The Bestoen bishopric in the light of prior research
Ante ŠKEGRO
Izvleček
Namen članka je na osnovi analize arheoloških, epigrafskih, literarnih in drugih virov geografsko umestiti Bestojsko škofijo, njeno centralno območje in sedež škofije. Bestojski škof Andreas je bil eden od sopodpisnikov aktov salonitanskih sinod v letih 530 in 533 po Kr.; želel je doseči, da bi se njegova škofija razdelila na dva dela. K temu je bil prisiljen tako zaradi njene velikosti kot tudi zaradi revščine, zaradi katere ni mogel omogočiti pomoči revnim in niti svojim duhovnikom. Iz teh razlogov se je pastoralna skrb za krščanski živelj v njegovi škofiji zelo zmanjšala. Andreasovi želji niso ugodili. Njegova škofija se je nahajala v gorati notranjosti rimske Dalmacije, zelo verjetno v območju Rame (v severni Hercegovini), ob zgornjem Vrbasu, v dolini reke Lašve ter na območju Zenice (v srednji Bosni). Središče škofije je bilo morda v antični naselbini v Grudinah (Crkvine) na območju Čipuljič-Bugojno (v srednji Bosni), kjer je bila najdena opeka z žigom Bistues. Lokacija škofijskega sedeža ni povsem gotova.
Abstract
The aim of this article is to locate the Bestoen bishopric, its central area and the see of its bishop, on the basis of the results of the analysis of archaeological, epigraphic, literary and other sources. The Bestoen bishop Andreas co-signed acts of the Salona synods in the years 530 and 533 AD, and tried to bring about its division into two bishoprics. He was forced to do so, on account of both its size and its poverty, which prevented the bishopric from providing help for the poor and for its clergy. This resulted in diminished pastoral care for the Christian population that was entrusted to him. Andreas' request was not fulfilled. His bishopric was situated in the mountainous inland of Roman Dalmatia, most probably in the area of the Rama River (northern Herzegovina), as well as along the upper Vrbas, the valley of the river Lašva and the area of Zenica (central Bosnia). The possibility that its centre was at the ancient settlement of Grudine (Crkvina) in Čipuljič-Bugojno (central Bosnia), where a Roman brick with the stamp Bistues was discovered, is not entirely to be excluded.
Ključne besede: rimska Dalmacija, zgodnje krščanstvo, Bistue, Bestojska škofija
Keywords: Roman Dalmatia, Early Christianity, Bestoen bishopric
INTRODUCTION
Discussions on the Bestoen bishopric (Bestoensis ecclesia) follow the disputes on the Salonitan provincial synods that took place in 530 and 533 AD, and were presided by the Salonitian archbishop Honorius II (527-547).1 These discussions and disputes have intensified with the beginning of the archaeological researches of early Christian objects in northern Herzegovina and middle Bos-
nia, particularly after the discovery of the double early Christian basilica in Bilimišče - Zenica (middle Bosnia) in 1891, which dates back to the end of the 6th century and the beginning of the 7th cen-tury.2 The Bestoen bishop Andreas (Andreas epis-copus Bestoensis ecclesiae, Andreas episcopus Bestu-ensis) participated in both Salonitian synods.3 At the first synod, he warned against the poverty of his Church, which was not able to take care of the poor, or organize the material needs of its clergy.4
1	About the Salonitan provincial synodes, see: Kuntič-Makvič 1998, 997-1002.
2	Truhelka 1892, 340-349; 1893, 273-275; 1895, 210-221; 1914, 221-227; Chevalier 1995, 341-345.
3	Farlati 1753, 162-164, 173-174; Batthyäny 1785, 285-292; Kukuljevič-Sakcinski 1874, 195-198; Archidiaconus 1894, 13-18;
Bulič, Bervaldi 1912-1913, 51-53; Šišič 1914, 157-164; Vanino 1942, 140-142 note 10 12; Klaič 1967, 76-85; Gunjača 1973, 53-55; Ivaniševič 1994, 159-161.
Fig. 1: Bistue vetus and Bistue nova on Tabula Peutingeriana. Sl. 1: Bistue vetus i Bistue nova na Tabuli Peutingeriani.
At the second synod, he tried to organize the division of his large bishopric in order to take better care of the clergy and to give better pastoral help to the Christian population.5 The research on the Bestoen bishopric, the see of its bishop and the central church has been difficult as there is the lack of adequate sources. At firstly there is the lack of the travel station Bistue vetus and Bistue nova6 from one of the main Roman roads, which was connecting Salona with the coal mine region Argentaria (Podrinje, Eastern
Bosnia), registered in the Tabula Peutingeriana (Fig. 1); secondly Bistue betus'7, that is, Ibisua from the Geography of an Anonymous of Ravenna;8 thirdly the seal Bistues from the Roman brick from the ancient settlement on Grudine (Crkvina) in Cipuljic - Bugojno (Fig. 2),9 and finally six early emperor inscriptions of the magistrate of the Bestoen municipality (from Varvara near the Rama springs,10 from Fazlici near Vitez in the valley of the river Lašva11 and from Bilimišce - Zenica).12
4	Vanino 1942, 141, Not. 10 "Congregatis beatissimis viris episcopis presbyteris dyaconibus nobilibusque filiis et cuncti ordinis clero Honorius dixit Decet nos iugiter ecclesiasticae ordinationis sollicitudine communiri ut licentia pravae usurpationis ablatam [ablata] ea nobis exercere filiorum (?studeamus?) [exercenda putemus] quae ne(c) canonicam latet (laedunt?) [latent] disciplinam nec ad detestanda pauperum damna prorumpunt sicut nuper Bestoensis ecclesiae scriptum tenentes agnoscimus quae tanto est divino honere commodata [tanto est onere incommodata] ut non solum oppressis adesse non cogitet sed nec suae a deo [adeo] valeat subvenire pressurae".
5	Vanino 1942, 142 Not. 12 "Andreas vir venerabilis (episcopus) bestoensis ecelesiae dixit 'Necesse nobis est bonae institutionis formam libenter amplecti praesertim quum de sacro laudabiliter cogitatur [cogitatis] obsequio. Ad que [Atquae] ideo quaeso ut a loco Capella [Capellae]et Arena usque ad has urbes (et) basilicas [basilicasque] quae in mea patricinia [parochia] continentur ad propo-nendum i(i)sdem locum faciatur [locis faciatis] episcopum pertinere. Tantae vexationis labore submoto aptior mihi sollicitudo sit de sacerdotibus plebeque commissa quantus [quanto] grex dominicus (a) vicino pastore melius gubernetur'. Honorius vir beatus [beatis-simus] archiepiscopus respondit 'Non est dubium venerabilis frater et te [bonae] ordinationis intuitu libenter offerre quibus et perpe-tuam talis gloriam mereatur [oblatio] et divinum melius perficeretur absequium. Et ideo cum divinitus [divinitas]propitiata concesserit adhuc unum ad quem eadem loca pertinere debeant curabimus ordinare [ordinari]pontificem".
6	About the sources in which this is mentioned, see in: Arheološki leksikon Bosne i Hercegovine 1, 158 (Sarajevo 1988).
7	Geogr. Rav. IV 16 (211 15).
8	Geogr. Rav. IV 19 (218 2).
9	Petrovič 1960-1961, 230 Fig. 1; Bojanovski 1988, 162.
10	Patsch 1906, 151-158, Nr. 1-3; 1909, 107-108 No. 1-3; ILIug. 1753, 1755, 1756: [T.]Fl(avio)[Li]cinio/ce[c(urioni) (duo)]vir(o) Bist(uensium) / Fla[vii / Licin]ianus / 5et [—]nianus / [pa]tri; D(is) M(anibus) / T. F[l(avio)] Liciniano / dec(urioni) mun(icipii) / Bis[t(uensium)] (duo)vir(o) [— / 5defu]ncto / an(norum) [—]; D(is) M(anibus) / Ael(iae) Proc[u?/l]ae [mat(ri)] / T. Fl(avius) [— — / 5dec(urio) m]un(icipii) Bist(uensium) / (duo)vi[r —].
