BanBan is a title used in several states in central and south-eastern Europe between the 7th century and the 20th century.-Etymology:The word ban has entered the English language as a borrowing from South Slavic ban, meaning "lord, master; ruler"...
Kulin (1163 – 1204) was a powerful
Ban of Bosnia who ruled from 1180 to 1204 first as a
vassalA vassal in the terminology that both preceded and accompanied the feudalism of medieval Europe, is one who enters into mutual obligations with a monarch, usually of military support and mutual protection, in exchange for certain guarantees, which came to include the terrain held as a fief. By...
of the
Byzantine EmpireThe Byzantine Empire or Eastern Roman Empire, was the continuation of the Roman Empire during the Middle Ages, centered on the capital of Constantinople, and ruled by Emperors in direct and de jure succession to the ancient Roman Emperors...
and then of the
Kingdom of HungaryThe Kingdom of Hungary , emerged in 1000, when the Principality of Hungary, founded in 896, was recognized as a Kingdom. The form of government was changed from Monarchy to Republic briefly in 1918 and again in 1946, ending the Kingdom and creating the Republic of Hungary...
. He was brought to the power by
Byzantine Emperor Manuel I Comnenus. He had a son,
Stjepan KulinićStephen Kulinić , son of Bosnia's Ban Kulin, was a Bosnian Ban in 1204-1232. He was a faithful Catholic and thus a supporter of the Hungarian Crown, but not very popular in Bosnia - as he turned away from his father's policies and prosecuted the Bogumils...
(
BosnianBosnian is a South Slavic language spoken primarily in Bosnia and Herzegovina and in the region of Sandžak in Serbia and Montenegro, although it is also spoken in various places throughout the world, as many speakers were forced to become refugees during the Bosnian war...
: Stjepan Kulinić) who succeeded him as
Bosnian Ban. Kulin founded the
House of KulinićThe Kulinić dynasty was a Medieval Bosnian ruling family from the second half of the 12th century to the first half of the 13th century. Its founder, Kulin, was made Bosnia's Ban by the Eastern Roman Emperor Manuel I Comnenus in 1180, but he was present in Bosnia political and social life since its...
.
Life
Kulin came to prominence in Bosnia 1163 as he was under the
Byzantine Emperor Manuel I Comnenus who was just taking the country from the Hungarians earlier, although it would not be until 1180 that he would place Kulin as his vassal as
BanBan is a title used in several states in central and south-eastern Europe between the 7th century and the 20th century.-Etymology:The word ban has entered the English language as a borrowing from South Slavic ban, meaning "lord, master; ruler"...
.
His rule is often remembered as Bosnia's golden age, and he is a common hero of Bosnian national folk tales. Bosnia was autonomous and mostly at peace during his rule. As an ordered and economically prosperous soon became de facto independent state. However, in 1183, he lead his troops with the forces of the
Kingdom of HungaryThe Kingdom of Hungary , emerged in 1000, when the Principality of Hungary, founded in 896, was recognized as a Kingdom. The form of government was changed from Monarchy to Republic briefly in 1918 and again in 1946, ending the Kingdom and creating the Republic of Hungary...
under King Bela that has just launched an attack on the
Byzantine EmpireThe Byzantine Empire or Eastern Roman Empire, was the continuation of the Roman Empire during the Middle Ages, centered on the capital of Constantinople, and ruled by Emperors in direct and de jure succession to the ancient Roman Emperors...
. The cause of the war was the new imposer to the Imperial throne Andronicus Comnenus that was not recognized as legitimate by the Hungarian crown. The united forces met little resistance in the eastern Serbian lands - the Greek squadrons were fighting among themselves as the local Byzantine commanders: Alexios Brannes supported the new Emperor, while Andronicus Lapardes opposed him - and deserted the Imperial Army, going onto adventures on his own. Without difficulties, the
GreeksThe Greeks , also known as Hellenes, are a nation and ethnic group native to Greece, Cyprus and neighbouring regions, who can also be found in diaspora communities around the world....
were pushed out of the
Valley of Morava- Geography :Populated places:* in Bulgaria:** Morava, Bulgaria, a village in Svishtov Municipality, Veliko Tarnovo Province** Zelena morava, a village in Omurtag Municipality, Targovishte Province* in the Czech Republic:...
and the allied forces breached all the way to
Sophia-People:* Sophia , including people so named* Queen Sofía of Spain, queen consort.* Sophia Bush, an American actress.* Sophia Elaine Hayes, an interior designer, missionary, bible worker, model, born October 15, 1978 in Hawaii-Geography:...
