February 1st has been proposed to be established and marked as the Day of Sarajevo’s Founding. The proposal by the Chairman of the Sarajevo City Council, Jasmin Ademovic, will be considered under an urgent procedure. The initiative has divided councilors and partners from the Coalition of the Three, who say this is a populist decision. It has also divided the academic community. Two letters with hundreds of signatories – some in favor, some against. One history, two interpretations.
Is Sarajevo older, or are the Ottomans? Although Sarajevo got its current name from the word ‘saray’, meaning “palace” or “mansion”, during the time of Isa-beg Ishakovic in the 15th century, its existence had been recorded centuries earlier. From the Neolithic and the Butmir culture, the Illyrians, and the Romans, to medieval Vrhbosna. Authorities changed, names changed, and dates changed. The same is true today. A new initiative has been launched to determine the founding date of Sarajevo.
“The decision to mark Sarajevo’s founding is the result of research based on scientific and historical facts, conducted jointly by many relevant institutions: the Institute of History, the Oriental Institute at the University of Sarajevo (UNSA), the Gazi Husrev-bey Library, and it is very important to highlight that the Sarajevo Historical Archive, which holds a copy of Isa-beg’s vakufnama, has supported the proposal to designate February 1st as the Day of Sarajevo’s Founding,” said NiP’s Jasmin Ademovic, Chairman of the Sarajevo City Council.
On the other hand, Ratko Orozovic, a councilor from Our party in the Sarajevo City Council, responded: “That initiative has not yet been brought before the City Council, and if it does – it’s pure populism. Now, does everyone have to come up with something, and we all have to accept it? Sarajevo belongs to all Sarajevo citizens, from the time of Rome until today. I won’t give up Sarajevo, shame on them!”
The initiative has divided councilors and partners from Coalition of the Three. For NiP, it is about preserving history and establishing Sarajevo’s foundations, while for Our party, it is nothing but pure populism. The academic community shares similar views. Two letters with hundreds of signatories – some in favor, some against. Historians may hold different opinions, but facts are not open to free interpretation.
“Sarajevo has a birth certificate of its founding. It is February 1st, 1469. April 6th is an important date in Sarajevo’s modern history, the day it was liberated from fascism, and that is indisputable. Sarajevo as a city, let’s say, has existed since its founding by Isa-beg Ishakovic,” says historian Enver Imamovic.
Historian Husnija Kamberovic claims that February 1st is not Sarajevo’s birthday at all: “February 1st is possibly just one of the potential dates when Isa-beg Ishakovic’s vakufnama was legalized. Was there something before Isa-beg Ishakovic’s endowments? I believe there was, and historical science has shown and proven that there was a civilization here, that there was a market here. If there was a medieval market, it could not have been just any village.”
Are current political ideologies more valuable than the continuity and centuries-long existence of a city? Sarajevo, though not under this name, existed before the Ottomans, exists today, and will continue to exist. Burned, conquered, liberated, and always rebuilt.
