Bosnia and Herzegovina
Bosnia and Herzegovina, sometimes called Bosnia–Herzegovina, known informally as Bosnia, is a country in Southeastern Europe, located within the Balkan Peninsula. Sarajevo is largest city. Bosnia and Herzegovina is an landlocked country – it has a narrow coast at the Adriatic Sea, about 20 kilometres long surrounding the town of Neum, it is bordered by Croatia to the north and south. In the central and eastern interior of the country the geography is mountainous, in the northwest it is moderately hilly, the northeast is predominantly flatland; the inland, Bosnia, is a geographically larger region and has a moderate continental climate, with hot summers and cold and snowy winters. The southern tip, has a Mediterranean climate and plain topography. Bosnia and Herzegovina traces permanent human settlement back to the Neolithic age and after which it was populated by several Illyrian and Celtic civilizations. Culturally and the country has a rich history, having been first settled by the Slavic peoples that populate the area today from the 6th through to the 9th centuries.
In the 12th century the Banate of Bosnia was established, which evolved into the Kingdom of Bosnia in the 14th century, after which it was annexed into the Ottoman Empire, under whose rule it remained from the mid-15th to the late 19th centuries. The Ottomans brought Islam to the region, altered much of the cultural and social outlook of the country; this was followed by annexation into the Austro-Hungarian Monarchy, which lasted up until World War I. In the interwar period and Herzegovina was part of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia and after World War II, it was granted full republic status in the newly formed Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. Following the dissolution of Yugoslavia, the republic proclaimed independence in 1992, followed by the Bosnian War, lasting until late 1995. Tourism in Bosnia and Herzegovina has grown at double digit rates in recent years. Bosnia and Herzegovina is regionally and internationally renowned for its natural environment and cultural heritage inherited from six historical civilizations, its cuisine, winter sports, its eclectic and unique music and its festivals, some of which are the largest and most prominent of their kind in Southeastern Europe.
The country is home to three main ethnic groups or constituent peoples, as specified in the constitution. Bosniaks are the largest group of the three, with Serbs second, Croats third. A native of Bosnia and Herzegovina, regardless of ethnicity, is identified in English as a Bosnian. Minorities, defined under the constitutional nomenclature "Others", include Jews, Poles and Turks. Bosnia and Herzegovina has a bicameral legislature and a three-member Presidency composed of a member of each major ethnic group. However, the central government's power is limited, as the country is decentralized and comprises two autonomous entities: the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina and Republika Srpska, with a third unit, the Brčko District, governed under local government; the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina consists of 10 cantons. Bosnia and Herzegovina ranks in terms of human development, has an economy dominated by the industry and agriculture sectors, followed by the tourism and service sectors; the country has a social security and universal healthcare system, primary- and secondary-level education is tuition-free.
It is a member of the UN, OSCE, Council of Europe, PfP, CEFTA, a founding member of the Union for the Mediterranean upon its establishment in July 2008. The country is a potential candidate for membership to the European Union and has been a candidate for NATO membership since April 2010, when it received a Membership Action Plan; the first preserved acknowledged mention of Bosnia is in De Administrando Imperio, a politico-geographical handbook written by the Byzantine emperor Constantine VII in the mid-10th century describing the "small land" of "Bosona". The name is believed to have derived from the hydronym of the river Bosna coursing through the Bosnian heartland. According to philologist Anton Mayer the name Bosna could derive from Illyrian *"Bass-an-as"), which would derive from the Proto-Indo-European root "bos" or "bogh"—meaning "the running water". According to English medievalist William Miller the Slavic settlers in Bosnia "adapted the Latin designation Basante, to their own idiom by calling the stream Bosna and themselves Bosniaks ".
