On this day 835 years ago, the Charter of Ban Kulin was written

(Patria) - On this day 835 years ago, the Charter of Ban Kulin was written, the oldest preserved Bosnian state document found to date.

The Charter of Ban Kulin was written in 1189 and is the oldest Bosnian document, written in Old Bosnian vernacular, in Cyrillic script (bosančica) and Latin script in Latin.

The Charter is not only one of the most significant and earliest official documents among the countries of this part of Europe and the world concerning trade cooperation, the free movement of people, ideas, and goods, but its significance also lies in its provisions regarding residence in the land of Bosnia and the security guaranteed by Ban Kulin.

The Charter is not only the oldest preserved Bosnian state document found to date, but also the Charter of the Bosnian Ban and the oldest state document among all South Slavic peoples and states. It confirms the statehood of Bosnia and Herzegovina in the 12th century and is the first Bosnian-Herzegovinian document addressed to a foreign ruler.

It is also considered the "birth certificate" of Bosnian statehood. From the content of the Charter of Ban Kulin, it is clear that Bosnia already had an organized state and the institution of a sovereign ruler in the 12th century, although evidence of this exists from the 10th century.

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