The urban part of today's Zenica formed through several phases, which chronologically include a Neolithic community, the Illyrian 'gradina', the Roman Municipium of '''', and a Christian era-community. In the Bilimišće district, traces of ancient settlements have been found.
Prehistory The earliest findings in Zenica date from the period of 3000 to 2000 BC; There is a weak
Antiquity The Romans tried to conquer the region at the end of the 3rd century BC
Bellum Batonianum and were present in the area from the 6th to the 9th centuries. They ruled continuously in many areas until close to the end of the 4th century (after Arduba's fall). Data suggesting that Bistua Nuova's bishop
Andrew (Andreas, Andrija) took part in and was a signer of
Solin sinodas in 530 and 533 underlines its importance. Ancient tombstone monuments date from ancient Bistua Nuova, as well as remains of old Christian basilicas. In the urban settlement of Odmut and the rural settlements of Putovići and Tišina, archaeologists have found
epigraphs that have led them to conclude that Bistua Nuova was in the Zenica area. mosque in Zenica, a
national monument of Bosnia and Herzegovina. :
Die Festung Vranduk in Bosnien). The picture shows Bosnians on the mountain of
Vranduk, beside the Bosna river) Bosnia experienced
Ottoman incursions starting in 1386. The first Ottoman entry into Zenica relates to their victory over
Hungarian warriors near
Doboj in 1415. the city began to develop as an industrial center. It expanded and included the former villages of Bilino Polje, Klopče, and Radakovo. New apartment blocks were built to cater to the increasing number of coal miners and steelworkers. The town's population in 1948 was only about 15,000 and by 1961, it had grown to over 30,000. In 1981, that number stood at over 63,000 and after the last Yugoslavian census, the town had over 96,000 citizens, a sixfold increase in population since the formation of Yugoslavia. In the spring of 1993, the station's owner, a journalist, won a Belgian accolade for independent journalism, "The Pen of Peace". The first official civilian victim of the Bosnian War in Zenica was a two-year-old Croat girl named Matea Jurić (29 July 1990 – 13 May 1992), who was killed by a gunshot during the blockade of the military barracks of the
JNA in the urban settlement of Bilimišće. A memorial was erected in her honour. On 19 April 1993, during the
Croat–Bosniak War, sixteen civilians were killed and fifty injured when a
HVO howitzer-fired grenade hit the central bazaar of Zenica. The grenade was shot from the village of Putićevo []. During this period, Zenica was isolated from the rest of the world for a year and a half. The city suffered significant losses from sniper fire, arson, hunger, and a lack of electricity. Zenica's populace changed much during the war, with the arrival of Muslims (today's Bosniaks) from other parts of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the departure of Serbs to areas under Serb control. Зеница - 1890-11-15 - легенде („Како је турски цар Фатих Мехмед освојио Градишће и Врандук 1463”, Босанска вила — бр. 19 и 20, стр. 301, 15).jpg|
Bosanska vila article (1890) on
Fatih Mehmed's conquest of Gradišće and Vranduk in 1463 Зеница - 1895 - Врандук, панорама.jpg| panorama (1895) Zenica - 1896 - štrajk zeničkih radnika.jpg|1896 Zenica workers' strike Зеница - 1903 - „Дорфлебен” (Сеоски живот), Рихард Конрад Кромар фон Хохенволф.jpg|''
(Village Life''; 1903), watercolor by Richard Conrad Kromar (1874–1948) Зеница - 1907 - тродијелна разгледница.jpg|Tripartite postcard (1907) Зеница - 1909 - чаршија улице Кочева, чаршија које више нема од краја 1968. године, разгледница.jpg|Čaršija of Kočeva street (postcard; 1909) Зеница - 1928 - краљев рођендан, улица краља Петра I (данашња Титова), ретуширана разгледница.jpg|King's birthday, King
Peter I street (today's
Titova; retouched postcard, 1928) Зеница - 1928-08 - отварање џамије у Ричицама.jpg|Ričice mosque inauguration (1928) Зеница - 1932-08-02 - народни збор пред католичком Црквом Св. Илије на празник Свети Илија.jpg|People's gathering in front of Catholic on a holy day (1932) Зеница - 1935 - јужни дио Зенице.jpg|Southern Zenica, downtown near
Bosna (1935) Зеница - 1944-09-06 - бомбардовање Жељезничког моста Пехаре од стране италијанског СААФ-а.jpg|Bombing of the "Pehare" railway bridge by
16 Squadron SAAF (1944) Зеница - 1958 - распјеване Зеничанке заузеле цесту.jpg|Zenican girls occupied Sarajevska street (1958) Зеница - 1964 - поглед на Жељезару, разгледница.jpg|Panoramic view of the (postcard; 1964) Зеница 20190815 143735.jpg|Part of the "Kameni spavač [Stone Sleeper] –
Mak Dizdar" monument's vitreous memorial with names of thousands of Zenicans, victims of the
Bosnian War (2019)
21st century Zenica recovered from the war and has continued to make steady progress. The city was governed for twenty years by the majority-Bosniak and Muslim
Party of Democratic Action (SDA), which was mired in corruption and inefficiency, causing parts of the city to lack public lighting, water supply, a functioning sewer system, and paved roads. A drastic population decrease of approximately 26% can be seen between 1991 and 2013, with Zenica losing one quarter of its citizens, partly due to the war as well as unfavourable economic circumstances, prompting young and middle-aged residents to emigrate to other parts of Europe and the United States. The same year, Zenica was recategorized from a municipality to a city. In the
2016 Bosnian municipal elections, independent politician
Fuad Kasumović became mayor of the city. During his three years in office, he accelerated development, focusing on areas that had been neglected up to that point: city lighting was introduced, water-supply and sewer systems were upgraded, roads were paved, and bicycle lanes were introduced on a large scale. In 2019, German company
nextbike introduced their bike-sharing system to the city. Plans were made for a new municipal heating system in order to put an end to regular heat shutoffs during the coldest seasons. New Year's concerts began to be held on the main square. The Serbian pop band
Miligram inaugurated the event in 2017/18. Various other events have been organized, including the Zenica summer fest, music festivals, arts and crafts fairs, bazaars, and the like, thus improving the city's economic outlook. Additionally, the issue of stray dogs in the urban core was handled, pollution was significantly reduced, public transport was improved, and the city is also planning to resolve the problem of unemployment and to modernize the education system, among other projects. ==Geography==