11	Hoffer 1893, 321-323; Truhelka, Patsch 1893, 704; Truhelka, Patsch, Hoffer 1895, 243-244, Nr. 16 Fig. 57, 245-247, Fig. 58; CIL III, 12761, p. 2256; Bojanovski 1974, 134, Not. 4; 1988, 158: D(is) M(anibus) / P. Ael(ius) lustus / d(e)c(urio) m(unicipii) Bist(uensium) / et Ael(ia) Procula / 5coniux vivi sibi /posuerunt.
Fig. 2: Roman brick from the ancient settlement on Grudine (Crkvina) Cipuljic - Bugojno (after Paškvalin 1998). Sl. 2: Rimska cigla iz antičkog naselja na Grudinama (Crkvina) Cipuljic - Bugojno (prema Paškvalinu, 1988).
EARLY RESEARCHES
Supervising the excavations of the ancient settlement and double early Christian basilica in Bilimišce - Zenica (Fig. 3), Sarajevo's archaeologist Ciro Truhelka was the first one to identify them with the see of the Bestoen bishop Andreas, equating them with the travel station Bistue nova
from the Tabula Peutingeriana.1^ Presenting the research results of the early Christian objects and the history of early Christianity in the inland of Roman Dalmatia on the First congress of Christian archaeology, Truhelka elaborated this thesis of his into more detail.14
He finally gave shape to his thesis the monograph about early Christian archaeology, where he identified Bistue nova once again with ancient objects in Bilimišce - Zenica. He located the Bistue vetus travel station near the springs of Rama.15 There were namely the remains of the early Christian basilica in Varvara (Rama) and the early emperor inscriptions of the magistrate of the Bestoen municipality.16 Truhelka described the Bestoen bishopric as one of the largest ones in the area of Bosnia-Herzegovina.
Because of the plastic of the interior of the northern basilica (Fig. 4), Truhelka's propositions about the early Christian origin of the basilica in Bilimišce Zenica have been disputed by several authors. However, modern research on several early Christian objects from the south-western Bosnia and middle Dalmatian inland have confirmed his propositions.17
Truhelka's contemporary dr. Carl Patsch (18561945) has additionally shaped the thesis about two Bistuen municipalities, identifying them with the Bistues from the Tabula Peutingeriana. On the basis of the arguments which Ciro Truhelka also used, Patsch located the Bistue vetus in Varvara (Rama), and Bistue nova in Zenica.18 Patsch's thesis about the identification of ancient objects and the basilica in Bilimišce (Zenica) with the travel station Bistue nova have been additionally supported by inscriptions of priests of the city of Rome (sacerdos urbis Romae),19 the province of Roman Dalmatia (sacerdos provinciae Delmatiae)^^ and one Roman knight (vir egregius).^^ However, later research has shown that there was no larger ancient settlement in Varvara, especially not one that would be appropriate to be a bishop see.22
12	Truhelka 1893, 275; Patsch 1909, 104-105; CIL III, 12765; Truhelka 1893, 278; CIL III, 12766 = 12762; Sergejevski 1932, 37-40; Bojanovski 1974, 134, Not. 3; 1988, 158 D(is) M(anibus) / T(ito) Fl(avio) T(iti) f(ilio) Luci/o dec(urioni) mun(icipii) / Bist(uensium) et Aur(eliae) / 5Procul(a)e / Fl(avia) Procill/a v(iva) f(ecit) et si/bi et suis; [+ 4] C[+ 10] ti / II v[iro munic(ipii) B]ist(uensium) / sacerd(oti) [provi]nc(iae) / Delma[tiae]/ 5U[lp(ia)?] / P[r]oci[lla co]n(iugi) / [et s]ib[i].
13	Truhelka 1892, 340-345; 1893, 273-284.
14	Truhelka 1895, 210-221.
15	Truhelka 1931, 129-136.
16	Patsch 1906, 151-159; 1909, 105-115.
17	Cambi 1994, 33-49; Cambi, Gamulin, Tonkovic 1999, 14-15, 110.
18	Truhelka, Patsch 1893, 700-701 705; Truhelka, Patsch, Hoffer 1895, 236-245; Patsch 1897a; 1906, 151-159; 1909, 105-112.
19	CIL III, 12767.
20	CIL III, 12766.
21	CIL III, 12763.
22	Bojanovski 1988, 163 Not. 49.
Fig. 3: Double early Christian basilica in Bilimišce - Zenica (after Basler 1972). sSl. 3: Ranokršcanska dvojna bazilika iz Bilimišca - Zenica (prema Basleru, 1972).
There was obviously a smaller settlement (vicus) with a single-nave cemetery basilica from the 5th and 6th centuries (Fig. 5).23 Despite that, the location of the travel station Bistue vetus in Varvara has been confirmed by the authors.24 Truhelka's and Patsch's location of the travel station Bistue nova in Bilimišce and Bistue vetus in Varvara was rarely disputed not only for the authors' scientific authority, but also as the new research has not been done since.
Even an excellent expert of the Lašva-Zenica area topography, the Slovenian Jesuit Alexander Hoffer (1839-1914) who was in service in middle Bosnia, identified Bistue Nova with the centre of the Be-stoen bishopric. He too researched for its centre in middle Bosnia, relying mainly on an early emperors' inscription from Fazlici where one magistrate from the Bestoen municipality is mentioned.25 Taking into account the results of Truhelka's research he located them into Bilimišce (Zenica) too.26
23	Basler 1988, 11-14.
24	Pavan 1958, 59-60; Pašalic 1960, 38-39; Alföldy, Mücsy 1965, 156; Wilkes 1969, 273.
25	Truhelka, Parsch, Hoffer 1895, 245-247, Fig. 58.
26	Hoffer 1893, 321-323; 1901, 59.
Fig. 4: An ideal reconstruction of the interior of the northern basilica in Bilimišce - Zenica (after Basler 1972). Sl. 4: Idealna rekonstrukcija unutrašnjosti sjeverne bazilike iz Bilimišca - Zenica (prema Basleru, 1972).
As opposed to the authors mentioned above, the founder of Croatian early Christian archaeology Frane Bulic (1846-1934), located the centre of Bestoen bishopric in Šuica in the chronotaxis of the bishops of Salona and Split. He was obviously mislead by the finding s of the early Christian basilica from Crkvina in Bogdašici from the 6th century, and the traces of an ancient settlement near Šuica.27 He located Šuica in the Du-vno field.28
A historian from Zagreb Ferdo Šišic (1869-1940), mentioned several times the Bestoen bishopric and was the first one who tried to determine its borders. In the handbook about the sources of early Middle Age Croatian history, he located it in the area from Sarajevo to the area between the rivers Bosna and Lašva, and from Drina in the east to the Dalmatian border in the west. He too located its centre, identifying it with the municipality Bistue (Bestoe) vetus and its cathedral in the area of Zenica.29 He also found the arguments for that in the Roman inscriptions where the magistrates of the Bestoen
Fig. 5: Remains of the cemetery basilica in Varvara - Rama (after Patsch 1906).
