Quick answer

Before it became the modern country of Bosnia and Herzegovina , the territory was known by several different names depending on the era and ruling power – most notably Illyricum in ancient times, then simply Bosnia during the medieval Bosnian state, and later parts of larger empires such as the Ottoman Empire (as the Bosnia Eyalet/Vilayet) and Austria- Hungary (as the Condominium of Bosnia and Herzegovina).

What the land was called through history

Ancient & Roman period

  • In antiquity, the region that is now Bosnia and Herzegovina was part of Illyricum , a name used by the Romans for the western Balkans.
  • After Roman conquest (1st–2nd centuries AD), it remained under Roman, then Byzantine , control for centuries.

Medieval Bosnian state

  • By the Middle Ages, the core area was recognized as Bosnia (local: Bosna), named after the Bosna River and the medieval Banate/Kingdom of Bosnia.
  • The southern region later known as Herzegovina originally formed part of medieval Bosnia but began to be distinguished in the 15th century.

Origin of “Herzegovina”

  • The name Herzegovina comes from the title herzog (German for “duke”), referring to Stjepan Vukčić Kosača , a 15th‑century Bosnian noble who styled himself “Herzog of Saint Sava’s Land.”
  • His lands in the south became known as Hercegova zemlja (“the Duke’s land”), which evolved into Herzegovina.

Ottoman and Austro‑Hungarian periods

  • Under the Ottoman Empire , the area was administered mainly as the Bosnia Eyalet (later Vilayet), though the Herzegovina region was often separately noted.
  • After 1878, Austria-Hungary occupied and then annexed the territory, officially calling it the Condominium of Bosnia and Herzegovina – the first time both names appeared together in an official state title.

20th‑century names

  • In 1918, the region became part of the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes (later Yugoslavia).
  • Within socialist Yugoslavia, it was one of the six republics, named the Socialist Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
  • On independence in 1992, it became the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina , and after the 1995 Dayton Agreement, the official name Bosnia and Herzegovina was retained for the current state.

TL;DR

  • Ancient name: Illyricum
  • Medieval core: Bosnia
  • Southern region’s name: Herzegovina (from “herzog/duke”)
  • Joint official use begins with Austria-Hungary as the Condominium of Bosnia and Herzegovina
  • Modern state: Bosnia and Herzegovina (since 1992)

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