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The Development of Spiritual Life in Bosnia under the Influence of Turkish Rule
Ivo Andric (1892-1975), Nobel Prize laureate for literature in 1961, is undoubtedly the most popular of all contemporary Yugoslav writers. Over the span of fifty-two years some 267 of his works have been published in thirty-three languages. Andric’s doctoral dissertation, The Development of Spiritual Life in Bosnia under the Influence of Turkish Rule (1924), never before translated into English, sheds important light on the author’s literary writings and must be taken into account in any current critical analysis of his work.
Over his long and distinguished career as a diplomat and man of letters Andric never again so directly or discursively addressed, as a social historian, the impact of Turkish hegemony on the Bosnian people (1463–1878), a theme he returns to again and again in his novels. Although Andric’s fiction was embedded in history, scholars know very little of his actual readings in history and have no other comparable treatment of it from his own pen. This dissertation abounds with topics that Andric incorporated into his early stories and later novels, including a focus on the moral stresses and compromises within Bosnia’s four religious Catholic, Orthodox, Jew, and Muslim.
Z. B. Juricic provides an extensive introduction describing the circumstances under which this work was written and situating it in Andric’s oeuvre. John F. Loud’s original bibliography drawn from this dissertation stands as the only comprehensive inventory of historical sources known to have been closely familiar to the author at this early stage in his development.
Over his long and distinguished career as a diplomat and man of letters Andric never again so directly or discursively addressed, as a social historian, the impact of Turkish hegemony on the Bosnian people (1463–1878), a theme he returns to again and again in his novels. Although Andric’s fiction was embedded in history, scholars know very little of his actual readings in history and have no other comparable treatment of it from his own pen. This dissertation abounds with topics that Andric incorporated into his early stories and later novels, including a focus on the moral stresses and compromises within Bosnia’s four religious Catholic, Orthodox, Jew, and Muslim.
Z. B. Juricic provides an extensive introduction describing the circumstances under which this work was written and situating it in Andric’s oeuvre. John F. Loud’s original bibliography drawn from this dissertation stands as the only comprehensive inventory of historical sources known to have been closely familiar to the author at this early stage in his development.
- GenresNonfictionHistory
152 pages, Hardcover
First published May 15, 1924
About the author
Ivo Andrić
266 books1,268 followersIvo Andrić (Serbian Cyrillic: Иво Андрић; born Ivan Andrić) was a Yugoslav novelist, poet and short story writer who won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1961. His writings dealt mainly with life in his native Bosnia under Ottoman rule.
Born in Travnik in Austria-Hungary, modern-day Bosnia and Herzegovina, Andrić attended high school in Sarajevo, where he became an active member of several South Slav national youth organizations. Following the assassination of Archduke of Austria Franz Ferdinand in June 1914, Andrić was arrested and imprisoned by the Austro-Hungarian police, who suspected his involvement in the plot. As the authorities were unable to build a strong case against him, he spent much of the war under house arrest, only being released following a general amnesty for such cases in July 1917. After the war, he studied South Slavic history and literature at universities in Zagreb and Graz, eventually attaining his PhD. in Graz in 1924. He worked in the diplomatic service of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia from 1920 to 1923 and again from 1924 to 1941. In 1939, he became Yugoslavia's ambassador to Germany, but his tenure ended in April 1941 with the German-led invasion of his country. Shortly after the invasion, Andrić returned to German-occupied Belgrade. He lived quietly in a friend's apartment for the duration of World War II, in conditions likened by some biographers to house arrest, and wrote some of his most important works, including Na Drini ćuprija (The Bridge on the Drina).
Following the war, Andrić was named to a number of ceremonial posts in Yugoslavia, which had since come under communist rule. In 1961, the Nobel Committee awarded him the Nobel Prize in Literature, selecting him over writers such as J.R.R. Tolkien, Robert Frost, John Steinbeck and E.M. Forster. The Committee cited "the epic force with which he ... traced themes and depicted human destinies drawn from his country's history". Afterwards, Andrić's works found an international audience and were translated into a number of languages. In subsequent years, he received a number of awards in his native country. Andrić's health declined substantially in late 1974 and he died in Belgrade the following March.
In the years following Andrić's death, the Belgrade apartment where he spent much of World War II was converted into a museum and a nearby street corner was named in his honour. A number of other cities in the former Yugoslavia also have streets bearing his name. In 2012, filmmaker Emir Kusturica began construction of an ethno-town in eastern Bosnia that is named after Andrić. As Yugoslavia's only Nobel Prize-winning writer, Andrić was well known and respected in his native country during his lifetime. In Bosnia and Herzegovina, beginning in the 1950s and continuing past the breakup of Yugoslavia, his works have been disparaged by Bosniak literary critics for their supposed anti-Muslim bias. In Croatia, his works had occasionally been blacklisted following Yugoslavia's dissolution in the 1990s, but were rehabilitated by the literary community. He is highly regarded in Serbia for his contributions to Serbian literature.
Born in Travnik in Austria-Hungary, modern-day Bosnia and Herzegovina, Andrić attended high school in Sarajevo, where he became an active member of several South Slav national youth organizations. Following the assassination of Archduke of Austria Franz Ferdinand in June 1914, Andrić was arrested and imprisoned by the Austro-Hungarian police, who suspected his involvement in the plot. As the authorities were unable to build a strong case against him, he spent much of the war under house arrest, only being released following a general amnesty for such cases in July 1917. After the war, he studied South Slavic history and literature at universities in Zagreb and Graz, eventually attaining his PhD. in Graz in 1924. He worked in the diplomatic service of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia from 1920 to 1923 and again from 1924 to 1941. In 1939, he became Yugoslavia's ambassador to Germany, but his tenure ended in April 1941 with the German-led invasion of his country. Shortly after the invasion, Andrić returned to German-occupied Belgrade. He lived quietly in a friend's apartment for the duration of World War II, in conditions likened by some biographers to house arrest, and wrote some of his most important works, including Na Drini ćuprija (The Bridge on the Drina).
