Tomislavgrad (Serbian Cyrillic: Томиславград, ), also known by its former name Duvno (, ), is a town and the seat of the Municipality of Tomislavgrad in Canton 10 of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, an entity of Bosnia and Herzegovina. As of 2013, it has a population of 5,587 inhabitants.
In the Roman times, it was known as Delminium. During the Middle Ages when it was part of Croatia and Bosnia, the town was known as Županjac. This name remained until 1928 when it was changed to Tomislavgrad. In 1946, communist authorities changed the name again to Duvno, and in 1990, the name was returned to Tomislavgrad.
Name The town name means "Tomislav town". The name was changed from Županjac to Tomislavgrad in 1928 by King Alexander I of Yugoslavia in tribute to his newborn son Prince Tomislav, and also Tomislav of Croatia, the first king of the Kingdom of Croatia, who was allegedly crowned in the area. The name was changed to Duvno after World War II by Yugoslav communist authorities. In 1990 the name was restored to Tomislavgrad. Still, among inhabitants of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the residents are often referred to as and the town is often called Duvno. Also, the town is sometimes referred to simply as "Tomislav". The Catholic diocese in that area is still called Mostar-Duvno. During the Roman Empire the town was called Delminium, from which the name Duvno stems from, and during the medieval period in the Kingdom of Croatia and Kingdom of Bosnia it was called Županjac. Under the Ottoman Empire, it was called Županj-potok; and under Austria-Hungary, Županjac again.
Location Tomislavgrad is from the canton seat Livno, from Mostar, and from Sarajevo.
Demographics
Ethnic composition20131991198119711961Total5,760 (100,0%)5,012 (100,0%)4,231 (100,0%)3,265 (100,0%)1,986 (100,0%)Croats4,575 (81,89%)3,164 (63,13%)2,528 (59,75%)1,809 (55,41%)1,032 (51,96%)Muslims/Bosniaks955 (17,09%)1,472 (29,37%)1,248 (29,50%)1,167 (35,74%)637 (32,07%)Serbs16 (0,29%)219 (4,37%)214 (5,06%)241 (7,38%)246 (12,39%)Others11 (0,197%)25 (0,591%)4 (0,123%)4 (0,201%)
History
Ancient times Illyrian time
The area of Tomislavgrad has been inhabited by Illyrian tribe of DalmataeThe Cambridge Ancient History Vol. 11: The High Empire, AD 70-192 by Peter Rathbone, page 597, "... One such place was Delminium, from which the Illyrian Delmatae took their name, attacked more than once by Roman consuls ..." and Delminium was a town established by them near present-day Tomislavgrad.Wilkes, J. J. The Illyrians, 1992; , pg 188, "... after whom the Roman province Dalmatia was named, their name is derived from their principal settlement Delminium near Duvno. Beyond the Dinara, Delmatae occupied the plains of Livno, Glamoc, and Duvno, ..." The area of Tomislavgrad has been populated from 4000 BC – 2400 BC, even before the Illyrians arrived, and from that time only polished stone axes remained as proof that someone was there. Bagarić, Ivo. Duvno: Povijest župa duvanjskog samostana. Sveta baština. 1989
As Romans conquered the territory of the Illyrian tribe Ardiaei, so, Delmataes and their tribal union was the last bastion of Illyrian freedom. The Dalmatae attacked Roman wards near Neretva, Greek merchant towns, and the Roman-friendly Illyrian tribe Daors. The Illyrians upgraded their settlements into strong forts and surrounded their capital with wreaths of smaller forts. Bagarić, Ivo. Duvno - Short Monograph. Župni ured sv. Franje Asiškog, Bukovica. 1980. It is assumed that, during that time, 5,000 Dalmatae lived in Delminium.
In 167 BC Illyrian forts could not stop Roman legions and Rome conquered the entire Adriatic coast south of Neretva; the state of the Ardieaei was also destroyed. The first conflict between the Dalmatae and Rome started in 156 BC. The consuls Gaius Marcius Figulus, then Publius Cornelius Scipio Nasica Corculum conquered and destroyed Delminium; the latter received a triumph in Rome for this victory. Reports of writers during that time say that Delminium was a "large city", almost inaccessible and impregnable. Romans shot lighted arrows at wooden houses, which then burned the city. After various rebellions led by Dalmatae and three wars with Rome, their land was lastly conquered for good in 9 AD.
Roman time After the Roman conquest of Delminium, they started building roads and bridges. Roads that led to the mainland of the Balkans from the Adriatic coast in Salona (Solin) and Narona (Vid near Metković) crossed in Delminium (Tomislavgrad). Remains of those and other Roman roads are still in existence. Romans introduced their culture, language, legislation, and religion. For the next 400 years, Tomislavgrad was in peace.
After the Romans defeated Dalmatae, Delminium was almost abandoned. There was also, for some period, a military crew of Romans stationed there to keep Illyrians under control. Romans started to rebuild Delminium in 18 and 19 AD in the time of emperor Tiberius. During that time the centre of the city was built, a Roman forum. This forum was built on possession of present-day Nikola Tavelić basilica.
