
Omer-paša Latas u Bosni 1850.–1852.
Omer-paša Latas in Bosnia 1850–1852 is a historical monograph by the Bosnian-Herzegovinian writer, playwright and publicist Ahmed Muradbegović (1898–1977), published in 1944 by Matica Hrvatska.
Muradbegović, known for his dramas of Bosnian life (On God's Path, Love in the Mountain) and his later novel Pride (posthumously 2004), here turns to historical prose: the book is a concise, accessible account of the two-year mandate of Omer Pasha Latas (Mihailo Latas, 1806–1871) in Bosnia – a Serb by birth who defected to the Ottoman Empire, where he became one of the most controversial and effective Ottoman military leaders and reformers.
The plot focuses on the period 1850–1852, when the Porte sent Omer Pasha to "pacify" Bosnia: suppress rebellions, crush the resistance of local beys and aghas (Muslim leaders), implement the centralizing reforms of the Tanzimat, and consolidate the sultan's power. The author describes Latas as a ruthless but efficient "cleaner" – a man who systematically removed Bosnian Muslim elites (executions, persecutions, confiscations), which marked the beginning of a long-term weakening of the traditional Bosnian aristocracy. The book presents scenes of conflicts, negotiations, military campaigns (eg against Herzegovina and Posavina rebels), but also a wider context: resistance to reforms, the role of the Christian population, the role of propaganda and internal divisions.
Muradbegović writes from the perspective of a Bosnian Muslim of the 20th century - with a dose of criticism towards Ottoman centralization that weakened local autonomy, but also with an understanding of the necessity of reforms in the era of the weakening of the Empire. The text is narrative, vivid, with storytelling elements (dialogues, anecdotes), illustrated with portraits, landscapes and historical accounts. It is not a dry historiography, but a popular-scientific presentation that was supposed to arouse interest in the Bosnian past in the war and post-war period.
One copy is available

