Macedonia was one of the first areas in the Balkan peninsula to be conquered by the Ottoman-Turkish empire, and was one of the last to be liberated during the Balkan Wars. In the beginning of the Ottoman-Turkish rule, large numbers of Bosnian Christians became Muslims. The conversions happened because as Muslims, they could get better jobs and pay lower taxes. The Bosnian quickly dominated the professions and civil-service posts in the cities. Traditionally, the Bosnian Muslims lived in male-dominated, extended farm households called zadrugas .
All members contribute to their collective economic well-being.
In rural areas, marriage to a non-Muslim is extremely uncommon. The brutal civil war between the Serbs and Croatians began in 1992 after the Bosnian declared their independence. Seventy percent of Bosnia's factories, homes, schools, and mosques have been destroyed. About 100,000 Bosnian Muslims have been reported dead or missing. In 1993, more than 60,000 Muslims lived in concentration camps.