Serbia

HISTORY

The Serbs settled in the Balkans in the 7th century, and accepted Christianity in the 9th.

Višeslav of Serbia, who ruled in c. 780 is the first Serbian ruler known by name. Višeslav was a progenitor of the Serbian ruling family, known in historiography as the Vlastimirović dynasty, who ruled the Serbian Principality from the early 7th century until c. 960.

Between 1166 and 1371 Serbia was ruled by the Nemanjić dynasty. The Serbian Kingdom obtained recognition by Rome and the Byzantine Empire in 1217, reaching its peak under Stefan Dušan (c. 1308 – December 20, 1355), in 1346 as a relatively short-lived Serbian Empire, which covered most of the Balkans.

The Proclamation of Dušan's Law Codex in Skopje Fortress in 1349

Following the death of childless Emperor Uroš the Weak in 1371, the Serbian Empire was left without an heir and the once-powerful state fragmented into duchies, culminating in the 1389 Battle of Kosovo against the rising Ottoman Empire.

The Serbian Despotate, a successor of the Serbian Empire survived for 70 more years, before it was finally conquered by the Ottomans in 1459.

On February 14, 1804 Serbian revolutionary Dorde Petrović, better known by the sobriquet Karađorđe, led the First Serbian Uprising against the Ottoman Empire. This and a second uprising led by Milosh Obrenovich forced the Turks to recognize Serbia as an autonomous principality under Obrenovich on July 26, 1817.

The Uprising at Takovo (1889), by Paja Jovanović

The assassination of Karađorđe Petrović in 1817 on Obrenovich's orders gave rise to a long feud between the two houses.

The Principality of Serbia was ruled by the House of Obrenović throughout the remainder of the 19th century, save for the rule of Prince Aleksandar Karađorđević between 1842 and 1858.

On the assassination of the last Obrenovich in 1903 the Karageorgevich Dynasty descendants of Karađorđe Petrović came to the throne.

The two Balkan Wars of 1912-13 greatly enlarged Serbia's territory at the expense of Turkey and Bulgaria.

Serbia's designs on Bosnia and Herzegovina, backed by Russia led to friction with Austria-Hungary. When Archduke Franz Ferdinand, heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne, was assassinated by a Serbian on June 28, 1914, Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia. The ensuing domino effect resulted in the First World War.

Aftermath of attack on Archduke Franz Ferdinand in Sarajevo. Wikipedia

Serbia was completely overrun in 1915- 16. Surrounded and faced with imminent defeat, the entire Serbian army and government, numbering 400,000 (~10% of the population), retreated through Albania to the sea. Only 120,000 soldiers and 60,000 civilians reached the Adriatic coast to be evacuated to the Greek island of Corfu, 11,000 more would die later of disease, malnutrition, or exposure sustained on the retreat.

Serbia was occupied until 1918, when it became the nucleus of the new kingdom of the Serbs, Croats and Slovenes, later named Yugoslavia.

Between 1991-92 Slovenia, Croatia, Macedonia and Bosnia and Herzegovina all broke away from Yugoslavia. The breakup had a variety of causes including nationalism, economic difficulty and ethnic problems. Serbia and Montenegro were the last two republics remaining and in 1992, they formed a new Federal Republic of Yugoslavia.

Federal Republic of Yugoslavia & territories of Serb breakaway states  Wikipedia

For most of its existence the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia was involved in a series of ethnically-based wars and insurgencies. There was much ethnic violence during the Yugoslav Wars including mass genocide in Bosnia and Herzegovina (1995) and ethnic cleansing in Kosovo (1998). In 1999 Serbia was bombed by NATO forces.

The Federal Republic of Yugoslavia was led by the controversial statesman Slobodan Milosevic from 1997 until 2000. The fall of Milošević ended Yugoslavia's international isolation.

In 2003, the country dropped the name Yugoslavia in favor of a state union. It was rechristened Serbia and Montenegro.

The National Assembly of Serbia unanimously adopted new state symbols for Serbia in 2004: "Boze Pravde" (English: "God of Justice") became the new national anthem and the coat of arms was adopted for the whole country.

In 2006 The Republic of Montenegro held a referendum proposing independence from the State Union of Serbia and Montenegro. The Montenegrin people chose independence with a majority of 55%.

The flag of Serbia is a tricolor consisting of three equal horizontal bands, red on the top, blue in the middle and white on the bottom. The same tricolor, in altering variations, has been used since the 19th century as the flag of the state of Serbia and the Serbian nation. The current form of the flag with a visual redesign of the coat of arms was officially adopted on November 11, 2010.

Serbian flag

FUN SERBIA FACTS

The country's capital Belgrade covers 3.6% of Serbia's territory, and 22.5% of the country's population lives in the city.

Serbia's national dish is Ćevapi (pronounced "cheh-vah-pee"): These are small, grilled sausages made from minced meat (usually a combination of beef, lamb, or pork) and seasoned with spices

Serbian is written in two alphabets: Serbian Cyrillic and Latin script (Latinica).

The only Serbian word that is used all over the world is vampire, from "vampir."

Over 31% of Serbia is covered by forest.

National parks take up 10% of Serbia's territory.

On Mother's Day in Serbia, it's the mothers who give presents to their children.

The actor Steven Seagal was given Serbian citizenship after starting a martial arts school in Belgrade and giving Aikido lessons to Serbian Special Forces.

"Serbia" is an anagram of "rabies". No other country is an anagram of a fatal disease.