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Bosnia and Herzegovina Quizzes, Trivia and Puzzles
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Bosnia and Herzegovina History Trivia

Bosnia and Herzegovina History Trivia Quizzes

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4 quizzes and 60 trivia questions.
1.
  The Civil War in Bosnia   great trivia quiz  
Multiple Choice
 15 Qns
How much do you remember about the civil conflict that erupted in Bosnia-Herzegovina in the 1990s? Some of the questions are on the early background to the state of Yugoslavia.
Average, 15 Qns, Plumbus, Sep 07 12
Average
Plumbus gold member
4304 plays
2.
  The History of Sarajevo    
Multiple Choice
 10 Qns
Sarajevo was once the most prominent city in Eastern Europe, but centuries of war and strife have downgraded the city from its once golden splendor. How much do you know about Sarajevo's bloody history?
Average, 10 Qns, Joepetz, Jan 03 16
Average
Joepetz gold member
338 plays
3.
  Bosnia and Herzegovina for the Curious    
Multiple Choice
 25 Qns
Bosnia and Herzegovina, the former Yugoslav republic, is a newly born state (1992-95) in the West Balkans. But these lands have a long and complex history. See if you find your way through it?
Tough, 25 Qns, St Sava Jr., Oct 30 06
Tough
St Sava Jr.
1138 plays
4.
  Srebrenica - Gendercide in Modern-Day Europe    
Multiple Choice
 10 Qns
Srebrenica, a small Bosniak enclave on the border of Bosnia-Herzegovina and Serbia Montenegro, was the scene for some of the worst gendercide and genocide in modern Europe. How much do you know about this town and the atrocities that occurred there?
Tough, 10 Qns, Flynn_17, Jul 20 05
Tough
Flynn_17
472 plays
trivia question Quick Question
When did Bosnia fall to Ottoman Turks?

From Quiz "Bosnia and Herzegovina for the Curious"





Bosnia and Herzegovina History Trivia Questions

1. In which year was The Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes formally renamed Yugoslavia?

From Quiz
The Civil War in Bosnia

Answer: 1929

The Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes was created out of the peace process that ended the First World War. With a vast variety of ethnic, linguistic and religious groups, tensions were evident from the very beginning and it wasn't until the late 1920s that a royal dictatorship under King Alexander asserted some degree of stability.

2. The enclave of Srebrenica is a "Bosniak" area. What exactly does "Bosniak" mean, and what word has it replaces pertaining to the lifestyles of the people of Srebrenica?

From Quiz Srebrenica - Gendercide in Modern-Day Europe

Answer: A Bosniak is a Bosnian Muslim - the word has replaced 'Muslim' as the official term for their ethnic group

Srebrenica is actually a town, and not a political enclave at all. It can, however, be referred to as a Bosniak enclave, as the majority of the people living in the small towns surrounding Srebrenica were not Bosniaks - they were Christian Bosnians.

3. In Ancient times the territory of present-day Bosnia and Herzegovina was part of which Roman province?

From Quiz Bosnia and Herzegovina for the Curious

Answer: Illiricum

Roman province of Illiricum encircled all the territory of present-day Bosnia and Herzegovina. Pannonia is today's Hungary and Slavonia in Croatia, Moesia is mostly in today's Serbia, and Thracia is mainly modern Bulgaria, eastern Greece and Turkey in Europe. Roman province of Dalmatia (c. III A.D.) encircled parts of the territory of present-day Bosnia and Herzegovina.

4. The Illyrians were a group of people who inhabited Sarajevo until they were conquered by which future Roman emperor in the year 9 A.D.?

From Quiz The History of Sarajevo

Answer: Tiberius

Tiberius is considered one of Ancient Rome's best generals. He successfully expanded the Roman Empire geographically. The area where Sarajevo now stands was not built into a large city like what was done elsewhere. However, the Sarajevo suburb of Ilidza was once the site of the colony Aquae Sulphurae.

5. Yugoslavia was first broken up during the German and Italian occupation between 1941-45. Which pro-Axis fascist state was formed and fought alongside its new allies throughout most of this period?

From Quiz The Civil War in Bosnia

Answer: Croatia

600,000 Yugoslavs died during the occupation by German and Italian troops. It was practically a civil war between the various ethnic groups and political interests, with the occupation army barely in control.