Sl. 5: Ostaci cemeterijalne bazilike u Varvari - Rama (prema Patschu, 1906).
27	Patsch 1902, 6-8; 1904, 227-228; Chevalier 1995, 191-192.
28	Bulic, Bervaldi 1912-1913, 55 "Bestoensis (with the center in Bistue Šuica on the Duvno field) with the bishop Andreas present on both Councils)".
29	Šišic 1914, 155-156.
municipality are mentioned, as well as in the early Christian basilica from Bilimišce (Zenica). In the synthesis of Croatian early Middle Age history, Šišic talks about the bishopric Bistue nova, which he too locates in the area of Zenica, whereas he identifies the early Christian basilica from Bilimišce (Zenica) with its cathedral.30 In the paper about the Bosnia-Dakovo bishopric, Šišic talks about he first traces of Christianity in the "real Bosnia", referring to the area from the source of the river Bosna to Vranduk identifying them to "Andreas the episcope of the Bestoen church". Šišic identifies Andreas's bishopric with the settlement Bis-tua (Bestoa) near Zenica, where he locates the cathedral church. Šišic argues about the basilic in Bilimišce (Zenica) and its destruction which is connected with the invasions of the Avars and the Slavs from the end of the 6th and the beginning of the 7th century.31
A historian from Sarajevo and Belgrade Vladimir Corovic (1885-1941), points out the Zenica basilica as the main one in Bosnia and Herzegovina, and connects it with Bistua, which was a bishop see from the 6th century.32 Furthermore he located the travel station Bistue nova connecting it with the bishop see and a larger Christian parish.33 He mentioning a double early Christian basilic, obviously meaning the Bilimišce (Zenica) basilic too, which is confirmed by the note which he wrote to support his claim.34
In the old Croatian encyclopedia, Bistue vetus and Bistue nova were mentioned as Roman places in Bosnia. The first one, which is claimed to be a municipality and the seat of the bishop of the Bestoen church, Andreas (episcopus Bestoensis ecclesiae), ha been identified with Varvara in Rama. There are references to historian Ivan Kukuljevic-Sakcinski35 and Carl Patsch in this section.36 The second one is located in Zenica, on the grounds of the inscription of the magistrate of the Bestoen municipality and the other remains of ancient objects.37
Not even the Zagreb church historian Miroslav Vanino (1879-1965) did not escape the idea about the basilic in Bilimišce (Zenica) as the centre of the Bestoen bishopric, as the see of the Bestoen bishop Andreas. Relying on Truhelka's research, he was convinced that the Bistue nova was almost certainly located in the Zenica area where, as he claimed, was the centre of the Bestoen bishopric.38 The identification of Bistue nova with the centre of the Bestoen bishopric and its location in the Zenica area was also accepted by the Croatian church historian Ambrozije Benkovic (1890-1970).39
The archaeologist from Zagreb, Grga Novak (18801978), also incidentally mentioned the travels stations Bistue nova and Bistue vetus. Obviously mislead by the authorities of Ciro Truhelka and Carl Patsch, he too placed Bistue nova among ancient Dalmatian bishoprics, locating it in Zenica. He connected Bistue vetus with "the ruins of Varvara in Oti-novci".40 Evidently, Novak had little knowledge of the geography of Bosnia and Herzegovina, as Varvara is not located in Otinovci, which are on the Kupres field, but upper Rama. Novak confused ancient objects from Varvara with the ancient settlement and the early Christian basilic from the 6th century in Otinovci near Kupres,41 which is dated at the end of 6th century.42 He locates in Otinovci the travel Station Ad Matricem, known from the Tabula Peutingeriana.^^ The revision research placed the basilic in Otinovci (Fig. 6) into the basilic group of the type of Narona's basilicas. In its dimensions, it is very similar to those in Bilimišce (Zenica), Breza near Sarajevo, Ho-molj near Kiseljak in middle Bosnia and Rešetar-ica near Livno (west Bosnia).44
Expert for the topography and archaeology of the middle Bosnian area, the Jesuit Ivan Ev. Kujundžic (1872-1933), disputed on two occasions the identifications of Bistue nova with ancient objects in Zenica and Bistue vetus with those in Varvara (Rama). He made systematic analysis of the trac-
30	Šišic 1990, 152, footnote 73.
31	Šišic 1935, 54-55.
32	Corovic 1925, 30.
33	Corovic 1940, 90.
34	Truhelka 1895, 18-21; Patsch 1897a.
35	Kukuljevic-Sakcinski 1874, 195.
36	Patsch 1897a, 505.
37	CIL III, 12761, 12765, 12766; Hrvatska enciklopedija 2, 598-599 (Zagreb 1941).
38	Vanino 1942, 140-144.
39	Benkovic 1966, 13.
40	Novak 2001, 70.
41	Dolic 1888, 10-12; Basler 1972, 108-109; 1993, 69, Pl. 26, Fig. 75.
42	Chevalier 1995, 362-363.
43	Bojanovski 1974, 167, 170; 1988, 163, 232.
44	Gudelj 2000, 101.
Fig. 6: Remains of the early Christian basilica in Otinovci - Kupres (after Gudelj 2000). Sl. 6: Ostaci ranokršcanske bazilike u Otinovcima - Kupres (prema Gudelju, 2000).
es of Roman communications and settlements in the area of the valley of the river Lašva and Zenica. The results were confronted with the data on the Tabula Peutingeriana, analyzing both, the inscription of the Bestoen magistrates, and the relicts of the Roman toponomastic of the Lašva area.45 He identified the Bistue nova with the ancient settlement and the basilic from Crkvina in Mali Mošunj near Vitez.46 As it has not been researched by experts before, and its ground-plan has not been acknowledged, this basilic is roughly dated back to the beginning of the 5th century. It could be
single-nave or triple-nave.47 The identification of Bistue nova with the ancient settlement in Mali Mošunj was also approved by the Russian archaeologist working in Sarajevo, Dimitrije Sergejevski (1886. -1965.). He considered this location as a more natural environment for the emergence of the urban settlement, and he pointed out a larger number of ancient objects in the Lašva valley as opposed to the number of objects in the Zenica area.48
A church historian Krunoslav Draganovic (19031983) working in Sarajevo, Zagreb and Rome, has first stated that at the Solin (sic!) synods (in 530
45	Kujundžic 1924-1926, 75-83; 1933, 253-261.
46	Truhelka 1893, 687-692; Hoffer 1895, 54-58; Kujundžic 1916-1917, 477-496; Markovic 1931, 150-158; Basler 1972, 94-97; 1991, 61-62, Pl. 22, Fig. 61-62.
