1.
Bosnia and Herzegovina
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Bosnia and Herzegovina, sometimes called Bosnia-Herzegovina, and, in short, often known informally as Bosnia, is a country in Southeastern Europe located on the Balkan Peninsula. Sarajevo is the capital and largest city, in the central and eastern interior of the country the geography is mountainous, in the northwest it is moderately hilly, and the northeast is predominantly flatland. The inland is a larger region and has a moderate continental climate, with hot summers and cold. The southern tip of the country has a Mediterranean climate and plain topography, Bosnia and Herzegovina is a region that traces permanent human settlement back to the Neolithic age, during and after which it was populated by several Illyrian and Celtic civilizations. Culturally, politically, and socially, the country has a rich history, the Ottomans brought Islam to the region, and 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, Bosnia was part of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia and after World War II, following the dissolution of Yugoslavia, the country proclaimed independence in 1992, which was followed by the Bosnian War, lasting until late 1995. The country is home to three ethnic groups or, officially, constituent peoples, as specified in the constitution. Bosniaks are the largest group of the three, with Serbs second and Croats third, a native of Bosnia and Herzegovina, regardless of ethnicity, is identified in English as a Bosnian. The terms Herzegovinian and Bosnian are maintained as a rather than ethnic distinction. Moreover, the country was simply called Bosnia until the Austro-Hungarian occupation at the end of the 19th century, Bosnia and Herzegovina has a bicameral legislature and a three-member Presidency composed of a member of each major ethnic group. The Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina is itself complex and consists of 10 cantons, additionally, the country has been a member of the Council of Europe since April 2002 and a founding member of the Mediterranean Union upon its establishment in July 2008. 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 be derived from Illyrian Bass-an-as which would be a diversion of 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, the name Herzegovina originates from Bosnian magnate Stephen Vukčić Kosačas title, Herceg of Hum and the Coast. Hum, formerly Zahumlje, was a medieval principality that was conquered by the Bosnian Banate in the first half of the 14th century. Bosnia is located in the western Balkans, bordering Croatia to the north and west, Serbia to the east and it has a coastline about 20 kilometres long surrounding the city of Neum. It lies between latitudes 42° and 46° N, and longitudes 15° and 20° E, the countrys name comes from the two regions Bosnia and Herzegovina, which have a very vaguely defined border between them
2.
Bosna (river)
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It is the namesake of Bosnia. The Bosna flows for 271 kilometers, the river is possibly mentioned for the first time during the 1st century AD by Roman historian Marcus Velleius Paterculus under the name Bathinus flumen. According to philologist Anton Mayer the name Bosna could be derived from Illyrian Bass-an-as which would be a diversion of the Proto-Indo-European root *bhoĝ-, meaning the running water. The Bosna river also makes up the Bosna River Valley, the industrial center and home to close to a million people. The rivers biggest tributaries are the Željeznica, Miljacka, Fojnica, Lašva, Gostović, Krivaja, Usora and its source is at the spring Vrelo Bosne, at the foothills of the Mount Igman, on the outskirts of Sarajevo, capital of Bosnia and Herzegovina. The spring is one of Bosnia and Herzegovinas chief natural landmarks, from there, the Bosna flows northwards, through the heart of Bosnia, eventually becoming a right tributary of the Sava River in Bosanski Šamac. The Bosna flows through a number of cantons, from its starting point in the Sarajevo Canton, it flows through Zenica-Doboj Canton, Doboj Region, and Posavina Canton, in that order. On its way north the River Bosna also passes through the cities of Visoko, Zenica, Maglaj, Doboj, Modriča and Bosanski Šamac
3.
Geographic coordinate system
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A geographic coordinate system is a coordinate system used in geography that enables every location on Earth to be specified by a set of numbers, letters or symbols. The coordinates are chosen such that one of the numbers represents a vertical position. A common choice of coordinates is latitude, longitude and elevation, to specify a location on a two-dimensional map requires a map projection. The invention of a coordinate system is generally credited to Eratosthenes of Cyrene. Ptolemy credited him with the adoption of longitude and latitude. Ptolemys 2nd-century Geography used the prime meridian but measured latitude from the equator instead. Mathematical cartography resumed in Europe following Maximus Planudes recovery of Ptolemys text a little before 1300, in 1884, the United States hosted the International Meridian Conference, attended by representatives from twenty-five nations. Twenty-two of them agreed to adopt the longitude of the Royal Observatory in Greenwich, the Dominican Republic voted against the motion, while France and Brazil abstained. France adopted Greenwich Mean Time in place of local determinations by the Paris Observatory in 1911, the latitude of a point on Earths surface is the angle between the equatorial plane and the straight line that passes through that point and through the center of the Earth. Lines joining points of the same latitude trace circles on the surface of Earth called parallels, as they are parallel to the equator, the north pole is 90° N, the south pole is 90° S. The 0° parallel of latitude is designated the equator, the plane of all geographic coordinate systems. The equator divides the globe into Northern and Southern Hemispheres, the longitude of a point on Earths surface is the angle east or west of a reference meridian to another meridian that passes through that point. All meridians are halves of great ellipses, which converge at the north and south poles, the prime meridian determines the proper Eastern and Western Hemispheres, although maps often divide these hemispheres further west in order to keep the Old World on a single side. The antipodal meridian of Greenwich is both 180°W and 180°E, the combination of these two components specifies the position of any location on the surface of Earth, without consideration of altitude or depth. The grid formed by lines of latitude and longitude is known as a graticule, the origin/zero point of this system is located in the Gulf of Guinea about 625 km south of Tema, Ghana. To completely specify a location of a feature on, in, or above Earth. Earth is not a sphere, but a shape approximating a biaxial ellipsoid. It is nearly spherical, but has an equatorial bulge making the radius at the equator about 0. 3% larger than the radius measured through the poles, the shorter axis approximately coincides with the axis of rotation
4.
Foothills
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Foothills are geographically defined as gradual increase in elevation at the base of a mountain range, higher hill range or an upland area. They are a zone between plains and low relief hills to the adjacent topographically higher mountains, hills, and uplands. Foothills primarily border mountains, especially those which are reached through low ridges that increase in size closer and closer to the mountain, generally the area from Ferntree Gully/Boronia/The Basin through to Belgrave. Another word for a region is piedmont, derived from foot of the mount in Romance languages. The Piedmont region of Italy lies in the foothills of the Alps and they are also known as submontane zones, especially when referring to montane ecosystems
5.
Igman
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Igman is a mountain plateau in central Bosnia and Herzegovina. Geologically, Igman is part of the Dinaric Alps and formed largely of secondary and tertiary sedimentary rock and it is located southwest of Sarajevo, bordering the Bjelašnica range in the south and west, Hadžići and Ilidža in the north, and the river Željeznica in the east. Igmans highest point, Crni vrh, west of the Malo Polje road, at an altitude of 1,510 metres, most of Igman is covered with mixed forest with local pastures. Igman was the location of the lowest recorded temperature in the region, when the weather is right, from Igman mountaineers can see all the way to Montenegro and the Adriatic Sea. Igman has been the site of combat during the 1992-95 Siege of Sarajevo and certain areas, in particular the surroundings of former front lines. During the 1984 Winter Olympics, Igman was, along with Jahorina and Bjelašnica, Igman hosted primarily the Nordic disciplines, the Igman Olympic Jumps in the Malo Polje area were the site of the ski jumping events and also the ski jumping part of the Nordic combined events. Meanwhile, the Veliko Polje hosted the biathlon, cross-country skiing, in preparation of the Games a road was constructed across the Igman plateau connecting Sarajevo through Hadžići to the Malo Polje, Veliko Polje and Babin Dol venues. There were numerous structures constructed on Igman at this time, although many stand destroyed or bear the scars of the 1992-1995 conflict, one of the most eye catching structures remains the Ski Jumping platform at Malo Polje. The area became of substantial military significance during the struggle between Titos Partisans and the German occupational forces during the Second World War, a renowned episode of this struggle took place on Igman during Operation Südost Kroatien associated with what is known as the Second Enemy Offensive in January 1942. The Partisan 1st Proletarian Brigade, pursued by the German 342, infanterie-Division, crossed Igman in what is known as the Igman March. With temperatures reaching −32 °C,172 Partisans suffered severe hypothermic injury,6 of whom died, when they approached the German–Italian demarcation line south of Sarajevo, the Partisans were able to infiltrate through the weak Italian cordon. A monument in memory of the Partisan struggle in this area is to be found on Veliko Polje, mount Igman became in the course of the 1991-95 conflict suddenly an area of major strategic importance as part of the 1992-1995 Siege of Sarajevo. After the completion of the Sarajevo Tunnel under the airport in July 1993, the ARBiH-controlled central plateau of Igman came under increased Serb military pressure when the suspicion became stronger that the area had become a major logistical artery of the besieged city. A major BSA offensive started July 1993 and on August 4,1993 Serb forces captured part of the Igman supply road, the BSA advance was stopped under threat of NATO airstrikes. The area was declared a Demilitarized Zone by the UN after the BSA retreated and UNPROFOR units were stationed on Igman, the supply road into Sarajevo was agreed to be used for humanitarian goods only, but ARBiH logistical activity on the road and through the tunnel continued nevertheless. Trucks on the Igman supply roads narrow last stretch descending the steep north-eastern slope became fully exposed to fire from BSA artillery positions in Ilidža, the Igman supply road remained the almost exclusive supply route into Sarajevo until the end of the war. It was also the entry and exit road for the Bosnian political leadership. Bosnian president Alija Izetbegović and foreign secretary Muhamed Sacirbey traveled this road, foreign negotiators tended to avoid the road as it was often described as the most dangerous road in Europe
6.
Sarajevo
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Sarajevo is the capital and largest city of Bosnia and Herzegovina, with a population of 275,524 in its current administrative limits. The Sarajevo metropolitan area, including Sarajevo Canton and East Sarajevo is home to 688,384 inhabitants, nestled within the greater Sarajevo valley of Bosnia, it is surrounded by the Dinaric Alps and situated along the Miljacka River in the heart of Southeastern Europe and the Balkans. Due to its long and rich history of religious and cultural variety and it is the only major European city to have a mosque, Catholic church, Orthodox church and synagogue within the same neighbourhood. Although settlement in the area back to prehistoric times, the modern city arose as an Ottoman stronghold in the 15th century. Sarajevo has attracted international attention several times throughout its history, in 1885, Sarajevo was the first city in Europe and the second city in the world to have a full-time electric tram network running through the city, following San Francisco. For nearly four years, from 1992 to 1996, the city suffered the longest siege of a city in the history of warfare during the Bosnian War. Sarajevo has been undergoing reconstruction, and is the fastest growing city in Bosnia. The travel guide series, Lonely Planet, has named Sarajevo as the 43rd best city in the world, in 2011, Sarajevo was nominated to be the European Capital of Culture in 2014 and will be hosting the European Youth Olympic Festival in 2019. The earliest known name for the large central Bosnian region of todays Sarajevo is Vrhbosna, Sarajevo is a slavicized word based on saray, the Turkish word for palace. The evo portion may come from the term saray ovası first recorded in 1455, the first mention of name Sarajevo was in 1507 letter written by Feriz Beg. The earliest is Šeher, which is the term Isa-Beg Ishaković used to describe the town he was going to build and it is a Turkish word meaning an advanced city of key importance which in turn comes from Persian, شهر shahr. As Sarajevo developed, numerous nicknames came from comparisons to other cities in the Islamic world, the most popular of these was European Jerusalem. Some argue that a correct translation of saray is government office or house. Saray is a word in Turkish for a palace or mansion. Sarajevo is located near the center of the triangular-shaped Bosnia-Herzegovina. It is situated 518 meters above sea level and lies in the Sarajevo valley, the valley itself once formed a vast expanse of greenery, but gave way to urban expansion and development in the post-World War II era. The city is surrounded by forested hills and five major mountains. The last four are known as the Olympic Mountains of Sarajevo
7.
Early history of Bosnia and Herzegovina
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Within the boundaries of today’s Bosnia and Herzegovina, there have been many layers of prehistoric cultures whose creation and disappearance are linked to migrations of unidentified ethnic groups. The Paleolithic in Bosnia is marked by the oldest Paleolithic monument in southeastern Europe, a magnificent one is Horse attacked by arrows, preserved in fragments and dated around 14-12000 BC. During the time when Neolithic cultures were appearing in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Herzegovina was under the influence of impresso ceramics from the western Mediterranean, as seen in Green Cave near Mostar, Čairi near Stolac, Lisičići near Konjic and Peć Mlini near Grude. People then lived in caves or simple settlements on hilltops, on the upper mainstream of the Bosna river and in northeast parts of Bosnia, people lived in wooden houses built by the river. In this culture we can see influences from Adriatic cultures in the south, original expressions of this culture are ceramic pots on four legs, called riton. We can also find them in the Danilo culture on the Croatian coast, due to these objects, Kakanj culture is considered a part of the wide circle of Neolithic populations that followed a cult of life force. The Butmir culture near Sarajevo is distinctive, with glazed ceramics. Figures from Butmir are unique sculptures modeled with hand, heads are almost like portraits with emphasized parts of body, bronze age settlements in Herzegovina were built like citadels, and in Bosnia we have necropolises with stone tumuli. During this time, bronze arms, decorated plates, flat necklaces, from 8th century BC, Illyrian tribes evolved into kingdoms. The earliest recorded kingdom in Illyria was that of the Enchele in the 8th century BC, the era in which we observe other Illyrian kingdoms begins approximately at 400 BC and ends at 167 BC. The Autariatae under Pleurias were considered to have been a kingdom, the Kingdom of the Ardiaei began at 230 BC and ended at 167 BC. The most notable Illyrian kingdoms and dynasties were those of Bardyllis of the Dardani and of Agron of the Ardiaei who created the last, Agron ruled over the Ardiaei and had extended his rule to other tribes as well. From the 7th century BC, bronze was replaced by iron, after which only jewelry, Illyrian tribes, under the influence of Halstat cultures to the north, formed regional centers that were slightly different. A very important role in their life was the cult of the dead, japodian tribes had an affinity to decoration. In the 4th century BC, the first invasion of Celts is recorded and they brought the technique of the pottery wheel, new types of fibulas and different bronze and iron belts. They only passed on their way to Greece, so their influence in Bosnia, Celtic migrations displaced many Illyrian tribes from their former lands, but some Celtic and Illyrian tribes mixed. Concrete historical evidence for this period is scarce, but overall it appears that the region was populated by a number of different peoples speaking distinct languages, in the Neretva Delta in the south, there were important Hellenistic influence of the Illyrian Daors tribe. Daors made unique bronze coins and sculptures, conflict between the Illyrians and ancient Romans started in 229 BC
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