6. What powerful Slavic tribes settled in the territory of Bosnia and Herzegovina during 6th and 7th centuries AD?

From Quiz Bosnia and Herzegovina for the Curious

Answer: Serbs and Croats

Serbs advanced into the Drina River valley and modern Herzegovina, while Croats covered mostly western Bosnia. The first recorded mention of Bosnia was written by the Byzantine Emperor Constantine VII Flavius Porphyrogenitus (Byzantine Emperor from 913 to 959), who described "Bosona" as a district in "baptized Serbia." His writings ("De administrando imperio" in this case) are one of the best sources of information on the Byzantine Empire and neighbouring areas.

7. During the 14th and 15th centuries, it is believed that a precursor to the city of Sarajevo was formed under what name?

From Quiz The History of Sarajevo

Answer: Vrhbosna

Not much is known about Vrhbosna and there is some disagreement in its importance in Sarajevo history. Its location for one thing is disputed, but most historians believe it was a small region near the center of the modern city. Vrhbosna flourished as a market town until it was conquered by the Ottoman Empire in 1451.

8. Between 1945 and 1980 Josip Broz ('Tito') governed a federal Yugoslavia within which political system?

From Quiz The Civil War in Bosnia

Answer: Communist republic

Josip Broz (aka 'Tito') was of Croat-Slovenian parentage. He adopted the name 'Tito' as a codename when he lived in exile in Vienna during the mid-1930s. As leader of the Communist partisans in Yugoslavia during WWII, he asserted control over the newly liberated country with the deportation of certain ethnic minorities, the suppression of anti-Communist influences, and the establishment of a secret police force (UBDA). He won the elections of November 1945, stood up to Stalin and successfully resisted the absorption of Yugoslavia into the Eastern Bloc and was President of Yugoslavia until his death in 1980. He maintained stability through a relatively centralised form of political control.

9. The Serb forces chose to attack Bratunac because they couldn't actually get into Srebrenica to carry out their desired activities. What was stopping the Serbs taking Srebrenica as easily as they had taken the smaller towns before them?

From Quiz Srebrenica - Gendercide in Modern-Day Europe

Answer: Naser Oric and his band of Tobari

Srebrenica is a silver mining town, but it wasn't these that stopped the invasion. Naser, who was describes as a 'Rambo-like' figure, and the Tobari (or 'bag people') held the Serbian troops off at the borders of the town, though the men of Srebrenica were soon separated from their wives, mothers, sisters, and daughters. While the women and young children were taken away from Srebrenica in coaches and cars, the men and teenage boys were led away to be shot. Those who escaped were chased through the forests and killed horribly when they were caught.

10. Who ruled the parts of territory of present-day Bosnia in the 8-13 centuries AD (and in what order)?

From Quiz Bosnia and Herzegovina for the Curious

Answer: Franks, Serbs, Croats, Byzantines, Hungary

During the late 8th and early 9th centuries, part of northwest Bosnia was conquered by Charlemagne's Franks; this area later became part of Croatia under King Tomislav. After Tomislav's death in 928, much of Bosnia was taken over by a Serb princedom that acknowledged the sovereignty of the Byzantine Empire. During the 11th and 12th centuries Bosnia experienced rule by Byzantium, incorporation into a Serb kingdom that had expanded northward from the territory of modern Montenegro and Herzegovina, rule by Hungary, and a brief period of renewed Byzantine rule. After the death of the Emperor Manuel I Comnenus in 1180, Byzantine rule collapsed and Bosnian territory (excluding much of modern Bosnia and all of Herzegovina) became, for the first time, an independent entity.

11. Which two states were the first to unilaterally declare their independence from the federal Yugoslavia in June 1991?

From Quiz The Civil War in Bosnia

Answer: Croatia and Slovenia

The status of Croatia and Slovenia as independent nations was quickly consolidated by being recognized by the newly unified Germany in late 1991. The rest of the European Union followed suit on 15 January, 1992. The USA also recognized the independence of these two states in April 1992.

