Status of monument -> National monument

Published in the „Official Gazette of BiH“ no. 88/07.

Pursuant to Article V para. 4 Annex 8 of the General Framework Agreement for Peace in Bosnia and Herzegovina and Article 39 para. 1 of the Rules of Procedure of the Commission to Preserve National Monuments, at a session held from 11 to 17 September 2007 the Commission adopted a

D E C I S I O N

I

The sepulchral ensemble of the Malkoč and Skenderpašić Turbe in Kopčić, Bugojno Municipality, is hereby designated as a National Monument of Bosnia and Herzegovina (hereinafter: the National Monument). 

The National Monument consists of the turbe and harem.

The National Monument is located on a site designated as cadastral plot no. 339, Land Register entry no. 226, cadastral municipality Kopčić, Municipality Bugojno, Federation of BiH, Bosnia and Herzegovina

The provisions relating to protection measures set forth by the Law on the Implementation of the Decisions of the Commission to Preserve National Monuments, established pursuant to Annex 8 of the General Framework Agreement for Peace in Bosnia and Herzegovina (Official Gazette of the Federation of  BiH nos. 2/02, 27/02 and 6/04) shall apply to the National Monument.

II

The Government of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina (hereinafter: the Government of the Federation) shall be responsible for ensuring and providing the legal, scientific, technical, administrative and financial measures necessary to preserve and present the National Monument.

The Commission to Preserve National Monuments (hereinafter: the Commission) shall determine the technical requirements and secure the funds for preparing and setting up signboards with the basic data on the monument and the Decision to proclaim the property a National Monument.

III

To ensure the on-going protection of the National Monument, the following protection measures are hereby stipulated, which shall apply to the area defined in Clause 1 para. 3 of this Decision.

• all works are prohibited other than conservation and restoration works, including those designed to display the monument, with the approval of the Federal Ministry responsible for regional planning and under the expert supervision of the heritage protection authority of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina,
• on the adjoining plots, all new building or facility that could be detrimental to the National Monument in use, size or appearance is prohibited.

IV

All executive and area development planning acts not in accordance with the provisions of this Decision are hereby revoked.

V

Everyone, and in particular the competent authorities of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Canton, and urban and municipal authorities, shall refrain from any action that might damage the National Monument or jeopardize the preservation and rehabilitation thereof.

VI

The Government of the Federation, the Federal Ministry responsible for regional planning, the Federation heritage protection authority, and the Municipal Authorities in charge of urban planning and land registry affairs, shall be notified of this Decision in order to carry out the measures stipulated in Articles II to V of this Decision, and the Authorized Municipal Court shall be notified for the purposes of registration in the Land Register.

VII

The elucidation and accompanying documentation form an integral part of this Decision, which may be viewed by interested parties on the premises or by accessing the website of the Commission (http://www.aneks8komisija.com.ba) 

VIII

Pursuant to Art. V para 4 Annex 8 of the General Framework Agreement for Peace in Bosnia and Herzegovina, decisions of the Commission are final.

IX

On the date of adoption of this Decision, the National Monument shall be deleted from the Provisional List of National Monuments of Bosnia and Herzegovina (Official Gazette of BiH no. 33/02, Official Gazette of Republika Srpska no. 79/02, Official Gazette of the Federation of BiH no. 59/02, and Official Gazette of Brčko District BiH no. 4/03), where it featured under serial no. 199.

X

This Decision shall enter into force on the date of its adoption and shall be published in the Official Gazette of BiH.

This Decision has been adopted by the following members of the Commission: Zeynep Ahunbay, Amra Hadžimuhamedović, Dubravko Lovrenović, Ljiljana Ševo and Tina Wik.

