Zemlja (feudal Bosnia)

Zemlja (plural: zemlje, anglicized: zemljas; Latin: terra; English: Land), was a term used in the Balkans during much of the Middle Ages as a unit in political-territorial state division, based on feudal social hierarchy, local administrative control and the feudal distribution of land. It was the largest unit of administration, which constituted a feudal state among South Slavic peoples of the Balkans at the time, Bosnia, Croatia, Montenegro (Zeta) and Serbia. The same term is known to be used among other Slavic nations of medieval Europe, namely Poles and Russians, who called it Zemlya, Ziemlia, or Ziemia, and although it has a similar meaning and significance it is not the same.