THE HISTORY OF ILLYRIAN BOSNIA

From the Illyrians to the Present – Traces of Continuity, Resistance and Statehood

“The History of Illyrian Bosnia” by Mahir Žiško Šukalić takes the reader on a journey through more than two thousand years of the history of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the wider Western Balkans – from the world of the ancient Illyrian tribes, through the Roman and medieval periods, Bosnian statehood and kingdom, the Ottoman and Austro-Hungarian eras, and into modern Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Drawing on archaeological evidence, ancient sources, historical records, cultural heritage and major political turning points, the author explores the complex past of a region that for centuries stood at the crossroads of civilizations, religions, empires and peoples.

Particular attention is devoted to the Illyrians and their tribal communities – their way of life, beliefs, warriors, kings and queens, relations with the ancient world, and resistance to the great powers of their time. The narrative then follows the transformation of the region through Roman rule, the Middle Ages and the emergence of the Bosnian state, examining the personalities, events and symbols that shaped Bosnia’s historical memory.

This is not merely a story of wars, rulers and borders.

It is a story of people.

It is the story of a land between mountains and rivers that endured the rise and fall of empires and states. Its heritage survives in ancient hillforts, necropolises, medieval stećak tombstones, fortresses, manuscripts, traditions and collective memory. It is also a story of the enduring human struggle to preserve home, dignity and the right to a future.

“The History of Illyrian Bosnia” also confronts questions that remain debated today: what can truly be established about the ancient inhabitants of these lands? Where can historical continuities be demonstrated, where do ruptures occur, and where have later national interpretations gone beyond what the surviving evidence can support?

For this reason, the book seeks to be more than a chronology. It invites the reader to distinguish historical fact from tradition, archaeological evidence from hypothesis, and the past itself from the ways in which modern societies interpret it.

From Illyrian hillforts to Bosnian castles, from ancient warriors to medieval rulers, from the stećci to modern Bosnia and Herzegovina, the reader encounters the extraordinary story of a land shaped by many civilizations and many layers of history.

For the past is not merely what happened.

It is also a question that every new generation must ask again.



Mahir Žiško Šukalić