Tvrtko's I ascension and reign Bosnia reached its peak under Tvrtko I, a member of the
Kotromanić dynasty, who came to power in 1353. In 1372, Tvrtko formed an alliance with Prince
Lazar Hrebeljanović, one of the regional lords in the territory of the disintegrated
Serbian Empire. The next year, Tvrtko and Lazar attacked the domain of
Nikola Altomanović, the most powerful Serbian noble at the time. After defeating Altomanović, they divided his lands, except for his littoral districts of
Dračevica,
Konavle, and
Trebinje, which were seized by
Đurađ I Balšić, the
Lord of Zeta. Tvrtko received parts of
Zahumlje, the upper reaches of the
Drina and
Lim rivers, and the districts of
Onogošt and
Gacko. This acquisition included the important Serbian Orthodox monastery of
Mileševa, which held the relics of
Saint Sava, the first Serbian Archbishop. In 1377, Tvrtko took the littoral districts from Balšić. That year, on 26 October, he was crowned King of "The Serbs, Bosnia, the Primorje (Seaside), and the western lands". The acquisition of Serbian territory, including the important Monastery of Mileševa, combined with the fact that Tvrtko's grandmother had been a member of the
Nemanjić dynasty, prompted Tvrtko into having himself crowned King of Serbia, thus asserting his pretensions to the Serbian throne. This was made possible by the royal Nemanjić line having died out with
Uroš in 1371. The crown was sent to him by Hungarian king
Louis of Anjou. According to a plurality of recent works from scholars like Čošković, Anđelić, Lovrenović, and Filipović, the ceremony itself was conducted in
Mile near
Visoko in the church that was built during
Stephen II Kotromanić's reign, where he was also buried alongside his uncle Stjepan II. In contrast, some earlier historiographers, mostly represented by western scholars, consider that he was crowned in the Orthodox Monastery of Mileševa by the Metropolitan of Mileševa. After the defeat of Altomanović, Lazar was the most powerful lord on the territory of the former Serbian Empire. He wanted to reunite the Serbian state, and the
Serbian Orthodox Church saw him as the best suited to succeed the Nemanjić dynasty. The Church, which was the strongest cohesive force among the Serbs at the time, did not support Tvrtko's aspirations in this regard. By 1390, Tvrtko had expanded his realm to include a part of
Croatia and
Dalmatia, and expanded his title to "King of The Serbs, Bosnia, Dalmatia, Croatia and the Littoral". Tvrtko's full title listed subject peoples and geographical dependencies, following the Byzantine norm. At the peak of his power, he was "King of
Bosnia,
Serbia,
Croatia,
Hum,
Usora,
Soli,
Dalmatia, and
Donji Kraji". In the last months of his reign, Tvrtko devoted himself to solidifying his position in Dalmatia and to plans for taking Zadar, the only Dalmatian city that had evaded his rule. He offered an extensive alliance to Venice, but it did not suit the republic's interests. Meanwhile, Tvrtko was also fostering relations with
Albert III, Duke of Austria. By the late summer of 1390, a marriage was expected to be contracted between the recently widowed King and a member of the Austrian ruling family, the
Habsburgs. The Hungarian kingdom remained the focus of Tvrtko's foreign policy, however. Although they did not recognize each other as kings, Tvrtko and Hungarian
King Sigismund started negotiating a peace in September. Sigismund was in the weaker position and likely ready to make concessions to Tvrtko when his ambassadors arrived at Tvrtko's court in January 1391. The negotiations were probably never concluded, as Tvrtko died on 10 March.
Death of Tvrtko I and decline , who is depicted on its side While Bosnia retained its standing among neighboring states in the immediate aftermath of Tvrtko's death, during
Dabiša's reign conditions within the state started deteriorating. He successfully resisted his sovereigns from
Hungary,
Naples, and even
Ottoman Turks. In the first years of his reign, Dabiša successfully maintained the integrity of the Kingdom. The latter part of his reign, however, saw the ascent of magnates and considerable loss of territories and influence. The nobility grew stronger and for the first time acted independently of the king, starting with the Zachlumian
Sanković noble family. Dabiša curbed the Sanković power, but the trend was irreversible and eventually led to the weakening of the royal authority.
