August 29, 1189, the Charter of Bosnian Ban Kulin was written

The Charter of Bosnian Ban Kulin was written on August 29, 1189, in the Old Bosnian vernacular and the Bosnian script, bosančica. This document is not only the oldest preserved Bosnian state document found to date, but the Charter of Bosnian Ban Kulin is also the oldest state document among all South Slavic peoples and states.

The Charter of Ban Kulin is the first known diplomatic document written in the vernacular language, and as such, it deserves the attention of linguists, historians, and all citizens of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Its value for Bosnian medieval history is immeasurable. It is the first known document issued by a Bosnian ruler to the ruler, i.e., prince, of another state.

Its significance is reflected in two areas: the history of Bosnian statehood and the history of the Bosnian language. Regarding the first aspect, it can be said that Kulin's charter is the birth certificate of Bosnian statehood. From its content, it is clear that Bosnia already had an organized state and the institution of a sovereign ruler in the 12th century, although there is evidence of this from the 10th century as well.

Various historians, geographers, and political scientists from some neighboring countries have suppressed and attempted to dispute this throughout history. Some have even included Kulin's charter among the monuments of their own national-linguistic history, although at its beginning, the designation "(banь) bosьnьski" clearly states. Furthermore, the charter indicates that Bosnia already had friendly relations with Dubrovnik at that time, which continued in the following centuries, and that trade was developed throughout the territory of the then Bosnian state.

This shows that Bosnia was not isolated and maintained ties with other states. Another important fact that this charter testifies to is the existence of a scribal office at the ban's court, which proves the long tradition of literacy on Bosnian soil, and the culture (and sometimes the cultural level) of a people is often linked precisely to the beginnings of literacy among that people.

The Charter of Ban Kulin is preserved in three copies in Dubrovnik. Two copies are still there today, and the third copy, stolen in the 19th century, is currently in the possession of the Russian Academy of Sciences and Arts in Saint Petersburg, Russia. Many consider it to be the original among the known copies. Bosnia and Herzegovina has requested its return. Russia has rejected the request, considering that the Charter of Ban Kulin, as the second oldest Slavic document, equally belongs to their history.