Its well-preserved medieval towns of Kotor, Risan, Tivat, Perast, Prčanj and Herceg Novi, along with their natural surroundings, are major tourist attractions.

[2] The bay is a ria of the vanished Bokelj River, which used to flow from the high mountain plateaus of Mount Orjen.

The littoral Dinaric Alps and the Accursed Mountains receive the most precipitation, leading to small glaciers surviving well above the 0 °C (32 °F) mean annual isotherm.

Strong cold downslope winds of the Bora type appear in winter and are most severe in the Bay of Risan.

[6][7] Constantine VII Porphyrogennetos in De Administrando Imperio mentions that, from Croats who came to Dalmatia, one part was separated and took rule in Illyricum.

The Venetians incited the Slavs of the eastern Adriatic littoral to rebel against Byzantine rule and Nemanja joined them, launching an offensive towards Kotor.

The area flourished during the 14th century under the rule of Emperor of the Serbs Dušan the Mighty who, notorious for his aggressive law enforcement, made the Bay of Kotor a particularly safe place for doing business.

Since 1377, northern parts of the Bay region came under the rule of Tvrtko I Kotromanić, who proclaimed himself King of the Serbs and Bosnia.

Its merchant fleet and importance gradually increased, but so was the interest of the powerful Republic of Venice for the city and the bay region.

[citation needed] By the middle of the 15th century, northern parts of the Bay region became incorporated into the Duchy of Saint Sava.

During his three-day sojourn in Perast he presented his legendary sword to the town in recognition for their efforts to defend their homeland, and to stop the Ottoman Empire.

[14] Ottoman travel writer Evliya Çelebi visited the Bay of Kotor and mentioned Croats who lived in Herceg Novi.

In 1848, when the numerous revolutions sparked in the Austrian Empire, an Assembly of the Bay of Kotor was held sponsored by Petar II Petrović-Njegoš of Montenegro, to decide on the proposition of the Bay's unification with Ban of Croatia Josip Jelačić in an attempt to unite Dalmatia, Croatia and Slavonia under the Habsburg crown.

During Austro-Hungarian rule, the majority of people participated in the Great Retreat with the Royal Serbian Army through Albania.

[citation needed] Both Ottoman and Austro Hungarian Hercegovina had a narrow exit to the sea, the so-called Sutorina stripe.

The Bay region was occupied by the Royal Italian Army in April 1941, and was included in the Governorate of Dalmatia until September 1943.

[citation needed] Most of the region's inhabitants are Orthodox Christians, declaring themselves on census forms of either Montenegrins or Serbians, while a minority are Croatians.

[citation needed] The Boka region has a long maritime tradition and harbored a strong fleet since the Middle Ages, which historically formed the backbone of the Bay's economy.

During the Austro-Hungarian period, the Bay of Kotor produced the majority of sea captains of the Österreichischer Lloyd shipping company.

[20] On the landward side, long walls run from the fortified old town of Kotor to the castle of Saint John, far above; the heights of the Krivošije, a group of barren plateaus in Mount Orjen, were crowned by small forts.

The shores of the bay Herceg Novi house the Orthodox convent of St. Sava near (Savina monastery) standing amid surrounding gardens.

Бокељи, Bokelji) are the inhabitants of the Boka kotorska (hence the name) and adjacent regions (near the towns of Kotor, Tivat, Herceg Novi, Risan, Perast).