Hrvoje Vukčić Hrvatinić, the kingdom's leading magnate, came into agreement with Sigismund and Mary but remained loyal to Dabiša. By June 1394, Dabiša was in open conflict with
John Horvat, a fervent supporter of Ladislaus and enemy of Sigismund. He ordered that men from his islands of
Brač,
Hvar, and
Korčula assist in the siege of
Omiš, a city ruled by Horvat. Sigismund, who had been amassing an army since April, took advantage of the discord. The
Battle of Dobor saw Horvat's defeat and execution as well as the destruction of the eponymous town on the
river Bosna by Sigismund's troops. Soon thereafter Dabiša submitted to Sigismund and resigned Croatia and Dalmatia to the Hungarian king and, with the agreement of his vassals, recognized him as his feudal overlord as well as heir designate to the Bosnian throne. It is not clear what prompted Dabiša to agree to such harsh terms. In return, as evident from a treaty issued in July 1394, Sigismund included Dabiša among the highest ranking Hungarian officials and named him
ispán (count) of
Somogy. Despite an auspicious start, Dabiša's reign ended with the kingdom displaying the first signs of decay. Much of Tvrtko's extraordinary legacy was lost in the summer of 1394, and the state resumed its previous boundaries. Dabiša left the state more dependent on Hungarian kings than ever before, and the kingdom's influence in the Balkans waned. In 1394, Dabiša's wife Helen agreed to Dabiša's decision to designate Sigismund as his heir. When Dabiša died on 8 September the following year, however, the leading noblemen – Grand Duke
Hrvoje Vukčić Hrvatinić, Prince
Pavao Radinović, Duke
Sandalj Hranić, and Juraj of
Radivojević's – refused to honor the agreement Dabiša had made with Sigismund. Sigismund raised an army and marched to nearby
Syrmia to claim the Bosnian throne, but the noblemen convoked a
stanak, an assembly of noblemen, and elected Helen as Dabiša's successor. Not willing to engage the united nobility in war, Sigismund withdrew; the death of his wife
Mary, heir of Hungary and cousin of Dabiša, made his position too precarious to attack in Bosnia, as did the defeat by the
Ottomans at the
Battle of Nicopolis. By mid-December 1395, Helen had consolidated her grasp on the throne, and the pretender was killed by Sigismund's supporters in 1396, never having seriously threatened the Queen. The emancipation of Bosnian nobility reached a peak during Helen's reign. Having become virtually autonomous, her vassals engaged in internal warfare, which weakened Bosnia and precluded its participation in regional politics. By March 1398, Bosnia was beset by internal strife. It seems that Helen's family, the
Nikolić, attempted to take further advantage of their royal relations and free themselves from subordinacy to the
House of Kosača to become immediate vassals of the monarch. This may have been the reason for an uprising against Helen. She maintained a great deal of support in April, when Ragusa paid its tribute to her. The last to remain on her side were the Radivojević noble family, including Helen's grandson-in-law Juraj. By 10 May, however, her husband's kinsman
Ostoja was enthroned as the new King of Bosnia.
Ostoja's and Tvrtko's II infighting Ostoja was brought to power by the forces of
Hrvoje Vukčić, who deposed Helen in 1398. In 1403 he sided with King Ladislaus of Naples against Sigismund. Ostoja led a war against the
Republic of Dubrovnik, a Hungarian vassalage. In 1404, the Bosnian nobles under Hrvoje Vukčić replaced him with his brother
Tvrtko II because of his pro-Hungarian views. He had to flee to Hungary after a stanak in
Mile,
Visoko. Ostoja tried to reclaim the throne with Hungarian support, but, in June 1404, Tvrtko's supporters defeated a Hungarian army and thus prevented Ostoja from reclaiming the crown, although the chief royal residence of
Bobovac and the
Usoran town of
Srebrenik were captured and restored to Ostoja. All major noble families remained loyal to Tvrtko, while Ostoja functioned as Sigismund's puppet whose territory included little more than Bobovac. The fortress, however, housed the crown, which Tvrtko was not able to reach. Following a few minor disputes with the
maritime republics of
Venice and Ragusa over
Konavli and
Pomorje, Tvrtko gained recognition as the legitimate king from both states. By 1406, Ostoja was losing what little support he had left in Bosnia, with the nobility now unanimously favouring Tvrtko, but the former king's decision to remain in the country continued to trouble Tvrtko. Ragusans described the beginning of Tvrtko's reign as more tumultuous than anything "since the
Flood", but he soon succeeded in uniting the country by bringing together his feuding vassals. Hungarian attacks on Bosnia took place annually, making Tvrtko's life "a constant hassle". In 1408, Sigismund defeated the Bosnian nobility and Tvrtko and in 1409 he restored Ostoja to the throne. One hundred and seventy minor noblemen were captured and killed in