No: 07.2-2-94/07-6                                                                    

12 September 2007

Sarajevo                                                                                   

Chair of the Commission

Dubravko Lovrenović

E l u c i d a t i o n

I – INTRODUCTION

Pursuant to Article 2, paragraph 1 of the Law on the Implementation of the Decisions of the Commission to Preserve National Monuments, established pursuant to Annex 8 of the General Framework Agreement for Peace in Bosnia and Herzegovina, a “National Monument” is an item of public property proclaimed by the Commission to Preserve National Monuments to be a National Monument pursuant to Articles V and VI of Annex 8 of the General Framework Agreement for Peace in Bosnia and Herzegovina  and property entered on the Provisional List of National Monuments of Bosnia and Herzegovina (Official Gazette of  BiH no. 33/02) until the Commission reaches a final decision on its status, as to which there is no time limit and regardless of whether a petition for the property in question has been submitted or not.

The Commission to Preserve National Monuments issued a Decision to add the architectural ensemble of the Malkoč and Skenderpašić Turbe in Kopčić, Bugojno Municipality  to the Provisional List of National Monuments of Bosnia and Herzegovina, numbered as 199.

Pursuant to the proposal, the Commission proceeded to carry out the procedure for reaching a final decision to designate the Property as a National Monument, pursuant to Article V para. 4 of Annex 8 and Article 35 of the Rules of Procedure of the Commission to Preserve National Monuments.

II – PROCEDURE PRIOR TO DECISION

In the procedure preceding the adoption of a final decision to proclaim the property a national monument, the following documentation was inspected:

• Documentation on the location and current owner and user of the property (copy of cadastral plan and copy of land register entry)
• Data on the current condition and use of the property, including a description and photographs, data of war damage, data on restoration or other works on the property, etc.

The findings based on the review of the above documentation and the condition of the property are as follows:

1. Details of the property

Location

The sepulchral ensemble is located 6 km from Donji Vakuf as one heads for Bugojno, on the right bank of the Lubova brook.

The National Monument stands on a site designated as cadastral plot no. 339, Land Register entry no. 226, cadastral municipality Kopčić, Municipality Bugojno, Federation of BiH, Bosnia and Herzegovina

Historical information

Members and descendants of two feudal military and aristocratic families are buried in this tomb. These, the Skenderpašić and Malkoč families, played a major part in the history of the Ottoman conquest of this part of the world in the 15th and 16th centuries. Their descendants are now members of the Hadžibegović family (from research conducted by Hazim Numanagić).

            The Skenderpašić family is descended from Skender Pasha Mihajloglu(1), who distinguished himself as military commander of Sultan Mehmed Fatih II in the wars against the Venetians, Croats and Hungarians, as a result of which he was appointed as governor of Bosnia on several occasions.  In 1463 he acquired the rank of three-tug vizier [a tug, a mark of rank, was a horsehair helmet plume], after which, since he was unable to hold both offices simultaneously, he ceded his zijamet [a major feudal landholding] of Vesela Straža to his new-born son Mustajbeg Jurišević. Mustajbeg Jurišević is famous for having regained Biograd (Prusac)(2) in 1501/02, when he was not yet 19. Skender Pasha himself is also famous for having installed a great many public fountains in Sarajevo during his governorship and, in 1500, a Naqshbandiyya tekke with an imaret [public kitchen]. In 1517 Mustajbeg built the first domed mosque in Sarajevo, the Skenderija mosque, close to this tekke. The descendants of these members of the Skenderpašić family are still living in Kopčić.

The Malkoč family was related to the Skenderpašić family. The head of the family was the renowned warrior Malkoč-beg, a Bosnian military commander who took part in the 16th century Turkish campaigns against the Venetians, Croatia, Carinthia, Carniola and Styria. His great valour in these campaigns earned him the post of governor of the Klis sandžak. He died in 1564, and was buried in Banja Luka, on the outskirts of Gornji Šeher. It was probably his son or younger brother, Malkoč Ibrahim-beg, who built a mosque, mekteb and public fountain in Donji Vakuf in 1572. At the end of the 18th century, one Malkoč Zaimbeg is referred to as a leading figure in Prusac, while Malkoč Mehmed-beg, who led the people of Prusac in the war, was captured at the battle of Ozija. In 1831, during the uprising led by Husein Captain Gradaščević, another Malkoč, Mehmed-beg, who opposed the uprising, assisted the vizier in Travnik, Ali Namik Pasha, to escape from the insurgents by arranging for him to flee to Herzegovina.

