Tsardoms Total War - FACTION PREVIEW: Banate of Bosnia

**Hrobatos** · July 27, 2012, 01:16 PM

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Banate of Bosnia

Off the coast of the Adriatic Sea, in a mountainous land covered by thick forests, a small but resilient Slavic state emerges. This is the Banate of Bosnia, a state once contented between Hungary and the Roman Empire, but now it can assert its independence due to a series of energetic rulers and high economic growth. The mines in the mountains provide needed riches while the plains and the forests offer crops and game. Most of the inhabitants are poor peasants that labour on the land of the nobles but they are fiercely independent are resolute. The nobles of the land are protected by castles built high in the mountains which are almost impossible to reach by an army let alone be taken by siege. The armies of the Bosnian state are well balanced with the peasantry providing most of the rank and file. These men know their mountainous land very well and are skilled hunters and experts in harassment and ambushes. Due to the nature of the land most of the cavalry is lightly armoured. The noblemen of the realm form heavily armoured cavalry units similar to the Western Knights. The Bosnian army is well versed to fight in defensive and harassment type warfare, however it will suffer in open field battles and against superior trained armies.

Due to the riches of the land and the highly controversial nature of the Bosnian religion the Banate is threatened by enemies from all sides. A wise Bosnian Ban will seek allies wherever he can find them and even aspire to raise the state to the status of a Kingdom in order to provide legitimacy and hence more security to the realm.

The arrival of the Slavic people in the region of Bosnia can be traced back to the VIth-VIIth centuries. The Slavs invaded the region which was controlled by the Roman Empire and eventually settled there bringing with them their language and culture. By the IXth century they had been Christianised and a pre-feudal society started to coagulate. During this time the area was being contested by two great powers: The Kingdom of Hungary and the Roman Empire. In the XIIth century (approximately in 1154) the King of Hungary appointed Ban Borić as the first ruler of Bosnia. Borić establishing the Banate of Bosnia as a Hungarian-backed statal entity, defeated the Romans and took Branicevo from them. After several conflicts between the Romans and Hungary, Ban Kulin was eventually named Bosnian Ban by the Roman Emperor Manuel I Komnenos in 1180.

The reign of Ban Kulin is regarded as the golden age of Bosnia. His reign lasted 24 peaceful years and was marked by economic development and increased autonomy. Kulin signed a commercial treaty with Ragusa in 1189, and encouraged Ragusan merchants to exploit rich Bosnian mines he also established good relations both with the ruler of Hum and with the Serbian grand župan, Stephen Nemanja. Relations with Hungary deteriorated as the Hungarians still saw themselves as the overlords of Bosnia. It was during Ban Kulin's time that the first historical mention of the heretical Bosnian Church appears. At the time Bosnia was considered a Catholic state and it came under the authority of the Archbishop of Ragsua. However, the local Christian sect known as Krstjani had taken roots for more than a century. Kulin and his followers were accused of heresy and of welcoming heretic refugees. Even though the Vatican conducted an investigation and Kulin denied the heresy in 1203 in a council of the Bosnian Catholic Church, the Krstjani movement continued to grow in the next decades and joined with the local Catholic church. During the next 50 years the Hungarians increased their pressure over their weaker neighbour and attempted to gain control over the bishopric of Bosnia. They were also encouraged by the Papacy which was increasingly worried by the heresy in Bosnia.

The reign of Kulin was followed by the less successful reign of Ban Stjepan Kulinić who supported the Catholic church but was deposed in 1232. Ban Matej Ninoslav succeeded Kulinić who was supported by the Krstjani and became their protector. The Hungarians used the religious justification to launch a crusade against Bosnia and by 1238 they controlled most of the Southern territories and installed the Dominican order of friars. Prijezda I was installed as Ban by the Hungarians but he only ruled briefly. Bosnia was saved by the Mongol invasion which forced the Hungarians to retreat in 1241. Ban Ninoslav managed to regain his power with support from the Republic of Ragusa and even intervened in the civil war in Croatia. In 1250 the Hungarians successfully placed in Prijezda I back on the Bosnian throne. He ruled until 1287 and being a devout Catholic convert he persecuted the adherents of the Bosnian Church. During his reign Bosnia joined Hungary in the war against Serbia. In 1252 the Papacy finally accepted to place the bishopric of Bosnia under Hungarian authority, however this actually weakend the Catholic church as the bishop of Bosnia was now further away and could exert little authority.

