Ban (title) - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

Ban was a title

Title

A title is a prefix or suffix added to someone's name to signify either veneration, an official position or a professional or academic qualification. In some languages, titles may even be inserted between a first and last name...

used in several states in central and south-eastern Europe

Europe

Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...

between the 7th century and the 20th century.

Etymology

The word ban has entered the English language probably as a borrowing from South Slavic

South Slavic languages

The South Slavic languages comprise one of three branches of the Slavic languages. There are approximately 30 million speakers, mainly in the Balkans. These are separated geographically from speakers of the other two Slavic branches by a belt of German, Hungarian and Romanian speakers...

ban, meaning "lord, master; ruler". The Slavic word is probably borrowed from late Thracian *ban meaning "master (of a house)" (cf. Albanian bánë, banésë - "house", Romanian ban - nobility rank, Bănie, Banat - "region under the rule of bans"), that is an old indo-European root *pa- - "to protect" (see also Persian ban - "master").

Another assumption for the origin of the ban was a borrowing from a Turkic language

Turkic languages

The Turkic languages constitute a language family of at least thirty five languages, spoken by Turkic peoples across a vast area from Eastern Europe and the Mediterranean to Siberia and Western China, and are considered to be part of the proposed Altaic language family.Turkic languages are spoken...

, from the Avar

Eurasian Avars

The Eurasian Avars or Ancient Avars were a highly organized nomadic confederacy of mixed origins. They were ruled by a khagan, who was surrounded by a tight-knit entourage of nomad warriors, an organization characteristic of Turko-Mongol groups...

word bajan meaning "ruler of the horde", a derivation of the Proto-Turkic root *bāj- "rich, noble". The term was also borrowed from a Turkic source into Mongolian

Mongolian language

The Mongolian language is the official language of Mongolia and the best-known member of the Mongolic language family. The number of speakers across all its dialects may be 5.2 million, including the vast majority of the residents of Mongolia and many of the Mongolian residents of the Inner...

, where it is preserved in a basically identical form to this day as bajan "rich".

South Slavic ban (bâːn, with a long [a]) is a result of the contraction from the earlier form bojan. The long form is directly attested in 10th-century Constantine Porphyrogenitus

Constantine VII

Constantine VII Porphyrogennetos or Porphyrogenitus, "the Purple-born" was the fourth Emperor of the Macedonian dynasty of the Byzantine Empire, reigning from 913 to 959...

' book De Administrando Imperio
De Administrando Imperio
De Administrando Imperio is the Latin title of a Greek work written by the 10th-century Eastern Roman Emperor Constantine VII. The Greek title of the work is...

as , in a chapter dedicated to Croats and the organisation of their state, describing how their ban "has under his rule Krbava

Krbava

Krbava is a region of mountainous Croatia. It can be considered either located east of Lika, or indeed as the eastern part of Lika. The town of Udbina is the central settlement of the Krbava karst field....

, Lika

Lika

Lika is a mountainous region in central Croatia, roughly bound by the Velebit mountain from the southwest and the Plješevica mountain from the northeast. On the north-west end Lika is bounded by Ogulin-Plaški basin, and on the south-east by the Malovan pass...

and Gacka

Gacka

Gacka is a river located in the Lika region in central Croatia. Because for a large part of its course it is a subterranean river, estimates on its length vary. The overground part has undergone substantial human intervention - before it was 32 kilometers long, now it is only 11 km...

". The 12th-century Byzantine historian John Kinnamos

John Kinnamos

Joannes Kinnamos or John Cinnamus was a Greek historian. He was imperial secretary to Emperor Manuel I , whom he accompanied on his campaigns in Europe and Asia Minor...

on the other hand already writes the title in its contracted form . Beside South Slavic, the contracted form can be also found in Hungarian

Hungarian language

Hungarian is a Uralic language, part of the Ugric group. With some 14 million speakers, it is one of the most widely spoken non-Indo-European languages in Europe....

bán and Romanian

Romanian language

Romanian Romanian Romanian (or Daco-Romanian; obsolete spellings Rumanian, Roumanian; self-designation: română, limba română ("the Romanian language") or românește (lit. "in Romanian") is a Romance language spoken by around 24 to 28 million people, primarily in Romania and Moldova...

ban.

