Serbian Revolution (1804–1833) The Bosnian militia was a military unit indigenous to Bosnia serving as a permanent frontier garrison and provincial army for the Ottoman Empire through the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries.

[2] The provincial militias served as a chance of social mobility, though not open to Christians at first, they were also used by the governor internally to maintain or restore order during the numerous revolts about new taxes.

[3] Some historians have described the Bosnian militia during that time as a tool used by the local elite to consolidate their power.

[4] In 1864, the Ottoman Government introduced conscription and a brigade of Bosnian militia was formed, consisting of two regiments of four battalions with half of the officers being Bosniaks from the province.

[5] In 1869 the Bosnian contingent was assimilated into the Turkish army and a commission under the presidency of Omar Pasha, a former Serbian Orthodox, decided that Christians could be included in the conscription.