Ethnic map of BIH, 2006. Bosnian Serbs - blue, Bosnian Muslims - green, Bosnian Croats - red.

More than 95% of population of Bosnia and Herzegovina belongs to one of its three constitutive ethnic groups: Bosniaks, Bosnian Serbs and Bosnian Croats . The term constitutive refers to the fact that these three ethnic groups are explicitly mentioned in the constitution, and that none of them can be considered a minority or immigrant. Image File history File links Download high-resolution version (1809x1752, 211 KB) Summary Taken from Serbian Wikipedia, the Republika Srpska article. ... Image File history File links Download high-resolution version (1809x1752, 211 KB) Summary Taken from Serbian Wikipedia, the Republika Srpska article. ... The Bosniaks (Bosnian: BoÅ¡njaci, IPA: ) are a South Slav people living mainly in Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Sandžak region of Serbia and Montenegro, with a smaller autochthonous population also present in Kosovo. ... Serbs (in the Serbian language Срби, Srbi) are a south Slavic people living chiefly in Serbia and Montenegro and Bosnia and Herzegovina. ... Croats (Croatian: Hrvati) are a south Slavic people mostly living in Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina (where theyre one of the constitutive nations). ... The definition of a minority group can vary, depending on specific context, but generally refers to either a sociological sub-group that does not form either a majority or a plurality of the total population, or a group that, while not necessarily a numerical minority, is disadvantaged or otherwise has... Immigration is the act of moving to or settling in another country or region, temporarily or permanently. ...

Bosnian Serbs, Croats and Bosniaks have no major physical traits by which they can be distinguished. A recent genetical study showed that variance of genome is larger among members of the same nation than between nations.^{[citation needed]} Genetics (from the Greek genno γεννώ= give birth) is the science of genes, heredity, and the variation of organisms. ... In probability theory and statistics, the variance of a random variable is a measure of its statistical dispersion, indicating how far from the expected value its values typically are. ... In biology the genome of an organism is the whole hereditary information of an organism that is encoded in the DNA (or, for some viruses, RNA). ...

While each have their own standard language variant and a name for it, they speak mutually intelligible languages. On a dialectal level, Serbs, Croats and Bosniaks speak a variety of Štokavian dialects: Serbs, Bosniaks and Croats "southern" neo-Štokavian; Croats and Bosniaks "western" neo-Štokavian and Bosniaks and Croats "eastern-Bosnian" old-Štokavian. These dialects are mutually intelligible, but have fixed phonetic, morphological and lexical differences. The question of standard language of Bosnia and Herzegovina is resolved in such a way that three constituent ethnic groups have their educational and cultural institutions in their respective native or mother tongue languages: Bosnian, Croatian and Serbian. Serbo-Croatian or Croato-Serbian (also Croatian or Serbian, Serbian or Croatian) (srpskohrvatski or cрпскохрватски or hrvatskosrpski or hrvatski ili srpski or srpski ili hrvatski), earlier also Serbo-Croat, was an official language of Yugoslavia (along with Slovenian, Macedonian). ... The Serbian language is one of the standard versions of the Å tokavian dialect, used primarily in Serbia, Montenegro, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and by Serbs everywhere. ...

The most easily recognizable feature that distinguishes the three ethnic groups is their religion, with Croats predominantly Catholic Christians, Bosniaks predominantly Muslim, and Serbs Orthodox Christians. Catholic Church redirects here. ... For other uses, including people named Islam, see Islam (disambiguation). ... Please wikify (format) this article as suggested in the Guide to layout and the Manual of Style. ...

This has led many sociologists to believe that these ethnic groups emerged from religious groups in a process that occurred in 19th century. On the other hand, numerous historians, culturologists and ethnologists consider that Croats and Serbs have merely completed their ethnic integration in the 19th century (like, for instance, Norwegians or Slovaks), while Bosniaks crystallized into a separate ethnic group only at the end of the 20th century. Social interactions of people and their consequences are the subject of sociology studies. ... Alternative meaning: Nineteenth Century (periodical) (18th century — 19th century — 20th century — more centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 19th century was that century which lasted from 1801-1900 in the sense of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Ethnic background of Bosnia and Herzegovina