The word ban can also be found in toponymy, especially in its older possessive form in -jь: Banja Luka

Banja Luka

-History:The name "Banja Luka" was first mentioned in a document dated February 6, 1494, but Banja Luka's history dates back to ancient times. There is a substantial evidence of the Roman presence in the region during the first few centuries A.D., including an old fort "Kastel" in the centre of...

, Banj dvor, Banbrdo (from earlier *Banje brdo). The other possessive form in -ov- (banov) is used in modern literary Croatian. Other derivations of the word are present in toponyms such as Banovina

Banovina

Banovina may refer to:* One of the subdivisions of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia from 1929 to 1941* Any territory ruled by a ban * Banovina in central Croatia, also known as Banija...

, Banat

Banat

The Banat is a geographical and historical region in Central Europe currently divided between three countries: the eastern part lies in western Romania , the western part in northeastern Serbia , and a small...

and Banija

Banija

Banovina is a geographical region in central Croatia, between the rivers Sava, Una, and Kupa. Main towns in the region include Petrinja, Glina, Kostajnica, and Dvor. The area is almost entirely located in the Sisak-Moslavina county...

, and common Croatian surnames such as Ban, Banac, Banić, Banović etc.

Uses of the title

The title was used for local land administrators in the southern Slavonic areas of Croatia

Croatia

Croatia , officially the Republic of Croatia , is a unitary democratic parliamentary republic in Europe at the crossroads of the Mitteleuropa, the Balkans, and the Mediterranean. Its capital and largest city is Zagreb. The country is divided into 20 counties and the city of Zagreb. Croatia covers ...

and Bosnia

Bosnia (region)

Bosnia is a eponomous region of Bosnia and Herzegovina. It lies mainly in the Dinaric Alps, ranging to the southern borders of the Pannonian plain, with the rivers Sava and Drina marking its northern and eastern borders. The other eponomous region, the southern, other half of the country is...

in the early Middle Ages, as well as in Serbia

Serbia

Serbia , officially the Republic of Serbia , is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeast Europe, covering the southern part of the Carpathian basin and the central part of the Balkans...

(Banovina Mačva

Macva

Mačva is a geographical region in Serbia, mostly situated in the northwest of Central Serbia. It is located in a fertile plain between the Sava and Drina rivers. The chief town of this region is Šabac. The modern Mačva District of Serbia is named after the region, although the region of Mačva...

). The title was later on also used in the historical Kingdom of Croatia

Medieval Croatian state

Medieval Croatia can refer to:* Principality of Pannonian Croatia - medieval duchy in existence between the 7th and 10th centuries A.D.* Principality of Littoral Croatia - medieval principality in existence between the 8th century and 925 A.D....

and the Kingdom of Hungary

Kingdom of Hungary

The Kingdom of Hungary comprised present-day Hungary, Slovakia and Croatia , Transylvania , Carpatho Ruthenia , Vojvodina , Burgenland , and other smaller territories surrounding present-day Hungary's borders...

and its dependencies.

The title was used also in Wallachia

Wallachia

Wallachia or Walachia is a historical and geographical region of Romania. It is situated north of the Danube and south of the Southern Carpathians...

up to 19th century (where it was associated with the highest boyar

Boyar

A boyar, or bolyar , was a member of the highest rank of the feudal Moscovian, Kievan Rus'ian, Bulgarian, Wallachian, and Moldavian aristocracies, second only to the ruling princes , from the 10th century through the 17th century....

office and the region of Oltenia

Oltenia

Oltenia is a historical province and geographical region of Romania, in western Wallachia. It is situated between the Danube, the Southern Carpathians and the Olt river ....

or Severin Banat

Severin

Severin, Séverin or Severinus may refer to:* Severin -Places:* Caraş-Severin County, a county in Romania* Severin County, a defunct county in Romania that was merged into the present Caraş-Severin County...