The name Herzegovina originates from Bosnian magnate Stjepan Vukčić Kosača's title, "Herceg of Hum and the Coast". Hum Zahumlje, was an early medieval principality, conquered by the Bosnian Banate in the first half of the 14th century; the region was administered by the Ottomans as the Sanjak of Herzegovina within the Eyalet of Bosnia up until the formation of the short-lived Herzegovina Eyalet in the 1830s, which remerged in the 1850s, after which the entity became known as Bosnia and Herzegovina. On initial proclamation of independence in 1992, the country's official name was the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina but following the 1995 Dayton Agreement and the new constitution that accompanied it the official name was changed to Bosnia and Herzegovina. Bosnia has been inhabited by humans since at least the Neolithic age; the earliest Neolithic population became known in the Antiquity as the Illyrians. Celtic migrations in the 4th century BC were notable. Concrete historical e
Croatian checkerboard
Croatian checkerboard or chequy is the national symbol of Croatia and Croats, it covers the main shield of Croatian coat of arms above, the crown with five smaller shields. Squares are always arranged and they are red and white, it is considered to be one of the oldest national symbols in Europe. Croatian checkerboard or chequy and sometimes known as Croatian chessboard is translated from Croatian šahovnica. Kockovlje and kockice are referred to Croatian checkerboard, incorrect because checkerboard is made from geometric shapes and not from 3D geometric objects. There is a legend from the 10th century, telling how Croatian king Držislav, captured by the Venetian, played a chess match in which his opponent was Ducar II Orseolo, he got all three parties and thus gained freedom, in some versions, power over the Dalmatian cities. He put the chessboard in his coat of arms. One of the oldest coats of arms of the Croatian kingdom from 1495 is located in the Austrian town of Innsbruck and is located on the front of the temple hall of Herzog-Friedrichstrasse 35.
It is assumed that the creation of the Croatian coat of arms was stimulated by the emperor Maximilian I. from whose time it originated the coat of arms of Innsbruck, but some other coats of arms, preserved in today's Germany and Austria. It is assumed that the number of preserved Croatian shielded coat of arms from the time of the Habsburg ruler should be thanked to the fact that the peace in Požun from November 7, 1491 gave him and his house the inheritance of the Hungarian-Croat throne in case Jagelovic's ruling house would not have legitimate male offspring, But the stipulation that Maximilian I could keep the title of the Hungarian king. For this reason, it would not be strange that he had just spurred the emergence of a Croatian chess coat, if it did not exist before; the Habsburgs, became Hungarian-Croatian kings only a few decades so it is more that the rulers Jagelovići were to commemorate the use of that coat-of-arms. In some quotations it is mentioned that the white color indicates Red Croatia.
There is a belief in the meaning of the color of the first field in the coat of arms, according to which the first white field is the independence of Croatia, the first red field is its subordinate position, but this belief of the newer date does not have any confirmation in the earlier surrender. Typical red-white checkerboard is used on airports because of its recognizability and visibility. Checkerboard is used on water towers and other buildings around the airports. However, the use is not directly connected to national symbol of Croats. Croatian Air Force MiG-21 UMD is painted in red-white Croatian checkerboard. Jerseys in sport events that use Croatian checkerboard are used by Croatian sport fans. Croatian checkerboard can be seen on various objects as a decoration. Croatian coat of arms Check
Domanovići
Domanovići is a village in Herzegovina, in Čapljina municipality, Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina and Herzegovina. Total: 1,270 Muslims - 727 Croats - 326 Serbs - 186 Yugoslavs - 21 others and unknown - 10 Official results from the book: Ethnic composition of Bosnia-Herzegovina population, by municipalities and settlements, 1991. Census, Zavod za statistiku Bosne i Hercegovine - Bilten no.234, Sarajevo 1991
Doljani, Čapljina
Doljani is a village in Herzegovina, in Čapljina municipality, Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina and Herzegovina. Croats - 357 Serbs - 5 Others and unknown - 3 Total: 365 Official results from the book: Ethnic composition of Bosnia-Herzegovina population, by municipalities and settlements, 1991. Census, Zavod za statistiku Bosne i Hercegovine - Bilten no.234, Sarajevo 1991
Europe
Europe is a continent located in the Northern Hemisphere and in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west and the Mediterranean Sea to the south, it comprises the westernmost part of Eurasia. Since around 1850, Europe is most considered to be separated from Asia by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas and the waterways of the Turkish Straits. Although the term "continent" implies physical geography, the land border is somewhat arbitrary and has been redefined several times since its first conception in classical antiquity; the division of Eurasia into two continents reflects East-West cultural and ethnic differences which vary on a spectrum rather than with a sharp dividing line. The geographic border does not follow political boundaries, with Turkey and Kazakhstan being transcontinental countries. A strict application of the Caucasus Mountains boundary places two comparatively small countries and Georgia, in both continents.
