The origins of the
history of today's SerbiaSerbia , officially the Republic of Serbia , is a country located in both Central and Southeastern Europe. Its territory covers the southern part of the Pannonian Plain and central part of the Balkans...
lie in the Slavic settlement on the
BalkansThe Balkans is a geopolitical and cultural region of southeastern Europe...
, on the territories ruled by the
Byzantine EmpireThe Byzantine Empire or Eastern Roman Empire, was the continuation of the Roman Empire during the Middle Ages, centered on the capital of Constantinople, and ruled by Emperors in direct and de jure succession to the ancient Roman Emperors...
, between 6th and 8th centuries. One of the first Serbian states,
RaškaRaška was the central and most successful medieval Serbian state that unified neighboring Serbian tribes into a main medieval Serbian state in the Balkans.-Background:Constantine VII Porphyrogenitos describes Raška in...
, was founded in the first half of the
7th centuryThe 7th century is the period from 601 to 700 in accordance with the Julian calendar in the Christian/Common Era.-Overview:The Muslim conquests began after the death of Muhammad in 632. Islam expanded beyond the Arabian Peninsula under the Rashidun Caliphate and the Umayyad Caliphate...
by the
House of VlastimirovićThe House of Vlastimirović was named after knez Vlastimir who was the great-great-grandson of the Unknown Archont who led the Serbs to the Balkans from White Serbia during the reign of Byzantine emperor Heraclius somewhere between 610 - 641...
; it evolved into Serbian Kingdom and later into the
Serbian EmpireThe Serbian Empire was a medieval empire in the Balkans that emerged from the medieval Serbian kingdom in the 14th century...
under the
House of NemanjićThe House of Nemanjić was a medieval Serbian ruling dynasty.The "Stefan" dynasty - House of Nemanjić was named after Stefan Nemanja. It was descended from the cadet line of the House of Vojislavljević...
, which reached its peak in the 14th century. The Serbian state disappeared by the mid-16th century, torn by domestic feuds, and
OttomanThe Ottoman Empire or Ottoman State , also known by its contemporaries as the Turkish Empire or Turkey , was an empire that lasted from 1299 to November 1, 1922 The Ottoman Empire or Ottoman State (Ottoman Turkish: دَوْلَتِ عَلِیَّهِ عُثْمَانِیَّه Dawlet-il ʿAliyyat-il ʿOs̠māniyye, Modern Turkish:...
conquest. The success of the
Serbian revolutionSerbian revolution or Revolutionary Serbia refers to the national and social revolution of the Serbian people between 1804 and 1815, during which Serbia managed to fully emancipate from the Ottoman Empire and exist as a sovereign European nation-state, and a latter period , marked by intense...
against Ottoman rule in 1817 marked the birth of the Principality of Serbia, which gained formal independence in 1878. As a victor in
Balkan WarsThe Balkan Wars were two wars in South-eastern Europe in 1912–1913. The First Balkan War broke out on 8 October 1912 when Bulgaria, Greece, Montenegro and Serbia , having large parts of their ethnic populations under Ottoman sovereignty, attacked the Ottoman Empire, terminating its five-century...
in 1913, Serbia expanded to
Vardar MacedoniaVardar Macedonia is an area in the north of the Macedonia . The borders of the area are those of the Republic of Macedonia.. It covers an area of .-See also:*Macedonia...
,
KosovoKosovo is a disputed territory in the Balkans. Its majority is governed by the partially-recognised Republic of Kosovo , a self-declared independent state which has de facto control over the territory; the exceptions are some Serb enclaves...
and
Raška (Sandžak)Raška is a region in south-central Serbia. It is mostly situated in the Raška District. Southern part of Raška is also known as Sandžak.-History:...
. In 1918, the region of
VojvodinaThe Autonomous Province of Vojvodina is an autonomous province in Serbia, containing about 27% of its total population according to the 2002 Census. It is located in the northern part of the country, in the Pannonian plain of Central Europe...
proclaimed their
secessionThe Banat, Bačka and Baranja was a de facto existing province of the Kingdom of Serbia and the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes between October 1918 and March 1919...
from
Austria-HungaryAustria–Hungary, also known as the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Dual Monarchy or the k.u.k. Monarchy, or Dual State, was a monarchic union between the crowns of the Austrian Empire and the Kingdom of Hungary in Central Europe...
to unite with the
State of Slovenes, Croats and SerbsThe State of Slovenes, Croats, and Serbs was a short-lived state formed from the southernmost parts of the Austro-Hungarian monarchy after its dissolution at the end of the World War I by the resident population of Slovenes, Croats, and Serbs...
. West of Kongdom of Serbia, become new country named:
State of Slovenes, Croats and SerbsThe State of Slovenes, Croats, and Serbs was a short-lived state formed from the southernmost parts of the Austro-Hungarian monarchy after its dissolution at the end of the World War I by the resident population of Slovenes, Croats, and Serbs...
. Beacouse this country wasn't internationally confessed it connected with Kingdom of Serbia on 1st of December 1918, the country was named Kingdom of Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes . In 3rd of October 1929 a coup happened and Kingdom of HSH was renamed in Yugoslavia.
Serbia settled its current borders after World War II, when it became a federal unit within the
Socialist Federal Republic of YugoslaviaThe Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia was the Yugoslav state that existed from the second half of World War II until it was formally dissolved in 1992 amid the Yugoslav wars. It was a socialist state and a federation made up of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Macedonia, Montenegro,...
. After its
dissolutionThe term Breakup of Yugoslavia refers to a series of conflicts and political upheavals resulting in the dissolution of the Yugoslavia . The SFR Yugoslavia was a former country that occupied a strip of land stretching from present-day Central Europe to the Balkans — a region with a history of ethnic...
in
a series of warsThe Yugoslav Wars were a series of violent conflicts fought in former Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia during the 1990s and 2001...
in the 1990s, Serbia once again became an independent state on June 5, 2006, following the
breakupThe Montenegrin independence referendum was a referendum on the independence of the Republic of Montenegro from the State Union of Serbia and Montenegro that was held on 21 May, 2006.The total turnout of the referendum was 86.5%...
of a
short-lived unionThe Federal Republic of Yugoslavia or FRY was a federal state consisting of the republics of Serbia and Montenegro from the former Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia , created after the other four republics broke away from Yugoslavia amid rising ethnic tensions...
with Montenegro.
In February 2008, the parliament of
KosovoKosovo is a disputed territory in the Balkans. Its majority is governed by the partially-recognised Republic of Kosovo , a self-declared independent state which has de facto control over the territory; the exceptions are some Serb enclaves...
declared independence from Serbia after turmoil of 1990s, ten years of UN administration and unsettled negotiations on its final status. The
response from the international communityKosovo's declaration of independence from Serbia was enacted on Sunday, 17 February 2008 by a unanimous quorum of the Assembly of Kosovo, with 109 in favour and with no opposition, with all 11 representatives of the Serb minority boycotting the proceedings...
has been mixed. Serbia still regards Kosovo as its
southern provinceThe United Nations Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo or UNMIK is the interim civilian administration in Kosovo, under the authority of the United Nations. The mission was established on 10 June 1999 by Security Council Resolution 1244...
governed by the UN.
Early history
Much of Serbia during the
Neolithic periodNeolithic Europe refers to a prehistoric period in which Neolithic technology was present in Europe. This corresponds roughly to a time between 7000 BC and ca. 1700 BC...
was occupied by the
Vinča cultureThe Vinča culture was an early culture of neolithic Europe between the 6th and the 3rd millennium BC, stretching around the course of Danube in what today is Serbia, Hungary, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Romania, Bulgaria and Macedonia, although traces of it can be found all around the Balkans,...
.
Serbia's strategic location between two continents has subjected it to invasions by many peoples.
GreeksThe Greeks , also known as Hellenes, are a nation and ethnic group native to Greece, Cyprus and neighbouring regions, who can also be found in diaspora communities around the world....
colonized its south in the 4th century B.C., the northernmost point of the empire of
Alexander the GreatAlexander III of Macedon, popularly known as Alexander the Great , was an Ancient Greek king of Macedon who created one of the largest empires in ancient history...
being the town of
KaleBujanovac is a town and municipality in Pčinja District of Serbia, situated in the Preševo Valley.-Population and territory:...
.
Belgrade is believed to have been torn by 140 wars since
Roman timesThe Roman Empire was the post-Republican phase of the ancient Roman civilization, characterised by an autocratic form of government and large territorial holdings in Europe and around the Mediterranean. The term is used to describe the Roman state during and after the time of the first emperor,...
.
The northern Serbian city of
SirmiumSirmium was an ancient city in Roman Pannonia. Sirmium originally was a Celtic town founded in the 3rd century BC and conquered by the Romans in the 1st century BC. It was a very important town in the later Roman Empire, being the economic capital of Roman Pannonia and one of the four capital...
(
Sremska Mitrovica) was among the top 4 cities of the late
Roman EmpireThe Roman Empire was the post-Republican phase of the ancient Roman civilization, characterised by an autocratic form of government and large territorial holdings in Europe and around the Mediterranean. The term is used to describe the Roman state during and after the time of the first emperor,...
, serving as its capital during the
TetrarchyThe term Tetrarchy describes any system of government where power is divided among four individuals, but usually refers to the tetrarchy instituted by Roman Emperor Diocletian in 293, marking the end of the Crisis of the Third Century and the recovery of the Roman Empire...