Dobor by being tossed over the city walls. Tvrtko is said to have been captured as well, but this does not appear to be true, as he demanded the customary tribute from the Ragusans in February 1409. The hostilities continued until the end of November, with Tvrtko retreating southwards with his noblemen and resisting Hungarian attacks, which enabled Ostoja to reestablish control over
Central Bosnia. Tvrtko remained on the throne until mid-1409, when Ostoja prevailed. Sigismund's claim became untenable, but Bosnians acknowledged his overlordship over Ostoja; only Tvrtko refused to submit to the King of Hungary. He appears to have evaded capture by Hungarian troops by fleeing to the mountains of northern
Zachlumia. Ostoja ended the decade-long dispute with the Hungarians by recognizing the suzerainty of the Hungarian crown and, in 1412, visiting the Hungarian throne in
Buda with the rest of the Bosnian and Serbian nobility including
Serbian Despot Stefan Lazarević. After that Tvrtko faded into obscurity and had no part in Bosnian affairs for several years.
Second reign of Tvrtko II and rising Ottoman influence The first Ottoman troops attacked Bosnia in May 1414; in August they also brought the deposed monarch, Tvrtko, and set him up as
anti-king. His alliance with the Ottomans may have been due to their mutual hostility towards Sigismund. Pavle Radenović immediately declared for Tvrtko, but no other major nobleman appears to have followed his example – not even Hrvoje. While Tvrtko hoped for an Ottoman victory, Ostoja expected that a Hungarian triumph would rid him of Ottoman raiders and secure his position against both his rival and his ambitious magnates. The
Battle of Doboj in August 1415 saw the disastrous defeat of Sigismund's army. Contrary to expectations, however, the Ottomans recognized Ostoja as the legitimate king. Tvrtko lost his ground, while the united Bosnians for the first time shifted their allegiance from the Hungarian crown to the Ottoman Sultanate. Ostoja died in September 1418. Despite expectations that Tvrtko would take over, Ostoja's son
Stephen was elected king. When the Ottomans invaded Bosnia in early 1420, Tvrtko once again accompanied them and installed himself as anti-king. Sandalj immediately declared for him. Fearing the Ottomans, Sandalj's example was soon followed by other noblemen. In June Tvrtko convoked a stanak, and Ragusa recognized him as king. He had the support of almost all of the nobility in
Visoko, including
duke Vukmir, mayor Dragiša,
knez Juraj Vojsalić, knez Pribić, knez Radič Radojević, knez Batić Mirković, knez Juraj Dragičević, knez Petar Klešić, duke Ivko, and duke Pavao Jurjević. By the end of the year, Tvrtko had completely ousted Stephen, who continued to advance his claim until the summer of 1421. He appears to have died soon after. Internal troubles forced the Ottomans to withdraw their troops from Bosnia, which enabled Tvrtko to strengthen his hold on the kingdom and for its economy to recover. Tvrtko's second accession had to be legitimized with a new coronation, which took place during a stanak in August 1421. Tvrtko's second reign was marked by his quick resolution to restore royal authority and the king's pre-eminence among Bosnia's feudal rulers. With Hrvoje and Pavle gone, and Sandalj preoccupied by conflict with Pavle's sons, Tvrtko was able to significantly expand the
royal domain. In December 1422 Tvrtko signed a beneficial trade treaty with the Republic of Venice and discussed plans for joint military action against Sigismund in Dalmatia. Tvrtko's association with Venice bothered not only Ragusa, but also the Ottoman Turks; the former resented losing their monopoly on trade, while the latter's poor relationship with Venice was the result of territorial disputes over
Albania and
Zeta. Ottomans proceeded to raid Bosnia in the spring of 1424 to make it clear to Tvrtko that close relations with Venice would not be tolerated. Tvrtko understood that Venice would not be able to provide him with help against the Ottomans, and thus slowly dismantled their alliance. In 1425, Tvrtko realized that he needed a strong ally in the event of further Ottoman attacks. The Ottomans responded with severe attacks that forced Tvrtko to accept their
suzerainty and to agree to pay an annual tribute. In 1432, Stefan Lazarević's successor
Đurađ, Sandalj, and the Ottomans helped
Radivoj, the elder illegitimate son of the long-deceased Ostoja, to lay claim to the throne and take control of much of the country. Tvrtko's only noteworthy support came from Hrvoje's nephew and successor,
Juraj Vojsalić, and he managed to retain only central and northwestern Bosnia. Tvrtko retreated to
Visoko, but soon found that Sandalj had become too ill to support Radivoj's cause. After years of pleading for their help, Tvrtko finally saw Hungarians march into Bosnia in mid-1434. They recovered for him
Jajce,
Hodidjed,
Bočac and the
Komotin Castle, but he lost it all as soon as they retreated. In fact, he himself appears to have left with the troops on their way back to Hungary, as he is known to have resided at the court in
Buda in 1435. Radivoj ceased being a threat when he lost Ottoman support that year, while Sandalj's death presented Tvrtko with a new and more vital rebellious vassal in the form of Sandalj's nephew and successor,
Stjepan Vukčić Kosača.
