Sanjak of Herzegovina in the context of "Herzegovina"

Travunia (Serbo-Croatian: Travunija / Травунија; Greek: Τερβουνία, romanized: Tervounía; Ancient Greek: Τερβουνία, romanized: Terbounía; Latin: Tribunia) was a South Slavic medieval principality that was part of Medieval Serbia (850–1371), and later the Medieval Bosnia (1373–1482). The principality became hereditary in a number of noble houses, often kin to the ruling dynasty. The region came under Ottoman rule in 1482. Its seat was in the city of Trebinje.

In the 9th and 10th centuries, the Župa of Travunia was held by the Belojević noble family, who were entitled the rule during the reign of Prince Vlastimir (r. 830–850), of the Vlastimirović dynasty. After the death of Časlav, the last dynastic member, the principality disintegrated, and the provinces were annexed by the Bulgars and Byzantines. In 1034, Stefan Vojislav (the founder of the Vojislavljević dynasty) incited a rebellion and renounced Byzantine rule, becoming the Prince of Serbs, ruling from the seat at Duklja. In the early 12th century, Desa of the Vukanović dynasty wrestled the region, and it continued under the rule of the Nemanjić dynasty (1166–1371), either held by dynastic members or close associates (most often military commanders), of which was the notable Vojinović noble family. After Nikola Altomanović, the holder of a large province during the fall of the Serbian Empire, was defeated in 1373, his estates were divided between Prince Lazar Hrebeljanović of Serbia, Đurađ I Balšić of Zeta, and Ban Tvrtko I Kotromanić of Bosnia. Trebinje continued under the Bosnian crown in the hands of the Pavlović family, and from 1435 under the Kosača family. It was finally annexed in 1481 by the Ottomans and organized into the Sanjak of Herzegovina.

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.

The tribes of Montenegro (Montenegrin and Serbian: племена Црне Горе, plemena Crne Gore) or Montenegrin tribes (Montenegrin and Serbian: црногорска племена, crnogorska plemena) are historical tribes in the areas of Old Montenegro, Brda, Old Herzegovina and Primorje.

Most tribes were formed in the 15th and 16th centuries, during and after the Ottoman conquest of the medieval state of Zeta, where they replaced former administrative units known as župas. As a result, the tribal territories also became basic geopolitical units of larger divisions of the Ottoman Empire, such as the Vilayet of Montenegro, the eastern parts of the Sanjak of Herzegovina and parts of the Sanjak of Scutari. From the late 14th century to the 18th century, some tribes were also under the rule of Venetian Albania. In the 18th century, many tribes became part of the Prince-Bishopric of Montenegro and after 1858 most of them were united into the Principality of Montenegro.

The Duchy of Saint Sava (Serbo-Croatian: Vojvodstvo Svetog Save, Војводство Светог Саве) was a late medieval polity in southeastern Europe, that existed from 1448 up to 1482, when it was absorbed by the Ottoman Empire. It was founded and controlled by the Kosača noble family, whose rulers held the title Duke of Saint Sava (Serbo-Croatian: Herceg od Svetog Save, Херцег од Светог Саве). Their domains included southern parts of modern-day Bosnia and Herzegovina, extending to southern parts of modern-day coastal Croatia, northwestern Montenegro and southwestern Serbia. Its founder, Stjepan Vukčić Kosača (duke since 1448), titled himself Herceg of Saint Sava, a title which would later give rise to the new name to the region: Herzegovina, and will be also used by the Ottomans as Hersek Sancağı (Sanjak of the Herzeg), designating the Sanjak of Herzegovina.

In various sources, and historiographical traditions, the name of the duchy is recorded or used in several forms, varying mostly in the way the name of Saint Sava is spelled in different languages: Latin: Ducatus Sancti Sabbae, Italian: Ducato di Santo Sabba, German: Herzogtum des hl. Sava. In English historiography, forms such as the "Duchy of Saint Sava" or "Dukedom of Saint Sava" were used already since the 1700s and further on.