. Contemporary Serbia comprises the
classicalClassical Greece was a culture that was highly advanced and which heavily influenced the cultures of Ancient Rome and still has an enduring effect on Western Civilization. Much of modern politics, artistic thought, scientific thought, literature, and philosophy derives from this ancient society...
regions of
MoesiaMoesia was an ancient region and Roman province situated in the Balkans, along the south bank of the Danube River...
,
PannoniaPannonia is an ancient province of the Roman Empire bounded north and east by the Danube, coterminous westward with Noricum and upper Italy, and southward with Dalmatia and upper Moesia....
, parts of
DalmatiaDalmatia , is a region on the eastern coast of the Adriatic Sea and is situated in modern Croatia. It spreads between the island of Rab in the northwest and the Bay of Kotor, in Montenegro, in the southeast...
,
DaciaIn ancient geography, especially in Roman sources, Dacia was the land in East-Central Europe inhabited by the Dacians. Ancient Greeks called the same people "Getae"...
and
MacedoniaMacedonia is a geographical and historical region of the Balkan peninsula in southeastern Europe. Its boundaries have changed considerably over time, but the region is nowadays held to include parts of five Balkan countries: Greece, the Republic of Macedonia, Bulgaria, Albania and Serbia...
.
Around the 6th century,
SlavsThe Slavic Peoples are an ethnic and linguistic branch of Indo-European peoples, living mainly in eastern and central Europe. From the early 6th century they spread from their original homeland to inhabit most of eastern Central Europe, Eastern Europe and the Balkans...
appeared on the
ByzantineThe Byzantine Empire or Eastern Roman Empire, was the continuation of the Roman Empire during the Middle Ages, centered on the capital of Constantinople, and ruled by Emperors in direct and de jure succession to the ancient Roman Emperors...
borders in great numbers. Slavic people have been under nominal
Serbian ruleSerbs are a South Slavic people living in the Central Europe and the Balkans , between the Balkan- and Carpathian mountains in the east and the Adriatic sea in the west. They are located mainly in Serbia, Montenegro, Bosnia-Herzegovina, and, to a lesser extent, in Croatia...
since the 7th century. They were allowed to settle in the Byzantine Empire by its emperor
HeracliusFlavius Heraclius was a Byzantine Emperor of Armenian origin, who ruled the Eastern Roman Empire for over thirty years, from October 5, 610 to February 11, 641...
after their victory over the
AvarsThe Eurasian Avars, sometimes referred to as the European Avars, or Ancient Avars, were a highly organized and powerful confederation of a mixed ethnic background, thought to be closely related to the Mongols, Bulgars, Khazars and other Oghur Turkic peoples of the time...
.
Throughout its early history, various parts of the territory of modern Serbia have been colonized, claimed or ruled by:
- the Greeks
Ancient Greece is the civilisation belonging to the period of Greek history lasting from the Greek Dark Ages ca. 1100 BC and the Dorian invasion, to 146 BC and the Roman conquest of Greece after the Battle of Corinth. It is generally considered to be the seminal culture which provided the...
and RomansThe Roman Empire was the post-Republican phase of the ancient Roman civilization, characterised by an autocratic form of government and large territorial holdings in Europe and around the Mediterranean. The term is used to describe the Roman state during and after the time of the first emperor,...
(conquered the indigenous Celts and IllyriansThe Illyrians were a group of tribes who inhabited the Western Balkans during classical antiquity. The territory the tribes covered came to be known as Illyria to Greek and Roman authors, corresponding roughly to the area between Adriatic sea in west, Drava river in North, Morava river in east...
)
- the Western
The Western Roman Empire was the western half of the Roman Empire, from its division by Diocletian in 285; the other half of the Roman Empire was the Eastern Roman Empire, today widely known as the Byzantine Empire....
and Eastern Roman EmpiresThe Byzantine Empire or Eastern Roman Empire, was the continuation of the Roman Empire during the Middle Ages, centered on the capital of Constantinople, and ruled by Emperors in direct and de jure succession to the ancient Roman Emperors...
- challenged by the incursions of the Huns
Hunnic Empire was an empire founded by the Huns. The Huns were a confederation of Eurasian tribes, in the main probably speaking a Turkic language, but likely with elements of other linguistic groups, from the steppes of Central Asia...
, the Ostrogoths, the SarmatiansThe Sarmatians, Sarmatæ or Sauromatæ were a people of Ancient Iranian origin. Mentioned by classical authors, they migrated from Central Asia to the Ural Mountains around fifth century B.C...
, the AvarsThe Avar Khanate was a long-lived Muslim state which controlled Western Dagestan from the early 13th century to the 19th century.Following the downfall of the Christian kingdom of Sarir in the early 12th century, the Caucasian Avars underwent a process of Islamization. Military tensions escalated...
, the Serbs, the Frankish Kingdom, the Great MoraviaGreat Moravia was a Slavic state that existed in Central Europe from the 9th century to the early 10th century. There is some controversy as to the actual location of its core territory...
, the BulgariansBulgarian Empire is a term used to describe two periods in the medieval history of Bulgaria, during which it acted as a key regional power in Europe in general and in Southeastern Europe in particular, often rivalling Byzantium...
and finally, the HungariansHungarians are an ethnic group primarily associated with Hungary. There are around 10 million Hungarians in Hungary . Hungarians were the main inhabitants of the Kingdom of Hungary that existed through most of the second millennium...
).
No fewer than 17
Roman EmperorThe Roman emperor was the ruler of the Roman State during the imperial period . The Romans had no single term for the office: Latin titles such as imperator , augustus, caesar and princeps were all associated with it...
s were born in the land that is now Serbia.
Medieval Serbia, 7th – 14th century
According to legend, the Serbs were ruled by the descendants of the
Unknown ArchontThe Unknown Archont is a conventional name given by historians to the Serbian leader who led the White Serbs from their homeland in north-eastern Central Europe to settle in the Balkans in the early 7th century....
who led them to the Balkans from
White SerbiaWhite Serbia, also known as Bojka , was the traditional homeland of the White Serbs in Europe. The area to the east from White Serbia was known as White Croatia.The location of White Serbia has been disputed...
; its three related medieval dynasties follow a continuous bloodline all the way to the 1400s A.D.
The earliest rudimentary Serb state arose in the mid ninth century, although it was mostly a vassal principality to the
Byzantine EmpireThe Byzantine Empire or Eastern Roman Empire, was the continuation of the Roman Empire during the Middle Ages, centered on the capital of Constantinople, and ruled by Emperors in direct and de jure succession to the ancient Roman Emperors...
and
Bulgarian EmpireThe First Bulgarian Empire was a medieval Bulgarian state founded in AD 632 in the lands near the Danube Delta and disintegrated in AD 1018 after its annexation to the Byzantine Empire. At the height of its power it spread between Budapest and the Black Sea and from the Dnieper river in modern...
s alternatively. Official adoption of
ChristianityChristianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as presented by the revelations in the New Testament....
soon followed (under
PrincePrince, from French "Prince" , is a general term for a monarch, for a member of a monarchs' or former monarch's family, and is a hereditary title in some members of Europe's highest nobility...
Mutimir Vlastimirović). The First dynasty died out in 960 A.D. with the death of Prince
ČaslavČaslav Klonimirović Vlastimirović was the ruler of Serbia. He ruled from 927 until his death in 960....
, who managed to unify all the Serb populated lands, centered between contemporary South Serbia and Montenegro and the coastal south of Croatia. Following this, Serb lands were soon incorporated under direct Byzantine rule after their defeat of the First Bulgarian Empire in 1018 AD.
Around 1040 AD an uprising in the coastal Serb lands, in the medieval state of
DukljaDuklja or Diokletija was a Serbian medieval state with hereditary lands roughly encompassing the territories of the modern-state Montenegro and bordering with Travunia at Kotor...
, overthrew
Byzantine ruleThe Byzantine Empire or Eastern Roman Empire, was the continuation of the Roman Empire during the Middle Ages, centered on the capital of Constantinople, and ruled by Emperors in direct and de jure succession to the ancient Roman Emperors...
. Duklja then assumed domination over the Serbian lands between 11–12th centuries under the dynasty of
VojislavljevićThe House of Vojislav was a medieval dynasty that inherited the claims over Duklja of the old ruling House of Saint Vladimir and the Serbian House of Vlastimir dynasty. It ruled Duklja and the surrounding territories; including Zahumlje, Rascia and Bosnia, where the dynasty's side branches have...
(who, according to legend, they were descendants of the 1st dynasty). In 1077 A.D.
DukljaDuklja or Diokletija was a Serbian medieval state with hereditary lands roughly encompassing the territories of the modern-state Montenegro and bordering with Travunia at Kotor...
became the first Serb
KingdomDuklja or Diokletija was a Serbian medieval state with hereditary lands roughly encompassing the territories of the modern-state Montenegro and bordering with Travunia at Kotor...
(under Michael I-
ruler of Tribals and Serbs), following the establishment of the catholic
Bisphoric of BarBar is a coastal town in Montenegro. It has a population of 13,719...
. From late 12th century onwards, a new state called
RaskaRaška can refer to:* Raška , a medieval Serbian state* Raška , a geographical region in Serbia* Raška , a town and municipality in Serbia* Raška River, a river in Serbia* Raška District, a district in Serbia...
, centred in present-day southern Serbia, rose to become the paramount Serb state. Over the 13th and 14th century, it ruled over the other Serb lands (the
HumA hum is a sound made by singing a wordless tone with the mouth completely closed, forcing the sound to emerge from the nose. To hum is to produce such a sound, most often with a melody. It is difficult to hum with your nose pinched closed for more than a few seconds...
