ČETIRI BOSANSKA SOKOLA
FOUR BOSNIAN FALCONS

Summary/Abstract: This paper deals with the history of four fortifications named Sokol (eng. Falcon) located on the territory of the medieval Bosnian Kingdom – Sokol on the River Pliva, Sokol in Usora, Sokol in Konavli and Sokol between the Rivers Piva and Tara. Even though geographically distant, all four fortifications, apart from their name, have also got common features in their strategic position and the configuration of the terrain on which they were built on. A superficial glancing at the toponymy of South-Eastern Europe shows that a large number of fortified towns called Soko, Sokol and Sokolac exist in this region. It is evident that the strategic factors of defense in natural settings determined their function and that their main characteristic was the prominent and dominant position compared to the surrounding environment. Almost all medieval towns and fortifications in Bosnia were built on mounts because of military and strategic reasons, since it was much easier to control the wide area around the fortress, thus significantly reducing the factor of surprise during a possible enemy attack, and providing the people within the walls and city crew with higher sense of security. The name of these fortresses is a reference to the Falcon bird which monitors and controls the environment from a high position and the name completely suits the main features of fortified complexes built on such sites for the efficient control of wide areas.

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