Ban

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The title Ban [ baːn ] or Banus (Hungarian bán ) was used in numerous countries in Central and Southeastern Europe between the 7th century and the 20th century as a designation for dignitaries and is of either Avar or Illyrian origin. The title corresponds roughly to that of a margrave ; but in Croatia, which was nominally a kingdom for many centuries, this title corresponded to that of a viceroy. The territory over which a ban ruled was called "Banschaft" or " Banat " (Hungarian bánság , Croatian, Bosnian, Serbian banovina ). The most important banks (also known as Banats) were those of Dalmatia , Croatia , Slavonia , Bosnia , Machow and Szörény .

Word origin

It is believed that the word Ban comes from the Sarmatian word bajan , which means "leader". The word is still used today in numerous place names. After the Yugoslav Romanist Petar Skok, Banat is derived from the Avar prince title ban . Other theories relate to the Illyrian origin and the Illyrian name Banius , the existence of which is suspected based on Bosnian finds. According to one theory, the title ban was derived from the name of an Avar chagan ( bayan ). The Slavic word pan for “Lord” is also often associated with it. According to Anton Scherer , the Bulgarians should have called their governors "Bane". What is certain is that the Bulgarian aristocracy was called boil (from which the title Boljar later developed) and that there was a ruler named Bat-bajan . Compare also the Persian title Marzban , with which a similar function was connected in the Sasanid Empire .

Hungary

There were several bane in the Kingdom of Hungary. In addition to the designation of the Slavic princes in Croatia , Slavonia , Dalmatia and Bosnia , the title was initially also used as a name for the highest dignitaries.

Later in the history of the Hungarian Empire this title became an ore office . The title Ban denoted the provincial administrators of Croatia, Slavonia and several eastern border marks of Hungary in Wallachia (now Romania ). These provinces were known as "Banate", the Croatian areas also as "Banks".

What is now understood under the name ( Temescher ) Banat has never been a Banat in the true sense of the word and was only referred to as the "Banatus Temesvariensis" after the Peace of Passarowitz (1718), while the Peace of Karlovitz (1699 ) describes this area as "Provincia Temesvariensis".

Croatia Slavonia

Since the personal union of Croatia with Hungary in 1102, the ban was appointed by the Hungarian king and sworn in at the Reichstag , but not for life. In political, juridical and military affairs he exercised the supreme power almost unrestrictedly and in his district was considered the closest to the king.

The Ban was since the 14th century the highest representative of the state in Croatia as the representative of the monarch residing outside the country (in Hungary or Vienna ). The title of the ban is a confirmation of the independence of Croatia and the traditional autonomy of the Croatian state over the centuries.

The Ban of Croatia was the third among the arch, crown and imperial officials of the Kingdom of Hungary . At the coronation ceremony, he carried the imperial orb . Formerly he had the duty to protect the borders of Hungary and to judge the people in times of peace. As a result, this important office fell into disrepair. Although it was restored with significant rights in the 17th and 18th centuries, its sphere of activity was limited partly by the border constitution that was introduced and partly by other changes.

The Turkish power, which had advanced further since the Battle of Mohács , gradually swallowed up all the banks except for the united Dalmatia and Croatia-Slavonia, which retained one bank. But its power was also very limited, since part was held by the Turks and the other by the imperial military commanders. The separation of civil and military affairs made in 1746 when the military border was established , the latter being assigned to the Vienna Court War Council , restricted the ban even more; however, he received the administration of Maria Theresa from the Hungarian counties Pozsega (Croatian Požega ) , Verőce (Croatian Virovitica ) and Syrmia (Croatian / Serbian Srijem) formed Slavonia.

Due to the imposed Austrian constitution of March 4, 1849, which redefined Croatia, Slavonia and Dalmatia as their own crown land , the Banus became independent from Hungary and an independent governor in his district with the same authority as the governors of the other crown lands. Ban Josip Jelačić was appointed directly by the Austrian emperor .

Ban Josip Jelačić

With the Hungarian-Croatian Compromise in 1868, the Ban of Croatia and Slavonia was again a governor who was subordinate to and appointed by the Hungarian government. Subordinate to the Ban with seat in Agram u. a. the Croatian-Slavonian Honvéd units . The implementation of further provisions of the Hungarian-Croatian Compromise took place hesitantly, so that the following decades were marked by disputes between Agram and the Hungarian central government in Budapest . The last Ban within the Hungarian Kingdom was Antun Mihalović (June 29, 1917 to January 20, 1919). After a brief period of autocracy, Croatia became part of the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes.

Yugoslavia

With the abolition of the historical provinces in the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes (later Kingdom of Yugoslavia ) in 1921, the office of Banus was abolished. The last ban was Tomislav Tomljenović (March 2, 1921 to July 3, 1921). In the course of the establishment of a royal dictatorship under Alexander Karađorđević and the subsequent administrative reform, nine banks or banats were founded in 1929, whose appointed governors carried the title of ban . A planned reform to transform the nine Banats into three ethnic Banats - one Croatian, one Serbian and one Slovenian Banat each - only partially took place before the invasion of German troops in 1941 ( Banschaft Croatia ).

See also

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Gerhard Herm: The Balkans. The powder keg of Europe . Econ Verlag GmbH, Düsseldorf / Vienna / New York / Moscow, 1993, p. 146, ISBN 978-3430144452
  2. ↑ Petar Skok: Toponomastika Vojvodine, In: Vojvodina. Vol. 1 . Novi Sad 1939, p. 108-127 .
  3. ↑ Anton Scherer : Bane and Banate - Etymology of the name from the 10th century to 1941 . Danubio-Suevia, Graz 1989, p. 16 .
  4. ↑ Lexicon of the Middle Ages , Volume 2 . LexMA-Verlag, Munich 1980, ISBN 3-423-59057-2 .
  5. ^ Anton Scherer: Suevia-Pannonica . Graz 2009, p. 14 .
  6. ↑ Der Große Brockhaus, handbook in twenty volumes (Brockhaus Konversations-Lexikon, 15th edition) Vol. 9, Leipzig 1931, p. 497