47	Chevalier 1995, 338-340.
48	Sergejevski 1932, 36-37.
and 532) Andreas the bishop ecclesiae Bestoen-sis signed the written documents and that the old Christian basilic in Zenica is the bishop's residence Bistun (sic!) or Beston (sic!). He explained that it was the opinion of the majority of archaeologists. Still, he did not miss the opportunity to point out the possibility of identifying the ancient settlement in Mošunj near Travnik with the see of bishop Andreas, as suggested Ivan Ev. Kujundžic.49 He presented a similar opinion in the first schematism of the Catholic Church in the former Yugoslavia. Writing about the widespread Christianity of the Latin ceremony and the language in Bosnia from the 4th to the 6th centuries, he claimed that the proof for this phenomenon was also the bishopric in Beston or Bistun which was mentioned at the Split synodes in 530 and 533, and which he located into Zenica or Mošunj (near Vitez).50 Later, he was not certain if the see of this bishopric (ecclesia bestoensis) was near Zenica.51 In the Italian version of the same paper, he stated that its see was near Zenica.52 Then, he considered that the bishopric Bistue vetus was in question, whose bishop took part in the work of the Salonitan synods in 530 and 533. He located it into an undefined area between the bishopric of Duvno and Varvara.53 Later researches, however, has shown that the Duvno bishopric did not exist in the ancient times.54 Draganovic continued however elaborating on the New Bistua, which he located carefully into Zenica, he also discussed about the Old Bistua which he located with caution into Varvara.55 In the second issue of the Schematism mentioned above, Draga-novic redefines judgments about the Bestoen bishopric, according to the results of the scientific research done afterwards. In the Schematism Draganovic discussed about the seat of the bishop Bistue nova locating it into middle Bosnia, in the area between Zenica and Travnik but still giving the possibility to the location to Mošunj (according him "Mansiones") near Vitez. He was looking for arguments in the fact that Zenica lies outside the area of important Roman roads. Oddly enough, Draganovic stated that the synod (he mentioned
previously the Salona synodes from the years 530 and 533) concluded that the bishopric should be divided on account of its size and that another one should be established in the municipality of Bistue vetus. He stated that the implementation of the synodes decision had to be postponed because of the problems involved. Furthermore, he points out that Bistue nova was considered to be located somewhere in Rama, in the village Varvara near the excavations of the old basilic (as there was "decurio Bestoensis" on one inscription). As there were finds of several inscriptions with the memorial "Bestoensis" found in the Zenica area, Travnik, Bugojno to Rama, it is assumed that this whole area was designated with that name. Draganovic pointed out at that occasion that it was most likely that Old Bistua was a large Roman settlement near Bugojno and Cipuljic.56 Evidently Draganovic tried to follow the results of scientific research, but he did not understand much of the problems around the Bestoen municipality, its magistrate and the Bestoen bishopric. This was conceivable regarding the fact that Draganovic was an expert in the field of new church history. Unfortunately, his opinions on this matter were accepted and included in the new schematism of the Sarajevo's archbishopric.57
The Italian historian and archaeologist Massi-miliano Pavan (1920-1991) was much more cautious: in his research the inscriptions with the memorials of Bestoen magistrates and the remains of ancient settlements from Zenica, Fazlici and Mali Mošunj in middle Bosnia do not allow precise locating of the municipality of Bistue nova.^'8 Referring to Carl Patsch, he too located Bistue vetus into Varvara (Rama).59
RECENT RESEARCH
Sarajevo's historian and archaeologist Esad Pašalic (1915-1967) originally accepted Truhelka's and Patsch's identification of ancient objects from Bilimišce - Zenica with the travel station Bistue
49	Draganovic 1934, 4.
50	Draganovic 1939, 136.
51	Draganovic 1943a, 110.
52	Draganovic 1943b, 215.
53	Džaja, Draganovic 1970, 153.
54	Škegro 2002, 14-114.
55	Džaja, Draganovic 1970, 154.
56	Draganovic 1975, 330.
57	Vrhbosanska nadbiskupija početkom trečeg tisučlječa, 20 (Sarajevo, Zagreb).
58	Pavan 1958, 57-59.
59	Pavan 1958, 59-60.
nova, and those from Varvara with Bistue vetus.^^ Afterwards, on the basis of his own research of the communication roads, settlements and other ancient buildings, as well as mining activities in the area of the upper flow of the Vrbas river, the Lašva valley and the area of Fojnica, Kreševo and Kiseljak, he accepted the location of Bistue nova in Mali Mošunj (near Vitez).61 Beside the fact that there was a larger Roman settlement with an early Christian basilic, he searched for additional arguments which would substantiate this thesis. He argues that this settlement was located on the mining communication road that connected other mining areas of the upper flow of the Vrbas river, the Lašva valley and the area of Fojnica, Kreševo and Kiseljak in middle Bosnia and Podrinje area in eastern Bosnia (Argentaria) with Salona. He also states that there remain many ancient settlements and communication roads in the Lašva valleys well as a few basilicas. Also the Roman inscription confirms the fact that the area of Lašva and Zenica form a part of the Bestoen bishopric.62 Furthermore, the name of the village Bestovljani (Pokra-jčici) near Vitez bears in fact the name of the ancient village Bestue. The native population fled because of the invasions of the Slavs.63 Against the location of the Bestoen municipality into Zenica, he put the arguments of the lack of existence of the continuation of the Roman road towards the mining region Argentaria. He also argued that here is no existence of a larger ancient settlement in Zenica.64 Later research, however, confirmed that there existed several ancient settlements and objects in the Zenica area, as well as a road connecting them with ancient settlements in Visoko field and Sarajevo field. However, none of the findings was not comparable to the importance of the findings from Mali Mošunj near Vitez.65 Patsch's location of Bistue
vetus into Varvara (Rama) was corroborated by arguments of his own research that he has done on ancient communications and objects in Rama and the surrounding areas.66 He has though confirmed Kujundžič's thesis about the identification at the ancient settlement in Mali Mošunj with Bistue nova being the centre of the Bestoen bishopric. After Pašalič, others have accepted this thesis as well (for instance, the Belgrade historians Ivanka Nikolajevič,67 Sima Cirkovič68 and the others).
The Hungarian historians and archaeologists Geza Alföldy and Andreas Mocsy did not investigate directly the Bestoen bishopric, although they too accepted the identification of Bistue vetus with ancient objects in Varvara, and Bistue nova with those in Vitez near Travnik.69 The first one was located without particular grounds into the tribal area of the Illyrian Deretini, and the other into the area of the Pannonian Maezei.70 Both were considered to have achieved the status of a municipality during the Flavian dynasty (69-96).71 A similar view was adopted by the English historian John J. Wilkes, who finds Andreas of Beste (Bestae ecclesia, sic!) in the Salona synodes in the years 530 and 533. He identified this place with the municipality Bistue nova, locating it into Zenica and Vitez,72 and then in Rogatica in east Bosnia.73 He included into its ager, except the Lašva valley the Zenica area.74 Bistue vetus, to which he attributes the status of a municipality, he has located into Varvara as well.75 Finally, he has located 'New' Biste near Travnik, and 'Old' Bistua in the valley of the river Rama.76
The Sarajevo historian and archeologist, Marko Vego (1907-1985), has defined the "bishopric of Bistue" as an old Bosnian bishopric, located in the part of the Roman Dalmatia, and did not cross over into Pannonia. The territory of the Bestoen bishopric (bestoensis ecclesia) was, according to
60	Pašalič 1953, 282-284.
61	Abouth the settlement: Truhelka, Patsch 1893, 685-692; Truhelka, Patsch, Hoffer 1895, 229-233; Hoffer 1895, 54-58; Markovič 1931, 154-158; Mandič 1931, 20-22; Kujundžič 1916-1917, 477-496.