12. What is the name of the longest-lasting Bosnian medieval dynasty?

From Quiz Bosnia and Herzegovina for the Curious

Answer: Kotromanic

The Kotromanic dynasty was founded by Stephen Kotroman. It ruled Bosnia from the late 13th to the mid-15th century. Stephen Kotromanic (1322-53), became the first independent lord of all Bosnia in 1322. He incorporated Herzegovina and the Adriatic coastline between Split and the Neretva River. Nemanjic is a Serbian dynasty, the Hrvatinic were Croatian landlords, while Kulenovic is just made up.

13. What part of Sarajevo history can be credited to the Venetian Caterino Zeno when he visited the city in 1550?

From Quiz The History of Sarajevo

Answer: He gave it the name Sarajevo

Caterino Zeno was a Venetian traveler and trader. He called the city Saraglio, which is the Italian for Sarajevo. The name Sarajevo loosely means "place around the palace" in Turkish.

14. The greatest Bosnian king, Tvrtko I, ruled what other countries besides Bosnia?

From Quiz Bosnia and Herzegovina for the Curious

Answer: Serbia, Croatia, Dalmatia

Tvrtko I (1353-91) recovered Bosnia's lost territory, extended his lands along the Adriatic coast and into Serbia, and in 1377 crowned himself "king of the Serbs, of Bosnia, and of the Coast." In 1390 he had also claimed the titles "King of Dalmatia and Croatia". For a brief period, Tvrtko had made Bosnia the dominant power among the South Slavs.

15. What is the name of the Austrian general who, in 1697, successfully sacked Sarajevo, looted its treasures and burned the city down?

From Quiz The History of Sarajevo

Answer: Eugene of Savoy

Under the leadership of several Ottoman rulers, most notably Gazi Husrev-beg, Sarajevo became one of the most culturally important cities of its time. However, when Austria led by Eugene of Savoy invaded, it marked the beginning of the end of Sarajevo's Golden Age. The city's population decreased by more than half and it was never rebuilt to the splendor it once was. The sack of Sarajevo was part of the larger Great Turkish War and followed a devastating Ottoman loss at Zenta.

16. In October 1991, the Bosnian parliament declared its sovereignty and stated its intention to hold a referendum on secession from Yugoslavia. What was the result of this referendum in February 1992?

From Quiz The Civil War in Bosnia

Answer: To secede from Yugoslavia

63% of Bosnians, mainly Muslims and Croats, voted in favour of secession. It was this that finally triggered the conflict. The Bosnian Serbs, in the form of local troops and militias supported in part by the Yugoslav army, reacted violently and besieged several Bosnian cities while 'ethnically cleansing' 70% of Bosnian territory.

17. A strong religious movement blossomed in medieval Bosnia, characterized as "dualistic [Manichean] heretics" by Pope. What were its adherents called?

From Quiz Bosnia and Herzegovina for the Curious

Answer: Bogomils

Bosnian Bogomils adopted the dualist (that is, Manichean) heresy of the Bulgarian Bogomils, a religious sect that flourished in the Balkans between the 10th and 15th centuries. Bogomils came to Bosnia from Serbia during reign of the Great Zupan Stefan Nemanja (1169). The Bogomils were so called after their founder, priest Bogomil. The Bogomils' teaching was that the visible world was created by the devil. They rejected Baptism, the Eucharist, and the whole organization of the Orthodox Church. Paulicians were a dualistic sect of Armenia and Asia Minor. Patarin and Cathar were Italian names for similar contemporary sects in Italy and Dalmatia.

18. What is the nickname of Husein Gradascevic, the man who led an unsuccessful revolt against the Ottomans in the 1831?

From Quiz The History of Sarajevo

Answer: The Dragon of Bosnia

Gradascevic opposed the alleged totalitarian rule of Ottoman Sultan Muhmad II, who he claimed persecuted Slavic Muslims, many of whom fled to other parts of Europe. He led a revolt with thousands of men, both Muslim and Christian. Although he was able to defeat the Sultan's army, Gradascevic's revolt was unsuccessful because he lost badly in a surprise attack by Herzegovinian forces. He was exiled to Austria but was allowed to return to the Ottoman Empire where he died in 1834, allegedly poisoned.

