The Serbs are predominantlyEastern Orthodox Christians and speakSerbian language which is official in Serbia, co-official in Bosnia-Herzegovina and Kosovo, and spoken by the plurality in Montenegro.
The origin of theethnonym*Sŕbъ (plur.*Sŕby) is unclear. The most prominent theory holds that it is ofProto-Slavic origin, meaning "family kinship" or "alliance".[35][36] Word*srъb- /*sьrb- roots in Slavic words meaning "to sip, munch", found in Polishs(i)erbać, Russianserbat', and also cognates in non-Slavic languages, such as Lithuaniansuřbti, Middle Germansürfen, which all derive from Indo-European onomatopoeic roots*serbh- /*sirbh- /*surbh- meaning "to sip, to breast-feed, to flow". Thus the basis of the ethnonym lies in "milk kinship" and "brotherhood in milk" which was widespread in early ethnic groups (between both relatives and non-relatives) and thus carried the secondary meanings of "those who belong to the same family, kinsman"; "member of the same kin, tribe"; and, finally, an ethnonym.
The earliest mention of the Serbs in the Balkans are fromEinhard'sRoyal Frankish Annals, written in 822 AD.[37][38][39] Einhard mentions "the Serbs, a people that is said to hold a large part ofDalmatia" (Latin:ad Sorabos, quae natio magnam Dalmatiae partem obtinere dicitur).[40][41]
According to a three genetic systems –paternal,maternal, andautosomal – of available data from large-scale studies onBalto-Slavs and their proximal populations, the whole genomeSNP data place Serbs in the middle between a Western South Slavic cluster (Croats, Bosniaks and Slovenes) and Eastern South Slavic cluster (Macedonians and Bulgarians). The western cluster has an inclination toward Hungarians, Czechs, and Slovaks, while the eastern cluster toward Romanians and, to some extent, Greeks.[42]
Y chromosome results show that haplogroupsI2a andR1a together account for the majority of the Serb makeup.[43][44] Recent studies indicate that roughly half of Serbian I2a lineages trace their recent origin toHerzegovina/Old Herzegovina, reflecting strong historical gene flow from that region.[45][46]
Mitochondrial DNA studies of Serbs show a predominantly Slavic maternal gene pool, with commonU haplogroups shared with other Slavic populations. At the same time, a significant presence of Balkan-specific lineages and southern European lineages points to considerable genetic continuity with pre-Slavic Balkan populations. These findings support both the impact of early medievalSlavic migrations to the Balkans and a strong autochthonous substrate.[47][48][49]
Based on theautosomalIBD survey, the speakers of Serbian share a very high number of common ancestors dated to themigration period approximately 1,500 years ago with Poland and Romania-Bulgaria cluster among others in Eastern Europe. It is concluded to be caused by the Hunnic and Slavic expansion, which was a "relatively small population that expanded over a large geographic area", particularly "the expansion of the Slavic populations into regions of low population density beginning in the sixth century" and that it is "highly coincident with the modern distribution of Slavic languages".[50]
According to 2023archaeogenetic study autosomalqpAdm modelling, the modern-day Serbs are 58.4% of Central-Eastern European early medieval Slavic ancestry, 39.2% local Balkan pre-Slavic, and 2.3% West Anatolian ancestry.[51]
Several recent studies showed that Serbia's people are among the tallest in the world,[52] with an averagemale height of 1.82 metres (6 ft 0 in).[53][54]
Early Slavs, especiallySclaveni andAntae, including theWhite Serbs, invaded and settledSoutheastern Europe in the 6th and 7th century.[55] Up until the late 560s, their activity consisted primarily of raiding across the Danube, although Slavic settlement remained limited and occurred mainly through Byzantinefoederati colonies.[56] TheDanube andSava frontier was overwhelmed by large-scale Slavic settlement in the late 6th and early 7th century.[57] The area that is now central Serbia was an important geostrategic province through which theVia Militaris passed.[58] The numerous Slavs mixed with and assimilated the descendants of the indigenous populationIllyrians,Thracians,Dacians, as well asRomans andCelts.[59] The White Serbs fromWhite Serbia settled primarily in the region between theDinaric Alps and theAdriatic coast, although during their migration some groups temporarily reached as far as the area nearThessaloniki (modernServia).[60] The region ofRaška was the center of Serb settlement and Serb tribes also occupied most of modern-dayHerzegovina andMontenegro.[61]
The first Serb states,Serbia (c. 780–960) andDuklja (c. 825–1120), were formed chiefly under theVlastimirović andVojislavljević dynasties, respectively.[62][63] The other Serb-inhabited lands, or principalities, that were mentioned included the "countries" ofZachlumia,Travunia, andPagania.[64][65] As the Serbian state of Duklja declined in the late 11th century, Raška gained independence and succeeded it as the most powerful Serbian state.[66] Grand PrinceStefan Nemanja (r. 1169–96), founder of theNemanjić dynasty which ruled Serbia until the 14th century, conquered the neighbouring regions ofKosovo, Duklja, and Zachlumia. Nemanja's older son,Stefan Nemanjić, became Serbia's first recognized king, while his younger son, Rastko, founded theSerbian Orthodox Church in the year 1219, and became known asSaint Sava.[67]
Over the next 140 years, Serbia expanded its borders from numerous smaller principalities into a unifiedSerbian Empire. Its culture remained deeply Byzantine in character, despite political and military ambitions directed againstByzantine Empire itself. The medieval power and influence of Serbia culminated in the reign ofStefan Dušan (1331–1355), who proclaimed himself Emperor in 1346. At its height under his rule, the empire’s territory included Macedonia, northern Greece, Montenegro, and almost all of modernAlbania.