Death of Tvrtko II and Thomas's ascension Thomas succeeded Tvrtko, but his accession was not recognized by the leading
magnate of Bosnia, Stjepan Vukčić Kosača. The two engaged in a civil war which ended when Thomas repudiated his wife
Vojača and married the insubordinate nobleman's daughter
Catherine. Thomas and his second wife, both raised in the
Bosnian Church tradition, converted to
Roman Catholicism and sponsored the construction of churches and monasteries throughout Bosnia. Throughout his reign, Thomas waged a war with the
Serbian Despotate over the lucrative mining town of
Srebrenica and its surroundings, in addition to (or in conjunction with) multiple conflicts with his father-in-law. Having failed to expand into
Croatia proper, Thomas turned again to the east in 1458, arranging a match between his son
Stephen Tomašević and the Serbian heiress
Helena. His control over the remnants of the Serbian Despotate lasted merely a month before the Ottoman conquest of the state. Thomas's failure to defend Serbia permanently damaged his reputation in Europe. Wishing to improve his image among Europe's Catholics, Thomas turned against the Bosnian Church, thus becoming the first ruler of Bosnia to engage in
religious persecution.
Tvrtko II's death, religious strife and outbreak of civil war Radivoj styled himself as King of Bosnia for the remainder of Tvrtko's reign. He was nominally supported by the Ottomans and by Stjepan Vukčić Kosača. This alliance could have easily deposed Tvrtko II in Radivoj's favor if they wished, but it appears that their only goal was to weaken and divide Bosnia for their own future benefit. Notwithstanding, King Tvrtko II maintained himself on the Bosnian throne longer than any of the
monarchs who followed Tvrtko I. He also did more to restore royal dignity and centralize the state than any other, leaving a strong mark on Bosnia's politics, economy, and culture. King Tvrtko II died in September 1443. childless, having expressed a wish to be succeeded by his politically inactive and until then rather obscure cousin
Stephen Thomas, Radivoj's younger brother and likewise an illegitimate son of Ostoja. Meanwhile, like most Bosnian nobleman of the era, Stjepan Vukčić too considered himself a staunch
Krstjanin, as the
Bosnian Church adherents were known and as its members called themselves. His conspicuous attitude toward Bosnian Church was highlighted when king Tvrtko II died and Stjepan refused to recognize a chosen heir, the deceased king's cousin and recent convert to
Roman Catholicism,
Thomas, as the new King of Bosnia, thus creating a political crisis which culminated in civil war. Apparently, one of the points of contention was Thomas recent conversion Catholicism, move that was deem potentially harmful to the Bosnian Church. And while Thomas' decision to convert was forced political maneuvering, albeit founded in sound reasoning with the saving of the realm on his mind, he also committed himself to demonstrate his devotion by engaging in religious prosecution against his recent fellow co-religionist, thus eventually proving his conversion to be detrimental to the
Kristjani. These developments prompted Stjepan to give followers and members of the Bosnian Church safe haven, and also to join the
Ottomans in support of Bosnian anti-King Radivoj, Thomas' exiled brother, who was too Bosnian Church faithful and remained so in face of king's crusade against the church adherents. In 1443, the
Papacy sent envoys to Thomas and Stjepan about a counter-offensive against the Ottomans, but the two were in the middle of the civil war.