During the Bronze Age, Bosnia was inhabited by a group of tribes we usually call Illyrians or Illyres. They were finally conquered by Roman Empire in A.D. 10. It is commonly believed that Illyrians were completely Romanized by the 4th century; they spoke Latin language and their pagan religion was first replaced by corresponding Roman myths and later they became Christians. The Bronze Age is a period in a civilizations development when the most advanced metalworking has developed the techniques of smelting copper from natural outcroppings and alloys it to cast bronze. ... Illyria Illyria (Anc. ... The Roman Empire was a phase of the ancient Roman civilization characterized by an autocratic form of government. ... As a means of recording the passage of time, the 4th century was that century which lasted from 301 to 400. ... Latin is an ancient Indo-European language. ... Paganism (from Latin paganus, meaning a country dweller or civilian) is a blanket term which has come to connote a broad set of spiritual or religious beliefs and practices of natural or polytheistic religions, as opposed to the Abrahamic monotheistic religions. ... Religion in ancient Rome combined several different cult practices and embraced more than a single set of beliefs. ... Christianity is a monotheistic[1] religion centred on Jesus of Nazareth, and on his life and teachings as presented in the New Testament. ...

The turmoil after the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 was followed by settlement of Slavs in the 7th century. Even though modern languages of this area are almost purely Slavic with very little Illyrian influence, it is believed that, genetically speaking, the present population of Bosnia and Herzegovina is a mixture of Slavs and Illyrians with influences of other nations such as Avars and Goths. Events August - The usurper Basiliscus is deposed and Zeno is restored as Eastern Roman Emperor. ... The Slavic peoples are the most numerous ethnic and linguistic body of peoples in Europe. ... The 7th century is the period from 601 - 700 in accordance with the Julian calendar in the Christian Era. ... Map showing the location of Avar Khaganate, c. ... Invasion of the Goths: a late 19th century painting by O. Fritsche portrays the Goths as cavalrymen. ...

There are many theories regarding the ethnic structure of a medieval Bosnian state; however, evidence is inconclusive. Claims that medieval Bosnians declared themselves Croats or Serbs have been disputed: evidence shows many instances of them calling themselves Bosnians (Bošnjani); however, some historians believe that these indicate regional rather than ethnic identity.

Brief history of religions in Bosnia and Herzegovina

South Slavs were christianized in 9th century. Until the Ottoman conqueror of Bosnia, we have evidence of three Christian denominations in Bosnia: Eastern Orthodox, Roman Catholic and an indigenous church known as the Bosnian Church. It was in fact the Pataren church that took the name Bosnian Church to be more accepted by domestic population. Both Orthodox and Roman Catholic officials declared this church to be a heresy. Apart from testimonies of inquisitors and a few excerpts from allegedly apocryphal texts, we have very little knowledge of the Bosnian Church. Its connection with Bogomils is spurious, however. Discussion about how numerous each of these denominations was is impossible with the amount of historical documents that are presently available to us. As a means of recording the passage of time the 9th century was that century that lasted from 801 to 900. ... Imperial motto (Ottoman Turkish) دولت ابد مدت Devlet-i Ebed-müddet (The Eternal State) The Ottoman Empire at the height of its power (1683) Official language Ottoman Turkish Capital Söğüt (1299-1326), Bursa (1326-1365), Edirne (1365-1453), Constantinople (modern-day Istanbul) (1453-1922) Imperial anthem Ottoman imperial anthem Sovereigns Padishah... Eastern Orthodoxy (also called Greek Orthodoxy and Russian Orthodoxy) is a Christian tradition which represents the majority of Eastern Christianity. ... The Roman Catholic Church, most often spoken of simply as the Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with over one billion members. ... The Bosnian Church (crkva bosanska, ecclesia bosnensis) is historically thought to be an indigenous branch of the Bogomils which existed in Bosnia during in the Middle Ages. ... Heresy, according to the Oxford English Dictionary, is a theological or religious opinion or doctrine maintained in opposition, or held to be contrary, to the Catholic or Orthodox doctrine of the Christian Church, or, by extension, to that of any church, creed, or religious system, considered as orthodox. ... The term Inquisition (Latin: Inquisitio Haereticae Pravitatis Sanctum Officium) refers broadly to a number of historical movements orchestrated by the Roman Catholic Church aimed at securing religious and doctrinal unity through the conversion, and sometimes persecution, of alleged heretics. ... In Judeo-Christian theologies, apocrypha refers to religious Sacred text that have questionable authenticity or are otherwise disputed. ... Bogomils was the name of a defunct Gnostic social-religious movement and doctrine which originated in Macedonia in X century at the time of Peter I of Bulgaria (927-969) as a reaction of the state and clerical oppression. ...