There is no sound evidence indicating which member of the Skenderpašić or Malkoč family the tomb in this necropolis belongs to.

According to a traditional but unverified account, the tomb closest to the brook belonged to Malkoč Alaj-beg and dates from the 18th century, while the turbe itself is said to belong to Džafer Alaj-beg, son of Kara Osman Pasha Skenderpašić, and his mother. Bašagić states that Kara Osman Skenderpašić himself is buried in the turbe, but the locals believe that Kara Osman pasha is buried beneath the tall nišan tombstone to the south-west of the turbe (Mazalić, pp. 182,183).

According to Mazalić, who bases his assertion on the travel notes of the Venetian envoy Catarino Zeno who travelled through these parts in 1550, it is Kara Osman Skenderpašić, son of the Klis sandžak-beg Malkoč-beg, who was buried in the turbe.

Since the 18th century, local people have also been buried in this burial ground (Mazalić, p. 184.) The oldest nišan tombstones with epitaphs date from the 19th century.

During World War II, the tombstones in the necropolis were badly damaged. An artillery strike also caused the dome of the turbe to collapse. The damage was repaired in the 1970s.

During the recent war in Bosnia and Herzegovina, an artillery strike again damaged the turbe. The damage was again repaired after the war.

2. Description of the property

The necropolis is rectangular in shape; according to Mazalić, it measures "a hundred paces long and 20-25 wide," or 30.50 x 10.50 metres. He probably had in mind only the central area of the necropolis, since the plot as a whole is significantly larger.

The necropolis now contains 55 nišan tombstones (Mujezinović says there were 50) made of tufa. 

Mazalić believed that some of these tombstones (probably sarcophagi) were the work of a skilled and experienced mason, probably from Dalmatia, who happened to be in the area. The complex is now surrounded by a concrete wall, which was not there in the 1960s.

The central area of the necropolis contains a stone turbe, known locally as the Malkočevo (Malkoč's turbe). The turbe is of the enclosed type, hexagonal in plan with sides of approx. 3.20 m on the outside. Inside, the sides range in length from 2.45 to 2.50 m; the turbe is 4.85 m across measured diagonally. The height of the masonry part of the building (in the shape of a hexagonal prism) is about 2.10 m, or 2.44 m up to the top of the cornice. The turbe was built of hewn tufa blocks of varying sizes, with very pronounced joints. The walls are about 65 cm thick.

The entrance, which is 95 cm wide and 1.70 m high, is to the north-west. It does not have specially decorated door jambs, and the round-arched lintel consists of a single piece of stone. The remaining five sides each have one window opening, 70 cm wide and 1.48 to 1.55 m high, topped by segmental arches. The parapets are 35 to 40 cm above ground level.

The wall is topped on the outside, at a height of 2.20 m, by a simple stone cornice 13 cm in height with a very simple moulding. The cornice projects out from the wall face by 20 cm. Inside is another stone cornice similar to the one on the outside with a half round moulding).

The turbe has a tufa dome of which the load is transferred to the walls by means of pendentives. The dome springs at a height of 2.15 m; the apex is at a height of 3.55 m (on the inside) or 3.78 m (on the outside). The stone is 23 cm thick at this point. The dome has a radius of 2.50 m.

The dome is topped by an unusual mushroom-shaped keystone, 65 cm in height. An aperture has been cut into the top of this stone, probably designed to hold an alem (finial).

The turbe contains two graves with nišan tombstones on which there is neither decoration nor epitaph.

The first grave, said to belong to Kara Osman is 1.65 m in height, with sides measuring 18 and 15 cm. The headstone nišan is 138 cm in circumference; the footstone is 130 cm in circumference and 150 cm in height. Neither headstone nor footstone bears an epitaph.

The second grave is in the form of a stela measuring 48 x 17 cm at the base, with a height of 155 cm. The footstone nišan of this grave measures 44 x 17 cm in section, with a height of 135 cm. Both graves are set within the same stone surround, measuring 280 x 290 cm.

The floor of the turbe is cobbled.