Following the war, Andrić was named to a number of ceremonial posts in Yugoslavia, which had since come under communist rule. In 1961, the Nobel Committee awarded him the Nobel Prize in Literature, selecting him over writers such as J.R.R. Tolkien, Robert Frost, John Steinbeck and E.M. Forster. The Committee cited "the epic force with which he ... traced themes and depicted human destinies drawn from his country's history". Afterwards, Andrić's works found an international audience and were translated into a number of languages. In subsequent years, he received a number of awards in his native country. Andrić's health declined substantially in late 1974 and he died in Belgrade the following March.
In the years following Andrić's death, the Belgrade apartment where he spent much of World War II was converted into a museum and a nearby street corner was named in his honour. A number of other cities in the former Yugoslavia also have streets bearing his name. In 2012, filmmaker Emir Kusturica began construction of an ethno-town in eastern Bosnia that is named after Andrić. As Yugoslavia's only Nobel Prize-winning writer, Andrić was well known and respected in his native country during his lifetime. In Bosnia and Herzegovina, beginning in the 1950s and continuing past the breakup of Yugoslavia, his works have been disparaged by Bosniak literary critics for their supposed anti-Muslim bias. In Croatia, his works had occasionally been blacklisted following Yugoslavia's dissolution in the 1990s, but were rehabilitated by the literary community. He is highly regarded in Serbia for his contributions to Serbian literature.
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
December 14, 2008
A great depiction of the clashing religions in Bosnia as a result of the Ottoman influence. Although the dissertation is quite anti-Islamic, it is still factual and worth the time for Bosnians and others to read in order to get a clearer pictures as to the origins of our conflicts.
February 12, 2019
An excellent read about history of Bosnia immediately predating and during the 400 year Ottoman rule. I knew before reading that detractors called it at least controversial if not downright anti-Muslim, however, I found nothing controversial nor anti-Muslim in it. I found solid truth, supported through author's thorough research conducted by visiting libraries of major European metropolises as well as unknown Bosnian villages in collecting and examining multitude of primary sources written by people of different ethnic and religious backgrounds who lived in those turbulent times. Truth and facts are only anti-deception and anti-lies.
Though I have heard of many of many things mentioned in Andric's dissertation in our folklore, only by reading Andric's dissertation have I been able to come to full realization of their true meanings. It is perhaps the most rewarding immediate gift that can be acquired by reading this investigative literary work.
As a libertarian, I must say that Ivo Andric's critical review of Turkish Ottoman influence on Bosnia and the region in his dissertation should not be taken as the cause for hatred towards local Muslim population today. It is simply a painstakingly compiled historical knowledge that showcases the nature of government and paints a clear picture of the true enemy of the individual throughout centuries, over and over again. For example, one can draw many parallels in government evildoing between the times of Ottoman rule and today. Same goes for the briefly mentioned time of Bosnia's supposed independence before the arrival of the Ottomans. Government kills, enslaves, extorts, and destroys everything it touches. It is solely for those exact reasons that the government made the right cunning move in keeping this revealing work of the great Nobel laureate in literature under wraps hidden from the populace, so that it can keep the artificial harmony among the ethnic and religious groups, in order to ensure its own preservation.
But for the purpose of an individual's enlightenment about the true nature of government, it is of great importance that the population learns details of its own history, no matter how painful it may be. When people start realizing how history often repeats and even more rhymes, no matter who is the ruler or how the ruler is chosen, many deceived and enslaved souls will begin piecing the cards together and finally looking to direction of individual freedom and independence from government as the only real salvation and opportunity for reaching their life's full potential.
Research history, compare patterns, and realize who is your real enemy. Then stop feeding your own menace and get out of harm's way.
Though I have heard of many of many things mentioned in Andric's dissertation in our folklore, only by reading Andric's dissertation have I been able to come to full realization of their true meanings. It is perhaps the most rewarding immediate gift that can be acquired by reading this investigative literary work.
As a libertarian, I must say that Ivo Andric's critical review of Turkish Ottoman influence on Bosnia and the region in his dissertation should not be taken as the cause for hatred towards local Muslim population today. It is simply a painstakingly compiled historical knowledge that showcases the nature of government and paints a clear picture of the true enemy of the individual throughout centuries, over and over again. For example, one can draw many parallels in government evildoing between the times of Ottoman rule and today. Same goes for the briefly mentioned time of Bosnia's supposed independence before the arrival of the Ottomans. Government kills, enslaves, extorts, and destroys everything it touches. It is solely for those exact reasons that the government made the right cunning move in keeping this revealing work of the great Nobel laureate in literature under wraps hidden from the populace, so that it can keep the artificial harmony among the ethnic and religious groups, in order to ensure its own preservation.
But for the purpose of an individual's enlightenment about the true nature of government, it is of great importance that the population learns details of its own history, no matter how painful it may be. When people start realizing how history often repeats and even more rhymes, no matter who is the ruler or how the ruler is chosen, many deceived and enslaved souls will begin piecing the cards together and finally looking to direction of individual freedom and independence from government as the only real salvation and opportunity for reaching their life's full potential.
Research history, compare patterns, and realize who is your real enemy. Then stop feeding your own menace and get out of harm's way.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews