Posavina (Serbian Cyrillic:Посавина) is ageographical region that stretches along theSava river, encompassing only the inner areas of theSava river basin, that are adjacent or near to the Sava river itself, namely catch region spanning from theJulian Alps in the northwest to the confluence with theDanube in the southeast. It passes through several countries offormer Yugoslavia, namelySlovenia,Croatia,Bosnia and Herzegovina andSerbia. InSlovene, the term Posavina is not used to describe the parts of Slovenia that lie by the Sava river. Instead, the termsPosavje,Zasavje andZgornjesavska dolina are used (however, the parts of Slovenia betweenLitija andBled, as well asBohinj, are generally not defined by their proximity to the Sava river in Slovenian geographical nomenclature).
The geography of the Posavina region is defined bygeological features of the central (inner) zones of theSava river basin, near or adjacent to theSava river itself. The region extends along the Sava river, which flows from west to east, connecting valleys and plains in transitional regions between theDinaric Mountains and thePannonian Plain. The geographical borders of the Posavina region are defined, to the south, by northern zones of theDinaric mountain system, while Posavina′s northern borders are defined by thePannonian island mountains. In terms ofpolitical geography, the Posavina region is divided into Croatian Posavina, Bosnian Posavina, and Serbian Posavina.[1]
During theRoman era, the region belonged to the province ofPannonia, marking its most southern zone. During the reign of emperorAugustus, it was the epicenter of thePannonian Uprising. During the 5th century, the region was invaded by several migrating peoples, includingHuns andGoths.[2] In post-Roman era, during the 6th century, the region was contested betweenOstrogoths,Gepids,Langobards,Avars, and theByzantine Empire.[3]
By the end the 6th and during the 7th century, the entire region was settled bySouth Slavs. In 819-823, western parts of the region were center of theLjudevit's Rebellion against theFrankish Empire. During the 11th and 12th century, almost all parts of Posavina were gradually conquered by theKingdom of Hungary.
In the first half of the 18th century,Sava-Danube (Posavina-Podunavlje) section of theHabsburgMilitary Frontier existed in the area. Posavina segment of the Frontier comprised parts of theKingdom of Croatia-Slavonia – the southern parts ofSlavonia andSyrmia, stretching fromNova Gradiška to the confluence of theDrina river into the Sava.
Between 1929 and 1939, one of the provinces of theKingdom of Yugoslavia was known as the Croatian regionSava Banovina. The capital city of the province wasZagreb inCroatia. In 1939, Sava Banovina was merged withLittoral Banovina to form newBanovina of Croatia.
Today, one of the counties inCroatia is namedBrod-Posavina County and one of the cantons inBosnia and Herzegovina is namedPosavina Canton.
The Bosnian Posavina region was gravely hit by thewar in Bosnia and Herzegovina (1992–95) to the point that parts of it had become uninhabited[citation needed], as almost all the houses were plundered, burnt or destroyed. Only a small number of people have returned to their homes. The majority of refugees live in and around the city ofSlavonski Brod,Croatia right across theSava River, while a minority emigrated to theEuropean Union countries, theUnited States, andAustralia.[citation needed]
The towns Sava flows to or in vicinity from northwest to southeast include:
Cities and towns inSlovenia
Cities and towns inCroatia
Cities and towns inBosnia and Herzegovina
Cities and towns inSerbia
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