Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 03.djvu/371

* BOSNIA. 331 BOSPORUS. get amounts to a little over 40,000,000 kronen ($8,120,000). The Austro-Hungarian Govern- ment maintains an army of about 20.000 men. Military service is comi)ulsor,v for evcr.v able- bodied male for a i«?riod of three years. Educa- tion is free, but not compulsorv. and, although the number of schools, as well as the standard of instruction, has been raised since the AustroHun- <rarian occupation, education is still very back- ward, and a large proportion of the population is illiterate. The population of Bosnia and Herze- govina in 1895 was 1,591,036, against 1,336,091 in 1885. According to religion, the,v were di- vided as follows: Greek Orthodox, 42.94 per cent.; Mohammedans, 34.99 per cent.; Roman Catholics. 21.31 per cent.; Jews, 0.52 per cent. The inhabitants, Bosniaks and Herzegovinians, belong to the Serb branch of the Slavic race, with stature for soldiers of l.rlO metres. In the ne- cropolis of Glasiuiie, with its 20,000 tumuli, were found crania which show that the dolichocephalic Ilallstatt race was once as pronounced here as is the opposite t,vpe to-day. With a few un- important exceptions, the people speak the Serb language. The ifohammedans. who call themselves Turks, are descendants of Sla- vic Christians converted to Islam during the Mohammedan conquest, and do not adhere so closely to Islam as the Mohammedan inhabitants of the Turkish provinces. The Turkish ele- ment of the population is insignificant. There is an Albanian element in the south. Capital Serajevo, w ith a population of about 38,000. Bosnia constituted a part of the Koman prov- inces of Dalmatia and Pannonia, and was cele- brated in ancient times for its rich mines of silver and gold. After the passing of the Goths the region was occupied b.v a Slav population, about the beginning of the Sixth Centurv. For a long time the various parts of the country had their own pett.v princes. The Bosnian rulers begin to figure under the name of Ban in the Twelfth Centurj-. About this time the heretical Christian sect of Patarenes rose to im- portance. In the course of the Middle Ages the country passed through periods of Servian, Croatian, and Hungarian overlordsliip. A suc- cession of powerful chiefs extended the limits of the principality over Dalmatia and a part of Servia. and in 1376 Ban Tvertko proclaimed himself King of Bosnia. In 1401 came the be- ginning of Turkish invasion, which burst upon the country' in all its force in 1463. The Turks now made themselves rulers of nearl.v the whole of Bosnia, and the fragment which had become attached tx) Hungary fell into their hands after the battle of Molulcs in 1526. Bosnia became thoroughly Islamized. and submitted quietl,v to the ruthless Ottoman rule. In 18.50-51 the Mohammedan nobilitv. crushed by the heavy weight of taxation, rose in arms against the Porte, but the revolt was stani])ed out with sanguinary efficae.v by Onicr Pasha. An unsuc- cessful insurrection in Bosnia and Herzegovina took place in 1875-70, and was followed bv Ser- via's disastrous war with Turkey. The facts of Turkish niisgovernment were recognized at the Congress of Berlin (1878), and Austria-Hun- gary was authorized to occupy and administer Bosnia and Herzegovina, though the Sultan re- tained the nominal suzerainty over them. The Austro-Hungarian occupation was eflfected in 1878, but only after a desperate resistance on Vol. III.— 22. the part of the Mohammedan inhabitants. In 1881 compulsory militarv- service was introduced. The administrative order and militaiy organiza- tion of Bosnia have been assimilated to the Austro-Hiuigarian system. Bosnia has made great strides under the Austro-Hungarian rule, its prosperity being in great measure due to the wise and vigorous administration of Baron Kallay. Consult: Miller, "Bosnia Under the Aus- trians," Gentleman's Magazine, CCLXXXV'. (London, 1898) and Travels and Politics in the Xear East (1899) : Munro, If ambles and Studies in Bosnia (Edinburgh, 1895) ; Diehl, "En Bos- nie-Herz^govine." La grande revue, Vol. XVII. (Paris, 1!I01). BOS'PORUS, or BOSPHORUS (Gk. B6<r- iropos, Bosporox, literally ox-ford, from /SoCs, bous, ox, cow -j- irdpos, poros, ford, crossing. Called also the Strait of Constantinople). The nar- row channel which connects the Black Sea with the Sea of Marmora and separates tlio two con- tinents of Europe and Asia (Jlap: Turke,y in EurojJe, G 4 ). It has a length of about IS miles, and in width varies from about 1800 feet to about two miles, with a depth of over 100 feet. The surface currents are from the Black Sea to the Sea of Marmora, while underneath and along the shore the direction is opposite, which fact accounts for the undiminished salinity of the Black Sea, in spite of the great quantities of fresh water which it receives through its affluents. The swift currents and the occasional logs which envelo]) the northern entrance make the channel very dangerous for navigation, and a number of lighthouses have been erected to insure greater safet.y. The shores are for the most part elevated, and in the vicinity of Constantinople are lined with palaces, picturesque villages, vine.vards, and numerous ancient ruins. The name Bosporus, which means an ox-ford or a cow-ford, is supposed to have been derived from the legend according to which the strait was crossed by lo after she was transformed into a cow. Other authorities attribute the name to the narrowness of the channel, which makes it possible for an ox to cross it. The channel was also known at one time as the Thracian Bos- porus; At the middle of this strait, where it is about 2800 feet in breadth, Darius made his bridge of boats when he marched against the Scythians. The Bosporus has long been under Turkish control. Repeated European confer- ences, including that of Berlin, in 1878, have confirmed the stipulation of the treaty made in 1841. providing that no shij) of war belonging to any nation but Turke,y shall pass through the Bosporus without the consent of the Ottoman authorities. BOSPORUS, Kingdom of. . ancient Greek State on botli sides of the Cimmerian Bos- porus (the Strait of Yenikale, connecting the Sea of Azov with the Black Sea). It was founded probabl,y about the beginning of the Fifth Century B.C. in the Taurie Chersonesus (Crimea). In 393 the kingdom was extended along the Asiatic coast, and Theodosia was united with it in 360. The kingdom became tributary to the Scythians in 290, and toward the close of the Second Century B.C., Mithridates, King of Pontus, vanqui'-lii'd the Sevthiims and set his son, Maehares, on the throne of Bosporus.