, raiding
BelgradeBelgrade Belgrade Belgrade (Serbian Cyrillic: Београд, Serbian Latin: Beograd (meaning "White City" in Serbian) is the capital and largest city of Serbia. The city lies on two international waterways, at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers, where Central Europe's Pannonian Plain meets...
,
BraničevoBraničevo can refer to:* Braničevo , a geographical region in Serbia.* Braničevo District, a district in Serbia.* Braničevo , a town that existed in the Middle Ages in the territory of present-day Serbia....
,
RavnoRavno is a town and the seat of its municipality in Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is located in the Herzegovina-Neretva Canton of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina entity. Ravno was a municipality until 1963, when it became a part of the Trebinje municipality...
,
NišNiš is a city in Nišava District, Serbia situated at 43.3° N 21.9° E, on the Nišava River. With more than 253,077 inhabitants it is the largest city in southern Serbia and the third-largest city in the country, after Belgrade and Novi Sad, according to the data from May 2009...
and Sophia itself. With the Hungarian withdrawal from the conflict, so did Ban Kulin stand down. In Kulin's times, the term Bosnia encompassed roughly the lands of Vrhbosna, Usora,
SoliSoli can refer to:* Soli, an ancient city on the island of Cyprus.* Soli, an ancient city in Cilicia, later renamed Pompeiopolis.* Soli, a 10th century name for Tuzla, a city in Bosnia-Herzegovina....
, the Lower Edges and
RamaRama or Ramachandra is the seventh avatar of Vishnu in Hinduism, and a legendary king of Ayodhya in ancient India...
, which is approximately geographical
BosniaHistorically and geographically, the region known as Bosnia lies mainly in the Dinaric Alps, ranging to the southern borders of the Pannonian plain, with the rivers Sava and Drina marking its northern and eastern borders...
.
The Bogomils were expelled from Serbia by the Nemanyiden, so they settled and populated Bosnia, founding a unique
Bosnian ChurchThe Bosnian Church is historically thought to be an indigenous branch of the Bogomils that existed in Bosnia during the Middle Ages. Adherents of the church called themselves simply Krstjani . The church no longer exists and is thought to have disappeared completely by the Ottoman conquest of...
that greatly spread under Kulin's reign. The
SerbiaSerbia , officially the Republic of Serbia , is a country located in both Central and Southeastern Europe. Its territory covers the southern part of the Pannonian Plain and central part of the Balkans...
n titular
KingA monarch is the person who heads a monarchy, a form of government in which the country or entity usually ruled or controlled by an individual who usually rules for life or until abdication...
of Zeta or
DocleaDuklja or Diokletija was a Serbian medieval state with hereditary lands roughly encompassing the territories of the modern-state Montenegro and bordering with Travunia at Kotor...
Vukan Nemanjić reported the Ban to the
PopeThe pope is the Bishop of Rome and, as such, is leader of the worldwide Catholic Church...
on 8 January 1199 for
heresyHeresy is proposing some unorthodox change to an established system of belief, especially a religion, that conflicts with the previously established opinion of scholars of that belief such as canon. It is sometimes confused with apostasy which is disaffiliation from orthodoxy and blasphemy which is...
because of that, claiming that
evil stages are in store for the land of the Hungarian King. It appears that Kulin Ban and his wife, as well as his sister - the widow of Prince Miroslav - abandoned
ChristianityChristianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as presented by the revelations in the New Testament....
in favor of Bogumilism together with 10,000 of their
ChristianA Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic, religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth, who Christians believe was the Messiah prophesied in the Old Testament/Hebrew Bible, and the Son of God.The term "Christian" is also used adjectivally to...
subjects. Kulin also gave protection to the banished heretics from
SplitSplit is the largest Dalmatian city, the second-largest urban centre in Croatia, and the seat of Split-Dalmatia County...
and
TrogirTrogir is a historic town and harbour on the Adriatic coast in Split-Dalmatia County, Croatia, with a population of 10,907 and a total municipality population of 13,322 . The historic city of Trogir is situated on a small island between the Croatian mainland and the island of Čiovo...
- which Vukan reported to the Pope. The Pope wrote to
KingA monarch is the person who heads a monarchy, a form of government in which the country or entity usually ruled or controlled by an individual who usually rules for life or until abdication...
