Charter of Ban Kulin: The Birth Certificate of Bosnian Statehood

On this day 825 years ago, the Charter of Bosnian Ban Kulin was signed, written on August 29, 1189, in the Old Bosnian vernacular language and the Bosnian script Bosančica, reports the BH news agency Patria. This document is the oldest preserved Bosnian state document found to date, and also one of the oldest state documents among all South Slavic peoples and states.

This Charter enabled the people of Dubrovnik to trade freely in what was then Bosnia without any restrictions.

- In the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. I, Kulin, Ban of Bosnia, promise you, Prince Krvaš, and all citizens of Dubrovnik, to be a true friend to you from now and forever. And I will keep justice with you and true trust, as long as I live. All Dubrovnik citizens who travel wherever I rule, trading, wherever they wish to go, wherever anyone wants, with true trust and a true heart, without any malice, and whatever anyone gives me of their own free will as a gift. They shall not suffer violence from my officials, and as long as they are with me, I will give them help as to myself, as much as possible, without any evil intent – stated in the Charter.

The value of this document for Bosnian medieval history is immeasurable. It is the first known document issued by a Bosnian ruler to a ruler, i.e., the prince of another state.

Its significance is reflected in two areas: the history of Bosnian statehood and the history of the Bosnian language. Therefore, 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 (the work „On the Administration of the Empire“ by Byzantine Emperor Constantine Porphyrogennetos, who mentions Basana/Bosnia), reports Patria.

The Charter of Ban Kulin is preserved in three copies. Two are still in Dubrovnik today, while the third copy, stolen in the 19th century, is 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, but Russia has rejected the request, considering that the Charter of Ban Kulin, as the second oldest Slavic document, equally belongs to their history as well.