To the south of the turbe is a stone-built tomb, 2.90 m long and 1.40 m wide. The headstone nišan, part of which was destroyed in World War II, is 2.45 metres in height. The epitaph on the south side of the nišan reads "Karaosman merhum [the late Karaosman] “. It is clear that this epitaph was carved at a later date.

To the west of the turbe are two finely-worked stone sarcophagi, one 2.58 m long, 1.60 m wide and 1.40 m high; the other is a child's sarcophagus in the form of a stećak tombstone, 1.40 m long and 1.16 m wide. Both have stone plinths and moulded top cornices. There are no decorations or epitaphs on the sides of these sarcophagi, which are in very poor condition.

To the south of this sarcophagus is a large masonry tomb, 4.10 m long and 3.20 m wide. It is probably in this tomb that Džafer Alajbeg Skenderpašić, and his wife or mother, are buried (Tafro, p. 15).

To the north of the turbe are several well-preserved octagonal nišan tombstones (like those in the turbe).  Each of these is square at the base, becoming octagonal a few centimetres above ground.

N26. A massive octagonal nišan with sides measuring 22 and 18 cm, a circumference of 157 cm, and a height of 130 cm. It has no epitaph. The footstone is also octagonal in section, with sides measuring 22 and 16 cm, and a height of 120 cm. The stone surround measures 120 x 330 cm.

N31. Octagonal nišan with sides measuring 16 and 14 cm, a circumference of 121 cm and a height of 156 cm. It has no epitaph.

N37. Octagonal nišan with a circumference of 76 cm and a height of 80 cm. It has no epitaph.

N41. Massive octagonal nišan with sides measuring 14 and 18 cm, a circumference of 125 cm, and a height of 150 cm. It has no epitaph. The footstone is also octagonal in section, with a circumference of 125 cm and a height of 115 cm. The stone surround measures 100 x 330 cm.

N41. Massive octagonal nišan with sides measuring 22 and 11 cm, a circumference of 133 cm, and a height of 137 cm. It has no epitaph. The footstone is also octagonal in section, with a circumference of 132 cm and a height of 120 cm. The stone surround measures 100 x 330 cm.

N48. Massive octagonal nišan with sides measuring 23 and 16 cm, a circumference of 125 cm, and a height of 150 cm. It has no epitaph.

N49. Smaller octagonal nišan with sides measuring 7 and 17 cm, a circumference of 91 cm and a height of 85 cm. It has no epitaph.

N53. Massive octagonal nišan with sides measuring 28 and 15 cm, a circumference of 161 cm, and a height of 130 cm. It has no epitaph. The stone surround measures 160 x 410 cm.

The necropolis also contains two massive nišan tombstones very similar to those of Omeraga Bašić in Jakir near Glamoč. The headstone nišan has a pleated turban set upright. The nišan is octagonal in section, with sides measuring 24 and 15 cm and a height of 172 cm. The turban is 77 cm in height and 210 cm in circumference. The stem on which the turban is set is 140 cm in circumference. The footstone nišan is also octagonal in section, with sides measuring 14 and 22 cm, and a height of 160 cm. There is a tradition that they were not made in Glamoč, but were brought here in hollow tree-trunks. The headstone bears the year 1208 (1794), and it is probably in this grave that Malkoč Alajbeg is buried.

Other nišan tombstones

N1. Woman’s nišan tombstone rectangular in section 17 x 11 cm with a height of 92, with a partly legible epitaph.

هو الحي الباقي المرحومه و المغفوره لها ملكه .........لروحها الفاتحة سنة ...

He is the Living, the Eternal. Deceased Melika, rest her soul ......[Recite] Fatiha for her soul. Year ...

N2. Nišan in the shape of a stela, rectangular in section 26 x 6 cm with a height of 63 cm, with an epitaph in Turkish.

هو الحي الباقي حاجي بكزاده محمد بك خليلسي بكزاده زيارت كلان اخوان فاتحه شريف ايده خان

He is the Living, the Eternal. Begzada, wife of Hadžibegić Mehmed-beg. Recite Fatiha, those who visit her.

