It is considered that the dogs of the Tornjak's type have existed in the area around and in Dinarides (Dinaric Alps), especially in the region around Vlašić (close to the city of Travnik, Bosnia and Herzegovina) as a central area of the region since the Roman times. The Romans used their dogs for war and as guardian dogs, as well as for fighting in the arena. Although the Tornjak is a very old breed, with the vanishing of nomadic sheep herding, the Tornjak also gradually vanished. In the early 1970s, a group of local cynologists began to collect the remaining dogs which best corresponded to the old writings about the breed. Tornjaks were first imported to the UK in 2013 with intentions of working towards UK Kennel Club Recognition.