62	CIL III, 12765, 12766, 12767, 12761.
63	Kujundžič 1924-1925, 82-83; 1933, 260-261.
64	Pašalič 1960, 44-54.
65	Bojanovski 1973, 393-415.
66	Pašalič 1960, 38-39, 40.
67	Nikolajevič 1973, 235-243.
68	Cirkovič 1964, 31, 32.
69	Alföldy, Mocsy 1965, 156.
70	Alföldy, Mocsy 1965, 178.
71	Alföldy, Mocsy 1965, 201, 204.
72	Wilkes 1969, 432, 356, 393.
73	Wilkes 1992, 289.
74	Wilkes 1969, 274-275.
75	Wilkes 1992, 170.
76	Wilkes 1992, 256.
him, considerably larger from the territory of the middle age Bosnian bishopric. According to Vego, at the first Salona synod in 530, there was a mention of "Andreas episcopus bestoensis ecclesiae", and at the second in 533 the "bishop Andreas of Be-stue", who suggested the division of a part of his large bishopric from Capella and Arena (a loco Capellae et Arena) and the pronouncement of a new bishop foe that area. Capella and Arena would be, according to him, Capella and Vranica in Bosnia.77 Vego did not agree with the location of the see of the Bestoen bishopric into the area of Zenica, where was found a basilic. He concluded that there existed Bistue nova, Bistue vetus and Bistua,^^ and that there was no proof that the municipium Bistue was the see of the "Bosnian Latin bishopric".79 The Sarajevo archaeologist Duro Basler (19171990) located into Bilimišče - Zenica the center of the municipality Bistue nova, identifying it with the see of the Bestoen bishop Andreas. Except in the inscriptions where there were mentioned the magistrates of the Bestoen municipality and the priests of the cults of Rome (sacerdos urbis Ro-mae) and of the Roman Province Dalmatia (sac-erdos provinciae Delmatiae), additional arguments to him were the basilic from Bilimišče and the magnificence of the interior of its northern church.80 Later, he conceded that the centre of the Bestoen bishop Andreas could have been located in the ancient settlement in Grudine (Crkvina) in Čipul-jič - Bugojno, namely in the basilic located there.81 Then he located into the same place the metropolitan centre Bistue vetus.'8^
A new approach to the issues around both of the Bestoes and the Bestoen bishopric was presented by the Sarajevo archaeologist Ivo Bojanovski (19151993), who questioned Ivan Ev. Kujundžič's and Esad Pašalič's thesis about the identification of the ancient settlement in Mali Mošunj (Vitez) with the centre of the Bestoen bishopric. He reproached to Pašalič the lack of examination of the whole epigraphic material from the area where the inscriptions with the memorial of the magistrates of the Bestoen municipality appears. Also he dis-
putes about finding the relation of the road Salona - Argentaria, which did not correspond with the data on the Tabula Peutingeriana. Bojanovski came to the conclusion about the existence of one Be-stoen municipality: he explained the appearance of its magistrates in several places in central Bosnia and northern Herzegovina with the life on the land that they possessed outside the centre of the municipality. He supposed that the territory of the Bestoen municipality was exactly on the area of the Illyrian-Pannonian tribe Daesitiates,83 that is, the Bestoen bishopric.
Into the area of this municipality he has included the Zenica, Lašva valley, upper Vrbas valley in middle Bosnia and Rama area in northern Herzegovina.84 He has observed the importance of the ancient settlement on Grudine (Crkvina) in Cipuljič - Bugojno and the importance of the seal Bistues, early Christian basilica, baptistery and their decorative plastics. He pointed out the importance of the mining and the central position of the area of Ganja Vrbas in the Bestoen municipality which he also identified with Bistue nova.85 On the grounds of the established traces of the main road Salona - Argentaria on the field (Fig. 7), Bistue vetus was located into an ancient settlement in Tomislavgrad (west Bosnia) instead of Varvara (Rama).86 Later, he came to the conclusion that the Bestoen municipality (municipium Bistuensium) extended itself between the mountains Vranica and Bitovnja in the east and Ljubuša and Raduša mountains in the southwest, Vlašič mountain in the north Vran mountain in the south. To back this up, he cited the existence of the Bestoen bishop Andreas to divide one part of his large bishopric "from Copella [Capellae] and Arena to those towns and basilicas which are under my protection".87 He personally did not name them a Copella [Capella] and Arena, but he cited Croatian historian Vjekoslav Klaic's (1849-1928) and Marko Vego's opinions according to which the mountains in question would be Capella and Vranica in central Bosnia. The formation of the Bestoen municipality he regarded in the process of municipalisation of the tribe
77	Vego 1972, 88; 1980, 439.
78	Vego 1972, 89; 1980, 440.
79	Vego 1972, 89 Not. 18.
80	Basler 1972, 125-134; 1993, 79-83, 96-99.
81	Basler 1988, 14.
82	Basler 1990, Map of the early Christian monuments in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
83	About the Daesitiates: Paškvalin 1996, 93-116; 2000a, 63-81; 2000b, 191-241.
84	Bojanovski 1974, 138-140.
85	Bojanovski 1974, 134-136, 138, 139, 141, 144-146, 150, 166, 170.
86	Bojanovski 1974, 160-166, 170, 187, 189, 233, 236, 244.
87	"a loco Copella [Capellae] et Arena usque ad has urbes (et) basilicas [basillicasque] quae in mea patrocinia continentur".
Flg. /: Keconsiruction of the traces of the Roman roads Salona-Argentaria (after Bojanovski 1974). Sl. 7: Rekonstrukcija pravaca rimskih cesta na potezu Salona - Argentaria (prema Bojanovskom, 1974).
territory of the Daesitiates (Fig. 8), and its centre in the ancient settlement on Grudine (Crkvina) in Cipuljic - Bugojno.88 For establishing the territory of the Bestoen municipality, he too follows the inscription with the memorial of its magistrates, while in the headwords nova and vetus which appear next to the settlements Bistue from the Tabula Peutingeriana, he observed as the local top-onyms. Bojanovski concluded that the borders of the Bestoen municipality overlapped the territory
of the Bestoen bishopric, which was typical in the late Antiquity. In the area where the Bestoen bishopric was located, he observed a encircled geographic unit, which consists of Rama (northern Herzegovina), the area of the upper Vrbas valley, the Lašva valley, and the Zenica area (middle Bosnia). Its centre was in the ancient settlement on Gru-dine in Cipuljic. The main argument for the location of the centre of the Bestoen municipality and the travel station Bistue nova, that is, the Bestoen
88
Bojanovski 1988, 156; Klaic, 1878, 41; Vego 1972,
Fig. 8: The territory of the tribe Daesidiates. Sl. 8: Plemensko područje Desitijata.
bishopric, into this settlement was the seal Bis-tues, in which he saw the name of the craftsman manufactory which has made it and which got the name after the settlement in which it was. Still, the crucial argument for this are the traces of the main road Salona-Argentaria, which passes though the settlement on Grudine in Cipuljic as well, and which correspondents in general to the information's from Tabula Peutingeriana.89
The results which Ivo Bojanovski got from the research on the Bestoen municipality, that is, the locating of the travel stations Bistue nova and Bistue vetus, were accepted by the Zadar archaeologist Slobodan Čače, who located the Bestoen bishopric into the highland inlands of Roman Dalma-tia.90 He too considers that Bistue nova has achieved its municipal status in the time of the Flavian dynasty, and that soon after its founding it has grown into one of the most important settlements in the inland of Dalmatia. According to Čače, this place should be looked for outside the ethnical and the political area of the Delmatae. Čače has located it in (Bugojno).91 He has interpreted the Ibisua from
89	Bojanovski 1988, 155.
90	Čače 1993, 361.
91	Čače 1993, 391.
92	Čače 1993, 392.
93	Čače 1993, 419, Map on the page 432.
94	About these mines: Škegro 1999, 39-56, 119-138.
95	Šašel Kos 1997, 696.