N3. Nišan in the shape of a stela, rectangular in section 26 x 10 cm with a height of 81 cm, with an epitaph in thuluth script in Turkish.

الا من الموت يا ناظر اوقن دعا حديجه تنب سليمان روح ايجون 88

Except from death. Visitor, recite a prayer for the soul of Hatidža, daughter of Sulejman. (12)88. (1871/72)

N4. Nišan in the shape of a stela, rectangular in section 32 x 8.5 cm with a height of 60 cm, with an epitaph in naskh script in Turkish.

و هو ..الحي الباقي المرحوم و المغفور له عزيزه بنت عثمان روحيجون الفاتحة سنة 92

He is the Living, the Eternal. Deceased Aziza, rest her soul, daughter of Osman. [Recite] Fatiha for her soul. Year (12)92. (1875)

N5. Man’s nišan tombstone with čatal turban, square in section 16 x 16 cm with a height of 87 cm, with an incised epitaph in Turkish.

..... تاريخ سليمان ابن صالح بك دار فنادن دار بقايه رحلت ايدن روحيجون الفاتحه 1278

....Sulejman. son of Salih-beg, passed on from [this] transient home to the Eternal Abode. [Recite] Fatiha for his soul. 1278 (1861/62)

N6. Woman’s nišan tombstone, 17 x 11 cm in section with a height of 90 cm, with a partly illegible epitaph.

هو الحي الباقي المرحومه و المغفوره لها حاجي بك زاده ... بك خليله سي باشه .... كريمه سي ملكه

He is the Living, the Eternal. Deceased Melika, rest her soul, wife of Hadžibegić ...-beg, daughter of Pašan ...

N7. Woman’s nišan tombstone,  17 x 12 cm in section with a height of 94 cm, with a partly illegible epitaph.

هو الحي الباقي المرحومه و المغفوره لها .....1225

He is the Living, the Eternal. Deceased....., rest her soul 1225 (1810)

N8. Man’s nišan tombstone with čatal turban, rectangular in section 15 x 12 cm with a height of 110 cm, no epitaph, with hajji's band.

N10. Pillar-like nišan, square in section 21 x 21 cm with a height of 114 cm, cracked along its length. The nišan has no epitaph, and is decorated with carved rhombs on all four sides.

N10a. Remains of a nišan tombstone on which part of the epitaph can be read.

الله رضاسيجون الفاتحة سنة 1330

.....Fatiha for God's pleasure. Year 1330 (1911/12)

N11. Man’s nišan tombstone with damaged turban, 17 x 16 cm in section with a height of 67 cm, without epitaph.

N11a. Small man’s nišan tombstone with turban, square in section 10.5 x 10.5 cm with a height of 62 cm, with an epitaph in Arabic.

هو الحي الباقي المرحوم و المغفور له حاجي بكزاده ابراهيم بن الحاج سليمان بك غفر الله لهما و اجعل الجنة مثواهما مات سنة 1328

He is the Living, the Eternal. Deceased Hadžibegić Ibrahim, rest his soul, son of hajji Sulejman-bega, may Allah forgive them both and make jannah [?] [paradise] their eternal abode. Died 1328 (1910).

N12. Man’s nišan tombstone with turban, square in section 17 x 17 cm with a height of 106 cm, with an epitaph in Turkish.

يا من هو يهدي السبيل كر كناهم كوه كاف اولسه نه غمدر يا جليل رحمتك بحرينه نسبت انه شيئ قليل .......بو سليم ابن حاجي محمد بك حاجي بكزاده خان بر فاتحه من زاري بو مقامده سنة 1311

O thou who embarkest on the road.  Almighty, though my sins be as Mt. Kaf, heed not, in the ocean of Thy mercy they are but a drop . . . This is Selim, son of hajji Mehmed-beg Hadžibegić. He who visits this place, recite Fatiha once. Year 1211 (1893/94).

N13. Man’s nišan tombstone with turban, 18 x 15 cm in section with a height of 125 cm, with a sword carved on the right-hand side.

