Bošnjani
Bošnjani (sing. Bošnjanin; Latin: Bosniensis), meaning Bosnians, is the archaic name for inhabitants of Bosnia during the Middle Ages.
Contents
History
This name appears in almost all Bosnian state documents (povelje) since the 12th century, as used for the people of medieval Bosnia until the last Bosnian king Stjepan Tomašević prior to the Ottoman conquest of Bosnia.
Appearing in a number of documents from the period, it was in most cases coupled with the word Good ("Dobri"). For example, a 1417 document by Stjepan Ostoja mentions i nostri boni Bosnensi, and the same term is used in a 1419 document by Stjepan Ostojić.[1] Ćošković dates the term to Stjepan II Kotromanić (1322–53).[2]
Assessment
Bosnian historian Pejo Ćošković, citing Ferdo Šišić and Dominik Mandić, describes the use of the term in royal documents as membership in Bosnian nobility, with no indication of the subject's religion,[1] and as a political term to distinguish people from Bosnia proper from people from other lands of the Kingdom of Bosnia.[2]
Debate on the exact nature of the term is inconclusive. Some historians believe that it indicates a unique ethnicity while others argue a geopolitical identity, rather than an ethnic.[citation needed]
Revival
During the Ottoman era the preferred term for an inhabitant of Bosnia came to be Bošnjak, with the suffix "-iak" replacing the traditional "-anin". The English term Bosniak is in turn a translation of that term. During the Austro-Hungarian era the term Bošnjak was also preferred until the beginning of the 20th century. The situation changed again in the 20th century, as Bosanac (see also Bosnian and Bosnians) came to be the preferred term. Following their national awakening and rebirth in the early 1990s, Bosniaks re-established the (by then) archaic term Bošnjaci - Bosniaks - for their nation based on the word's historical ethno-geographic connotations.
