Middle Ages
The first official mention of the settlement is from 1415, as it was written in the charter issued by Dubrovnik to Holy Roman Emperor Sigismund, although there are numerous artefacts and objects that have been found (The National Museum of Bosnia/Herzegovina in Sarajevo & The Regional Museum in Doboj) and which confirm the fact that the area had been inhabited ever since the early stone age, and that the Roman Empire had an army camp (Castrum) and a settlement (Canabea) in the vicinity of the town dating from the 1st century AD. Following the arrival of the Slavs in the 6th century it became a part of the region/bannate Usora (in the medieval documents sometimes put together with the nearby province Soli, hence, Usora and Soli).
The Doboj fortress, a royal Kotromanic fortress, was first built in the early 13th century and then expanded in the early 15th century (1415). It was expanded during the Ottoman Empire in 1490. This newer stone foundation of the fortress was built on previous layers of older foundation (dating to 9th or 10th century) made of wood, mud and clay (Motte & Bailey type). It was a very important obstacle for the invaders coming from North, Hungarians, and later on, Austrians and Germans. It was built in the Gotho-Roman style with the gothic towers and romanic windows. The area has seen numerous battles in the Medieval times and the fortress often changed hands between Bosnian and Hungarian armies. Doboj was the site of a particularly major battle between Hungarians and Bosnian/Turkish coalition in early August 1415 in which Hungarians were heavily defeated on the field where the modern City of Doboj lies today (esp. around Makljenovac and Usora area). As an important border fortress (between Bosnian Kingdom and Hungary), it was also frequently attacked (officially recorded - 18 times) in the Austro-Ottoman Wars, and finally fell to the Habsburgs in 1878.
World War I and World War