96	Chevalier 1995, 22, 23, 25.
97	Patsch 1895, 586; 1897b, 512-513; 1907, 470.
98	Petrovič 1958, 267-269; 1960-1961, 229-231.
99	Paškvalin 1998, 556; 2003, 57, Not. 126.
100	Bojanovski 1991, pass.
101	Paškvalin, Miletič 1988; Paškvalin 1998, 549-550.
the Geography of an Anonymous of Ravenna as i(n) Bis(t)ua^^ and has identified it with Bistue nova, and Bistue betus with Bistue vetus, which he, like Bojanovski, has located into Tomislavgrad (Duvno).93
Thereby, Čače's research of the settlements from the Geography of the Ravenna Anonymous greatly overlaps with the results of Bojanovski's research of the road system (Fig. 9). The research results which Bojanovski got about the Bestoen municipality, that is, about Bistue nova and Bistue vetus, are incorporated into modern encyclopaedistic through Slovenian historian and archeologist Marjeta Šašel Kos. She identifies the Bestoen municipality with the travel station Bistue nova, and, relying on Ivo Bojanovski, locates it to the ethnic area of the Daesitiates, namely the river basins of the upper Vrbas, Rama and Lašva, where there were Roman gold mines and iron mines.94 She does not accept Carl Patsch's location of the Bistue nova into Zenica, nor does she agree John J. Wilkes' location of the Bistue vetus into Vitez. Moreover, she does not accept with the location of the Bistue vetus in Varvara (Rama), but into the area around Tomislavgrad (Duvno).95 A similar opinion is offered by the French archaeologist Pascale Chevalier, who also, with a certain amount of caution, locates the Bistue nova into Čipuljic - Bugojno. In the matter of Bistue vetus, Chevalier vacillates between Bili-mišče (Zenica) and Tomislavgrad (Duvno).96
The locality of Grudine (Crkvina) in Čipuljič has been incorporated into scientific literature by Carl Patsch in 1895,97 whereas the testing archaeological excavations were done by the Sarajevo archaeologist Jozo Petrovič (1892-1967) in 1957 and 1958. Petrovič found the brick with the seal Bistues.98 Systematic archaeological research at that locality have begun in 1959 and lasted with certain interruptions until 1981. Despite that, this locality, with the continuity of settlements from the 1st to the 15th century,99 a long pre-historic tradition100 has never been entirely researched.101 Except excavation on some ancient objects and a basilic, on this locality there has been an excavation of a
Fig. 9: Roman roads and settlements in western Bosnia (after Čače 1993). Sl. 9: Rimske ceste i naselja u zapadnoj Bosni (prema Čači, 1993).
pre - Romanesque church (Fig. 10) and an early middle age necropolis with more than 770 graves. Almost one third of the grows contained added
objects that were characteristic for Croatian-Dalmatian culture group (earrings, rings, spurs, weapons, etc.).102 The results of the research of ancient objects
102
Miletic 1966, 159.
Fig. 10: Christian structures on Grudine (Crkvina) in Cipuljic - Bugojno (after Paškvalin 1998). Sl. 10: Krščanske gradevine s Grudina (Crkvina) u Čipuljicu - Bugojno (prema Paškvalinu, 1998).
and the basilic have been published on several occasions,103 whereas the research results of early middle age objects remained for the most part unpublished. All the aspects of the research were considered; firstly the findings from the locality Grudine (Crkvina) in Čipuljic and the basilic there, and secondly the epigraphic and numismatic sources, traces of communications, settlements, basilicas and economic aspects from the assumed territory
of the Bestoen municipality, that is, the see of the Bestoen bishop. The crucial arguments to confirm this was the brick with the seal Bistues, where there is the name of the ancient settlement mentioned; furthermore there is the basilic,104 its position next to one of the most important Roman roads which connected Salona with the land of the Illyrian-Pannonian Daesitiates (a Salonis ad Hedum cas-tellum Daesitiatium).105 Also there is the mine region
103	Paškvalin 1990, 194-200; 1990a, 43-51; 1991, 209-218; 1995, 755-781; 1998, 549-619; 2003, 129-204.
104	Paškvalin 1998, 549-619; 2003, 129-191.
called Argentaria in Podrinje etc. Among the early Christian communities from the assumed area of the Bestoen municipality, he considered the oldest one to be the one from the ancient settlement of Čipuljic - Bugojno, which had its oratory (domus ecclesiae) in the thermae before Constantine the Great (306-337), and on the foundations of which there was erected an older basilic at the beginning of the 5th century. The early Christian parish whose oratory seems to have been discovered also in the ancient objects in Putovici near Zenica, according to Veljko Paškvalin's opinion was not as strong as the one in Čipuljic, although it is presumed to have been built before Constantine the Great.106 In the first phase, the basilic on Grudine in Čipuljic had a circular pool which, according to Paškvalin, could originally be part of the sacral building (domus ecclesiae) from the time before Constantine the Great,107 and turned later with the building of the basilic into a baptistery.108 From
the same object also originate fragments of pluteys with the motif of a shoal of fish (Fig. 11) and a vineyard and grapes, which are ascribed to one of the oldest presentations of Christian art (the end of the 4th and the beginning of the 5 th century).109 From the same time, according to Veljko Paškva-lin, date the tombs from the basilic on Grudine in Čipuljic and its surroundings. In one of them, Paškvalin looks for the burial place of the Bestoen bishop Andreas.110 He ascribed the second phase of erecting this basilic and the baptistery in form of four leaves to the reconstruction that was performed in the time of the bishop Andreas.111 He placed the founding of the Bestoen bishopric between the building of the Salona cathedral (basilica urbana) in the times of bishops Sympherius (ca. 397405) and Haesichius (406-418)112 and the Saloni-tan synodes (530 and 533) where its Bestoen bishop took active part.113 Despite the results which were got by field research performed by Esad Pašalic,
Fig. 11: Fragments of the pluteys from Grudine (Crkvina) Cipuljic - Bugojno (after Paškvalin 1998). Sl. 11: Ulomci pluteja s Grudina (Crkvina) Čipuljic - Bugojno (prema Paškvalinu, 1998).
105	CIL III, 3201 = 10159.
106	Paškvalin 2003, 53.
107	Paškvalin 1998, 556-559.
108	Paškvalin 1998, 557 Not. 29.r
109	Paškvalin 1991, 209-218; 1998, 567-569.
Paškvalin 1998, 563-566.
Paškvalin 1995, 755-781; 2003, 40-61.
l'2 Marin 1994, 38-39.
113 Paškvalin 2003, 56-57, Not. 124.
Ivo Bojanovski and Veljko Paškvalin, modern history was still, partly or entirely, pervaded by the theses about Bistue and the Bestoen bishopric that were given by Ciro Truhelka and Carl Patsch at the end of the 19th century. The Sarajevo and Mostar archaeologist Snežana Vasilj points out that with the finding of the sacral complex in Zenica, confirms the assumption about the see of the bishopric "bestoensis" and its bishop Andreas. She places it in the area of the Roman municipality Bistue Nova, which she locates into Zenica, and identifies the basilicas there as its cathedrals.114
The Zagreb church historian Juraj Kolaric argues about the bishop of the bishopric Bistue nova which he locates between Zenica and Travnik, namely in the village Mošunj (Vitez) or Zenica.115 Previously he located the bishop of Bistua into Zenica.116 Kolaric points out how it can allegedly be found out from the records of the Solin synodes (sic!) that this bishopric was divided and that a new one was formed with its see in the municipality Bistue vetus near Rama, 117 which could not be so.