In the early XIVth century a struggle for the Bosnian throne ensued between the noble houses of Subić and Kotromanić. The Subić family ruled Bosnia for the first two decades but in 1322 Stefan Kotromanić ascended to the throne who ensured his family's supremacy. He undertook an expansion campaign by adding territories to the North and to the West which previously belonged to Croatian lord. He also acquired new lands on the Dalmatian coast between Ragusa and Split and in 1326 annexed the Principality of Zachumlie which was nominally a Serbian vassal. Kotromanić ensured friendly relations with most of his neighbours by signing treaties with Ragusa in 1334 and Venice in 1335 as well as assisting the Hungarian King with troops against rebelious nobles in Croatia. The addition of these new mostly Orthodox lands diluted the religious mix of the Banate. At the same time the Bosnian Church came under a lot of pressure from the Catholic Church as inquisitors were sent into the region led by the Franciscan Order and a campaign of conversions was undertaken.

The Banate of Bosnia is currently in a very prosperous period. The state is greatly expanding and has a stedy strem of income from the trade and the mines in the mountains. Although the power of Bosnia is growing it is still a small state in comparison to its powerful neighbours.

To the East lies the growing Serbian Kingdom. Led by the energetic Stefan Uros IV Dushan, the Serbs have been expanding their realm at the expense of the Bulgarians the Romans but given the past animosity it is only a matter of time until they turn their eye towards Bosnia. A wise Ban will try and postpone a conflict with Serbia until the army is strong enough to face such a formidable foe. On the other side, to the South-East lies the Republic of Ragusa. The Ragusans have always been in friendly relations with Bosnia and this amicable relation should be continued to profit from the Ragusan trade and weaponry.

To the West lies the Republic of Venice. The Venetians can prove to be a valuable ally in the region and also an important trade partner. And finally, to the North lies the traditional overlord of Bosnia, the Kingdom of Hungary. The Hungarians have been attempting to gain control of Bosnia for centuries. The Bosnian Church has always provided the Hungarians with a good pretext to launch crusades and invasions. Currently, the relations between the two states are amicable. But this can change at any time. The final goal of any Bosnian Ban should be to ensure complete independence from Hungary.

The Banate of Bosnia was ruled by a Ban, which is roughly translated to Duke. In the late XIVth century the Bosnian Ban crowned himself King and as such Bosnia became a Kingdom. The mountainous terrain of Bosnia encouraged localism with the Banate being divided into various regions such as Po-Drina, Bosnia, Soli, Usora, Donji Kraji and eventually Hum. Each of these regions had its own local traditions and hereditary nobility. The regions were divided into zupas, each ruled by the most important local family usually under the title of zhupan. The tradition of localism meant that centralisation was very difficult and often the Bans held little authority over the local rulers. The state was held together by the Ban's personal powers and the personal ties he created with his vassals and the local rulers. There was no land for service system such as the pronoia system and as such the nobles of Bosnia were much more independent and more secure in their lands then their Serbian or Bulgarian counterparts. The senior nobles and office holders of the state were called Veomoze (magnates), or after Bosnia became a kingdom Ban , these nobles held great power and had courts often as opulent as the Ban. The Bosnian state was strong as long as the nobles provided the services the Ban demanded, however there was no state structure to force their obedience.

In the countryside most people were serfs known as kmets who paid a tithe to the Ban and did military service for their lord. In the mountains there were herdsmen, including Vlachs, who were only loosely part of the feudal system. The rulers of each town appointed a knez to act as chief legal figure and keep the order. The Knez would appoint a garrison commander and in the later period a Knez could also be a military commander.

