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) |
| Born | perhaps ca. 1125 |
| Died | after 1163 |
| Religion | Christianity |
| Occupation | Hungarian vassal |
Borić (fl. 1154–63) was the first known Ban of Bosnia as a Hungarian vassal. He was appointed by 1154, during Byzantine-Hungarian conflicts, and was last mentioned in 1163.
Borić is mentioned by Byzantine Greek historian John Kinnamos in his history book covering years 1118–1176. The first certain mention regards 1154, when the Byzantine-Hungarian war was underway, with engagements in the Danube area. Hungarian king Géza II surrounded Byzantine-held Braničevo (in Serbia) and devastated the surrounding area. Part of this Hungarian force was Hungarian vassal Borić, the ban of Bosnia, and a Bohemian detachment. Kinnamos described Borić as "exarch (governor) of the land/country of Bosnia". He furthermore described Bosnia as a "Dalmatian" (Serbian) province, but noted that it was not dependent on the Serbian Grand Prince. When the Hungarian force raised the siege of Braničevo and headed west for Belgrade, Byzantine emperor Manuel I Komnenos sent a detachment to attack the Bosnian troops which he had learnt accompanied them. However, that Byzantine detachment clashed with the main Hungarian force and was decisively defeated.
It is uncertain how and when Borić came to rule Bosnia. He was not a native Bosnian; his homeland is taken to have been central Slavonia. As Hungary became the overlord of Bosnia in the 1130s, it is most likely that Borić was appointed governor in Bosnia as a Hungarian vassal, and was obliged to participate in the march on Braničevo.
There are no mentions of Borić until 1163, by which time Géza II was deceased (31 May 1162) and there was a civil war in Hungary regarding the inheritance of the throne – Géza's brothers Ladislaus and Stephen IV rose up against crowned heir Stephen III. Ladislaus managed to gain the throne, but he died shortly afterwards (14 January 1163), upon which Stephen IV took it with Byzantine help. Borić supported Stephen IV, presumably due to assurance that Stephen IV would, as a Byzantine protege, stand. In 1163 at Esztergom, Stephen IV issued a charter in which he confirmed ban Beloš's decision that the Dubrava forest belongs to the Bishopric of Zagreb; among witnesses were Borić, listed after Beloš, a Hungarian court member and palatine, and before other counts. Also, with the permit of Stephen IV, Borić in 1162–63 gifted the village of Zdelje (Esdel) to the Templars in Slavonia, later confirmed by kings Béla III and Andrew II (in 1209), as part of further gifts of his descendants.
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