In 1896 Fra Anđeo Nuć discovered various sculptures of Roman pagan deities, fragments of pagan sarcophagi, and fragments of columns of medieval Christian churches. Of all those discoveries, the most prominent are two votive monuments and altars dedicated to goddess Diana, one altar dedicated to native Illyrian god Armatus and one votive plate dedicated to goddess Libera. Later, a relief of the goddess Diana was also found and one relief of Diana and Silvanus together. Also, new pagan altars, fragments of sarcophagi, clay pottery, parts of columns, and various other findings from the Roman and early medieval ages were found. This led to the conclusion that on the place of the present-day Catholic graveyard "Karaula" (which was previously an Ottoman military border post and guardhouse) was a Roman and Illyrian pagan sanctuary and graveyard.
Ottoman Empire
In the middle 16th century, the Ottomans founded a qasaba Županj-Potok. In 1576 Županj-Potok or Duvno became part of the Kadiluk of Imotski, and it became a kadiluk on its own before 1633. In the second half of the 17th century, Županj-Potok became a part of the Sanjak of Klis, however, it was soon returned to the Herzegovinian Sanjak.
On 8 May 1711, Županj-Potok became a captaincy. The seat of captaincy was Županj-Potok. The Captaincy of Duvno was located between the Captaincy of Livno at its north and the Captaincy of Ljubuški at its south; on its west was the Ottoman-Venetian border. Hasan Agha was named the first captain. In 1723, the Ottomans constructed a fort in Županj-Potok named it Sedidžedid (the new wall), and named the captaincy after it.
The population of Županj-Potok suffered heavily during the plagues of 1772, 1773, 1814, and 1815.
Hamdija Kreševljaković mentions a borough named Duvno at the end of the 17th century and also states that this borough became a kaza in the first years of the 18th century. In the middle of the 17th century Evliya Çelebi, a famous Turkish travel writer stated that Duvno "looks like a paradise garden, it is part of the Sanjak of Klis and has four hundred houses and one imposing mosque, many masjids, one inn, one hamam, and ten shops." Duvno remained under Ottoman rule until 1878 when Austria-Hungary occupied Bosnia and Herzegovina after the Berlin Congress.
Austria-Hungary
During the Austro-Hungarian rule in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Tomislavgrad was known as Županjac. It was a seat of the Kotar of Županjac, which didn't include the region of Šujica, but it encompassed the villages of Vir, Zavelim and Zagorje in the present-day Municipality of Posušje.
Kingdom of Yugoslavia
On 5 October 1918, the Croat, Slovene and Serb representatives in Austria-Hungary established the Nacional Council of the State of Slovenes, Croats and Serbs. The State of Slovenes, Croats and Serbs was united with the Kingdom of Serbia and the Kingdom of Montenegro on 1 December 1918 and formed the new state – Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes. Županjac served as a seat of the Srez of Županjac, which was divided into four municipalities, Grabovica, Vir, Županjac, and Brišnik-Oplećani, the latter existing from 1937 to 1940 when it was abolished and incorporated into the Municipality of Županjac.
The provincial of the Herzegovinian Franciscans, David Nevistić, himself from Županjac, agitated for the Croatian People's Party (HPS), an anti-Yugoslav political party and called the priests to support it, while the local parish priest Mijo Čuić, also a Franciscan, opposed him and instead supported a non-ideological Croatian Farmers' Party (HTS). The HPS tried to establish its branches in the Srez of Županjac and agitated in its villages, Vir, Vinica, Grabovica, Roško Polje, Bukovica, Šujica (at the time part of the Srez of Livno) and the town of Županjac itself. The temporary president of the Srez of Županjac Luka Savić forbade them from organizing political meetings. According to the new law, the Srez of Županjac became a part of the electoral unit of the Okrug of Travnik. During the Constitutional Assembly election held on 28 November 1920, although the Srez of Županjac had 4,675 eligible voters, the HPS won only 194 votes. On the other hand, the HTS won 3,726 votes.
Several Croatian parties, including the Croatian Republican Peasant Party of Stjepan Radić and the HTS, formed a coalition Croatian Bloc, headed by Radić. The HTS held a political meeting in Županjac, while the speaker was a Franciscan from Livno, Jako Pašalić. Pašalić visited Županjac often for political reasons. However, the efforts were counter-productive as the local populace didn't support their politics being led by the Franciscans. In the 1923 parliamentary election, the HTS candidate won only 31 votes, while the HPS won 68 votes. The HRSS won 3,847 votes.
The next parliamentary election was held on 8 February 1925. The HRSS was once again the dominant party in the Srez of Županjac, winning 3,938 votes out of 4,737. The HPS won only 23 votes. Radić soon recognised the Vidovdan Constitution and the Karađorđević dynasty. This cost him some support from the Croat populace, however, he was still the favourite politician in the Srez of Županjac. In the autumn of 1926, he arrived in the Srez of Županjac and was first greeted in Šujica by some 2,000 people. Before entering the town of Županjac, he was greeted by the parish priest Šimun Ančić. The next day he held a public meeting which was attended by some 10,000 people.
In 1928, King Alexander had a third son and named him Tomislav after Tomislav of Croatia, to appease the Croats. At the beginning of February 1928, a delegation was sent from Županjac headed by Šimun Ančić who handed Alexander the resolution in which the population of the Srez of Županjac asked him to change the name of the srez to Tomislavgrad, in honour of his son and Tomislav of Croatia. Not long after, Alexander granted them their petition but dropped Tomislav of Croatia from his decree.