,
TravuniaTravunia was a medieval Serbian realm centered at Trebinje in today's eastern Herzegovina and southern Dalmatia ....
and
DukljaDuklja or Diokletija was a Serbian medieval state with hereditary lands roughly encompassing the territories of the modern-state Montenegro and bordering with Travunia at Kotor...
/
Zeta-Science:* Zeta functions, in mathematics** Riemann zeta function* Zeta potential, the electrokinetic potential of a colloidal system* Tropical Storm Zeta , formed in December 2005 and lasting through January 2006* Z-pinch, in fusion power...
. During this time, Serbia began to expand eastward (toward
NisNiS may refer to:*Nickel sulfide NiSNis or NIS may refer to: * Niš, a city in Serbia. * Ness, Western Isles , a village in the Outer Hebrides islands.In politics and government:...
), southward into
KosovoKosovo is a disputed territory in the Balkans. Its majority is governed by the partially-recognised Republic of Kosovo , a self-declared independent state which has de facto control over the territory; the exceptions are some Serb enclaves...
and northern Macedonia and northward toward
SremŚrem is a town on the Warta river in central Poland. It has been situated in the Greater Poland Voivodeship since 1999; from 1975 to 1998 it was part of the Poznań Voivodeship...
and
MacvaMačva is a geographical region in Serbia, mostly situated in the northwest of Central Serbia. It is located in a fertile plain between the Sava and Drina rivers. The chief town of this region is Šabac. The modern Mačva District of Serbia is named after the region, although the region of Mačva...
for the first time. This shift away from the Adriatic coast brought Serbia increasingly under the influence of the
Eastern OrthodoxThe Orthodox Church, also officially called the Orthodox Catholic Church and commonly referred to in English speaking countries as the Eastern Orthodox Church, is the world's second largest Christian communion, estimated to number 225 million members...
, although a substantial proportion of Catholics were found in the coastal regions. Although Europe had already experience the
East-West SchismThe East–West Schism, or The Great Schism, divided medieval Christianity into Eastern and Western branches, which later became known as the Eastern Orthodox Church and the Roman Catholic Church, respectively. Relations between East and West had long been embittered by political and ecclesiastical...
by this time, such a split was far less concrete than it is today, and Catholic Slavs in Bosnia and the Dalmatian coast practiced Christianity in a similar way to Orthodox Slavs – priests married, wore beards and gave liturgy in Slavic rather than Latin. By the beginning of the 14th century Serbs lived in three distinctly independent kingdoms-
DiocleaDuklja or Diokletija was a Serbian medieval state with hereditary lands roughly encompassing the territories of the modern-state Montenegro and bordering with Travunia at Kotor...
,
RasciaRaška was the central and most successful medieval Serbian state that unified neighboring Serbian tribes into a main medieval Serbian state in the Balkans.-Background:Constantine VII Porphyrogenitos describes Raška in...
and
SyrmiaSyrmia is a fertile region of the Pannonian Plain in Europe, between the Danube and Sava rivers. It is divided between Serbia in the east and Croatia in the west....
.
The
House of NemanjićThe House of Nemanjić was a medieval Serbian ruling dynasty.The "Stefan" dynasty - House of Nemanjić was named after Stefan Nemanja. It was descended from the cadet line of the House of Vojislavljević...
, descendants of the
kings of DukljaDuklja or Diokletija was a Serbian medieval state with hereditary lands roughly encompassing the territories of the modern-state Montenegro and bordering with Travunia at Kotor...
, moved from
DukljaDuklja or Diokletija was a Serbian medieval state with hereditary lands roughly encompassing the territories of the modern-state Montenegro and bordering with Travunia at Kotor...
to
RaškaRaška can refer to:* Raška , a medieval Serbian state* Raška , a geographical region in Serbia* Raška , a town and municipality in Serbia* Raška River, a river in Serbia* Raška District, a district in Serbia...
, signaling a shift towards continental Serbia in the late 12th century. A direct result of this was the establishment of the
Serbian Orthodox ChurchThe Serbian Orthodox Church or the Church of Serbia is one of the autocephalous...
in 1217, which rivaled the Catholic Bishopric of Bar. Under the Nemanyaden, Medieval Serbia reached itsn economic, legal, miiltary and religious apogee. The Serbian Kingdom of Raška was proclaimed in 1219, joined later by the Kingdom of Syrmia and the
Banovina of MačvaThe Banovina of Mačva was a province of the medieval Kingdom of Hungary, which was located in the present-day Mačva region of Serbia.- History :...
. Finally, the
Serbian EmpireThe Serbian Empire was a medieval empire in the Balkans that emerged from the medieval Serbian kingdom in the 14th century...
under Stefan Dušan was formed in 1346. Under Dušan's rule, Serbia reached its territorial peak, becoming one of the larger states in Europe, portraying itself as the heir of the run-down
Byzantine EmpireThe Byzantine Empire or Eastern Roman Empire, was the continuation of the Roman Empire during the Middle Ages, centered on the capital of Constantinople, and ruled by Emperors in direct and de jure succession to the ancient Roman Emperors...
, and indeed was the most powerful Balkan state of the period. The renowned
Dušan's CodeDušan's Code is a legal code, one of two the most significant cultural-historical monuments of medieval Serbia, accompanying St. Sava's Nomocanon. It was presented by Tsar Stefan Dušan in two state congresses: in 1349 in Skopje and in 1354 in Serres...
, a universal system of laws, was enforced. The Serbian identity has been profoundly shaped by the rule of this dynasty and its accomplishments, with
Serbian Orthodox ChurchThe Serbian Orthodox Church or the Church of Serbia is one of the autocephalous...
assuming the role of the national spiritual guardian.
Before his sudden death, Stefan Dušan tried to organize a Crusade with the Pope against the threatening Turks. He died in December 1355 at the age 47. Modern necropsy of the emperor's body revealed that he was poisoned. He was succeeded by his son Uroš, called
the Weak, a term that might also apply to the state of the kingdom slowly sliding into feudal anarchy. This was a period marked by the rise of a new threat: the
Ottoman Turk sultanateThe Ottoman Empire or Ottoman State , also known by its contemporaries as the Turkish Empire or Turkey , was an empire that lasted from 1299 to November 1, 1922 The Ottoman Empire or Ottoman State (Ottoman Turkish: دَوْلَتِ عَلِیَّهِ عُثْمَانِیَّه Dawlet-il ʿAliyyat-il ʿOs̠māniyye, Modern Turkish:...
which, gradually spread from Asia to Europe conquering
ByzantiumByzantium was an ancient Greek city, which was founded by Greek colonists from Megara in 667 BC and named after their king Byzas or Byzantas . The name "Byzantium" is a Latinization of the original name Byzantion...
first and then the remaining
BalkansThe Balkans is a geopolitical and cultural region of southeastern Europe...
states.
Ottoman Empire (14th – 20th Century)
Two Barons in the Serbian region, Mrnjavčević brothers, gathered a large army to rebel the Ottomans. They marched into Ottoman territory in 1371 to attack but they were too confident in themselves. They built an overnight camp near the river
MaritsaThe Maritsa or Evros is, with a length of 480 km, the longest river that runs solely in the interior of the Balkans. It has its origin in the Rila Mountains in Western Bulgaria, flowing southeast between the Balkan and Rhodope Mountains, past Plovdiv and Parvomay to Edirne, Turkey...
at Chermen in today's
BulgariaBulgaria , officially the Republic of Bulgaria , is a country in the Balkans in south-eastern Europe. Bulgaria borders five other countries: Romania to the north , Serbia and the Republic of Macedonia to the west, and Greece and Turkey to the south...
, and started celebrating and getting drunk. During the night, a detachment of Ottoman forces attacked the drunken Serbian knights and drove them back to the river. Most of the rebels were either drowned or killed, thereby annihilating the Serbs gathered from southern region. The event eventually became known as the Battle of Chernomen/
Battle of MaritsaThe Battle of Maritsa or Battle of Chernomen took place at the Maritsa River near the village of Chernomen on September 26, 1371 between the forces of the Ottoman sultan Murad I's lieutenant Lala Şâhin Paşa and the Serbs numbering some 70,000 men under the command...
.
Serbs heavily defeated Ottomans in
Battle of PlocnikThe Battle of Pločnik was fought in 1386 , at the village of Pločnik, near Prokuplje in today's southeastern Serbia, between the Serbian forces of prince Lazar Hrebeljanović and the invading Ottoman Turks of sultan Murad I.It was the second clash between the Ottomans and forces commanded by Lazar,...
in 1386.The Serbian
knightA knight was a "gentleman soldier" or member of the warrior class of the Middle Ages in Europe. In other Indo-European languages, cognates of cavalier or rider are more prevalent suggesting a connection to the knight's mode of transport...
Milos ObilicMiloš Obilić was a 14th-century Serbian knight in the service of Prince Lazar, ruler of Moravian Serbia. Little is known of the historical persona, but he features prominently in accounts of the Serbian defeat at the Battle of Kosovo as the legendary assassin of the Ottoman sultan Murad I...
was wounded by arrow in battle.