Europe covers 2 % of the Earth's surface. Politically, Europe is divided into about fifty sovereign states of which the Russian Federation is the largest and most populous, spanning 39% of the continent and comprising 15% of its population. Europe had a total population of about 741 million as of 2016; the European climate is affected by warm Atlantic currents that temper winters and summers on much of the continent at latitudes along which the climate in Asia and North America is severe. Further from the sea, seasonal differences are more noticeable than close to the coast. Europe, in particular ancient Greece, was the birthplace of Western civilization; the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 AD and the subsequent Migration Period marked the end of ancient history and the beginning of the Middle Ages. Renaissance humanism, exploration and science led to the modern era. Since the Age of Discovery started by Portugal and Spain, Europe played a predominant role in global affairs. Between the 16th and 20th centuries, European powers controlled at various times the Americas all of Africa and Oceania and the majority of Asia.
The Age of Enlightenment, the subsequent French Revolution and the Napoleonic Wars shaped the continent culturally and economically from the end of the 17th century until the first half of the 19th century. The Industrial Revolution, which began in Great Britain at the end of the 18th century, gave rise to radical economic and social change in Western Europe and the wider world. Both world wars took place for the most part in Europe, contributing to a decline in Western European dominance in world affairs by the mid-20th century as the Soviet Union and the United States took prominence. During the Cold War, Europe was divided along the Iron Curtain between NATO in the West and the Warsaw Pact in the East, until the revolutions of 1989 and fall of the Berlin Wall. In 1949 the Council of Europe was founded, following a speech by Sir Winston Churchill, with the idea of unifying Europe to achieve common goals, it includes all European states except for Belarus and Vatican City. Further European integration by some states led to the formation of the European Union, a separate political entity that lies between a confederation and a federation.
The EU originated in Western Europe but has been expanding eastward since the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991. The currency of most countries of the European Union, the euro, is the most used among Europeans. In classical Greek mythology, Europa was a Phoenician princess; the word Europe is derived from her name. The name contains the elements εὐρύς, "wide, broad" and ὤψ "eye, countenance", hence their composite Eurṓpē would mean "wide-gazing" or "broad of aspect". Broad has been an epithet of Earth herself in the reconstructed Proto-Indo-European religion and the poetry devoted to it. There have been attempts to connect Eurṓpē to a Semitic term for "west", this being either Akkadian erebu meaning "to go down, set" or Phoenician'ereb "evening, west", at the origin of Arabic Maghreb and Hebrew ma'arav. Michael A. Barry, professor in Princeton University's Near Eastern Studies Department, finds the mention of the word Ereb on an Assyrian stele with the meaning of "night, sunset", in opposition to Asu " sunrise", i.e. Asia.
The same naming motive according to "cartographic convention" appears in Greek Ἀνατολή. Martin Litchfield West stated that "phonologically, the match between Europa's name and any form of the Semitic word is poor." Next to these hypotheses there is a Proto-Indo-European root *h1regʷos, meaning "darkness", which produced Greek Erebus. Most major world languages use words derived from Europa to refer to the continent. Chinese, for example, uses the word Ōuzhōu. In some Turkic languages the Persian name Frangistan is used casually in referring to much of Europe, besides official names such as Avrupa or Evropa; the prevalent definition of Europe as a geographical term has been in use since the mid-19th century. Europe is taken to be bounded by large bodies of water
Neretva
The Neretva known as the Narenta, is one of the largest rivers of the eastern part of the Adriatic basin. Four HE power-plants with large dams provide flood protection and water storage, it is recognized for its natural diversity of its landscape. Freshwater ecosystems have suffered from an increasing population and the associated development pressures. One of the most valuable natural resources of Bosnia and Herzegovina and Croatia is its freshwater resource, contained by an abundant wellspring and clear rivers. Situated between the major regional rivers the Neretva basin contains the most significant source of drinking water; the Neretva is notable among rivers of the Dinaric Alps region regarding its diverse ecosystems and habitats and fauna, cultural and historic heritage. Its name has been suggested to come from the Indo-European root *ner, meaning "to dive"; the same root is seen in the Serbo-Croatian root "roniti". The Neretva flows through Herzegovina and Croatia until reaching the Adriatic Sea.