19. Who was the President of Bosnia-Herzegovina from 1990-1996?

From Quiz The Civil War in Bosnia

Answer: Alija Izetbegovic

Alija Izetbegovic was born in Basanki Samac in northern Bosnia in 1925. A graduate of Sarajevo University, he had been gaoled for three years in the late 1940s for being a member of the Young Muslims, a dissident nationalist group. He was president of Bosnia-Herzegovina until his retirement in 2000 and died in 2003. Milosevic was the president of Yugoslavia who gave material and moral support to the Bosnian Serbs led by Mladic and Karadzic. As a result, Yugoslavia had economic sanctions placed upon it from 1992, monitored by NATO-led forces stationed in Bosnia.

20. So far, the troops who carried out the atrocities in Srebrenica and the surrounding Bosniak towns have simply been referred to as Serb troops, but there is a more correct term for them. What was the name given to these Serbian troops?

From Quiz Srebrenica - Gendercide in Modern-Day Europe

Answer: Cetniks

Bihac was one of the towns that was overrun by the Cetnik forces during the attacks on Muslim areas of Bosnia-Herzegovina during the three year period of the war (1992-1995). 'Hrvatski' refers to the people of Croatia, who had nothing to do with the atrocities at all.

21. When did Bosnia fall to Ottoman Turks?

From Quiz Bosnia and Herzegovina for the Curious

Answer: 1463

King Tvrtko I sent a smaller force to fight against Turks alongside the larger Serbian army at the Battle of Kosovo Polje in 1389. After the Kosovo defeat, Serbia became an Ottoman vassal, and the Turks continued their attacks on Bosnia. Turkish forces captured important part of central Bosnia, called Vrhbosna, in 1448, where they founded Sarajevo. In 1463 they conquered most of the rest of Bosnia.

22. Perhaps the most famous world event the assassination of the Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife Sophie, Duchess of Hohenberg by Gavrilo Princip on June 28, 1914. For what reason was Franz Ferdinand traveling in Sarajevo at that time?

From Quiz The History of Sarajevo

Answer: To open a museum

Austria-Hungary had annexed Bosnia and Herzegovina in 1908, having occupied it since 1878. Franz Ferdinand had traveled to Bosnia to observe Austro-Hungarian military preparations in the event of a war with Serbia. His wife went with him because she allegedly feared for his life. The couple then traveled to Sarajevo to open the state museum after its relocation. For years prior to 1914, several Serbians had attempted to assassinate Austro-Hungarian officials but were mostly unsuccessful. The assassination of Franz Ferdinand was planned by Danilo Ilic, a member of the Black Hand. The motive was to prevent Austria-Hungary from annexing more Slavic territory, among other political goals. The original plan was to throw bombs at the archduke's motorcade but this failed when several conspirators chickened out and the one bomb that was thrown missed and blew up a different vehicle. Princip, who had failed to act in the bomb plot, shot Franz Ferdinand later in the motorcade procession when the motorcade took a wrong turning and stopped to back up and correct its mistake. Princip shot and killed the archduke and Sophie, though he later claimed he meant to kill Governor Potiorek, who was driving with the couple, and not the duchess. He was sentenced to twenty years in prison, as he was too young by one month to receive the death penalty. However, he died three years later from tuberculosis. His body was buried in an unmarked grave to prevent his body from being venerated by Serbs. However, after World War I, it was found and transferred to Saint Mark Cemetery in Sarajevo.

23. In 1995, the Bosnian Serbs launched attacks on several 'safe havens' which led to NATO deploying airpower in retaliation. What was the NATO operation called?

From Quiz The Civil War in Bosnia

Answer: Deliberate Force

Srebenica and Zepa were two 'safe havens' that suffered particularly in the summer of 1995. Over 8,000 civilians in Srebenica were killed during an 11-day period in July 1995.

24. The elite corps of Ottoman army, composed of Christian youths, forcibly converted to Islam, often taken by force as young boys from the Balkan provinces, were called what?

