 

 round some commanding point which is occupied by a kind of fortress 

 and generally by the houses of the Turkish part of the population ; 

 this central part of the town, corresponding to the Greek acropolis, is 

 called in Turkish ' Kale",' in Slavonian ' Grad.' Close round the Grad 

 is built the trading part of the town, inhabited chiefly by Christians 

 and Jews, and distinguished in Slavonian by the name of ' Varosh," in 

 Turkish ' Bazaar.' This part of the town is generally inclosed by 

 walls and gates, which are shut at night. Outside these walls is the 

 ' palauka," or suburb, inhabited by the lowest orders, including the 

 gipsies. The suburb is surrounded by a ditch and palisade. 

 Some of the towns however have only two, some only one of these 

 divisions, and they are then distinguished by the corresponding name. 

 Outside and completely surrounding the town a considerable space is 

 occupied by the cemetery. 



The Bosnian villages, which are inhabited mostly by Slavonian 

 Christians and in many instances by people of the same kin and name, 

 are self-governing. They elect a Stareshin, or head, who treats with the 

 administrative and fiscal officers of the sultan, directs the agricultural 

 operations of the community, receives the contributions (levied on 

 each head of a family in proportion to his income) for the purpose of 

 paying th.e taxes imposed on the village, and decides petty differences 

 among the peasantry. The Stareshin is assisted by an elected council, 

 and if his conduct is not appoved of he is deposed. In towns also 

 the artisans form guilds, are governed by laws of their own decreeing, 

 uid 1 >ey a Starost, or elected chief, who is responsible for the guild to 

 the authorities. In Bosna-Serai the Starosts of the artisans and the 

 Stareshins of the agricultural part of the population formerly 

 possessed great privileges, the most singular of which was the right 

 to force the vizir of the province never to remain more than three 

 days within their walls, and the privilege of complaining if necessary 

 against the vizir to the corps of Janizaries at Constantinople. In 

 the new system of administration most of their imiiniiiitii's have been 

 swept away, but the form still remains, and the respective sections of 

 the population still elect and obey their Starosts ami .Stareshins. 



UUtoricul Sketch. Bosnia was included in ancient Pannonia. The 