It is the largest karst river in the Dinaric Alps in the eastern part of the Adriatic basin/watershed. Its total length is 230 kilometres, of which 208 kilometres are in Bosnia and Herzegovina, while the final 22 kilometres are in the Dubrovnik-Neretva County of Croatia; the Neretva watershed is 11,798 square kilometres in total. The average discharge at profile Žitomislići in Bosnia and Herzegovina is 233 cubic metres /s and at the mouth in Croatia is 341 cubic metres /s in addition to the Trebišnjica River's 402 cubic metres /s; the Trebišnjica River basin is included in the Neretva watershed due to a physical link of the two basins by the porous karst terrain. The hydrological parameters of Neretva are monitored in Croatia at Metković. Geographically and hydrologically the Neretva is divided into three sections, its source and headwaters gorge are situated deep in the Dinaric Alps at the base of the Zelengora and Lebršnik mountains under the Gredelj saddle. The river source is at 1,227 meters above sea level and consists of five small and distinct wellsprings.
On its 90 kilometers course through the first section the Neretva cuts two distinct deep and narrow canyons and two distinct wide and fertile valleys, around Ulog and around Glavatičevo, before it reaches town of Konjic. This section is better known as the Upper Neretva, here river flows from east-southeast to north-northwest as do most Bosnia and Herzegovina rivers belonging to the Danube watershed, covers some 1,390 square kilometres with an average elevation of 1.2%. Right below Konjic, the Neretva again expands into a third and largest valley which provided fertile agricultural land before it was flooded by large artificial reservoir, Jablaničko Lake, formed after construction of a Jablanica Dam near town of Jablanica.. The second section begins from the confluence of the Neretva and the Rama between Konjic and Jablanica where the Neretva takes 180° degrees turn toward east-southeast and flows the short leg before reaches town of Jablanica, from which point turns again toward south. From Jablanica, the Neretva enters third and the largest canyon on its course, running through the steep slopes mountains of Prenj, Čvrsnica and Čabulja reaching 800–1,200 metres in depth.
Three hydroelectric dams operate between Mostar. When the Neretva expands for the second and final time, it reaches its third section; this area is colloquially called the "Bosnian and Herzegovinian California". The last 30 kilometres of its course forms wide alluvial delta, before the river empties into the Adriatic Sea. Rivers of the Jezernica, the Gornji and Donji Krupac, the Ljuta, the Jesenica, the Bjelimićka Rijeka, the Slatinica, the Račica, the Rakitnica, the Konjička Ljuta, the Trešanica, the Neretvica, the Rama, the Drežanka, the Grabovica, the Radobolja, the Trebižat flow into the Neretva from the right, while the Jezernica, the Živašnica, the Lađanica, the Župski Krupac, the Bukovica, the Šištica, the Konjička Bijela, the Idbar, the Glogošnica, the Mostarska Bijela, the Buna, the Bregava, the Krupa flow into it from the left. Towns and villages on the Neretva include Ulog, Glavatičevo, Konjic, Čelebići, Ostrožac, Grabovica, Drežnica, Bijelo polje, Vrapčići, Buna village, the historical town of Blagaj, Žitomislići, the historical village of Počitelj, Tasovčići, Čapljina, Gabela in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
The biggest town on the Neretva River is Mostar in Herzegovina. The upper course of the Neretva river is called the Upper Neretva, it includes numerous streams and well-springs, three major glacial lakes near the river and more lakes scattered across the mountains of Treskavica and Zelengora in the wider area, mountains and forests, flora and fauna of the area. The Upper Neretva has water of Class I purity and is certainly the coldest river water in the world as low as 7–8 degrees Celsius in the summer months. Rising from the base of the Zelengora and Lebršnik Mountain, Neretva headwaters run in undisturbed rapids and waterfalls, carving steep gorges reaching 600–800 metres in
Illyrians
The Illyrians were a group of Indo-European tribes in antiquity, who inhabited part of the western Balkans. The territory the Illyrians inhabited came to be known as Illyria to Greek and Roman authors, who identified a territory that corresponds to Croatia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, part of Serbia and most of central and northern Albania, between the Adriatic Sea in the west, the Drava river in the north, the Morava river in the east and the mouth of the Aoos river in the south; the first account of Illyrian peoples comes from the Periplus of Pseudo-Scylax, an ancient Greek text of the middle of the 4th century BC that describes coastal passages in the Mediterranean. The name "Illyrians", as applied by the ancient Greeks to their northern neighbors, may have referred to a broad, ill-defined group of peoples; the Illyrian tribes never collectively regarded themselves as'Illyrians', it is unlikely that they used any collective nomenclature for themselves. In fact, Illyrians seems to be the name of a specific Illyrian tribe, among the first to come in contact with the ancient Greeks during the Bronze Age, with the Greeks applying pars pro toto the name Illyrians to all people with similar language and customs.