The arrival of the Ottoman Empire, an Islamic state, resulted in a thorough realignment of religious groups. The Church of Bosnia vanished, apparently because its leaders were either killed or converted. Many members of all three denominations converted to Islam. Other members of the Bosnian Church converted to either Catholicism or Orthodoxy. There are also evidence of big part of the Catholic population converting to Orthodoxy. The effect of the so-called devşirme or blood tax on the presence of Muslims in Bosnia is negligible. The presence of large Muslim population in contemporary Bosnia is due to many factors, with motives ranging from effective propaganda to religious persecution of Catholics in the 15th to 18th centuries (Catholics being viewed as a sort of "fifth column" of the Ottoman arch-enemy, the Habsburg Empire) and understandable motive to improve one's social standing in the theocratic Ottoman empire. Imperial motto (Ottoman Turkish) دولت ابد مدت Devlet-i Ebed-müddet (The Eternal State) The Ottoman Empire at the height of its power (1683) Official language Ottoman Turkish Capital Söğüt (1299-1326), Bursa (1326-1365), Edirne (1365-1453), Constantinople (modern-day Istanbul) (1453-1922) Imperial anthem Ottoman imperial anthem Sovereigns Padishah... For other uses, including people named Islam, see Islam (disambiguation). ... Devshirmeh (Turkish devÅŸirme, Greek, paedomazoma) refers to the system used by the Ottoman sultans to tax newly conquered states, and build a loyal slave army and class of administrators: the Janissaries. ... Habsburg (sometimes spelled Hapsburg, but never so in official use) was one of the major ruling houses of Europe. ...

It is known that during the 16th and 17th century numerous Catholics left Bosnia. Much of the population of the coastal regions of Croatia and the Adriatic islands has origins in Bosnia. (15th century - 16th century - 17th century - more centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 16th century was that century which lasted from 1501 to 1600. ... (16th century - 17th century - 18th century - more centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 17th century was that century which lasted from 1601-1700. ... The Adriatic Sea is an arm of the Mediterranean Sea separating the Apennine peninsula (Italy) from the Balkan peninsula, and the system of the Apennine Mountains from that of the Dinaric Alps and adjacent ranges. ...

Eventually, by the end of the 17th century more than 80% of the population of Bosnia was Muslim. However, the following century saw a drastic decline in the number of Muslims in Bosnia. Reasons for this include the many defeats that the Ottoman army experienced during this century (in the Ottoman Empire Muslims were required to serve in the army, while non-Muslims were not), plague and other natural disasters that mainly hit the urban population (whereas Christians were mostly peasants) and immigration of Christians from neighbouring territories. (16th century - 17th century - 18th century - more centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 17th century was that century which lasted from 1601-1700. ... A Muslim (Arabic: مسلم, Turkish: Müslüman, Persian and Urdu: مسلمان, Bosnian: Musliman) is an adherent of Islam. ... A pandemic (from Greek pan all + demos people) is an epidemic (an outbreak of an infectious disease) that spreads worldwide, or at least across a large region. ...

Transformation of ethnicity to religion, its cause and course

Originally, the Islamic Ottoman Empire didn't have a concept of private ownership of land. Rights to till the land (tapija) were given to deserving military commanders (spahi), and after their death this right was delegated to another person. However, considering the special circumstances of the border-line province of Bosnia, the Ottoman sultan made an exception allowing for tapijas to be hereditary. This resulted in a de facto feudal system. Bosnian landlords (begs) quickly acquired more land than they could possibly till themselves, therefore they allowed Christian peasants to settle and till the land, giving a percentage (usually one third) to their beg. Islam (Arabic: ; ( ▶ (help· info)), the submission to God) is a monotheistic faith, one of the Abrahamic religions and the worlds second-largest religion. ... Imperial motto (Ottoman Turkish) دولت ابد مدت Devlet-i Ebed-müddet (The Eternal State) The Ottoman Empire at the height of its power (1683) Official language Ottoman Turkish Capital Söğüt (1299-1326), Bursa (1326-1365), Edirne (1365-1453), Constantinople (modern-day Istanbul) (1453-1922) Imperial anthem Ottoman imperial anthem Sovereigns Padishah... The Sultan in Disneys Aladdin A Sultan (Arabic: سلطان) is an Islamic title, with several historical meanings. ...

This system worked reasonably well until mid-18th century when, following several major military defeats, general economic situation in Ottoman Empire declined. Impoverished begs and widows hired čifluk sahibijas, persons that had the authority to collect taxes on a certain part of a begs land while keeping a portion for themselves. Sahibijas didn't feel any obligation towards peasants and treated them badly, often enforcing taxes and confiscating property. This combined with growing taxes that the Empire required for itself and several bad years for crops resulted in a series of uprisings of Christian peasants in Bosnia, Serbia and other European provinces. In Bosnia this meant a very deep chasm between Muslims and Christians of both denominations. (17th century - 18th century - 19th century - more centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 18th century refers to the century that lasted from 1701 through 1800. ...

