Bosnia (region) in the context of "Yugoslavs"

Bosnia and Herzegovina, often referred to as Bosnia-Herzegovina or short as Bosnia, is a country in Southeast Europe. Situated on the Balkan Peninsula, it borders Serbia to the east, Montenegro to the southeast, and Croatia to the north and southwest, with a 20-kilometre-long (12-mile) coast on the Adriatic Sea in the south. Bosnia has a moderate continental climate with hot summers and cold, snowy winters. Its geography is largely mountainous, particularly in the central and eastern regions, which are dominated by the Dinaric Alps. Herzegovina, the smaller, southern region, has a Mediterranean climate and is mostly mountainous. Sarajevo is the capital and the largest city.

The area has been inhabited since at least the Upper Palaeolithic, with permanent human settlement traced to the Neolithic cultures of Butmir, Kakanj, and Vučedol. After the arrival of the first Indo-Europeans, the area was populated by several Illyrian and Celtic civilisations. Most of modern Bosnia was incorporated into the Roman province of Dalmatia by the mid-first century BCE. The ancestors of the modern South Slavic peoples arrived between the sixth and ninth centuries. In the 12th century, the Banate of Bosnia was established as the first independent Bosnian polity. It gradually evolved and expanded into the Kingdom of Bosnia, which became the most powerful state in the western Balkans by the 14th century. The Ottoman Empire annexed the region in 1463 and introduced Islam. From the late 19th century until World War I, the country was annexed into the Austro-Hungarian monarchy. In the interwar period, Bosnia and Herzegovina was part of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia. After World War II, it was granted full republic status in the newly formed Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. In 1992, following the breakup of Yugoslavia, the republic proclaimed independence. This was followed by the Bosnian War, which lasted until late 1995 and ended with the signing of the Dayton Agreement.

Bosniaks, often referred to as Bosnian Muslims, are a South Slavic ethnic group and nation native to Bosnia and Herzegovina. They share a common ancestry, culture, history and the Bosnian language; and traditionally and predominantly adhere to Sunni Islam. The Bosniaks constitute significant native communities in Serbia, Montenegro, Croatia and Kosovo as well. Largely due to displacement stemming from the Bosnian War and Genocide in the 1990s, they also form a significant diaspora with several Bosniak communities across Europe, the Americas and Oceania.

Bosniaks are typically characterised by their historic ties to the Bosnian historical region, adherence to Islam since the 15th and 16th centuries, and the Bosnian language. Bosniaks have also frequently been denoted Bosnian Muslims in the Anglosphere mainly owing to this having been the primary verbiage used in the media coverage of the Bosnian War during the 1990s. Bosniaks self-identified simply as Muslims in a national sense until 1993, when their leading political Party of Democratic Action adopted the term Bosniak. The earlier term, Bosnian Muslim, is considered problematic today when used as an ethnic descriptor rather than a religious one. Bosniaks may also often simply be referred to as Bosnians. However, this term is understood to denote all inhabitants of Bosnia and Herzegovina (regardless of ethnic identity) or apply to citizens of the country.

A polje, also called karst polje or karst field, is a large flat plain found in karstic geological regions of the world, with areas usually in the range of 5–400 km (2–154 sq mi). The name derives from the Slavic languages, where polje literally means 'field', whereas in English polje specifically refers to a karst plain or karst field.

Herzegovina (/ˌhɛərtsɪˈɡoʊvɪnə/ HAIRT-sih-GOH-vih-nə or /ˌhɜːrtsəɡoʊˈviːnə/ HURT-sə-goh-VEE-nə; Serbo-Croatian: Hercegovina / Херцеговина, pronounced [xɛ̌rt͡se̞ɡoʋina]) is the southern and smaller of two main geographical regions of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the other being Bosnia. It presently does not have strictly defined administrative borders; however, in the past it was organized as Sanjak of Herzegovina (1470–1833; 1851–1912) and Herzegovina Eyalet (1833–1851).

Bosnia, the larger of the two regions, lies to the north of Herzegovina; the Croatian region of Dalmatia lies to the southwest; the Montenegrin region of Old Herzegovina lies to the southeast. The land area of Herzegovina is around 12,000 km (4,600 sq mi), or around 23–24% of the country. The largest city is Mostar, in the center of the region. Other large settlements include Trebinje, Široki Brijeg, Ljubuški, Čapljina, Konjic and Posušje.

Sarajevo (/ˌsærəˈjeɪvoʊ/ SARR-ə-YAY-voh) is the capital and largest city of Bosnia and Herzegovina, with a population of 275,524 in its administrative limits. The Sarajevo Canton, containing the city of Sarajevo and nearby municipalities, is home to 413,593 inhabitants. Located within the greater Sarajevo valley of Bosnia, it is surrounded by the Dinaric Alps and situated along the Miljacka River in the heart of the Balkans, a region of Southeastern Europe.

Sarajevo is the political, financial, social, and cultural centre of Bosnia and Herzegovina and a prominent centre of culture in the Balkans. It exerts region-wide influence in entertainment, media, fashion, and the arts. Due to its long history of religious and cultural diversity, Sarajevo is sometimes called the "Jerusalem of Europe" or "Jerusalem of the Balkans". It is one of a few major European cities to have a mosque, Catholic church, Eastern Orthodox church, and synagogue within the same neighborhood. It is also home to the former Yugoslavia's first institution of tertiary education in the form of an Islamic polytechnic, today part of the University of Sarajevo.

The Ottoman Empire era of rule in Bosnia (first as a sanjak, then as an eyalet) and Herzegovina (also as a sanjak, then eyalet) lasted from 1463/1482 to 1908.

Bosnians (Serbo-Croatian: Bosanci / Босанци; sg. masc. Bosanac / Босанац, fem. Bosanka / Босанка) are people native to the country of Bosnia and Herzegovina, especially the region of Bosnia. The term is used regardless of any ethnic, cultural or religious affiliation. The term Bosnian refers to all inhabitants/citizens of the country, though people from the region of Herzegovina may prefer the demonym Herzegovinian. The term can also be used as a designation for anyone who is descended from the region of Bosnia.

Bosnian as a demonym is a nationality and does not imply any specific ethnic group. The term should not be confused with the ethnonym Bosniak, which refers to the largest ethnic group in the country. The native ethnic groups of Bosnia and Herzegovina are Bosniaks, Bosnian Serbs and Bosnian Croats.

The campaign to establish Austro-Hungarian rule in Bosnia and Herzegovina lasted from 29 July to 20 October 1878 against the local resistance fighters, Muslims and Orthodox Serbs, supported unofficially by troops of the Ottoman Empire. The Austro-Hungarian Army entered the country in two large movements: one from the north into Bosnia, and another from the south into Herzegovina. A series of battles in August culminated in the fall of Sarajevo on the 19 August after a day of street-to-street fighting. In the hilly countryside a guerrilla campaign continued until the last rebel stronghold fell after their leader was captured.