The
Battle of KosovoThe Battle of Kosovo was a battle fought in 1389 on St Vitus' Day, June 15*, between the Serbian Empire and its allies, and the Ottoman Empire, in the Kosovo Field, about 5 kilometers northwest of modern-day Pristina. Reliable historical accounts of the battle are scarce...
was a turning point in the war. Vassal troops commanded by Prince Lazar, the strongest regional nobleman in Serbia at the time, killed Ottoman Sultan in the Obilic battlefield with sword
Murad IMurad I was the ruler of the Ottoman Empire, Sultan of Rûm, from 1359 to 1389...
but suffered a defeat, due to the legendary "sudden departure" of Vuk Branković's troops. The
Battle of KosovoThe Battle of Kosovo was a battle fought in 1389 on St Vitus' Day, June 15*, between the Serbian Empire and its allies, and the Ottoman Empire, in the Kosovo Field, about 5 kilometers northwest of modern-day Pristina. Reliable historical accounts of the battle are scarce...
(1389) defined the fate of Medieval Serbia, because after it no force capable of standing up to the Ottomans existed. Kosovo as a whole was taken by the Ottomans in the coming years whereby the Serbian realm was moved northwards. That unstable period was marked by the rule of Prince Lazar's son, despot
Stefan LazarevićStefan Lazarević was a Serbian Despot. He was the son and heir to Prince Lazar , who died at the Battle of Kosovo against the Turks in 1389, and Princess Milica from the subordinate branch of the Nemanjić dynasty. Despot Stefan was a poet and a moderniser...
, a true European-style knight as well as poet, and his cousin Đurađ Branković, who moved the capital north to the newly built fortified town of
SmederevoSmederevo is a city and municipality in Serbia on the Danube at 44°40' North, 20°55' East. In 2002 the city had a total population of 77,808, and the surrounding municipality had a population of 109,809...
. The Ottomans continued their conquest until they finally seized the entire northern Medieval Serbia in 1459 when Smederevo fell into their hands. Medieval Bosnia and Zeta lasted until 1496. A Serbian principality was restored a few years after the fall of the Serbian despotate by the Brankovics and existed as a Hungarian dependency situated in what is now Vojvodina and northern Hungary/Romania. It was ruled by exiled Serbian nobles and existed until 1540 when it fell to the Ottomans.
From the 14th century onward an increasing number of Serbs began migrating to the north to the region today known as
VojvodinaThe Autonomous Province of Vojvodina is an autonomous province in Serbia, containing about 27% of its total population according to the 2002 Census. It is located in the northern part of the country, in the Pannonian plain of Central Europe...
, which was under the rule of the
Kingdom of HungaryThe Kingdom of Hungary , emerged in 1000, when the Principality of Hungary, founded in 896, was recognized as a Kingdom. The form of government was changed from Monarchy to Republic briefly in 1918 and again in 1946, ending the Kingdom and creating the Republic of Hungary...
in that time. The Hungarian kings encouraged the immigration of Serbs to the kingdom, and hired many of them as soldiers and border guards. During the struggle between the Ottoman Empire and Hungary, this Serb population performed an attempt of the restoration of the Serbian state. In the
Battle of MohácsThe Battle of Mohács was fought on August 29, 1526 near Mohács, Hungary. In the battle, forces of the Kingdom of Hungary led by King Louis II of Hungary and Bohemia were defeated by forces of the Ottoman Empire led by Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent.The Ottoman victory led to the partition of...
on August 29 1526,
Ottoman EmpireThe Ottoman Empire or Ottoman State , also known by its contemporaries as the Turkish Empire or Turkey , was an empire that lasted from 1299 to November 1, 1922 The Ottoman Empire or Ottoman State (Ottoman Turkish: دَوْلَتِ عَلِیَّهِ عُثْمَانِیَّه Dawlet-il ʿAliyyat-il ʿOs̠māniyye, Modern Turkish:...
destroyed the army of
HungarianHungary , in English officially the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in the Carpathian Basin of Central Europe, bordered by Austria, Slovakia, Ukraine, Romania, Serbia, Croatia, and Slovenia. Its capital is Budapest. Hungary is a member of OECD, NATO, EU, V4 and is a Schengen state...
-
CzechThe Czech Republic is a country in Central Europe that is sometimes considered to be Eastern European. The country borders Poland to the northeast, Germany to the west and northwest, Austria to the south and Slovakia to the east. The capital and largest city is Prague...
kingA monarch is the person who heads a monarchy, a form of government in which the country or entity usually ruled or controlled by an individual who usually rules for life or until abdication...
Louis Jagellion, who was killed on the battlefield. After this battle
HungaryThe Kingdom of Hungary , emerged in 1000, when the Principality of Hungary, founded in 896, was recognized as a Kingdom. The form of government was changed from Monarchy to Republic briefly in 1918 and again in 1946, ending the Kingdom and creating the Republic of Hungary...
ceased to be independent state and much of its former territory became part of the Ottoman Empire. Soon after the Battle of Mohács, leader of Serbian mercenaries in Hungary,
Jovan NenadEmperor Jovan Nenad was a leader of Serb mercenaries in the Kingdom of Hungary who took advantage of a struggle over the Hungarian throne to create his own state and crowned himself emperor...
established his rule in
BačkaBačka is an area of the Pannonian plain lying between the rivers Danube and Tisa...
, northern
BanatThe Banat is a geographical and historical region in Central Europe currently divided between three countries: the eastern part lies in Romania , the western part in Serbia , and a...
and a small part of Srem (These three regions are now parts of
VojvodinaThe Autonomous Province of Vojvodina is an autonomous province in Serbia, containing about 27% of its total population according to the 2002 Census. It is located in the northern part of the country, in the Pannonian plain of Central Europe...
). He created an ephemeral independent state, with city of
SuboticaSubotica is a city and municipality in northern Serbia, in the Autonomous Province of Vojvodina. It is located at 46.07° North, 19.68° East, about 10 km from the border with Hungary....
as its capital. At the peak of his career, Jovan Nenad crowned himself in Subotica for Serb emperor. King John of Hungary forces defeated his rebellion in the summer of 1527. Jovan Nenad was killed and his 'state' collapsed.
European powers, and
AustriaAustria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.3 million people in Central Europe. It borders both Germany and the Czech Republic to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the west...
in particular, fought many wars against the Ottoman Empire, sometimes with assistance from Serbs. During the Austrian–Ottoman War (1593–1606), in 1594, some Serbs participated an uprising in
BanatThe Banat is a geographical and historical region in Central Europe currently divided between three countries: the eastern part lies in Romania , the western part in Serbia , and a...
—the
PannonianThe Pannonian Plain is a large plain in Central Europe that remained when the Pliocene Pannonian Sea dried out. It is a geomorphological subsystem of the Alps-Himalaya system.The river Danube divides the plain roughly in half...
part of the Ottoman Empire, and Sultan
Murad IIIMurad III
was the Sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 1574 until his death....
retaliated by burning the relics of St. Sava. Austria established troops in
HerzegovinaHerzegovina is the southern region of Bosnia-Herzegovina, comprising 11,419 sq km or around 22% of the total area of the present-day country. In other sources it comprises 12,276 sq km, this constitutes 24% of Bosnia and Herzegovina...
but when peace was signed by Ottoman Empire and Austria, Austria abandoned to Ottoman vengeance. This sequence of events became customary for the centuries that followed.
During the Great War (1683–90) between the Ottoman Empire and the Holy League—created with the sponsorship of the Pope and including Austria,
PolandPoland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe . Poland is bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
and
VeniceVenice is a city in northern Italy, the capital of the region Veneto, a population of 271,367 . Together with Padua, the city is included in the Padua-Venice Metropolitan Area . The city historically was an independent nation...
—these three powers as means of divide and conquer strategy, incited including Serbs to rebel against the Ottoman authorities and soon uprisings and terrorism spread throughout the western Balkans: from
MontenegroMontenegro , is a country located in Southeastern Europe. It has a coast on the Adriatic Sea to the south-west and is bordered by Croatia to the west, Bosnia and Herzegovina to the northwest, Serbia to the northeast, Kosovo to the east and Albania to the south...
and the Dalmatian Coast to the
DanubeThe Danube is the longest river in the European Union and Europe's second longest river after the Volga.The river originates in the Black Forest in Germany as the much smaller Brigach and Breg rivers which join at the German town Donaueschingen, after which it is known as the Danube and flows...
basin and Old Serbia (Macedonia, Raška, Kosovo and Metohija). However, when the Austrians started to pull out of the Ottoman region, they invited Austrian-loyal people to come north with them into Hungarian territories. Having to choose between Ottoman reprisal or living in Hungary, some Serbs abandoned their homesteads and headed north lead by
patriarchOriginally a patriarch was a man who exercised autocratic authority as a pater familias over an extended family. The system of such rule of families by senior males is called patriarchy...
Arsenije Čarnojević.
Another important episode in the history of the region took place in 1716–18, when the territories ranging from Dalmatia, and Bosnia and Herzegovina to Belgrade and the Danube basin became the battleground for a new Austria-Ottoman war launched by
Prince Eugene of SavoyFrançois-Eugène, Prince of Savoy-Carignan , was one of the most prominent and successful military commanders in European history. Born in Paris to aristocratic Savoyard parents, Eugene grew up around the French court of King Louis XIV. He was initially prepared for a career in the church, but by...
. Some Serbs sided once again with Austria. After a peace treaty was signed in Požarevac, the Ottomans lost all its possessions in the Danube basin, as well as today's northern Serbia and northern Bosnia, parts of Dalmatia and the Peloponnesus.
The last Austrian-Ottoman war was the so-called Dubica War (1788–91), when the Austrians urged the Christians in Bosnia to rebel. No wars were fought afterwards until the 20th century that marked the fall of both Austrain and Ottoman empires, staged together by the European powers/ imperialism just after World War I.