هو الحي الباقي اقحصار قضاسنده خاندان قدماون قوبجكلي حاجي بك زاده المرحوم و المغفور له المحتاج الي وحمة رب الغفور مصطفي بك روحيجون رضاء لله فاتحة سنة 1281 في 11 ن

He is the Living, the Eternal. Deceased Mustafa-beg Hadžibegić of Kopčić, rest his soul, in need of the mercy of our Lord who forgives, hanedan of the kadiluk of Akhisar (Prusac). Fatiha for his soul and God's pleasure. 11 Ramadan 1281 (7 February 1865)

(M.Mujezinović: Islamska epigrafika BiH,II; p. 290. Mujezinović reads the word for the place of origin, "of Kopčić,“ as a surname, Kopčić)

N14. Man’s nišan tombstone with turban, 19 x 19 cm in section with a height of 106 cm, with a hajji's band and carved niche for the epitaph, which has eroded away with time. Only the year remains: 1333 (1914/15).

N15. Man’s nišan tombstone with fez, 19 x 18 cm in section with a height of 112 cm, with a hajji's band and two five-pointed stars above the epiptah.

...... ابن ابراهيم بك حاجي بك زاده روحيجون الفاتحة سنة 1333

.....Son of Ibrahim-beg Hadžibegić. [Recite] Fatiha for his soul. Year 1333 (1914/15).

N16. Man’s nišan tombstone with turban, 13 x 13 cm in section with a height of 80 cm, standing on a grave with a stone surround measuring 75 x 210 cm.

مرحوم و مغفور له حاجي بك زاده عثمان بن مصطفي روحيجون الفاتحة سنة 1274 في 21 ن

Deceased Hadžibegić Osman, rest his soul, son of Mustafea. [Recite] Fatiha for his soul. 21 Ramadan 1274 (5.5. 1858).

N17. Man’s nišan tombstone with turban, 18 x 18 cm in section with a height of 60 cm, fallen on a grave with a damaged stone surround.

N18. Man’s nišan tombstone with fez, 24 x 12 cm in section with a height of 90 cm, fallen on a grave with a damaged stone surround.

N19. Nišan, 24 x 24 cm in section with a height of 95 cm, fallen on a grave with a damaged stone surround.

N20. Man’s nišan tombstone with turban, 20 x 18 cm in section, with a height of 95 cm, with damaged epitaph.

هذا صاحب النشان روستان بك بن ابراهيم بك حاجي بغويك ...

The owner of this nišan is Rustan-beg, son of Ibrahim-beg Hadžibegić ....

N21. Woman’s nišan tombstone, extracted from the ground and leaning on another nišan, 23 x 9 cm in section with a height of 110 cm, with an epitaph in fine thuluth Arabic script.

هو الحي الباقي يا ناظر بقبري متفكرا بمثلي الموت شراب كل الناس شاربون القبر باب كل ناس داخلون زارفه خانم بنت مصطفي بك روحيجون الفاتحة سنة 1331

He is the Living, the Eternal. Thou who standest on my grave, think on me. Death is a beverage that all shall drink, the grave is a doorway through which all shall pass. Zarfa-hanum, daughter of Mustafa-beg. [Recite] Fatiha for her soul. Year 1331 (1912/13).

N22. Man’s nišan tombstone with pleated turban, 15 x 17 cm in section with a height of 95 cm, without epitaph.

N23. Man’s nišan tombstone with pleated turban, 15 x 15 cm in section with a height of 85 cm, without epitaph.

N24. Massive nišan in the shape of a stela, 38 x 17 in section with a height of 125 cm, without epitaph.

N25. Massive nišan in the shape of a stela, 34 x 18 in section with a height of 123 cm, without epitaph. This grave and grave no. 24 have a shared stone surround measuring 296 x 320 cm.

N27. Massive nišan in the shape of a stela, 49 x 15 in section with a height of 150 cm, without epitaph. This grave has a stone surround measuring 120 x 330 cm. The footstone nišan is 46 x 14 cm in section with a height of 120 cm.

