Ban Borić

Borić
Ban of Bosnia
Office	fl. 1154–1163
Predecessor	Ladislaus II of Hungary 1137–1159 as Duke of Bosnia
Successor	Stephen IV of Hungary 1165–1180 as King of Hungary
Noble family	Boričević (as progenitor)
Religion	Christianity
Occupation	Hungarian vassal

Borić (Latin: Boricius, Greek: Βορίτξης; fl. 1154–67) was the first Ban of Bosnia as a Hungarian vassal. He was appointed by 1154, and was last mentioned in 1167.

1154

As the Hungarian crown's domination over Bosnia grew, Borić became its supporter and was by 1154 made a Hungarian Viceroy of Bosnia and instated with the title of Ban of the newly created Banate of Bosnia.

Borić is mentioned for the first time in 1154, during the Byzantine-Hungarian War. As a Hungarian vassal, he took part, alongside a Bohemian detachment, in the attack on Byzantine-held Braničevo. He had assisted Palatine Beloš in the attack. Byzantine Emperor Manuel I dispatched a squadron of troops towards Belgrade, to cross the river Sava and chase the Hungarian army, but it was defeated.

According to John Kinnamos, Borić held the country of Bosnia, which was a province (region) in Dalmatia (Serbia), while noting that Bosnia was not dependent on the Serbian Grand Prince, and that he was an ally of the Hungarian king in the war with Byzantine Emperor Manuel.

1162–63

Andrew II issued a charter which confirmed some possession of the Templars in the Požega Banate (in Slavonia) that had been gifted by "Ban Borić of Bosnia" (banus Boricius de Bosna), with the permission of King Stephen (1163).

The 1162–63 internal struggles for the succession of the Hungarian crown between an anti-Byzantine candidate and the pro-Byzantine Stephen IV, son of King Geza, made Borić support the anti-Byzantine bloc, owing loyalty to his former superior Beloš who now served as the Ban of Croatia and was feeling a threat to his throne in the return of Imperial dominance to Bosnia.

After King Stephen IV won, his mercenary Gottfried indeed had challenged Borić in battlefield, in 1163. However, it remains uncertain if Borić was indeed defeated and deposed on that occasion.

1167

In 1167, Borić provided troops to the Hungarian Army in the battle of Zemun against the Byzantine Empire. The Byzantines were victorious, and Bosnia became a Byzantine territory.

Possessions

He had possessions on both sides of the river Sava, in the Eastern and Western parts of Požega County.

Legacy

Borić's descendants are sometimes referred to as the Boričević. He had sons named Borić and Pavao, and his grandsons were called Odola, Čelk and Borić. The extended family also included Detmar and Benedikt (also called Borić).

Simeon Bogdanović–Siniša claimed that Ana, the wife of Serbian Grand Prince Stefan Nemanja, was the daughter of Borić, however, he thought that Borić and Boris Kalamanos were the same person (when in fact, Boris died in 1154, and Borić was alive in 1163), thus Ana would have been the daughter of Boris.

Numerous later sources refer to him as the common ancestor to most Bosnian rulers including reigning kings from the Kotromanić dynasty.

Borić is believed to have been a predecessor to the noble house of Berislavići Grabarski.

Titles

• In Latin, his title was "Ban of Bosnia" (banus Boricius de Bosna), according to a 1163 charter.
• In Greek, his title was "Exarch of the country of Bosnia" (Βορίτξης ὁ Βόσθνης χώρας ἔξάρχων), according to John Kinnamos (1176)

See also

• List of Bosnian rulers
• Banovina of Slavonia

External links

Regnal titles
New title	Ban of Bosnia fl. 1154–1163	Vacant Byzantine rule Title next held by Kulin