Modern Serbia
Serbia gained its autonomy from the
Ottoman EmpireThe Ottoman Empire or Ottoman State , also known by its contemporaries as the Turkish Empire or Turkey , was an empire that lasted from 1299 to November 1, 1922 The Ottoman Empire or Ottoman State (Ottoman Turkish: دَوْلَتِ عَلِیَّهِ عُثْمَانِیَّه Dawlet-il ʿAliyyat-il ʿOs̠māniyye, Modern Turkish:...
in two uprisings in
1804The First Serbian Uprising was the first stage of the Serbian revolution which lasted for nine years and approximately nine months , during which Serbia perceived itself as an independent state for the first time after 400 years of Ottoman and short-lasting Austrian occupations...
(led by Đorđe Petrović – Karađorđe) and
1815The Second Serbian Uprising was a second phase of the Serbian revolution against the Ottoman Empire, which erupted shortly after the re-annexation of the country to the Ottoman Empire, in 1813. The occupation was enforced following the defeat of the First Serbian Uprising , during which Serbia...
(led by Miloš Obrenović), although Turkish troops continued to garrison the capital,
BelgradeBelgrade Belgrade Belgrade (Serbian Cyrillic: Београд, Serbian Latin: Beograd (meaning "White City" in Serbian) is the capital and largest city of Serbia. The city lies on two international waterways, at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers, where Central Europe's Pannonian Plain meets...
, until 1867. The Turkish Empire was already faced with a deep internal crisis without any hope of recuperating. This had a particularly hard effect on the Christian nations living under its rule. The Serbs launched not only a national revolution but a social one as well and gradually Serbia started to catch up with the European states with the introduction of the bourgeois society values. Resulting from the uprisings and subsequent wars against the Ottoman Empire, the independent Principality of Serbia was formed and granted international recognition in 1878. Serbia was a
principalityA principality is a monarchical feudatory or sovereign state, ruled or reigned over by a monarch with the title of prince or princess, or a monarch with another title within the generic use of the term prince....
or kneževina (knjaževina), between 1817 and 1882, and a
kingdomThe person who heads a monarchy is called a monarch. It was a common form of government in the world during the ancient and medieval times. A Monarchy is a form of government in which supreme power is absolutely or nominally lodged with an individual, who is the head of state, often for life or...
between 1882 and 1918, during which time the internal politics revolved largely around dynastic rivalry between the Obrenović and Karađorđević families.
This period was marked by the alternation of two dynasties descending from Đorđe Petrović—Karađorđe, leader of the First Serbian Uprising and Miloš Obrenović, leader of the Second Serbian Uprising. Further development of Serbia was characterized by general progress in economy, culture and arts, primarily due to a wise state policy of sending young people to European capitals to get an education. They all brought back a new spirit and a new system of values. One of the external manifestations of the transformation that the former Turkish province was going through was the proclamation of the Kingdom of Serbia in 1882.
During the
Revolutions of 1848The European Revolutions of 1848, known in some countries as the Spring of Nations, Springtime of the Peoples or the Year of Revolution, were a series of political upheavals throughout the European continent...
, the Serbs in the
Austrian EmpireThe Austrian Empire was a modern era successor empire founded on a remnant of the Holy Roman Empire centered on what is today's Austria that officially lasted from 1804 to 1867...
proclaimed Serbian autonomous province known as
Serbian VojvodinaThe Serbian Vojvodina was a Serbian autonomous region within the Austrian Empire...
. By a decision of the Austrian emperor, in November 1849, this province was transformed into the Austrian crown land known as the Vojvodina of Serbia and Tamiš Banat (Dukedom of Serbia and Tamiš Banat). Against the will of the Serbs, the province was abolished in 1860, but the Serbs from the region gained another opportunity to achieve their political demands in 1918. Today, this region is known as
VojvodinaThe Autonomous Province of Vojvodina is an autonomous province in Serbia, containing about 27% of its total population according to the 2002 Census. It is located in the northern part of the country, in the Pannonian plain of Central Europe...
.
In 1885 Serbia is against the unification of Bulgaria and Eastern Rumelia and attacks Bulgaria. This is also known as Serbo-Bulgarian war. Despite the better weapons and commanders Serbia loses this war.
In the second half of 19th century, Serbia gained statehood as the
Kingdom of SerbiaThe Kingdom of Serbia was created when Prince Milan Obrenović, ruler of the Principality of Serbia, was crowned King in 1882. The Principality of Serbia was ruled by the Karadjordjevic dynasty from 1817 onwards...
. It thus became part of the constellation of European states and the first political parties were founded, thus giving new momentum to political life. The
coup d'étatA coup d'état , or coup for short, is the sudden unconstitutional deposition of a legitimate government, usually by a small group of the existing state establishment—typically the military—to replace the deposed government with another, either civil or military...
in 1903, bringing Karađorđe's grandson to the throne with the title of King
Petar IPetar I may refer to:* Petar I Petrović-Njegoš, the Montenegrin ruler, metropolitan and saint * Peter I of Serbia, the Serbian king...
opened the way for parliamentary democracy in Serbia. Having received a European education, this liberal king translated "
On LibertyOn Liberty is a philosophical work by 19th century English philosopher John Stuart Mill, first published in 1859. To the Victorian readers of the time it was a radical work, advocating moral and economic freedom of individuals from the state....
" by
John Stuart MillJohn Stuart Mill , English philosopher, political theorist, political economist, civil servant and Member of Parliament, was an influential liberal thinker of the 19th century whose works on liberty justified freedom of the individual in opposition to unlimited state control...
and gave his country a democratic constitution. It initiated a period of parliamentary government and political freedom interrupted by the outbreak of the liberation wars. The
Balkan warsThe Balkan Wars were two wars in South-eastern Europe in 1912–1913. The First Balkan War broke out on 8 October 1912 when Bulgaria, Greece, Montenegro and Serbia , having large parts of their ethnic populations under Ottoman sovereignty, attacked the Ottoman Empire, terminating its five-century...
1912–13, terminated the Turkish domination in the Balkans. Turkey was pushed back towards the Bosporus, and national Balkan states were created in the territories it withdrew from.
Serbia in World War I
The June 28, 1914 assassination of Austrian Crown Prince
Franz FerdinandFranz Ferdinand was an Archduke of Austria-Este, Austro Hungarian and Royal Prince of Hungary and of Bohemia, and from 1889 until his death, heir presumptive to the Austro-Hungarian throne. His assassination in Sarajevo precipitated Austria-Hungary's declaration of war against Serbia...
in the
BosnianBosnia and Herzegovina Bosnia and Herzegovina Bosnia and Herzegovina ( or (Bosnian, Croatian, Serbian Latin: Bosna i Hercegovina; Serbian Cyrillic: Босна и Херцеговина) is a country in Southeast Europe, on the Balkan Peninsula...
capital
SarajevoSarajevo is the capital and largest city of Bosnia and Herzegovina, with a population of 304,614 people in the four municipalities that make up the city proper, and an estimated urban area population of 421,289 people in the Sarajevo Canton . It is also the capital of the Federation of Bosnia and...
, by
Gavrilo PrincipGavrilo Princip was a Yugoslav nationalist, ethnic Serb, associated with the freedom movement Mlada Bosna . Princip assassinated Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria and his pregnant wife, Sophie, Duchess of Hohenberg, in Sarajevo on 28 June 1914...
, a member of
Young BosniaYoung Bosnia was a revolutionary group whose adherents were mostly Serbs, but included Bosniaks and Croats as well. It was formed before World War I in Bosnia and Herzegovina, with significant influence from Serbia...
and one of several (seven) assassins organized by The Black Hand (Crna Ruka), served as a pretext for the Austrian declaration of war on Serbia, marking the beginning of
World War IWorld War I , also known as the First World War, the Great War, and the War to End All Wars, was a global military conflict which involved most of the world's great powers, assembled in two opposing alliances: the Triple Entente and the Triple Alliance...
, despite Serbia's acceptance (on July 25) of nearly all of
Austria-HungaryAustria–Hungary, also known as the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Dual Monarchy or the k.u.k. Monarchy, or Dual State, was a monarchic union between the crowns of the Austrian Empire and the Kingdom of Hungary in Central Europe...
's demands (they refused to hand over the assassin to Austria). The Serbian Army defended the country and won several victories, but it was finally overpowered by the forces of
GermanyGermany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered to the north by the North Sea, Denmark, and the Baltic Sea; to the east by Poland and the Czech Republic; to the south by Austria and Switzerland; and to the west by France, Luxembourg, Belgium,...
, Austria-Hungary and
BulgariaBulgaria , officially the Republic of Bulgaria , is a country in the Balkans in south-eastern Europe. Bulgaria borders five other countries: Romania to the north , Serbia and the Republic of Macedonia to the west, and Greece and Turkey to the south...
, and had to withdraw from the national territory marching across the
AlbaniaAlbania , officially the Republic of Albania , is a Mediterranean country in South Eastern Europe. It is bordered by Montenegro to the north, Kosovo to the northeast, Macedonia to the east and Greece to the south-east...
n mountain ranges to the
Adriatic SeaThe Adriatic Sea is a body of water separating the Italian Peninsula from the Balkan peninsula, and the system of the Apennine Mountains from that of the Dinaric Alps and adjacent ranges. The Adriatic Sea is a part of the Mediterranean Sea...