At present it is unclear to what extent the Illyrians were linguistically and culturally homogeneous. In fact, Illyric origin was and still is attributed to a few ancient peoples residing in Italy: the Iapyges and Messapi, who are thought to have most followed Adriatic shorelines to the Italian peninsula from the geographic "Illyria"; the term "Illyrians" last appears in the historical record in the 7th century, referring to a Byzantine garrison operating within the former Roman province of Illyricum. In Greek mythology, Illyrius was the son of Cadmus and Harmonia who ruled Illyria and became the eponymous ancestor of the whole Illyrian people. Illyrius had multiple daughters. From these, sprang the Taulantii, Dardani, Autariates and the Daors. Autareius had a son Pannonius or Paeon and these had sons Scordiscus and Triballus. A version of this mythic genealogy gives as parents Polyphemus and Galatea, who gave birth to Celtus and Illyrius, three brothers, progenitors of Celts and Illyrians expresses perceived similarities to Celts and Gauls on the part of the mythographe.
Scholars have long recognized a "difficulty in producing a single theory on the ethnogenesis of the Illyrians" given their heterogeneous nature. Modern scholarship is unable to refer to the Illyrians as a unique and compact people and agrees that they were a sum of ill-defined communities without common origins that never merged to a single ethnic entity. Older Pan-Illyrian theories are now dismissed by scholars, based as they were on racialistic notions of Nordicism and Aryanism; the specific theories have found little archaeological corroboration, as no convincing evidence for significant migratory movements from the Luzatian culture into the west Balkans have been found. Rather, archaeologists from the former Yugoslavia highlighted the continuity between the Bronze and succeeding Iron Age developing the so-called "autochthonous theory" of Illyrian genesis; the "autochthonous" model was most elaborated upon by Alojz Benac and B. Čović. They argued that the'proto-Illyrians' had arrived much earlier, during the Bronze Age as nomadic Indo-Europeans from the steppe.
From that point, there was a gradual Illyrianization of the western Balkans leading to historic Illyrians, with no early Iron Age migration from northern Europe. He did not deny a minor cultural impact from the northern Urnfield cultures, however "these movements had neither a profound influence on the stability.. of the Balkans, nor did they affect the ethnogenesis of the Illyrian ethnos". Aleksandar Stipčević raised concerns regarding Benac's all-encompassing scenario of autochthonous ethnogenesis, he points out "can one negate the participation of the bearers of the field-urn culture in the ethnogenesis of the Illyrian tribes who lived in present-day Slovenia and Croatia" or "Hellenistic and Mediterranean influences on southern Illyrians and Liburnians?". He concludes that Benac's model is only applicable to the Illyrian groups in Bosnia, western Serbia and a part of Dalmatia, where there had indeed been a settlement continuity and'native' progression of pottery sequences since the Bronze Age.
Following prevailing trends in discourse on identity in Iron Age Europe, current anthropological perspectives reject older theories of a longue duree ethnogenesis of Illyrians where'archaeological continuity' can be demonstrated to Bronze Age times. They rather see the emergence of historic Illyrians tribes as a more recent phenomenon - just prior to their first attestation; the impetus behind the emergence of larger regional groups, such as "Iapodes", "Liburnians", "Pannonians" etc. is traced to increased contacts with the Mediterranean and La Tène'global worlds'. This catalyzed "the development of more complex political institutions and the increase in differences between individual communities". Emerging local elites selectively adopted either La Tène or Hellenistic and Roman cultural templates "in order to legitimise and strengthen domination within their communities, they were competing fiercely through either conflict and resistance to Roman expansion. Thus, they established more complex political alliances, which convinced
