Mačva Мачва | |
|---|---|
Geographical and historical region ofSerbia | |
 Map of the Mačva region | |
| Country |  Serbia |
| Largest city | Šabac |
| Population | |
• Total | 150,000 |
Mačva (Serbian Cyrillic:Мачва,pronounced[mâːt͡ʃv̞a];Hungarian:Macsó) is a geographical and historical region in the northwest ofCentral Serbia, on a fertile plain between theSava andDrina rivers. The chief town isŠabac. The modernMačva District of Serbia is named after the region, although the region of Mačva includes only the northern part of this district. A small northern part of Mačva region is in the Autonomous Province ofVojvodina, in theSyrmia District.
The region is named after a town of Mačva, which existed in the Medieval Ages near the riverSava. In the past, the region was also known asLower Srem, while the neighbouring region on the northern bank of the river Sava (present-daySrem) was known asUpper Srem.
InSerbian Cyrillic, the region is known as Мачва, inSerbian Latin,Bosnian andCroatian asMačva, inHungarian asMacsó orMacsóság, inTurkish asMaçva, and inGerman asMatschva.
Throughout history, the region of Mačva has successively been a part of theRoman Empire (1st-4th century); theByzantine Empire (4th-5th century; 5th-7th century; and 11th-12th century), theHun Empire (5th century),Avar Khaganate (7th century), theSlavic-controlled territories (7th-9th century), theBulgarian Empire (9th-11th century), theKingdom of Hungary (12th-13th century; 14th century; 15th century; 16th century), theState of Serb king Stefan Dragutin (13th-14th century), theSerbian Empire (14th century), theState of Nikola Altomanović (14th century), theMoravian Serbia (14th century), theSerbian Despotate (15th century), theOttoman Empire (15th century; 16th-18th century; 18th-19th century), theKingdom of Serbia under the Habsburg Monarchy (1718–1739),Karađorđe's Serbia (1804–1813), the vassalPrincipality of Serbia (1815–1878), the independentPrincipality of Serbia (1878–1882), theKingdom of Serbia (1882–1918), theKingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes (1918–1929), theKingdom of Yugoslavia (1929–1941), the area governed by theMilitary Administration in Serbia (1941–1944), theSocialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (1944–1992), theFederal Republic of Yugoslavia (1992–2003), andSerbia and Montenegro (2003–2006). Since 2006, the region is part of an independentSerbia.
Mačva was inhabited since theStone Age. Before the Roman conquest, the region was inhabited byIllyrians[1] andCelticScordisces. In the first century BC, the region was conquered by theRomans, and Scordisces were pushed to the northern side of theSava river. During the Roman rule, the region was part of the provinces ofMoesia andPannonia.
Roman rule lasted until the 5th century, and the region was conquered by theSarmatians,Huns,Goths,Gepids,Lombards andAvars. In the 6th century,Slavic tribes settled in the region.
The region was then included intoByzantine Empire,Frankish Kingdom, andBulgarian Empire. In the 11th century, the Byzantine province known as theTheme of Sirmium included both, the present-day region ofSrem and Mačva, thus Srem became the designation for both regions.
In the 13th century, the region was included into theKingdom of Hungary andBanovina of Mačva was formed in 1247. Banovina was named after a town called Mačva, but the location of this settlement has not been clearly established in modern times. It is suspected that the town of Mačva existed a few kilometers down the river from modernŠabac.
During the Hungarian administration the region was ruled by several powerfulbans. Hungarian kingBéla IV granted authority over Mačva toRostislav Mikhailovich, a refugee Russian prince. In the 13th century,Béla of Macsó (grandson of Béla IV) ruled Mačva as well asUsora andSoli (areas acrossDrina river in today's northeasternBosnia).
Between 1282 and 1316 the Serb KingStefan Dragutin ruled theKingdom of Srem, which consisted of Mačva,Usora,Soli and some adjacent territories. His capital cities wereDebrc (betweenBelgrade andŠabac) andBelgrade. In that time the nameSrem was designation for two territories:Upper Srem (present daySrem) andLower Srem (present day Mačva). Kingdom of Srem under the rule of Stefan Dragutin was located in Lower Srem. According to some sources, Stefan Dragutin also ruled over Upper Srem, but other sources are mentioning another local ruler,Ugrin Csák, who ruled over Upper Srem andSlavonija.
At first, Stefan Dragutin was a vassal of the Hungarian king, but since the central power in the Kingdom of Hungary collapsed, both, Stefan Dragutin and Ugrin Csák were de facto independent rulers. Stephen Dragutin died in 1316, and was succeeded by his son, KingVladislaus II (1316–1324).[2] Vladislaus II was defeated by the king of Serbia,Stefan Dečanski, in 1324, and after this, Mačva became a subject of dispute between the Kingdom of Serbia and the Kingdom of Hungary.
In the 14th century, the bans of theGaray family (Paul Garay,Nicholas I Garay and his sonNicholas II Garay) which were under the Hungarian suzerainty expanded their rule not only to Bosnia but toSrem and the last one also became the ban ofSlavonia andCroatia, which was also part of the Kingdom of Hungary at the time. Mačva was part of theSerbian Empire ofStefan Dušan[3] and part of the state of the Serbian princeLazar Hrebeljanović.[3]
In the 15th century, Mačva was part ofSerbian Despotate, and since 1459, it was part of theOttoman Empire. In the 16th-17th century, Mačva was part of the Ottoman Sanjak ofZvornik, which was part of thePashaluk of Bosnia. It was under Ottoman administration until 1718, when it was captured by theHabsburgs. Between 1718 and 1739, Mačva was part of the Habsburg-administeredKingdom of Serbia, and since 1739, it was again part of the Ottoman Empire. In this time, the region was part of the OttomanSanjak of Smederevo. In 1788, the "Mačvanska knežina" ("Princedom of Mačva" - a local administrative unit) had 25 villages with 845 houses. The name of the local administrator ("oberknez") wasUroš Drmanović. Between 1804 and 1815, Mačva was part ofSerbia ruled byKarađorđe. Since 1817, it was part of the autonomousPrincipality of Serbia, and since 1882, part of theKingdom of Serbia.
During World War I, theAustro-Hungarian army occupied the region and committed war crimes against innocent Serb civilians in Mačva andPodrinje.[1] Beginning in 1918, the region was part of theKingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes (later renamedYugoslavia). Between 1918 and 1922 the region was part of Podrinjski okrug, between 1922 and 1929 part of Podrinjska oblast, while between 1929 and 1941 it was part ofDrina Banovina. Between 1941 and 1944, Mačva was part of the area governed by theMilitary Administration in Serbia, and since 1945, it has been part of theSocialist Republic of Serbia and new socialistYugoslavia. After the breakup of Yugoslavia andYugoslav wars, Mačva became part of an independentSerbia.
Mačva is located in the southern edge ofPannonian basin, between theCer andFruška Gora Mountains.[4] Territory of Mačva is divided among 3 municipalities:Šabac (including 18 settlements of Mačva),Bogatić (including 14 settlements of Mačva), andSremska Mitrovica (including 7 settlements of Mačva). Total number of settlements in Mačva is 39, of which 37 are rural, and 2 (Šabac andMačvanska Mitrovica) are urban.
List of largest inhabited places in Mačva (with population figures):
Note: Mačvanska Mitrovica is geographically located in Mačva, but it is part ofSyrmia District (in theAutonomous Province of Vojvodina).
Several teachers' associations exist in Mačva.[5]