Ivaniš Pavlović, sent by King Thomas, attacked Stjepan Vukčić. Thomas had at the same time been recognized by the Hungarian regent
John Hunyadi. Stjepan turned to King
Alfonso V of Aragon, who made him "Knight of the Virgin", but did not give him troops. On 15 February 1444, Stjepan signed a treaty with the King of Aragon and Naples, becoming his vassal in exchange for Alfonso's help against his enemies, namely King Thomas, Duke Ivaniš Pavlović and the
Republic of Venice. In the same treaty Stjepan promised to pay regular tribute to Alfonso instead of paying the Ottoman sultan as he had done until then.
Peace through royal marriage In 1446 Stjepan Vukčić finally recognized Thomas as king, and the pre-war borders were restored. Peace between two rivals was sealed by the marriage of Stjepan's daughter
Catherine (Katarina) and King Thomas in May 1446, along with the promise of hereditary Ragusan noble status which also helped hold this promise to whoever did the deed. The threat seems to have worked, as Stjepan abandoned the siege. The Kingdom fell in 1463 and eventually became the westernmost province of the
Ottoman Empire. After the fall of Bosnia, Catherine, the
queen-mother, escaped to
Rome on horseback by fooling the Ottomans about which route she wanted to take. She stated that she was leaving the country to see her sons or to visit the
Holy See. The rapid conquest of Bosnia, despite its inaccessible mountain fortresses, was unexpected, but many Bosnians were already aware of the impossible situation. If they were to fall, they preferred the Ottomans to the Hungarians, who they saw as an age-long enemies. They offered their kingdom to Venice in return for aid, but when Venice refused, they preferred to remain under the Ottomans than the Hungarians.
Herzegovina emerges After the fall in 1463,
herceg Stjepan Vukčić, lord of the
Hum province in the south of the kingdom, lived for another three years, enough to see kingdom's complete demise, for which he blamed his eldest son
Vladislav Hercegović. On 21 May 1466, old and terminally ill duke dictated his last words, recorded in a testament, and bypassing Vladislav he condemned him by saying that it was him who "brought the great Turk to Bosnia to the death and destruction of us all". The next day duke died. He was succeeded as
herceg by his second and younger son
Vlatko Hercegović, who struggled to retain as much of the territory he could. However,
Blagaj, Kosača capital, fell in 1466, while Ključ fort between Nevesinje and Gacko was cut off from the main part of his territory, although Vlatko's actions against Ottomans were mostly concentrated around this fort with limited success.
Počitelj fell in 1471, however,
herceg Vlatko already in 1470 realized that only radical change in his politics could bring him some release, so he pursued and achieved a peace with the Ottomans. In the same year, the Ottomans excluded Hum from the
Bosnian Sanjak, and established a new, separate sanjak with its seat in
Foča,
Sanjak of Herzegovina. He also gave up his agreement with Ottomans, after just a few years or so, just about the same time when his younger brother, Stjepan, assumed highest office of the Ottoman navy as
Ahmed Pasha Hercegović (around 1473) in
Istanbul. After his marriage in 1474, he reconciled with his older brother Vladislav. So, the province endured for another fifteen years after Stjepan Vukčić's death, shrinking with time, before it was eventually swallowed by the Ottomans in December 1481, and incorporated into the empire as re-organized territory of already formed and renamed province,
Sanjak of Herzegovina.
Jajce banate The
fortified Jajce, the capital of, at that point, all but completely annihilated kingdom, was captured by Hungarians under Matthias on 26 December 1463. Hungarians established a defensive territory between advancing Ottomans and their kingdom further north by constituting the "Banate of Jajce" along with the Banate of
Srebrenik and the Banate of Bihać. In Hungarian hands Jajce withstood Ottoman attacks until 1527, when it finally surrendered after a decisive Ottoman victory in the
Battle of Mohács. Much of modern northern and western Bosnia and Herzegovina was then incorporated into the Ottoman
Sanjak of Bosnia, initially belonging to the
Rumelia Eyalet, when in 1580 Bosnian Sanjak became a core province of the newly established
Eyalet of Bosnia. ==Culture and religion==