N28. Massive nišan in the shape of a stela, 36 x 118 in section with a height of 125 cm, without epitaph. This grave has a stone surround measuring 150 x 243 cm.

N29. Man’s nišan tombstone with pleated turban, 16x16 cm in section with a height of 80 cm, without epitaph.

N30. Nišan in the shape of a stela 25 x 8 cm in section with a height of 90 cm. The grave surround is damaged. The nišan has no epitaph.

N32. Man’s nišan tombstone with pleated turban, 9 x 9 cm in section with a height of 60 cm, without epitaph. The grave has a stone surround measuring 130 x 90 cm.

N33. Man’s nišan tombstone with pleated turban, 16 x 16 cm in section with a height of 80 cm, without epitaph. The grave has a high stone surround, broken up, measuring 210 x 80 cm with a height of 39 cm.

N34. Child's nišan, rectangular in section 22 x 11 cm with a height of 64 cm, without epitaph. The grave has a stone surround measuring 75 x 190 cm.

N35. Man’s nišan tombstone with čatal turban, 15 x 13 cm in section with a height of 90 cm, without epitaph.

N36. Man’s nišan tombstone with turban, 14 x 11 cm in section with a height of 80 cm, with damaged epitaph.

المرحوم و المغفور له الحاجي بكزاده ادريس بك ابن مصطفي يك ....

Deceased Hadžibegović Idris-beg,rest his soul, son of Mustafa-beg ...

N38. Nišan in the shape of a stela, 30 x 13 cm in section with a height of 70 cm, without epitaph.

N39. Nišan without epitaph, rectangular in section 22 x 7 cm with a height of 83 cm.

N40. Woman’s nišan tombstone with cap, 18 x 12 cm in section with a height of 78 cm. The nišan has no epitaph and is standing on a grave with a surround measuring 240 x 95 cm.

N46. Man’s nišan tombstone sa turban, square in section 14 x 14 cm with a height of 120 cm. Nišan has no epitaph and the grave surround has collapsed.

N50. Nišan in the shape of a stela, rectangular in section 30x14 cm with a height of 110 cm. The nišan, which has no epitaph, stands on a grave with a surround measuring 105 x 266 cm.

N51. Nišan in the shape of a stela, rectangular in section 37 x 20 cm with a height of 140 cm. The nišan, which has no epitaph, stands on a grave with a stone surround measuring 140 x 330 cm.

N52. Nišan in the shape of a stela, rectangular in section 31 x 29 cm with a height of 140 cm. The nišan, which has no epitaph, stands on a grave with a stone surround measuring 110 x 300 cm.

3. Legal status to date

Pursuant to the provisions of the law, and by ruling of the National Institute for the Protection of Cultural Monuments and Natural Rarities of NR Bosnia and Herzegovina in Sarajevo no. 576/53 of 1953, the Kopčić and Skenderpašić turbe were placed under state protection.

By Ruling of the Institute for the Protection of Cultural Monuments of NR Bosnia and Herzegovina no. 02-864-3 of 18 April 1962, the Malkoč and Skenderpašić necropolis in Donjem Kopčić was entered in the register of immovable cultural monuments  This ruling entered into force on 14 January 1963.

The Malkoč and Skenderpašić Turbe in Kopčić is on the Provisional List of National Monuments of BiH, under serial no. 199.

4. Research and conservation and restoration works

In the 1970s, repairs were carried out to the walls and dome of the turbe by the Institute for the Protection of Monuments. As far as can be seen, fragments that originally belonged to the turbe were used, though it is not clear whether they were replaced in their original positions. Lime cement mortar was used as binder.

During the recent war the building was hit by an artillery projectile. The hole this left was filled in by inserting new tufa blocks in cement mortar.

5. Current condition of the property

During an on-site inspection on 12 May 2007, the following was ascertained:

• the site is surrounded by a concrete wall
• the grass in the harem is kept mown regularly
• the site is in use as a burial ground for the residents of the surrounding villages
• grass and weeds were observed in and on the turbe
• parts of the necropolis are in very poor condition
• the nišan tombstones are covered with lichen.

6. Specific risks

• Weed growth on the turbe;
• Failure to take steps to protect the tombstones.