The mountains of Bosnia contain a great variety of minerals and in the time of Kotromanic new silver and lead mines were opened. The most important silver mines were located in Srebrenica. By 1422 the mines of Bosnia together with the ones in Serbia provided one fifth of Europe's supply of silver. The mineral wealth aided the economic development of the state and opened up many contacts in the Western world. The laborers in the mines were Bosnians but the technical expertise was provided by Saxon immigrants who established their own communities. Ragusans also migrated into Bosnia and established colonies of craftsmen, merchants and mining administrators.

The mining trade led to the development of craftsmanship with many skilled artisans settling around the mines. Some of the artisans came from the coast but the locals also started becoming craftsmen. Bosnians achieved great skills in metal crafting and their silverware was in high demand. Towns started growing in the mining areas and commerce also developed greatly. Most of the merchants were Ragusan as Bosnia had a trade agreement with the Republic and the Ragusans had a monopoly on silver trade. Gradually the Bosnians also became traders and by the end of the XVth century Bosnian merchants were trading all around Bosnia, the Dalmatian coast and even in Italy.

Customs duties were imposed on goods by both the central administration and the local nobles. There were three types of customs duties: export duties collected at the point of purchase (which was usually 10%), import duties collected at the market where the imported goods were sold (which was also 10%) and passage duties which were collected at toll stations along the trade routes. The nobles also attempted to add additional toll stations on the roads that crossed through their lands. The growth in trade stimulated urban development with many new cities appearing close to commercial enterprises such as mines and also on the major crossroads. Important commercial routes ran through Bosnia from the coast to Serbia, Bulgaria, Hungary and Constantinopole. Other towns appeared near fortresses and developed into local markets with shops where craftsmen sold their goods.

Geographically Bosnia is located at the crossroads between the Eastern Orthodox Church and the Roman Catholic Church. The people of Bosnia followed either Roman Caholicism, to a less extent Orthodox Chrstianity or another branch of Christianity which is thought to be an offshoot of the Bogomil church of Bulgaria. The two churches led an uneasy coexistence which led to several clashes. From the very beginning the Bosnian orthodox church had been more Slavic than Greek, having originated from the labours of Cyrillus and Methodius. Although accepting the general dogmas of the Greek Church the rituals were all performed in Slavonic rather than Greek. Ever since the Xth century the Bosnians came under the influence of the dualistic Paulician doctrine and by the XIth century the religion had taken deep roots. The followers of the religion were variously known as Manichaeans, Bogumils or Massalians alla Euchites. It has been suggested that all these names mean substantially the same thing in various languages. The term Massalians is said to be derived from a Syriac word signifying " those who pray," and the Greek Euchites has a similar meaning; while Bogumil is thought to be derived from the Bulgarian Bog z'milui, signifying "God have mercy." Another tradition mentions a Bulgarian elder or pope named Bogumil which signified "beloved of God." However, these names were only used by outsiders, the adherents of the church referred to themselves as Krstjani, simply meaning Christians.

The members of the Bosnian church were divided into two classes: the the pure ones and the believers. The pure ones were the leaders, the elders and their women. They traveled by twos and they were required to remain in a state of celibacy and could not hold any property, these requirements being intended to make their journeys and itinerant labours less trying and to secure their undivided consecration to their work. They were also to lead ascetic lives, to eat only vegetables and fish, and to fast rigidly at certain seasons of the year. They had peculiar signals for recognizing each other, and their support was contributed by the believers. They received the title of elders, and, in addition to their duties as preachers and pastors of the congregations, and missionaries to other lands, they alone had power to administer the consolamentum, or rite of initiation into the ranks of the pure ones. This was done by the laying on of hands of the elders, by means of which they believed that the Holy Spirit, the Comforter, descended upon those on whom hands were laid, and thenceforth they too were elders and missionaries. Women were admitted to the ranks of the pure ones, but they too were required to lead celibate lives and to practice abstinence from meats; they seldom preached, though they often took a part in public worship. These holy women, the deaconesses of the Krstjani churches, devoted their whole time to ministering to the sick, to visiting and aiding the poor, to teaching the young the rudiments of their faith, to administering in extreme cases the consolamentum to the dying, and to teaching the ignorant, and especially young girls, the rudiments of learning and the way of salvation. Like the brethren of the pure ones, they went forth to their work in couples. The rites by which believers were received into the ranks of the believers was baptism. The believers, were for a period of nearly four centuries the merchants, the traders, the agriculturists, and, to a considerable extent, the nobles and officials of Bosnia.