Emeric of HungaryEmeric I. , , King of Hungary . He was crowned during his father's lifetime, but after his father's death he had to fight against his brother, Andrew, who forced Emeric to assign the government of Croatia and Dalmatia to him...
to make Kulin prosecute the Bogumils or depose him. Kulin subsequently, on 8 April 1203, organized a congress in
Bilino PoljeBilino Polje is the home football stadium of NK Čelik from the city of Zenica in Bosnia and Herzegovina and one of two stadiums of national football team of Bosnia and Herzegovina.-History:...
which the Pope's emissaries attended - led by the Pope's legate for the Balkan peninsular, John de Kazemaris; where he officially declared his allegiance to the
Roman Catholic ChurchThe Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church. With more than a billion members, over half of all Christians and more than one-sixth of the world's population, the Catholic Church is a communion of the Western, or Latin Rite Church, and...
and declared that he was none other than a true pious Roman Catholic
ChristianA Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic, religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth, who Christians believe was the Messiah prophesied in the Old Testament/Hebrew Bible, and the Son of God.The term "Christian" is also used adjectivally to...
. He claimed that he didn't understand where Heresy lied in Bosnia. This act seemed only political - as he only tried to save Bosnia from war and continued to practise heresy. The Pope's emissaries travelled to
HungaryHungary , in English officially the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in the Carpathian Basin of Central Europe, bordered by Austria, Slovakia, Ukraine, Romania, Serbia, Croatia, and Slovenia. Its capital is Budapest. Hungary is a member of OECD, NATO, EU, V4 and is a Schengen state...
with Kulin's son, confirming Kulin's loyalty to the Hungarian crown and the Catholic Church. Prince Vukan was enraged and complained to the Pope that he was, in fact, lying; and demanded that the Pope command the Hungarian King to exterminate the Bosnian heretics. Between 1202 and 1204 Kulin assisted the deposed legitimate Serbian ruler Stefan Nemanjić in his struggles against Vukan.
At the end of his rule, in 1204, a certain Cotroman the German arrived to Bosnia, descendant of Cotroman the Goth from Ban
BorićBan Borić was the first known Bosnian Ban .Borić was a local landlord from Gabarje near Slavonski Brod. He belonged to a strong Brotherhood and had possessions on both sides of the river Sava...
's time. He settled permanently in Bosnia and is to become the founder of the
House of KotromanićThe Kotromanić dynasty was a Bosnian ruling house that ruled in the regions of Bosnia and the surrounding lands from the 13th century as Bans until the crowning with the Bosnian crowns in 1377 and then as Kings until the Ottoman conquest of Bosnia in 1463....
. Ban Kulin died in 1204 - he was succeeded by his son,
StevanStephen Kulinić , son of Bosnia's Ban Kulin, was a Bosnian Ban in 1204-1232. He was a faithful Catholic and thus a supporter of the Hungarian Crown, but not very popular in Bosnia - as he turned away from his father's policies and prosecuted the Bogumils...
.
The Charter
The charter of ban Kulin to the
Republic of RagusaThe Republic of Ragusa, or Republic of Dubrovnik, was a maritime republic centered on the city of Dubrovnik in Dalmatia , that existed from the 14th century AD until the year 1808...
from 29 August 1189 is oldest preserved Bosnian monument ( written in Cyrillic script ). Charter actually represent trade agreement between Bosnia and Ragusa which regulates Ragusan trade rights in Bosnia.
Marriage and Children
Kulin's sister married the brother of Grand Prince
Stefan NemanjaStefan Nemanja was a Medieval Serb nobleman, descended from the Vukanović who was Grand Prince of the medieval Serb state of Raška from 1166 to 1199. He established control over the territories of neighboring Serb states, including Zeta/Doclea, and unified them into a single state...
, the Serbian Prince
Miroslav of Zachlumia in Rascia and Kulin himself had two sons:
- Stephen Kulinić, the following Ban of Bosnia
- a son that went with the Pope's emissaries in 1203 to explain heresy accusations against Kulin
See also
- History of Bosnia and Herzegovina
-Pre-Slavic Period :Bosnia has been inhabited at least since Neolithic times. In the late Bronze Age, the Neolithic population was replaced by more warlike Indo-European tribes known as the Illyres or Illyrians. Celtic migrations in the 4th and 3rd century BCE displaced many Illyrian tribes from...
- Byzantine Empire
The Byzantine Empire or Eastern Roman Empire, was the continuation of the Roman Empire during the Middle Ages, centered on the capital of Constantinople, and ruled by Emperors in direct and de jure succession to the ancient Roman Emperors...
- History of Hungary
Hungary is a state in central Europe, its history under this name dating to the early Middle Ages, when the region previously known as Pannonia was colonized by the Magyar nomad people from what is now central-northern Russia. For history of the area before this period, see Pannonian basin before...
- List of rulers of Bosnia
- List of Bosnians
External links