First known inhabitants of Bosnia and Herzegovina were Illyrians, an ancient nation of Indo-European descent, whose presence in our country was confirmed in the 2nd century BC. Written records about them were made by the Greeks and Romans, who lauded the Illyrians warlike nature. Thanks to relatively long geographical isolation the Illyrians managed to preserve their religious tradition which under dominant roman presence and similarity of pagan traditions slowly started to merge with the Roman religion. Such a sequence of events is completely predictable mostly because the Illyrian people didn't build large monuments, inscriptions and temples to gods like the Romans, whose deities were literally omnipresent thanks to their sculptures and holly places. Illyrian temples were usually modest buildings; or they were incorporated with the natural surrounding such as the temple (chapel) of Bindu, god of streams, the most important deity Japod, tribes which inhabited north-western part of Bosnia, especially the part where Bihać is located today, the name itself has some similarity with Bindu.
When we look at the religious tradition of the Illyrians today we cannot disregard Greek, Roman and Celtic influences since these three cultures had a smaller and larger influence in the religious thought and practice. Since the 4th century BC, when the barbarian tribes started to threaten the borders of the Roman empire, until the appearance of Avars and Slavs at the beginning of 7th century, that socio-religious influence entered its final phase and determined the future of the Bosnian folk which is best illustrated by the example of the Bogomil movement. Resistance which the Bosnian people showed towards the church can be equated with the Illyrian rebellion against the Romans or the more recent resistance against the aggression on our country from Serbia, Montenegro and Serbs in Bosnia and Herzegovina; where the Bosniaks, both militarily overpowered and outnumbered showed superhuman strength and fighting spirit which they inherited from their Illyrian forefathers.
When we look at the religious tradition of the Illyrians today we cannot disregard Greek, Roman and Celtic influences since these three cultures had a smaller and larger influence in the religious thought and practice. Since the 4th century BC, when the barbarian tribes started to threaten the borders of the Roman empire, until the appearance of Avars and Slavs at the beginning of 7th century, that socio-religious influence entered its final phase and determined the future of the Bosnian folk which is best illustrated by the example of the Bogomil movement. Resistance which the Bosnian people showed towards the church can be equated with the Illyrian rebellion against the Romans or the more recent resistance against the aggression on our country from Serbia, Montenegro and Serbs in Bosnia and Herzegovina; where the Bosniaks, both militarily overpowered and outnumbered showed superhuman strength and fighting spirit which they inherited from their Illyrian forefathers.
