About Bosnia

Etymology

The first preserved mention of the name "Bosnia" is in the De Administrando Imperio, a politico-geographical handbook written by Byzantine emperor Constantine VII in 958. The Chronicle of the Priest of Duklja from 1172–1196 also names Bosnia, and refers to an earlier source from the year 753. The exact meaning and origin of the word is unclear. The most popular theory holds that Bosnia comes from the name of the Bosna river around which it has been historically based.[3] Philologist Anton Mayer proposed a connection with the Indo-European root bos or bogh, meaning "running water".[4] Certain Roman sources similarly mention Bathinus flumen, or the Illyrian word Bosona, both of which would mean "running water" as well.[4] Other theories involve the rare Latin term Bosina, meaning boundary, and possible Slavic origins.

The origins of the word Herzegovina can be identified with more precision and certainty. During the Early Middle Ages the region was known as Hum or Zahumlje, named after the Zachlumoi tribe of Slavs which inhabited it. In the 1440s, the region was ruled by powerful nobleman Stefan Vuk&觅i&覿 Kosa&觅a. In a document sent to Friedrich III on January 20, 1448, Stefan Vuk&觅i&覿 Kosa&觅a called himself Herzog of Saint Sava, lord of Hum and Primorje, great duke of the Bosnian kingdom (Herzog means duke in German) and so the lands he controlled would later become known as Herzog's lands or Herzegovina.[3] The name Herzegovina was first included in the official name of the then Ottoman province in the mid-nineteenth century.