{{Italic title}} {{History of Bosnia and Herzegovina}} '''''Stanak''''' is the most common name used to refer to the assembly of nobility in medieval Bosnia. The assembly, in the original Bosančica: {{script|Cyrl|Сmɖɴɖк}} ({{Lang-hbs-Cyrl|Станак}}), was also known as the '''''Rusag''''' (from the Hungarian word ''orszag'', meaning "state" or "nation"<ref name="enciklopedija.hr">{{cite web |title=orsag |url=https://www.enciklopedija.hr/clanak/orsag |website=www.enciklopedija.hr |access-date=19 July 2024}}</ref>), '''''Rusag bosanski''''', '''''Zbor''''', '''''Sva Bosna''''' (meaning "Whole of Bosnia") or just '''''Bosna''''', with the officials of the Republic of Ragusa employing several Latin terms as well. The term ''"stanak sve zemlje Bosne",'' is first attested in the charter of Tvrtko I in 1354.<ref name="parlament">{{cite web |last=Radušić |first=Edin |year=2010 |title=Istorija parlamentarizma u BiH |url=https://www.parlament.ba/Content/Read/177?title=Srednjevjekovnabosanskadr%C5%BEava |work=Parlamentarna skupština Bosne i Hercegovine |publisher=Parliamentary Assembly of Bosnia and Herzegovina}}</ref>{{sfn|Ćirković|1964|p=95}} Its influence peaked between the 1390s and the 1420s. The Serbian historian Sima Ćirković and most other Yugoslav scholars believed that the existence of the ''stanak'' proved a unity and feeling of belonging to a Bosnian identity and integrity,{{sfn|Ćirković|1964|p=224}} but also illustrated weakness of the monarch and decentralization of the state, as argued by American colleague John Van Antwerp Fine, Jr.<ref name="Fine2">{{citation|title=The Bosnian Church: Its Place in State and Society from the Thirteenth to the Fifteenth Century|last=Van Antwerp Fine|first=John|author-link=John Van Antwerp Fine, Jr.|publisher=Saqi|isbn=978-0863565038|year=2007|pages=174}}</ref>
The right to take part in the sessions of the s''tanak'' was enjoyed by every Bosnian ''knez'', from magnates to petty lords, collectively known as ''vlastela'', but the ultimate authority belonged to the highest nobility.<ref name=jlz>{{cite book|title=Enciklopedija Jugoslavije: Bje-Crn|year=1980|editor1=Miroslav Krleža |editor2=Ivo Cecić |editor3=Igor Gostl|publisher=Jugoslavenski leksikografski zavod|page=217}}</ref> The ''stanak'' was convoked when required, usually by the ruler, who presided over it and led its sessions.<ref name="parlament" /><ref name="jlz" /> If male, his wife was allowed to attend, but his children were not.<ref name="parlament" /> The Bosnian Church clergy, not belonging to the ''vlastela'', were also barred, but influenced decision-making in the ''stanak'' through the great lords associated with them.<ref name=jlz/> The magnates of the country convoked the ''stanak'' themselves when the country experienced greater domestic issues, such as succession crisis or deposition of the ruler, domestic conflicts or wars. It normally took place wherever the monarch held court: in Mile, Milodraž, Bobovac, Kraljeva Sutjeska and Jajce.<ref name=parlament/>
The ''stanak'' enjoyed great power and authority; it deliberated on matters such as election of the new king or queen and coronation, foreign policy, sale or cession of territory, contracting and signing treaties with neighboring countries, and military issues.<ref name=parlament/><ref name=jlz/> Charters issued by monarchs reflected the decisions made by the ''stanak''; as the royal power weakened, that of s''tanak'' increased.<ref name=parlament/>
== References == {{reflist}}
==Bibliography== * {{Cite book|last=Ćirković|first=Sima|author-link=Sima Ćirković|title=Историја средњовековне босанске државе |trans-title=History of the medieval Bosnian state |publisher=Srpska književna zadruga|year=1964 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=A2nrswEACAAJ |language=sr}}
{{Bosnian Parliament through history}}
Category:Historical legislatures Category:Kingdom of Bosnia Category:Medieval Bosnian state