III – CONCLUSION

Applying the Criteria for the adoption of a decision on proclaiming an item of property a national monument (Official Gazette of BiH nos. 33/02 and 15/03), the Commission has enacted the Decision cited above.

The Decision was based on the following criteria:

A.  Time frame

B.  Historical value

C.  Artistic and aesthetic value

C. iv. composition,

C. v. value of details

E.  Symbolic value

E. iii. traditional value

E. v. significance for the identity of a group of people.

F.  Townscape/Landscape value

F.iii. the building or group of buildings is part of a group or site.

The following documents form an integral part of this Decision:

• Copy of cadastral plan
• Copy of land register entry and proof of title;
• Photodocumentation – photographs of the property taken by Mirzah Fočo
• Photodocumentation of the Commission to Preserve National Monuments of BiH

Bibliography

During the procedure to designate the monument as a national monument of Bosnia and Herzegovina the following works were consulted: 

1904.    Truhelka, Ćiro, Naši gradovi, opis najljepših sredovječnih gradova Bosne i Hercegovine (Our Towns, Description of the Most Beautiful Old Towns of Bosnia and Herzegovina), Sarajevo, Naklada Knjižare J. Studnička and others. 1904, 64-69.

1911.    Truhelka, Ćiro, „Tursko-slovijenski spomenici dubrovačke arhive“ (Turko-Slav Documents in the archives of Dubrovnik), Jnl of the National Museum in Sarajevo, XXIII, Sarajevo, 1911, 1-162.

1951.    Mazalić, Đoko, „Biograd-Prusac, stari bosanski grad“ (Biograd-Prusac, an old Bosnian fort) Jnl of the National Museum in Sarajevo, new series no. VI,  Sarajevo, 1951, 147-189.

1952.    Kreševljaković, Hamdija, Prilozi povijesti bosanskih gradova pod turskom upravom. Prilozi za orijentalnu filologiju i istoriju jugoslovenskih naroda pod turskom vladavinom (Contributions to the History of Bosnian Towns under Turkish Administration, Contributions for Oriental Philology and the History of the South Slavs under Turkish Governance), II/1951, Institute for Oriental Studies in Sarajevo, Sarajevo, 1952,119-184.

1953.    Kreševljaković, Hamdija, „Stari bosanski gradovi“ (Old Bosnian Forts) Naše starine I, Sarajevo, 1953, 7-45.

1954.    Naše starine no. II, Sarajevo, 1954.

1957.    Vego, Marko, Naselja srednjevjekovne bosanske države (Settlements of the mediaeval Bosnian state), Sarajevo, 1957.

1957.    Kreševljaković, Hamdija, „Sahat-kule u Bosni i Hercegovini“ (Clock Towers in BiH), Naše starine IV, Sarajevo, 1957, 17-32.

1960.    Pašalić, Esad, Antička naselja i komunikacije u Bosni i Hercegovini (Settlements and communications of antiquity in BiH), special publication of the National Museum in Sarajevo, Sarajevo, 1960.

1977.    Mujezinović, Islamska epigrafika u BIH (Islamic Epigraphics in BiH), Bk. II, Sarajevo 1977,

1978.    Dinić, Mihajlo, „Zemlje hercega sv. Save“ (The Lands of Herceg St. Sava) in: Srpske zemlje u srednjem veku (Serb Lands in the Mediaeval Period), Belgrade, 1978, 178-269.

(1) The name of  Skender Pasha Mihajloglu is mentioned in his letter to Dubrovnik, written “In Prusac fort, 29 July”. The year is not given, but Ćiro Truhelka dates it to 1478, although it is more likely to have been written between 1478and 1480.  The date is significant in that it is the earliest mention of the Prusac fort. This fact is noted by Mazalić, Kreševljaković, Vego and Šabanović (Truhelka, 1911, 49-50; Mazalić, 1951, 151; Kreševljaković, 1953, 23; Vego, 1957, 98; Šabanović, 1982, 43).

(2)  See Decision designating the old Prusac fort as a national monument of BiH