), medieval Moldavia

Moldavia

Moldavia is a geographic and historical region and former principality in Eastern Europe, corresponding to the territory between the Eastern Carpathians and the Dniester river...

, the Kingdom of Serbia

Kingdom of Serbia

The Kingdom of Serbia was created when Prince Milan Obrenović, ruler of the Principality of Serbia, was crowned King in 1882. The Principality of Serbia was ruled by the Karađorđevic dynasty from 1817 onwards . The Principality, suzerain to the Porte, had expelled all Ottoman troops by 1867, de...

and Kingdom of Yugoslavia

Kingdom of Yugoslavia

The Kingdom of Yugoslavia was a state stretching from the Western Balkans to Central Europe which existed during the often-tumultuous interwar era of 1918–1941...

between 1929 and 1941. The meaning of the title changed with time — the position of a ban can be compared to that of a viceroy

Viceroy

A viceroy is a royal official who runs a country, colony, or province in the name of and as representative of the monarch. The term derives from the Latin prefix vice-, meaning "in the place of" and the French word roi, meaning king. A viceroy's province or larger territory is called a viceroyalty...

or a high vassal such as a hereditary duke

Duke

A duke or duchess is a member of the nobility, historically of highest rank below the monarch, and historically controlling a duchy...

, but neither is accurate for all historical bans. The territory ruled by a ban was called banat or banovina, often transcribed to English as banate, banat, bannat, etc.

Medieval bans

Ban was the title of local rulers in Croatia and Bosnia since the Slavic population migrated there in the 7th century. References from the earliest periods are scarce, but history recalls the Croatian bans Ratimir

Ratimir (Pannonian)

Ratimir was a Croatian duke or prince , Bulgarian-imposed Duke of Pannonian Croatia from ca. 829 to 838. His name contents the word "rat", meaning "war", and "mir", meaning "peace"...

in the 9th century (827, under Bulgarian sway) and Pribina in the 10th century (in 949 and in 970).

The meaning of the title was elevated to that of provincial governor in the medieval Croatian state

Medieval Croatian state

(for example, Dmitar Zvonimir was originally a ban in 1065 serving under King Peter Krešimir IV).

Bans were also provincial administrators in the Kingdom of Hungary

Kingdom of Hungary

, where each of the provinces was called banat; the Croatian word for province was banovina. Bans usually administered regions outside the kingdom, but within the realm.

After the Croats

Croats

Croats are a South Slavic ethnic group mostly living in Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and nearby countries. There are around 4 million Croats living inside Croatia and up to 4.5 million throughout the rest of the world. Responding to political, social and economic pressure, many Croats have...

elected Hungarian kings as kings of Croatia

Croatia

in 1102, the title of ban acquired the meaning of viceroy

Viceroy

because the bans were appointed by the king, though Croatia, remaining a kingdom in personal union

Personal union

A personal union is the combination by which two or more different states have the same monarch while their boundaries, their laws and their interests remain distinct. It should not be confused with a federation which is internationally considered a single state...

with Hungary, was not referred to as a banovina (banate). Croatia was governed by the 'viceregal' ban as a whole between 1102 and 1225, when it was split into two separate banovinas: Slavonia

Slavonia

Slavonia is a geographical and historical region in eastern Croatia...

and Croatia. Two different bans were occasionally appointed until 1476, when the institution of a single ban was resumed. The institution of ban in Croatia would persist until the 20th century (see below).

When the medieval Bosnia

Bosnia (region)

n state achieved a certain level of independence in the 12th century, its rulers were once again called bans, and their territory banovina, likely because of the similar suzerain status that it had towards the king of Hungary. Nevertheless, the Bosnian bans weren't viceroys in the sense they were appointed by the king. Sometimes their title is translated as duke

Duke

A duke or duchess is a member of the nobility, historically of highest rank below the monarch, and historically controlling a duchy...

