The Charter of Ban Kulin, the Oldest Document of Bosnian Statehood

The Charter of Bosnian Ban Kulin was written on August 29, 1189, in the Old Bosnian vernacular language 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, reports the Bosnian news agency Patria.

The Charter of Ban Kulin is the first known diplomatic document written in the local language, and as such 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 a ruler, i.e., a 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, one can clearly discern the fact that Bosnia already in the 12th century had an organized state and the institution of a sovereign ruler, although there is evidence of this from the 10th century as well. Throughout history, various historians, geographers, and political scientists from some neighboring countries have concealed and attempted to dispute this. Some even included Kulin's Charter in the monuments of their own national-linguistic history, although at its beginning the designation "(banь) bosьnьski" clearly stands.

Furthermore, the charter shows that Bosnia already had friendly relations with Dubrovnik at that time, which continued to be maintained over the following centuries, and that trade was developed throughout the territory of the then Bosnian state. This indicates that Bosnia was not closed off and maintained ties with other states as well. Another important fact attested to by this charter is the existence of a scribal chancellery at the ban's court, which proves a 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 located there today, while the third copy, stolen in the 19th century, is now 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 submitted a request for its return. Russia rejected the request, considering that the Charter of Ban Kulin, as the second oldest Slavic document, equally belongs to their history as well.