AHC: Bosnia Wank

GauchoBadger

GauchoBadger

One just for fun and out of curiosity. Bosnia is an interesting and oftenly overlooked country when it comes to alternate history.
So, no specific requirements for this scenario, I just want to see what most people here would consider a Bosnia-wank, territorially and/or economically. The PoD must be, out of preference, before WWI, unless there's more opportunity after that.
 

Halagaz

I think you'd need a PoD before the 1450s, ideally before 1391 as well. Something to avoid the collapse of royal authority and rise of powerful, almost completely independent barons that followed the death of King Tvrtko I. And, of course, some way to avoid the Ottoman conquest of the whole region.

This allows the Bosnian King to keep his conquests at the time: present-day Bosnia, Herzegovina, a large stretch of the Dalmatian coastline, and smaller chunks of today's Montenegro and Serbia. There may or may not be further enlargements, but that's not the most important thing. The most important thing is how continued existence of the medieval Bosnian state would - potentially - allow for the gradual rise of a strong and unified Bosnian identity among the clear majority of the population. Some people would nevertheless consider themselves Serbs and Croats but they may be smaller in size than OTL's populations, and less compact. And less eager to secede, since inter-ethnic relations will probably be way better.
 

Wendell

Bosnia avoiding Ottoman conquest might allow the Bosnian Church to survive, and that lone opens another can of worms.
 
Eivind

Eivind

Wendell said:
Bosnia avoiding Ottoman conquest might allow the Bosnian Church to survive, and that lone opens another can of worms.
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From what I understand, the Bosnian Church was already in the decline prior to the conquest according to Noel Malcolm in Bosnia: a short history). Malcolm also disagreed that the church was part of the Bogomil "heresy" and that they were far closer to mainstream Christianity.
 
Petike

Petike

Halagaz said:
snip
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There's also this, which you've mentioned recently in a different Bosnia thread:

Halagaz said:
Ironically, medieval Bosnia spent the last third of its existence as...a federation, of sorts. The King was just one of many regional lords, and often not even the strongest one; the aristocrats' assembly was synonymous with the state itself and was the sole unifying factor of the lands. The lords squabbled between each other, possibly uniting once or twice to screw over the peasantry or passing merchants; while the King of Hungary - a confused and impulsive overlord from the west - often made things worse while ostensibly trying to fix it. Sounds familiar, really.
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ramones1986

ramones1986

Wendell said:
Bosnia avoiding Ottoman conquest might allow the Bosnian Church to survive, and that lone opens another can of worms.
Click to expand...
...or the Bosnian Church itself could be transformed into a branch of Protestantism, with predominant Lutheran influence.
 

Halagaz

Petike said:
There's also this, which you've mentioned recently in a different Bosnia thread:
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Indeed. Still, that crippling and unstable state of affairs started around 1390 - I think it could have been prevented before that, but who knows how exactly.
 
GauchoBadger

GauchoBadger

But how would the Bosniak Church gain power above catholicism and orthodoxy in the region? From what i hear, it was in sharp decline by the 14th century.
Also, what would be the most probable capital for this medieval-born Bosniak Empire?
 
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