governed by Moslems or Roman Catholics; and at home the peasants were
permitted to retain their creed and communal organization. Judged by its
influence on Bosnian politics, the Orthodox community was relatively
unimportant at the Turkish conquest; and its subsequent growth is
perhaps due to the official recognition of the Greek Church, as the
representative of Christianity in Turkey. The Christian aristocracy lost
its privileges, but its ancient titles of duke (_vojvod_) and count
(_knez_) did not disappear. The first was retained by the leaders who
still carried on the struggle for liberty in Montenegro; the second was
transferred to the headmen of the communes. Many of the Franciscans
refused to abandon their work, and in 1463 they received a charter from
the sultan Mahomet II., which is still preserved in the monastery of
Fojnica, near Travnik. This toleration of religious orders, though it
did not prevent occasional outrages, remained to the last characteristic
of Turkish policy in Bosnia; and even in 1868 a colony of Trappist monks
was permitted to settle in Banjaluka.

Bosnia under Turkish rule.

The Turkish triumph was the opportunity of the Bogomils, who
thenceforth, assuming a new character, controlled the destinies of their
country for more than three centuries. Bosnia was regarded by successive
sultans as the gateway into Hungary; hatred of the Hungarians and their
religion was hereditary among the Bogomils. Thus the desire for
vengeance and the prospect of a brilliant military career impelled the
Bogomil magnates to adopt the creed of Islam, which, in its austerity,
presented some points of resemblance to their own doctrines. The nominal
governor of the country was the Turkish _vali_, who resided at Banjaluka
or Travnik, and rarely interfered in local affairs, if the taxes were
duly paid. Below him ranked the newly converted Moslem aristocracy, who
adopted the dress, titles and etiquette of the Turkish court, without
relinquishing their language or many of their old customs. They dwelt in
fortified towns or castles, where the vali was only admitted on
sufferance for a few days; and, at the outset, they formed a separate
military caste, headed by 48 _kapetans_--landholders exercising
unfettered authority over their retainers and Christian serfs, but
bound, in return, to provide a company of mounted troops for the service
of their sovereign. Their favourite pursuits were fighting, either
against a commo