. Later in the 13th century they gradually achieved more independence (though in some periods they were still vassal

Vassal

A vassal or feudatory is a person who has entered into a mutual obligation to a lord or monarch in the context of the feudal system in medieval Europe. The obligations often included military support and mutual protection, in exchange for certain privileges, usually including the grant of land held...

s) and eventually proclaimed themselves kings in the late 14th century.

The region of Mačva

Macva

(now in Serbia

Serbia

) was also ruled by bans. Mačva was part of the medieval Hungarian kingdom though under various levels of independence; some of the bans were foreign viceroys, some were native nobles, and one even rose to the status of a royal palatine.

Ban was also the title of the medieval rulers of parts of Wallachia

Wallachia

Wallachia or Walachia is a historical and geographical region of Romania. It is situated north of the Danube and south of the Southern Carpathians...

(Oltenia

Oltenia

Oltenia is a historical province and geographical region of Romania, in western Wallachia. It is situated between the Danube, the Southern Carpathians and the Olt river ....

and Severin) since the 13th century. The Wallachian bans were military governors; their jurisdictions in Wallachia were called banat or bănie. The main Wallachian ruler was titled voivod, the position bans aspired to.

The title ban was also awarded in the Second Bulgarian Empire

Second Bulgarian Empire

The Second Bulgarian Empire was a medieval Bulgarian state which existed between 1185 and 1396 . A successor of the First Bulgarian Empire, it reached the peak of its power under Kaloyan and Ivan Asen II before gradually being conquered by the Ottomans in the late 14th-early 15th century...

on several occasions, one example being the 14th-century governor of Sredets (Sofia

Sofia

Sofia is the capital and largest city of Bulgaria and the 12th largest city in the European Union with a population of 1.27 million people. It is located in western Bulgaria, at the foot of Mount Vitosha and approximately at the centre of the Balkan Peninsula.Prehistoric settlements were excavated...

) Ban Yanuka.

Habsburg-era Croatia

The title of ban persisted in Croatia after 1527 when the country became part of the Habsburg Monarchy

Habsburg Monarchy

The Habsburg Monarchy covered the territories ruled by the junior Austrian branch of the House of Habsburg , and then by the successor House of Habsburg-Lorraine , between 1526 and 1867/1918. The Imperial capital was Vienna, except from 1583 to 1611, when it was moved to Prague...

, and continued all the way until 1918. In the 18th century, Croatian bans eventually become chief government officials in Croatia. They were at the head of Ban's Government, effectively the first prime minister

Prime minister

A prime minister is the most senior minister of cabinet in the executive branch of government in a parliamentary system. In many systems, the prime minister selects and may dismiss other members of the cabinet, and allocates posts to members within the government. In most systems, the prime...

s of Croatia.

Kingdom of Yugoslavia

Ban was also the title of the governor of each province (called banovina) of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia

Kingdom of Yugoslavia

The Kingdom of Yugoslavia was a state stretching from the Western Balkans to Central Europe which existed during the often-tumultuous interwar era of 1918–1941...

between 1929 and 1941. The weight of the title was far less than that of a medieval ban's feudal office.

Legacy

The word ban is preserved in many modern place names in the regions where bans once ruled.

The region of Banat

Banat

(sometimes called the Temeswarer Banat
Banat of Temeswar
The Banat of Temeswar was a Habsburg province that existed between 1718 and 1778. It was located in the present day region of Banat, which was named after this province...

) in the Pannonian plain between the Danube

Danube

The Danube is a river in the Central Europe and the Europe's second longest river after the Volga. It is classified as an international waterway....

and the Tisza

Tisza

The Tisza or Tisa is one of the main rivers of Central Europe. It rises in Ukraine, and is formed near Rakhiv by the junction of headwaters White Tisa, whose source is in the Chornohora mountains and Black Tisa, which springs in the Gorgany range...

rivers, now in Romania

Romania

Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeastern Europe, on the Lower Danube, within and outside the Carpathian arch, bordering on the Black Sea...

, Serbia

Serbia

and Hungary

Hungary

Hungary , officially the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is situated in the Carpathian Basin and is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine and Romania to the east, Serbia and Croatia to the south, Slovenia to the southwest and Austria to the west. The...