The Sarajevo's archaeologist and historian Enver Imamovic states without any arguments, contradicting all the other researchers, that at the Sa-lonitan provincial synodes in 530 and 533 the Bosnian (sic!) bishop Andreas was mentioned. Imamovic states that Andreas represented the Bestuen bishopric (sic!) which was, named after the town Bistue (sic!) where he supposedly had its see. Imamovic argues that the bishopric was located near Vitez (middle Bosnia) or near Var-vara (northern Herzegovina), because both of these towns bore the same name: Bistue vetus (Varvara) and Bistue nova (Mali Mošunj near Vitez).118 Previously, Imamovic came to the conclusion that Andreas was allegedly the bishop of the town Bistue nova, which he identifies with Zenica and Mali Mošunj.119 According to his other works, Imamovic, although not directly, tries to prove the existence of the Bosnian state and the Bosnian (Muslim) people in ancient times.120 That is also evident from
his article about early Christianity, in which he discusses about the Bestoen bishop whose bishopric was situated on the territory of today's Bosnia and Herzegovina but not about the Bosnian bishop.121 The Zadar's medievist Milko Brkovic, discusses about the Bosnian church as sufragan Salonitan, namely about it being mentioned at the synodes of 530 and 533 and about the Bosnian bishop Andreas who governed it. According to him, this bishopric was divided into two parts and its division was claimed by its bishop but this division did not fulfill because of the invasion of Barbarian people into the Roman Empire who had destroyed its every memo-ry.122 At another point, Brkovic talks about the old bishop see Bistue vetus which he locates into Gru-dine (Crkvina) in Čipuljic - Bugojno.123
A church historian from Zagreb, Franjo Šan-jek, in the discussion about early Christian bishop sees and sacral objects in the area of Bosnia and Herzegovina, concludes that Andreas the bishop "Bestoensis" signed the conclusions of the Salona synodes in 530 and 533 and resided in the Roman municipality Bistue nova near Zenica (Mošunj?). As opposed to the documents of the synodes mentioned above, Šanjek claims that at the Salona synodes it was concluded that the bishopric was obviously too large should have been divided in the way to found another bishop see in the municipality Bistue vetus which was allegedly near Bugojno.124 Already at the next page of the same book, Šanjek connects the Bistue vetus with the sacral object in Čipuljic - Bugojno, and Bistue nova with Crkvina in Mošunj.125 A historian from Zagreb, Bruna Kuntic-Makvic has a similar opinion, according to which there was allegedly the division of Andreas's bishopric into Bistue Nova and Bistue Vetus concluded in Salona, and that the latter was situated near Bugojno.126
The archaeologist from Split, Nenad Cambi, discusses about the Bistue as the church centre in Dalmatia, and makes a connection of them with Zenica and Bugojno alternatively.127 On the other
114
115
116
117
118
119
120 121 122
123
124
125
126 127
Vasilj 1993, 18 19. Kolaric 1993, 10. Kolaric 1993, 10. Kolaric 1993, 10. Imamovic 1994, 30; 1998, 36. Imamovic 1983, 44. Imamovic 1995, pass. Imamovic 1983, 43. Brkovic 2002, 86. Brkovic 2002, 198. Šanjek 1997, 33. Šanjek 1997, 34. Kuntic-Makvic 2003, 38. Cambi 2002, 209.
place, he characterises Bistue as a Roman town and the bishopryc in Bosnia: he locates them in the area of Zenica or Bugojno.128
The author of the headword about the Bistue nova in the new Croatian encyclopedia describes that place as the municipality and a travel station on the Roman road Salona -Argentaria on the Tabula Peutingeri-ana, and about the mention of the episcopus Be-stoensis ecclesiae in the year 533. It is emphasized that it has not been proved with certainty where this municipality was situated, and after mentioning the majority of the suggested locations, the author deems Zenica, namely Mali Mošunj, the most reliable one. The author does not bring Bistue nova into connection with Bistue vetus, but with the municipality and the travel station on the road Salona - Argentaria. After mentioning the majority of the suggested locations for the Bistue vetus, the author deems Varvara (Rama) as the most reliable one.129
Under the headword about the Archbosnian bishopric in the recently published General religion lexicon there is also the observation that in the early Christian period in the area of Bosnia there is mention of the bishoprics Bistua Nova, from which Bistua Vetus was founded. There is also a mention of the bishopric of the Martari, which was allegedly the regional diocesis of the metropolis in Sirmium and Salona. From this wrong conclusion, one can falsely deduce that in early Christian times in the area of Bosnia (without Herzegovina) there were the bishoprics Bistua nova, Bistua vetus and Martari (ecclesia Martariensis), and that from the younger one (Bistue nova) the older one (Bistue vetus) was formed, and also that Bistue vetus and Biste nova were subordinated to the metropolis in Sirmium, and not to the one in Salona,130 which is, of course, completely absurd.
In the latest handbook of the Franciscans of Bosna Srebrena (Silver Bosnia), it is stated that at the Salona council in 530 the Bosnian bishop Andreas also took part, and that his see was in the settlement Bistuae (Bistue nova near Zenica), that the bishopric, on account of its size, was divided, so that the new bishop see was situated in the settlement Bistuae Vetus near Rama.131 This could, however, not be deduced from the documents of the Salona synodes.
According to the official website of the Dakovo bishopric, in the history review from Antun Jarm,
that the origin of the Bosnian bishopric was the old Christian bishopric "bestoensis" or "bistuen-sis", the see of which was in Mošunj near Travnik, or less probably in Zenica and that its bishop Andreas co-signed the documents of the church councils in the years 530 and 533. Jarm points out that the bishopric Bistua positively encompassed the heart and the oldest part of today's Bosnia and, although the state had adopted Christianity a few centuries ago, did not have its bishoprics and that it, by the church law and by the law of history, belonged to the metropolis in Split.132
CONCLUSION
The Bestoen bishopric was mainly the topic of casual interest of scientists who were involved in the research of the history Dalmatia and the Bistuen municipality, the travel stations Bistue vetus and Bistue nova known from the Tabula Peutinge-riana and alike. Older researchers, headed by Ciro Truhelka and Carl Patsch, have hastily identified them with ancient objects, namely basilicas in Varvara (Bistue vetus) and Bilimišce (Bistue nova). More serious research which was conducted by Ivan Ev. Kujundžic has changed their thesis, and there is a firm opinion about the need to locate the Bistue nova into the ancient settlement of Mali Mošunj. Despite that, Truhelka's and Patsch's opinion still pervades modern historiography and encyclopae-distic. Systematic researches of ancient communication roads, settlements, basilicas, church furniture, epigraphic and numismatic and narrative sources, which was conducted by Esad Pašalic, Ivo Bojanovski, Veljko Paškvalin and others, have lead to new solutions. First of all, the thesis about the uniformity of a Bestoen bishopric has crystallized, inside the borders of which was located the Rama area, the region of the upper Vrbas, the Lašva valley and the area of Zenica, with its government, economical and church centre in the ancient settlement on Grudine (Crkvina) in Čipuljic (which was probably called Bistues), and that the Bestoen bishopric, known from the documents of the Salona synodes in 530 and 533 by its bishop Andreas, was situated on the tribe area of the Illyr-ian-Pannonian Daesitiates, in central Bosnia. What can be reproached to these researchers is the neglect
128	Cambi 1976 240-242, Not. 12-18; 2002, 383.
129	Bistue Nova, in: Hrvatska enciklopedija 2, 144 (Zagreb 2000).
130	Opči religijski leksikon, 1020 (Zagreb 2002).
'3' Barun 2003, 48.
