Zvornik is first mentioned in 1410, although it was known as Zvonik ("bell tower") at that time. The town's geographic location has made it an important trade link between Bosnia and the east. For instance, the main road connecting Sarajevo and Belgrade runs through the city. Zvornik has also the distinction of being the only city in Bosnia that directly lies on the border to Serbia.
Ottoman rule
During the Ottoman period, Zvornik was the capital of the Zvornik sanjak (an administrative region). This was primarily the case because of the city's crucial role in the economy and the strategic importance of the city's location. In the year 1806 the city of Zvornik was home to the famous Bosniak, kapetan Mehmed-beg Kulenović.
Bosnian war
During the Bosnian War (1992-1995) Zvornik's Bosniak population was expelled. The military attack of paramilitary groups that came from Serbia on Zvornik Bosniaks commenced on 8 April 1992. During April 1992, many European news stations daily reported Serb armed attacks and mass killings of the Bosniak population of Zvornik and the surrounding villages.
On 19 May 1992, combined JNA, Serb paramilitary and Arkan's Tigers occupied Zvornik and Mali Zvornik. It is known that the suburbs of Karakaj and Čelopek were places of prisons where hundreds of Zvornik's Bosniaks were killed. The remaining Bosniaks and non-Serbs were relegated to concentration camps and detention facilities throughout the area. During the war Serb forces destroyed mosques in and around the city.
Vojin Vučković, commander of the Yellow Wasps, and his brother Duško were convicted in 1996 for killing of 17 civilians in Čelopek, a suburb of the town of Zvornik, during the ethnic cleansing of the Bosniak population of the Drina valley in 1992