. On 16 August Serbia was promised by the
EntenteThe Triple Entente was the name given to the loose alignment between the United Kingdom, France, and Russia after the signing of the Anglo-Russian Entente in 1907...
the territories of Srem, Bačka, Baranja, eastern Slavonia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and eastern Dalmatia as a reward after the war. Having recuperated on
CorfuCorfu is a Greek island in the Ionian Sea. It is the second largest of the Ionian Islands, and its northern part lies off the coast of Sarandë, Albania from which it is separated by straits varying in breadth from 3 to 23 km , including one near ancient Butrint, while its southern part lies...
the Serbian Army returned to combat on the
ThessalonikiThessaloniki , Thessalonica, or Salonica is the second-largest city in Greece and the capital of the Greek region of Macedonia. It is honorarily called the Συμπρωτεύουσα Symprotevousa of Greece, as it was once called the συμβασιλεύουσα symvasilevousa of the Byzantine Empire...
front together with other
EntenteThe Triple Entente was the name given to the loose alignment between the United Kingdom, France, and Russia after the signing of the Anglo-Russian Entente in 1907...
forces comprising
FranceFrance , officially the French Republic , is a country located in Western Europe, with several overseas islands and territories located on other continents. Metropolitan France extends from the Mediterranean Sea to the English Channel and the North Sea, and from the Rhine to the Atlantic Ocean...
, the
United KingdomThe United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is a sovereign state located off the northwestern coast of continental Europe. It is an island country, spanning an archipelago including Great Britain, the northeastern part of Ireland, and many small islands...
,
RussiaRussia , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia . It is a semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
,
ItalyItaly , officially the Italian Republic , is a country located on the Italian Peninsula in Southern Europe and on the two largest islands in the Mediterranean Sea, Sicily and Sardinia. Italy shares its northern, Alpine boundary with France, Switzerland, Austria and Slovenia...
and the
United StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. In World War I, Serbia had 1,264,000 casualties—28% of its population of 4,5 million , which also represented 58% of its male population—a loss from which it never fully recovered.
The Kingdom of Yugoslavia
A successful Allied offensive in September 1918 secured first Bulgaria's surrender and then the liberation of the occupied Serbian territories (November 1918). On November 25, the Assembly of
SerbsSerbs are a South Slavic people living in the Central Europe and the Balkans , between the Balkan- and Carpathian mountains in the east and the Adriatic sea in the west. They are located mainly in Serbia, Montenegro, Bosnia-Herzegovina, and, to a lesser extent, in Croatia...
,
BunjevciBunjevci are a Slavic people originating from the Dinaric Alps region , and today living mostly in the Bačka region Vojvodina situated in northern Serbia and...
, and other nations of
VojvodinaThe Autonomous Province of Vojvodina is an autonomous province in Serbia, containing about 27% of its total population according to the 2002 Census. It is located in the northern part of the country, in the Pannonian plain of Central Europe...
in
Novi SadNovi Sad is the capital of the northern Serbian province of Vojvodina, and the administrative centre of the South Bačka District. The city lies in the southern part of Central Europe's Pannonian Plain, on both banks of the Danube river.Novi Sad is Serbia's second largest city, after Belgrade...
voted to join the region to Serbia. Also, on November 29 the
National Assembly of MontenegroThe Podgorica Assembly , in full name known as the Great National Assembly of the Serb People in Montenegro or the Serbian Great People's Assembly in Montenegro, was an assembly held in Podgorica...
voted for union with Serbia, and two days later an assembly of leaders of Austria–Hungary's southern Slav regions voted to join the new
State of Slovenes, Croats and SerbsThe State of Slovenes, Croats, and Serbs was a short-lived state formed from the southernmost parts of the Austro-Hungarian monarchy after its dissolution at the end of the World War I by the resident population of Slovenes, Croats, and Serbs...
.
With the end of
World War IWorld War I , also known as the First World War, the Great War, and the War to End All Wars, was a global military conflict which involved most of the world's great powers, assembled in two opposing alliances: the Triple Entente and the Triple Alliance...
and the collapse of both the Austro-Hungarian and Ottoman Empires the conditions were met for proclaiming the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes in December 1918. The Yugoslav ideal had long been cultivated by the intellectual circles of the three nations that gave the name to the country, but the international constellation of political forces and interests did not permit its implementation until then. However, after the war, idealist intellectuals gave way to politicians, and the most influential Croatian politicians opposed the new state right from the start.
In the early
1920sThe 1920s was the decade that ran from January 1, 1920, to December 31, 1929. It is sometimes referred to as the Roaring Twenties or the Jazz Age, when speaking about the United States, Canada or the United Kingdom...
, the Yugoslav government of Serbian prime minister
Nikola PasicNikola P. Pašić , was a Serbian and Yugoslav politician and diplomat, the most important Serbian political figure for almost 40 years, leader of the People's Radical Party who, among other posts, was twice a mayor of Belgrade...
used police pressure over voters and ethnic minorities, confiscation of opposition pamphlets and other measures of election rigging to keep the opposition, and mainly the
Croatian Peasant PartyThe Croatian Peasant Party is a centrist political party in Croatia.-History:It was formed in 1904 by Antun Radić along with his brother Stjepan Radić...
and its allies in minority in Yugoslav parliament. Pasic believed that Yugoslavia should be as centralized as possible, creating in place of distinct regional governments and identities a
Greater SerbiaThe term Greater Serbia or Great Serbia with it`s moto "Serbia to Tokyo" applies to the key current within Serbian nationalism...
n national concept of concentrated power in the hands of Belgrade.
However, what pushed the Kingdom into crisis was when a Serb representative opened fire on the opposition benches in the Parliament, killing two outright and mortally wounding the leader of the Croatian Peasants Party ,
Stjepan RadićStjepan Radić was a Croatian politician and the founder of the Croatian Peasant Party in 1905. Radić is credited with galvanizing the peasantry of Croatia into a viable political force...
in 1928.
Taking advantage of the resulting crisis, King
Alexander IAlexander I Karađorđević was the first king of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia as well as the last king of the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes .-Childhood:Alexander Karađorđević was born in Cetinje in Principality of Montenegro in December 1888...
banned national political parties in 1929, assumed executive power, and renamed the country
YugoslaviaYugoslavia is a term that describes three political entities that existed successively on the Balkan Peninsula in Europe, during most of the 20th century.The first country to be known by this...
. He hoped to curb separatist tendencies and mitigate nationalist passions. However, the balance of power changed in international relations: in
ItalyItaly , officially the Italian Republic , is a country located on the Italian Peninsula in Southern Europe and on the two largest islands in the Mediterranean Sea, Sicily and Sardinia. Italy shares its northern, Alpine boundary with France, Switzerland, Austria and Slovenia...
and Germany,
FascistsFascism, , comprises a radical and authoritarian nationalist political ideology and a corporatist economic ideology developed in Italy. Fascists believe that nations and/or races are in perpetual conflict whereby only the strong can survive by being healthy, vital, and by asserting themselves in...
and Nazis rose to power, and Stalin became the absolute ruler in the
Soviet UnionThe Union of Soviet Socialist Republics was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. The name is a translation of the , tr. Soyuz Sovetskikh Sotsialisticheskikh Respublik, abbreviated СССР, SSSR. The common short name is Soviet Union, from , Sovetskiy Soyuz...
. None of these three states favored the policy pursued by Alexander I. The first two wanted to revise the international treaties signed after World War I, and the Soviets were determined to regain their positions in Europe and pursue a more active international policy. Yugoslavia was an obstacle for these plans, and King Aleksandar I was the pillar of the Yugoslav policy.
During an official visit to
FranceFrance , officially the French Republic , is a country located in Western Europe, with several overseas islands and territories located on other continents. Metropolitan France extends from the Mediterranean Sea to the English Channel and the North Sea, and from the Rhine to the Atlantic Ocean...
in 1934, the king was
assassinatedAn Assassination is the targeted killing of a public figure.Assassinations may be prompted by ideological, political, or military reasons. Additionally, assassins may be motivated by financial gain, revenge, personal public recognition, or mental illness....
in
MarseilleMarseille , formerly known as Massalia , is the 2nd most populous French city as well as the oldest city in France...
by a member of the
Internal Macedonian Revolutionary OrganizationThe Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organization , was the name of from a revolutionary, Bulgarian national liberation movement in the Ottoman territories in Europe, that operated in the late 19th and early 20th centuries...
—an extreme nationalist organization in Bulgaria that had plans to annex territories along the eastern and southern Yugoslav border—with the cooperation of the
UstašeThe Ustaša - Croatian Revolutionary Movement , members known collectively as Ustaše, but sometimes anglicised as Ustashe, Ustashas or Ustashi) was a Croatian anti-Yugoslav separatist movement. The ideology of the movement was blend of fascism, nazism, Croatian ultranationalism, and Roman Catholic...
—a Croatian fascist separatist organization. The international political scene in the late 1930s was marked by growing intolerance between the principal figures, by the aggressive attitude of the totalitarian regimes, and by the certainty that the order set up after World War I was losing its strongholds and its sponsors were losing their strength. Croatian leader Vlatko Maček and his party managed to extort the creation of the Croatian banovina (administrative province) in 1939. The agreement specified that Croatia was to remain part of Yugoslavia, but it was hurriedly building an independent political identity in international relations.
Serbia in World War II
In the pretext to WW II, Prince Regent Paul signed a treaty with Hitler (as did Bulgaria, Romania, Hungary). However, a popular uprising amongst the people rejected this agreement and Prince Regent Paul was sent to exile. King Peter II assumed full royal duty.