From Quiz Bosnia and Herzegovina for the Curious

Answer: Janissaries

A 'janizary' was a member of an elite corps in the standing army of the Ottoman Empire from the late 14th century to 1826. Highly respected for their military prowess in the 15th and 16th centuries, the Janissaries became a powerful political force within the Ottoman state. The Imperial Corps of Janissaries corps was originally staffed by Christian youths from the Balkan Turkish provinces and who were converted to Islam, after being taken away from their families often by force. The Janissaries frequently engineered palace coups in the 17th and 18th centuries, and in the early 19th century they resisted the adoption of European reforms by the army. Their end came in June 1826 in the so-called Auspicious Incident, when Sultan Mahmud II killed most of the Janissaries. Askers were all non-Turkic state workers, bureaucratic or religious, and though not military specialists, that were a part of the army. Seraskers were regular soldiers. Bashi-Bazouks were irregular mercenaries, notorious for their indiscipline, plundering and brutality.

25. When Sarajevo, then a city in Yugoslavia, hosted the Winter Olympics in 1984, the mascot of the games was Vucko. Vucko was depicted as what type of animal on skis?

From Quiz The History of Sarajevo

Answer: Wolf

Vucko had been a symbol of Sarajevo prior to the Olympics. Wolves had symbolized the harsh winters of the city as well as the strength of the Serbian and Yugoslav people of the region. The Olympic mascot version of Vucko was depicted as friendly and smiling, a stark contrast to other variations where Vucko had a more serious and fierce appearance. These Olympics were the first Winter Olympic Games to take place in a Communist nation.

26. During the NATO-led air strikes, which USAF F-16 pilot was shot down over hostile territory and managed to survive undiscovered before being rescued by US special forces?

From Quiz The Civil War in Bosnia

Answer: Scott O'Grady

Over 100 aircraft were employed in the search for O'Grady. He was plucked from under the noses of Bosnian Serb forces in broad daylight.

27. It was years after the massacre before any of the bodies were identified. The first 600 male corpses were recently identified, but when were the bodies finally buried?

From Quiz Srebrenica - Gendercide in Modern-Day Europe

Answer: 2003

The first bodies were not actually identified until March 2003, and those 600 who were identified were finally buried on March 31. As of July 2005, the final death toll is not known, and not all of those who died have been put to rest.

28. What Bosnian 'kapetan' (local hereditary official) rose local Bosnian army against Sultan Mahmud II in 1831?

From Quiz Bosnia and Herzegovina for the Curious

Answer: Husein

When Sultan Mahmud II reformed Ottoman military and abolished the hated Janissary corps, the reform was fiercely resisted by local Janissaries in Bosnia. The Ottoman authorities mounted punitive campaigns against the Janissaries' stronghold, Sarajevo in 1827 and 1828. In 1831 a charismatic young "kapetan" called Husein-kapetan Gradascevic ('Dragon of Bosnia') seized power in Bosnia, imprisoning the vizier in Travnik. With an army of 25,000 men, Husein then marched into Kosovo to negotiate with the Ottoman Grand Vizier, demanding local autonomy for Bosnia and an end to the reform process there. But Husein's support melted away when a large Ottoman army entered Bosnia.

29. The Siege of Sarajevo began on April 5, 1992 and nearly four years later with a peace agreement signed in which U.S. city?

From Quiz The History of Sarajevo

Answer: Dayton, Ohio

During the break-up of Yugoslavia in the 1990s, Bosnia and Herzegovina declared independence from Yugoslavia with Sarajevo as its capital. Ethnic Bosnian Serbs wanted their own state, also with Sarajevo and besieged the city. Overall, over 8,000 soldiers on both sides were killed and over 5,000 civilians also perished. At the time, Sarajevo's population was over 525,000 people. In 2015, the city's population was estimated to be about 350,000, a steep dropped caused by refugees and causalities that had not been replaced. The Dayton Agreement laid out the territorial changes in the region and set boundaries and conditions of governing rule in the affect regions. One of the signatories was Slobodan Milosevic, Serbian President who would later be removed by NATO forces for war crimes and crimes against humanity in 1999.

30. Who crushed a major Christian, mostly Serb, rebellion in 1850-51 against Ottoman rule?

From Quiz Bosnia and Herzegovina for the Curious

Answer: Omer-Pasha Latas

Omer-Pasha Latas (born Mihailo Latas, a Serb officer serving in Austrian army, who later converted to Islam) crushed a major rebellion in 1850-51 and revoked the separate status of Herzegovina. Christians rose against the much-hated and oppressive system of tax-farming.

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