How One Calculated time in the Ottoman Bosnia

Abstract

In this paper, we shall discuss the way Mula Mustafa Bašeskija, in his notes, determined reference points in time for the events that occured in Bosnia in the second half of the 18 th century. The author of this paper was inspired by the introductory sentence in which the writer announced how he would “in his mecmua, write down the exact time when certain events occurred”. Mula Mustafa timed events with a precise date. The dates were not uniform. On the contrary, they were set by using different calendars and ways of calculating time. The writer oriented himself to the Islamic lunar and the Ottoman lunosolar calendar, to the natural annual cycles, as well as to Muslim and Christian holidays. And, finally, Mula Mustafa would, in spots, write down the Slavic folk terms for months. These various reference points in time were symbols of one era and its culture.