Thus the beginning of the 1940s, Yugoslavia found itself surrounded by hostile countries. Except for
GreeceGreece , officially the Hellenic Republic , is a country in southeastern Europe, situated on the southern end of the Balkan Peninsula....
, all other neighboring countries had signed agreements with either Germany or Italy. Hitler was strongly pressuring Yugoslavia to join the Axis powers. The government was even prepared to reach a compromise with him, but the spirit in the country was completely different. Public demonstrations against Nazism prompted a brutal reaction.
In April 1941, the
LuftwaffeLuftwaffe is a generic German term for an air force. It is also the official name for two of the four historic German air forces, the Wehrmacht air arm founded in 1933 and disbanded in 1946; and the current Bundeswehr air arm founded in 1956.Schweizer Luftwaffe is also the name of the Swiss Air...
bombed
BelgradeBelgrade Belgrade Belgrade (Serbian Cyrillic: Београд, Serbian Latin: Beograd (meaning "White City" in Serbian) is the capital and largest city of Serbia. The city lies on two international waterways, at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers, where Central Europe's Pannonian Plain meets...
and other major cities. Ground forces from Germany, Italy, Hungary, and Bulgaria invaded Yugoslavia. After a brief war, Yugoslavia surrendered unconditionally. Acting upon advice and with a heavy heart, King Peter II left the country to seek Allied support. He was greeted as the hero who dared oppose Hitler. The Royal Yugoslav Government, the only legal body of Yugoslavia, continued to work in London. The occupying Axis powers then divided Yugoslavia up. The western parts of the country together with Bosnia and Herzegovina were turned into a Nazi puppet state called the
Independent State of CroatiaThe Independent State of Croatia was a World War II puppet state of Nazi Germany. The NDH was established on April 10, 1941 after the invasion of Yugoslavia by the Axis powers...
(NDH) and ruled by the Ustashe. Serbia was set up as another puppet state under Serbian army general
Milan NedićMilan Nedić was a Serbian general and politician, he was the chief of the general staff of the Yugoslav Army, minister of war in the Royal Yugoslav Government and the prime minister of a led a Nazi-backed puppet government in Serbia during World War II...
, which was known as
Nedić's SerbiaSerbia or Military Administration in Serbia was established by Germany in 1941, after several months of occupation in the Kingdom of Yugoslavia by the Axis Powers in World War II...
. The northern territories were annexed by Hungary, and eastern and southern territories by Bulgaria. Kosovo and Metohia were mostly annexed by Albania which was under the sponsorship of fascist Italy. Montenegro also lost territories to Albania and was then occupied by Italian troops.
SloveniaSlovenia , officially the Republic of Slovenia , is a country in Central Europe bordering Italy to the west, the Adriatic Sea to the southwest, Croatia to the south and east, Hungary to the northeast, and Austria to the north...
was divided between Germany and Italy, which also seized the islands in the Adriatic.
In Serbia, the German occupation authorities organized several concentration camps for Jews and members of the communist Partisan resistance movement as well as the royalist
ChetniksThe Chetnik movement or the Chetniks were a Serbian nationalist and royalist paramilitary organization operating in the Balkans before and during World Wars...
who remained loyal to the King and who started a resistance movement of their own.
The biggest concentration camps were
BanjicaBanjica concentration camp was a Nazi German concentration camp from June 1941 to September 1944 in World War II, located in the eponymous suburb of Belgrade in what was then Yugoslavia. It started as a center for holding hostages, but later included Jews, Serbian communists, Roma, and captured...
and
SajmišteSajmište concentration camp was a Nazi concentration camp, located in the Independent State of Croatia, on the outskirts of Belgrade. It was established in December 1941 and shut down in September 1944.The majority of Serbian Jews were killed in the Sajmište camp.-Establishment:In the beginning,...
near
BelgradeBelgrade Belgrade Belgrade (Serbian Cyrillic: Београд, Serbian Latin: Beograd (meaning "White City" in Serbian) is the capital and largest city of Serbia. The city lies on two international waterways, at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers, where Central Europe's Pannonian Plain meets...
, where, according to the most conservative estimates, around 40,000 Jews were killed.In the concentration camp of Jasenovac 1.200.000 people were killed by Ustase mostly Serbians.In all those camps, some 90 percent of the Serbian Jewish population perished. In the
BačkaBačka is an area of the Pannonian plain lying between the rivers Danube and Tisa...
region annexed by Hungary, numerous Serbs and Jews were killed in 1942 raid by the Hungarian authorities. The persecutions against ethnic Serb population also occurred in the region of
SyrmiaSyrmia is a fertile region of the Pannonian Plain in Europe, between the Danube and Sava rivers. It is divided between Serbia in the east and Croatia in the west....
, which was controlled by the
Independent State of CroatiaThe Independent State of Croatia was a World War II puppet state of Nazi Germany. The NDH was established on April 10, 1941 after the invasion of Yugoslavia by the Axis powers...
and in the region of
BanatThe Banat is a geographical and historical region in Central Europe currently divided between three countries: the eastern part lies in Romania , the western part in Serbia , and a...
, which was under direct
GermanGermany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered to the north by the North Sea, Denmark, and the Baltic Sea; to the east by Poland and the Czech Republic; to the south by Austria and Switzerland; and to the west by France, Luxembourg, Belgium,...
control.
The ruthless attitude of the German occupation forces and the
genocidalGenocide is the deliberate and systematic destruction, in whole or in part, of an ethnic, racial, religious, or national group.While precise definition varies among genocide scholars, a legal definition is found in the 1948 United Nations Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of...
policy of the Croatian Ustaša regime, aimed at Serbs, Jews, Gypsies and anti-Ustaša Croats, created a strong anti-fascist resistance in the NDH. Many Serbs and other nationalities stood up against the genocide and the Nazis. Many joined the Partisan forces created by the Communist Party (National Liberation Army headed by Josip Broz Tito) in the liberation and the revolutionary war against Nazis and all the others who were against communism. There was another resistance movement, namely that of royalist General Dragoljub Draza Mihailovic, which was mostly active in Serbia, and among the Serbian people in Montenegro, Bosnia, Hercegovina. The Royalists fought the Ustashe and the Communists, as well as the Germans. Thanks to the shifts of the big powers, in the end, the Communists illegally seized power in all of Yugoslavia.
During this war and after it, the Partisans killed many civilians who did not support their Communist ideals. The Communists shot people without trials, or following politically and ideologically motivated courts. It is believed that tens of thousands of people, mostly Serbs, were killed by the Communists in the first few years after the war. The Agricultural Reform conducted after the war meant that peasants had to give away most of their wheat, grain, and cattle to the state, or face serious imprisonment. Land and property were confiscated on a massive scale. Many people also lost civil rights and their names were smeared. Also, a censorship was enforced on all levels of the society and media, and a cult of Tito was created in the media.
By the end of 1944, the Red Army liberated Serbia, and by May 1945, the remaining republics were meeting up with the Allied forces in Hungary, Austria and Italy. Yugoslavia was among the countries that had the greatest losses in the war: 1,700,000 (10.8% of the population) people were killed and national damages were estimated at 9.1 billion
dollarThe dollar is the name of the official currency in several countries, including Australia, Canada, the Eastern Caribbean territories, Hong Kong, Singapore, and the United States.-History:...
s according to the prices of that period.
Serbia in the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia
After the war,
Josip Broz TitoJosip Broz Tito Josip Broz Tito Josip Broz Tito (Cyrillic script: Јосип Броз Тито, (7 or 25 May 1892 – 4 May 1980) was a Yugoslav revolutionary and statesman. He was Secretary-General (later President) of the League of Communists of Yugoslavia (1939–80), and went on to lead the World War II...
became the first president of the new—socialist—
YugoslaviaThe Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia was the Yugoslav state that existed from the second half of World War II until it was formally dissolved in 1992 amid the Yugoslav wars. It was a socialist state and a federation made up of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Macedonia, Montenegro,...
, which he ruled with an iron hand. Once a predominantly agricultural country, Yugoslavia was transformed into a mid-range industrial country, and acquired an international political reputation by supporting the
decolonizationDecolonization refers to the undoing of colonialism, the establishment of governance or authority through the creation of settlements by another country or jurisdiction. The term generally refers to the achievement of independence by the various Western colonies and protectorates in Asia and...
process and by assuming a leading role in the
Non-Aligned MovementThe Non-Aligned Movement is an international organisation of states considering themselves not formally aligned with or against any major power bloc. The movement is largely the brainchild of India's first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru, former president of Egypt Gamal Abdul Nasser and Yugoslav...
. Socialist Yugoslavia was established as a federal state comprising of six
republicA republic is a form of government in which the head of state is not a monarch and the people have an impact on its government. The word 'republic' is derived from the Latin phrase res publica which can be translated as "a public affair".Both modern and ancient republics vary widely in their...
s, from north to south:
SloveniaThe Socialist Republic of Slovenia was a socialist state that was a constituent country of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia from 1963 until 1990 when Slovenia abandoned its Communist infrastructure and became a democratic constituent republic, still within Yugoslavia...
,
CroatiaSocialist Republic of Croatia was a socialist state and a sovereign constituent country of the former Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. It is the predecessor of the modern-day Republic of Croatia. It became part of the Democratic Federal Yugoslavia in 1943...
,
Bosnia and HerzegovinaSocialist Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina was a socialist state that was a constituent country of the former Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia...