In the times following the Ottoman conquest, the name «Bošnjanin» was turkified into «Bošnjak» (Bosh-nyak, Bosniak in English).During early Ottoman rule, the term «Bošnjak» was applied exclusively to the Christian population, while islamized natives were referred to as «Bosnalu». However, in following centuries (16th to 19th), this name, under various hyphenated forms («Bošnjak-milleti», «Bošnjak-taifesi») had acquired additional nuances of meaning: it became the common term for all the inhabitants of Bosnian Turkish pashaluk/military province. However, it is just one regional reference. The bureaucracy of the theocratic Ottoman empire couldn't even imagine that Muslims and Christians in one of the provinces of the vast Islamic polity would constitute a separated, supradenominational community. Nor was it thinkable to the Bosnian Christians and Muslims. Vilâyet (also eyalet or pashaluk) was the Turkish name for the provinces of the Ottoman Empire. ...

This has left Bosnian Muslims in a sort of vacuum. When Austria-Hungary occupied Bosnia and Herzegovina in 1878, Muslims saw it as their arch-enemy and many left Bosnia for territories still under Ottoman rule. Therefore, Austria-Hungarian project of a Bosnian nation was accepted only among Bosniak intellectual elite and a small number of Catholics. Serbs formed a resistance organization that grew into an opposition party named Serb Peoples¹ Organization. A corresponding Muslim Peoples¹ Organization was organized in 1906, and immediately entered into alliance with Serb Peoples¹ Organization. These two parties combined with Croat Peoples¹ Community won the 1910 elections by a large margin. This gave birth to the well-known concept of three natio-religions that we still see alive today. Austria-Hungary, also known as the Dual monarchy (or: the k. ... 1878 (MDCCCLXXVIII) was a common year starting on Tuesday (see link for calendar). ... 1906 (MCMVI) was a common year starting on Monday (see link for calendar). ... 1910 (MCMX) was a common year starting on Saturday (see link for calendar) of the Gregorian calendar or a common year starting on Sunday of the 13-day slower Julian calendar. ...

The origins of the three nations now present in Bosnia and Herzegovina can be traced back to the period (ca. 1500. to ca. 1800.) of intense islamization when "triple" ethnic-denominational differentiation served as the focal point for growth of modern national individualities based on ancient ethnic loyalties: as Camus has said, people become what they already are - notwithstanding the fact that they may not yet be aware of it. Bosnian Croats and Serbs have definitely crystallized into modern nations during the 19th century, simultaneously retaining their regional Bosnian and Herzegovinian identities rooted in history and conjoining with their compatriots in Croatia and Serbia. Bosnian Muslims, on the other hand, have set out on the trek for self-identity. Feeling in their bones the unbridgeable separateness and distance from both Croats and Serbs, these "Turkey's abandoned children" found themselves in an uneasy position: being a cultural/denominational transplant from Asia Minor grafted onto South Slavic ethnicities whose nascent Croat and Serb identities melted away in the process of islamization, they vacillated between a few national and semi-national individualities: Turkish, Croat, Serb, supranational Yugoslav and quasidenominational ethnic Muslim designation - Bosnian Muslims were officially recognized as a nation under the name of Muslims in the 1971 Yugoslav census. Finally, this identity crisis was resolved in an abrupt way: the Bosniak designation (actually, a Turkish word meaning Bosnian) was adopted in 1993. as a sign of differentiating ethnic identity from denominational loyalties. Although circumstances of the procedure may look somewhat weird (it was unanimously accepted on September 28th 1993, at the 2nd Bosniak Congress - an institution of Bosnian Muslim intellectuals and ideologues), it seems that, in all likelihood, Bosnian Muslims have definitively reached the goal in their quest for national identity. Albert Camus (pronounced ) (November 7, 1913 – January 4, 1960) was a French author and philosopher. ... September 28 is the 271st day of the year (272nd in leap years). ... 1993 (MCMXCIII) was a common year starting on Friday of the Gregorian calendar and marked the Beginning of the International Decade to Combat Racism and Racial Discrimination (1993-2003). ...

¹ This word can also be translated as National or even Ethnic.

See also

• History of Bosnia and Herzegovina
• Serbo-Croatian language
• Bosnians
• For genesis of the Bosniak ethnic group, see the article Bosniaks.
• Compare with the Home Nations.