As opposed to the other Christian faiths the Bosnian church did not have an established hierarchy and there was no Pope or Patriarch. The bishop was called the djed and he had a council of twelve called strojnici which were chosen from the pure ones and had equal rights, powers and privileges to the elder himself. The djed was regarded as the wisest councillor in their ranks but he possessed no more ecclesiastical authority than the youngest elder of the most distant and feeblest province. The adherents of the Bosnian church led pure and chaste lives, placing great emphasis on values such as honesty and truth, kindness to their neighbors, and observance of all the ethics of the moral law. The Krstjnani denounced the worship of the Virgin Mary, the worship and prayers to the saints, and of images, icons, and pictures of the Virgin and the saints. They also opposed the use of crucifixes, crosses, bells, incense, ecclesiastical vestments, and everything which contributed to pomp and ceremony in the worship of God. The Krstjani also looked down upon the priests and dignitaries of the Catholic and Orthodox churches because they saw their lives as impure and materialistic, as opposed to their self-denying and ascetic elders.

The Krstjani monasteries were known as hiza (meaning house) and were remarkable for their simplicity. The heads of the monasteries were called gost and they served as strojnici. The moansteries consisted of a spacious room with bare walls and wooden benches. The low ceilings were not sustained by any pillars and no pictures, bas-reliefs, or sculptures adorned the walls or attracted the attention of the worshippers. The churches did not have an altar but at the rear of the room a plain table covered with a white linen cloth had upon it a manuscript copy of the New Testament and a roll on which the hymns were inscribed.

The Bulgarian Bogomils and the Bosnian Krstjani were active propagandists and missionaries, and their success was the more remarkable from the extreme simplicity of their ritual and their absolute avoidance of all appeals to the sensuous element in human nature. The Bogomils of Bosnia still affiliated to some extent with their brethren in Bulgaria. The Albigenses, and probably some of the earlier Catharist churches, had been the converts of Bulgarian missionaries; but the Waldensian congregations, the believers of the plains of Lombardy and the South of France, the Catharists of Spain, the early Reformers of Bohemia, the "Ketzers" of the Lower Rhine, the Publicani of Flanders and England, were all the followers and disciples of the Bogomilian elders or djeds of Bosnia. Reinero Sacconi, Italian apostate of the beginning of the thirteenth century, who, having been one of the Bogumilian Credentes, had recanted and, uniting with the Roman Catholic Church, become an inquisitor, stated that the churches of the Cathari, as he calls them, numbered then as many as thirteen bishoprics (or elderships), that of Bosnia being the most important and the parent of the others. These elderships were scattered through all the countries of Europe, and extended in an unbroken zone from the Black Sea to the Atlantic and from the Mediterranean to the Baltic.

Like most medieval states the bulk of the Bosnian population is represented by poor peasants that work the land. These peasants rise up in arms at the time of need when their homes are threatened. They are armed with axes and javelins, weapons which can be easily made in any peasant household. They are dressed in traditional rustic clothes and have as their only protection small wooden shields. These men have no military training or battle experience and as such should not be expected to hold their line for too long or stand their ground in front of an enemy charge. These peasants are best used as skirmishers to harrass enemy troops and as part of guerilla tactics.

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