, however, received its name without ever being ruled by a ban.

The alternate name of Craiova

Craiova

Craiova , Romania's 6th largest city and capital of Dolj County, is situated near the east bank of the river Jiu in central Oltenia. It is a longstanding political center, and is located at approximately equal distances from the Southern Carpathians and the River Danube . Craiova is the chief...

is Bănie

Banie

Banie is a village in Gryfino County, West Pomeranian Voivodeship, in north-western Poland. It is the seat of the gmina called Gmina Banie. It lies approximately south-east of Gryfino and south of the regional capital Szczecin.Before 1945 the area was part of Germany...

, the residence city of the ban in the medieval Oltenia region.

A region in central Croatia, south of Sisak

Sisak

Sisak is a city in central Croatia. The city's population in 2011 was 33,049, with a total of 49,699 in the administrative region and it is also the administrative centre of the Sisak-Moslavina county...

, is called Banovina or Banija. The origin of the names of Banova Jaruga

Banova Jaruga

Banova Jaruga is a village in Croatia....

(a city in Croatia

Croatia

), and Banja Luka

Banja Luka

and Banovići

Banovici

Banovići is a town and municipality in northeastern Bosnia and Herzegovina. The intensive development of Banovići begins with construction of the railway Brčko-Banovići in the year 1946. Due to its quality, brown coal from Banovići is well-known all over Europe.-Geography:Banovići Municipality is...

(cities in Bosnia and Herzegovina

Bosnia and Herzegovina

Bosnia and Herzegovina , sometimes called Bosnia-Herzegovina or simply Bosnia, is a country in Southern Europe, on the Balkan Peninsula. Bordered by Croatia to the north, west and south, Serbia to the east, and Montenegro to the southeast, Bosnia and Herzegovina is almost landlocked, except for the...

) are also from the word ban.

The term ban is still used in the phrase banski dvori ("ban's court") for the buildings that host high government officials. The Banski dvori

Banski dvori

Banski dvori |Courts]] of the Ban) is the name of the historical building on the west side of St. Mark's Square in Zagreb, Croatia. It is the historical official residence of the Croatian Bans, who where the Croatian Viceroys after 1102...

in Zagreb

Zagreb

Zagreb is the capital and the largest city of the Republic of Croatia. It is in the northwest of the country, along the Sava river, at the southern slopes of the Medvednica mountain. Zagreb lies at an elevation of approximately above sea level. According to the last official census, Zagreb's city...

hosts the Government of Croatia

Government of Croatia

The Government of the Republic of Croatia , commonly abbreviated to Croatian Government , is the main element of the executive branch of government in Croatia. It is led by the President of the Government , commonly abbreviated to premier...

, while the Banski dvori in Banja Luka

Banja Luka

hosts the President of Republika Srpska

Republika Srpska

Republika Srpska is one of two main political entities of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the other being the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina...

(a first-tier subdivision of Bosnia and Herzegovina

Bosnia and Herzegovina

). The building known as Bela banovina ("the white banovina") in Novi Sad

Novi Sad

Novi Sad is the capital of the northern Serbian province of Vojvodina, and the administrative centre of the South Bačka District. The city is located in the southern part of Pannonian Plain on the Danube river....

hosts the parliament and government of the Autonomous Province of Vojvodina

Vojvodina

Vojvodina, officially called Autonomous Province of Vojvodina is an autonomous province of Serbia. Its capital and largest city is Novi Sad...

in Serbia

Serbia

. The building received this name because it previously hosted the administration of Danube Banovina

Danube Banovina

The Danube Banovina or Danube Banate was a province of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia between 1929 and 1941. This province consisted of the geographical regions of Syrmia, Bačka, Banat, Baranja, Šumadija, and Braničevo. The capital city of the Danube Banovina was Novi Sad...

External links

WorldStatesmen - Croatia, see also each other country above (not completely worked in)

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.

Etymology

Uses of the title

Medieval bans

Habsburg-era Croatia

Kingdom of Yugoslavia

Legacy

See also

External links