132 http://djakovo.hbk.hr/html/biskupija/povijest/povijest.htm (August 02 2004).
of the contents of the documents from the Salona synodes. In those documents one can doubtlessly find that bishop Andreas's Bestoen bishopric had such proportions that even he himself was forced to ask for its division. He suggested that it should be divided from Copella [Capella] and Arena to those towns and basilicas which were under its jurisdiction. Considering the that the synodes took place in Salona, one should assume that bishop Andreas was suggesting that areas under his jurisdiction should be those to the west of Copella [Capella] and Arena. The ones on the east side should form the new bishopric. It is not hard to notice in Copella [Capella] the mountains of Kopilo, through which goes the main Roman road which connected the ancient settlement on Grudine (Crkvina) in Čipul-jič - Bugojno with the one in Mali Mošunj (near Vitez), and Vranica which is known for its Roman goldmines, after which it probably got its name (Latin: Avranus mons > Vranus mons = Croatian: Vranica). It was also unnoticed that under the jurisdiction of the bishop Andreas there were, as he has already pointed out, several towns and basilicas. If we can make judgments on the basis of the early emperor inscriptions with a memorial of the magistrate of the Bestoen municipality and the brick with the seal
Bistues, the towns and basilicas should be looked for precisely in the area of Rama, the upper Vrbas, the Lašva valley and the area of Zenica. The research up to this point has shown that the ancient settlements with urban traits were situated on Gradina (Crkvina) in Čipuljič, Mali Mošunj and, most probably in Varošluk (Turbe). To the east of them would probably be the one in Gornja Višnjica (Kiseljak) which probably had the status of a municipality, including the one from Ilidža (Sarajevo) in middle Bosnia. Furthermore, the bishop Andreas's statement about poverty of his church remained unnoticed. If the remains of the early Christian basilicas from the territory in question are taken into consideration, the words of bishop Andreas prove to be utterly true. All of these basilicas are single-nave and of modest proportions. From the documents of the Salona synodes it is evident that that insistence of bishop Andreas on the division of his bishopric is would be discussed on another occasion. It is a well-known fact that the beginning of a reconquest initiated by the Byzantine emperor Iustinianus. In such circumstances, as it is well-known in church practices, new bishoprics were not founded. Despite that, some of the mainly modern authors talk about this as of indisputable facts.
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Bestoenska biskupija u svjetlu dosadašnjih istraživanja
Sažetak
Kad se govori o Bestoenskoj biskupiji onda se misli na kasnoantičku biskupiju, poznatu po njenom biskupu Andriji (Andreas episcopus Bestoensis ecclesiae, Andreas episcopus Be-stuensis). On je, zajedno s drugim dalmatinskim i nekoliko panonskih biskupa, supotpisao akte provincijalnih crkvenih sabora koji su se 530. i 533. održali u Saloni pod predsjedanjem sa-lonitanskog nadbiskupa Honorija II. (527.-547.). Ova se biskupija po svoj prilici prostirala na negdašnjem dezitijatskom plemenskom području, odnosno na području na kojem se pro-stirao i bistuenski municipij (municipium Bistuensium). Dužnosnici ovog municipija potvrdeni su na natpisima u Varvari kod vrela Rame, u Fazličima kod Viteza te u Bilimišču u Zenici. Ilirsko-panonski Dezitijati nastavali su središnju Bosnu, odnosno prostore uz gornji tok rijeke Bosne, lašvanski kraj te područje oko gornjeg toka rijeke Vrbasa (sl. 8). Povijest ih je, zajedno s Delmatima, upamtila kao glavne protagoniste borbe protiv rimskih okupa-tora (6.-9. poslije Kr.). Rimski carski biograf Gaj Svetonije Trankvil (oko 75.-150.) ovaj je ustanak proglasio najtežim ratom kojeg su Rimljani vodili poslije punskih ratova (gravissimum omnium externorum bellorum post Punica). Novija istraživanja sje-dište biskupa Andrije dovode u vezu s antičkim naseljem i ranokrščanskom bazilikom na Grudinama u Čipuljiču (Bugoj-no) u središnjoj Bosni (sl. 10; 11). U isto se mjesto, temeljem žiga Bistues s jedne rimske opeke (sl. 2), locira i središte bis-tuenskog municipija (municipium Bistuensium). Dobar pozna-
vatelj topografije lašvansko-zeničkog kraja isusovac Ivan Ev. Kujundžič (1872.- 1933.), bistuenski municipij odnosno sjed-ište biskupa Andrije, bio je doveo u vezu s antičkim naseljem i ranokrščanskom bazilikom u Malom Mošunju kod Viteza. Kujundžičevu tezu dodatno je bio ojačao sarajevski arheolog Esad Pašalič (1915.-1967.). Prethodno su sarajevski arheolozi Čiro Truhelka (1865.-1942.) i Carl Patsch (1856.-1945.) sjed-ište biskupa Andrije bili doveli u vezu s dvojnom ranokrščans-kom bazilikom u Bilimišču u Zenici (sl. 3; 4). U aktima spo-menutih salonitanskih sabora medu ostalim zabilježen je i intervent biskupa Andrije za razdiobom njegove biskupije. Na to je bio motiviran učinkovitijom skrbi za siromahe svoje biskupije, boljom pastorizacijom povjerenog mu krščanskog puka te lakšom upravom svoje dijeceze. Predlagao je da se na području njegove bisku-pije utemelji još jedna dijeceza. Predlagao je da u njene okvire ude područje od Kapele i Arene sve do gradova i bazilika koji su bili pod njegovom jurisdikcijom (a loco Copella [Capellae] et Arena usque ad has urbes (et) basilicas [basillicasque], quae in mea patrocinia continentur). Ne treba osobito mudrosti da se u Kopeli (Kapeli) Copella [Capella] vidi planinski prijevoj Kopilo kojim je prolazila trasa rimske magistralne ceste koja je povezivala glavni grad Dalmacije Salonu (Solin kod Splita) sa srebronosnim rudarskim područjem oko Srebrenice u istoč-noj Bosni (via Salona - Argentaria). Trasu joj je na terenu dobrim dijelom ustanovio Ivo Bojanovski (1915.-1993.) (sl. 7). Medu
ostalim ova je cesta spajala i antička naselja u Čipuljiču i Malom Mošunju. U Areni [Arena] se takoder može naslutiti planina Vranica (lat.: Avranus mons > Vranus mons = hrv.: Vranica) poznata po proizvodnji velikih količina zlata u rimsko doba (aurariae Delmaticae). U skladu s tim, biskup Andrija je, za novu dijecezu po svoj prilici predlagao područje istočno od Kopila i Vranice (ako se gleda iz salonitanske perspektive), odnosno istočno od regiona gornjeg Vrbasa. Na tom je prostoru uistinu bilo više ranokrščanskih bazilika (Varošluk u Turbetu, Gradina u Zukičima (Karahodže) kod Travnika, Bukovica iznad Travnika, Kalvarija izad Malog Mošunja, Bilimišče u Zenici i dr.) i urbanih naselja (Mali Mošunj kod Viteza, Varošluk u Turbetu). Nažalost, raspoloživa vrela ne govore ništa više o Bestoenskoj biskupiji niti o njenom biskupu Andriji. Temeljem nekoliko rimskih natpisa, putnih stanica Bistue vetus i Bistue
nova sa Tabule Peutingeriane (sl. 1) i Geografije Ravenskog Anonima (sl. 9), središte bistuenskog municipija i Bestoenske biskupije lociralo se i u Varvaru (sl. 5) ali i drugdje po središnjoj pa i istočnoj Bosni. Danas se iskristaliziralo mišljenje da ih se ipak treba tražiti u antičkom naselju u Čipuljiču - Bugojno.
Dr. sc. Ante Škegro Hrvatski institut za povijest Opatička 10 HR-10000 Zagreb askegro@isp.hr