,
SerbiaSocialist Republic of Serbia was a socialist state that was a constituent country of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. It is a predecessor of modern day Serbia, which served as the biggest republic in the Yugoslav federation and held the largest population of all the Yugoslav...
,
MontenegroSocialist Republic of Montenegro or SR Montenegro in shortened form, was a socialist state that was a constituent country in the former Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. It is a predecessor of the modern day Montenegro...
and
MacedoniaThe Socialist Republic of Macedonia was a socialist state that was a constituent country of the former Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia...
and two autonomous regions within Serbia—
VojvodinaSocialist Autonomous Province of Vojvodina , also known shortly as SAP Vojvodina , was one of the two socialist autonomous areas of the Socialist Republic of Serbia from 1963 to 1990 and one of the federal units of the Socialist Federal Republic...
and
Kosovo and MetohijaSocialist Autonomous Province of Kosovo was one of the two socialist autonomous areas of the Socialist Republic of Serbia incorporated into the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia from...
. Even though, for ethnic and historical reasons, autonomous regions could have been formed in almost all other republics of Yugoslavia, they were only formed in
SerbiaSerbia , officially the Republic of Serbia , is a country located in both Central and Southeastern Europe. Its territory covers the southern part of the Pannonian Plain and central part of the Balkans...
. Many saw this as the deliberate attempt of non-Serb Tito to weaken Serbia.
The basic motto of Tito's Yugoslavia was "brotherhood and unity", workers' self-management, state-owned property with minimal privately owned property. In the beginning, the country copied the Soviet model, but after the 1948 split with the Soviet Union, it turned more towards the West. Eventually, it created its own brand of socialism, with a hint of a market economy, and milked both the East and the West for significant financial loans.
The 1974 constitution produced a significantly less centralized federation, increasing the autonomy of Yugoslavia's republics as well as the autonomous provinces of
SerbiaSerbia , officially the Republic of Serbia , is a country located in both Central and Southeastern Europe. Its territory covers the southern part of the Pannonian Plain and central part of the Balkans...
. Many today see this as the actual point when things in Yugoslavia started to go downhill and when cracks began to eat the system, which would become visible some time later.
When Tito died in 1980, he was succeeded by a rotating presidency that led to a further weakening of ties between the republics. During the 1980s the republics pursued significantly different economic policies, with Western-oriented Slovenia and Croatia allowing significant market-based reforms, while Serbia kept to its existing program of state ownership. This, too, was a cause of tension between north and south, as Slovenia in particular experienced a period of strong growth. Prior to the war, inflation skyrocketed. Then, under Prime Minister Ante Markovic, things began to improve. Many say 1989 was the best year of the former Yugoslavia. Economic reforms had opened up the country, the living standard was at its peak, capitalism seemed to have entered the country and nobody thought that just a year later the first gunshots would be fired.
The break-up of Yugoslavia
The Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia broke up in 1991/1992 in a series of wars following the independence of
SloveniaSlovenia , officially the Republic of Slovenia , is a country in Central Europe bordering Italy to the west, the Adriatic Sea to the southwest, Croatia to the south and east, Hungary to the northeast, and Austria to the north...
,
CroatiaCroatia , officially the Republic of Croatia , is a country in southeast Europe, at the crossroads of the Pannonian Plain, the Balkans, and the Mediterranean Sea. Its capital is Zagreb...
,
Bosnia and HerzegovinaBosnia and Herzegovina Bosnia and Herzegovina Bosnia and Herzegovina ( or (Bosnian, Croatian, Serbian Latin: Bosna i Hercegovina; Serbian Cyrillic: Босна и Херцеговина) is a country in Southeast Europe, on the Balkan Peninsula...
, while the
MacedoniaMacedonia , officially the Republic of Macedonia , is a country in the central Balkan peninsula in southeastern Europe. It is one of the successor states of the former Yugoslavia, from which it declared independence in 1991...
left the federation peacefully. The two remaining republics of Yugoslavia,
SerbiaThe Republic of Serbia was a federal unit of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia from 1990 to 1992, the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia from 1992 to 2003 and the state union of Serbia and Montenegro between 2003 and 2006...
and
MontenegroThe Republic of Montenegro was a federal unit of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and the state union of Serbia and Montenegro between 1992 and 2006...
, formed in 1992 a new federation named
Federal Republic of YugoslaviaThe Federal Republic of Yugoslavia or FRY was a federal state consisting of the republics of Serbia and Montenegro from the former Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia , created after the other four republics broke away from Yugoslavia amid rising ethnic tensions...
. In 2003 this state was transformed into the State Union of
Serbia and MontenegroThe State Union of Serbia and Montenegro , was a union of Serbia and Montenegro, which existed between 2003 and 2006. The two republics, both of which are former republics of the SFR Yugoslavia, initially formed the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia in 1992...
). After a peaceful separation,
MontenegroMontenegro , is a country located in Southeastern Europe. It has a coast on the Adriatic Sea to the south-west and is bordered by Croatia to the west, Bosnia and Herzegovina to the northwest, Serbia to the northeast, Kosovo to the east and Albania to the south...
became a sovereign state in 2006, and so did
SerbiaSerbia , officially the Republic of Serbia , is a country located in both Central and Southeastern Europe. Its territory covers the southern part of the Pannonian Plain and central part of the Balkans...
. The international rights and obligations passed to
SerbiaSerbia , officially the Republic of Serbia , is a country located in both Central and Southeastern Europe. Its territory covers the southern part of the Pannonian Plain and central part of the Balkans...
as the successor state of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, and Serbia Montenegro.
All the countries of the former Yugoslavia are now believed to be democratic and in transition towards market economy, respect of human rights and potential membership in the
European UnionThe European Union is an economic and political union of 27 Member States, located primarily in Europe. Committed to regional integration, the EU was established by the Treaty of Maastricht on 1 November 1993 upon the foundations of the pre-existing European Economic Community...
. Only the status of Kosovo remains unsolved, and presents a potential region of instability not only for Serbia, but for the wider Balkan region as well. So far, of all the countries that have emerged from Yugoslavia, only
SloveniaSlovenia , officially the Republic of Slovenia , is a country in Central Europe bordering Italy to the west, the Adriatic Sea to the southwest, Croatia to the south and east, Hungary to the northeast, and Austria to the north...
has become a member of the
European UnionThe European Union is an economic and political union of 27 Member States, located primarily in Europe. Committed to regional integration, the EU was established by the Treaty of Maastricht on 1 November 1993 upon the foundations of the pre-existing European Economic Community...
.
Serbian Independence
Following
MontenegroMontenegro , is a country located in Southeastern Europe. It has a coast on the Adriatic Sea to the south-west and is bordered by Croatia to the west, Bosnia and Herzegovina to the northwest, Serbia to the northeast, Kosovo to the east and Albania to the south...
's vote for full independence in the
plebisciteThe Montenegrin independence referendum was a referendum on the independence of the Republic of Montenegro from the State Union of Serbia and Montenegro that was held on 21 May, 2006.The total turnout of the referendum was 86.5%...
of May 21, 2006 (55.4% YES 44.6% NO), Montenegro declared independence on June 3, 2006. This was followed on June 5, 2006 by Serbia's declaration of independence, marking the final dissolution of the State Union of
Serbia and MontenegroThe State Union of Serbia and Montenegro , was a union of Serbia and Montenegro, which existed between 2003 and 2006. The two republics, both of which are former republics of the SFR Yugoslavia, initially formed the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia in 1992...
, and the re-emergence of Serbia as an independent state, under its own name, for the first time since 1918.
Kosovo Dispute
On February 17, 2008,
KosovoKosovo is a disputed territory in the Balkans. Its majority is governed by the partially-recognised Republic of Kosovo , a self-declared independent state which has de facto control over the territory; the exceptions are some Serb enclaves...
unilaterally proclaimed independence from Serbia. Serbia and
United NationsThe United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and the achieving of world peace...
does not recognize Kosovo's independence and considers it a part of Serbian sovereign territory. The declaration was officially recognized by the U.S., Austria, Great Britain, Germany, France, Turkey and dozen other countries.
RussiaRussia , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia . It is a semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
,
ChinaChina is a cultural region, an ancient civilization, and, depending on perspective, a national or multinational entity extending over a large area in East Asia....
,
SpainSpain , officially the Kingdom of Spain , is a country located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula.
[The Spanish constitution does not establish any official denomination of the country, even though España , Estado español and Nación española are used interchangeably...]
,
IndiaIndia, officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the south, the Arabian Sea on the west, and the Bay of Bengal...
,
BrazilBrazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is a country in South America. It is the fifth largest country by geographical area, occupying nearly half of South America, the fifth most populous country, and the fourth most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Atlantic Ocean...
,
GreeceGreece , officially the Hellenic Republic , is a country in southeastern Europe, situated on the southern end of the Balkan Peninsula....
,
RomaniaRomania is a country located in Southeastern and Central Europe, North of the Balkan Peninsula, on the Lower Danube, within and outside the Carpathian arch, bordering on the Black Sea. Almost all of the Danube Delta is located within its territory...
and most countries oppose this declaration and consider it illegal.
Gallery
Image:Central balkans 1373 1395.png|Serbian states in the 14th century
Image:Orlovi.jpg|Orlovi
Image:Dusanova Srbija200.jpg|Tsar Dušan's Serbia, circa 1350
Image:Serb lands04.png|Serb lands in the 9th century, mostly according to De Administrando ImperioDe Administrando Imperio is the commonly used Latin title of a scholarly work written in Greek, by the 10th-century Byzantine emperor Constantine VII...
External links