Roman Catholicism and Eastern Orthodoxy

Originally posted by Heraclius  Random point, but wasnt Constantine the Great born in Nis/Naissus in modern day Serbia? stones throw from Bosnia.  Sorry its 5:53am and i'm still awake for some reason, I tend to throw in random things this late

How dare you be on the computer at this time on this day! You are 18, get out there like any respectable Englishman, get riotously drunk and chase some wenches. DO IT!

Originally posted by Mila Don't you mean chase some Lebanese-looking wenches? Sorry God.

Sorry, I don't quite understand......

Congratulations, it means you're a normal person with a politically correct sense of humor.

I raise my glass to you!

Originally posted by Mila Congratulations, it means you're a normal person with a politically correct sense of humor. I raise my glass to you!

Cheers! *raises own glass to Mila and makes clinking sound*

Drink up!

 Sounds like were all going to be drunk with all these raised glasses, shame I don't drink eh?

...............

 *raises cup of tea* to my fellow Basileus, I'm sorry but thats just my thing, tea 

 Thanks to both of you, much appreciated  

 

I'd agree - but the influence thing is a bit misleading. You couldn't use the same word for all three empires.

Rome virtually destroyed pre-Roman Bosnia and Herzegovina, not that there was much to destroy. But they did beat down all the pagan Slavic and (adopted from the) Illyrian ways of life Bosnians practiced.

Permanant settlements were established, roads built, bridges built, Roman Catholicism introduced. For a while Rome's rule here was very strong, through local satellite leaders. But eventually Bosnians took what Rome gave and made it their own. Like the family who's given a nice, new home and tears up the patio for firewood and parks their cars on the manicured front lawn.

Medieval Bosnia and Herzegovina developed, the independent Bosnian church. And Bosnia evolved from this Roman base until the Ottoman invasion. The Ottomans then all but erased Roman Bosnia and Herzegovina. While sustinence and defense were the main purposes of life during the Roman era, trade and fortification became the main purposes of life during the Ottoman time. Farming villages were built up with Carsijas, or marketplaces. The culture changed, became more Eastern, more relaxed. An urban culture developed, something Bosnia and Herzegovina had never really known. Islam was introduced, and became dominant, accounting for more than 80% of Bosnians at several points during the Empire's reign here.

During the Ottoman Empire we evolved and made it our own - so much so that we rebelled against Ottoman rule. We had weird influences from Sufi Islam and - oddly - Buddhism. Then we had our Roman Catholic base and the greater immigration of Eastern Orthodox Christians (which began, slowly, during the later years of the Bosnian kingdom), bringing Byzantine influence.

Then the Austro-Hungarians came, another Roman Catholic empire. Roman Catholicism in Bosnia and Herzegovina exploded in a revival of its roots. Churches went up and even though the Austrians were very respectful of Bosnia's Islamic character, the Roman Catholic population, through re-conversion, more than doubled.

The Austrians imposed a European sternness on the haphazard Ottoman look and lifestyle of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

We broke away from that and ended up communist. And communism is the best way to really f--k a country up.

Then we tore the s--t out of each other and today - whether Muslim, Roman Catholic, or Eastern Orthodox - we all sit in cafes drinking Turkish coffee, in Ottoman-style carsijas, in cities with Austrian buildings and Roman ruins, and call it all either Serbian, Bosnian, or Croatian.