Ottoman Turks began their conquest of the Balkans in the 1350s, sparking a major conflict with the Serbs. The first major battle was theBattle of Maritsa (1371),[68] in which the Serbs were defeated.[69] The deaths of two key Serbian commanders in the battle, followed by the death of EmperorStefan Uroš V later that year, caused the Serbian Empire to fragment into several smaller domains.[68] These states were ruled by regional lords:Zeta by theBalšić noble family; Raška, Kosovo, and northern Macedonia by theBranković noble family; and PrinceLazar Hrebeljanović, who controlled modern-dayCentral Serbia and parts of Kosovo.[70] Because of his marriage to a member of the Nemanjić dynasty, Lazar was acknowledged as the titular leader of the Serbs.[68] In 1389 the Serbs faced the Ottomans at theBattle of Kosovo on the plain ofKosovo Polje, near modern-dayPristina.[69] Both Prince Lazar and SultanMurad I were killed.[69] The battle most likely ended in a stalemate, and Serbia thereafter enjoyed a period of relative prosperity under DespotStefan Lazarević while resisting Ottoman conquest until 1459.[70]
The Ottomandevshirme system was a form of slavery in which Christian boys from the Balkans, many of them Serbs, were taken from their families, forcibly converted toIslam, and trained for infantry units of theOttoman army known as theJanissary corps.[71][72][73][74] A number of Serbs who converted to Islam (either through the devshirme or later) rose to the highest ranks of the Ottoman Empire, including theOttoman grand vizierSokollu Mehmed Pasha and the Ottoman field marshal and war ministerOmar Pasha Latas.
The Serbs had taken an active part in the wars fought in the Balkans against the Ottoman Empire and had also organized numerous uprisings.[75][76] Because of this, they suffered persecution and their territories were devastated, resulting in major migrations from Serbia into Habsburg territory.[77] After allied Christian forces hadcaptured Buda from the Ottoman Empire in 1686 during theGreat Turkish War, Serbs from the Pannonian Plain (present-dayHungary, theSlavonia region in present-day Croatia, and theBačka andBanat regions in present-day Serbia) joined the troops of the Habsburg monarchy as separate units known as theSerbian Militia.[78] Serbs, as volunteers, massively joined the Austrian side.[79]
In 1688–1689 the Habsburg army, advancing deep into the Ottoman Balkans during theGreat Turkish War,captured Belgrade and much of present-day Serbia, encouraging Serbs to rise against Ottoman rule. When the Habsburg offensive collapsed in 1690 and Ottoman forces began a brutal reconquest accompanied by reprisals against the rebel population, Serbian PatriarchArsenije III Crnojević feared massacres and loss of church privileges. He therefore led in 1690 tens of thousands of Serb families (estimates range from 30,000 to 70,000 people) north across the Sava and Danube rivers into Habsburg territory in what became known as theGreat Serb Migration.[80] The large Serb community concentrated in theBanat, southern Hungary, and theMilitary Frontier consisted of merchants and craftsmen in the cities, but mainly of peasant refugees.[80] Smaller groups of Serbs also migrated to theRussian Empire, and settled in the newly established frontier regions ofSlavo-Serbia (1751–1764) andNew Serbia (1752–1764), located in present-day easternUkraine, where they were granted land and military privileges to defend the empire’s southern borders.[81][82][83]
TheSerbian Revolution (1804–1817) was the first successful national uprising against Ottoman rule in Europe and consisted of two phases: theFirst Serbian Uprising (1804–1813) led byKarađorđe Petrović, which created an independent Serbian state for almost a decade, and the shorter but decisiveSecond Serbian Uprising (1815–1817) led byMiloš Obrenović.[84][85][86] During the First Uprising, the rebels established their own government, army, and institutions, effectively ending centuries of Ottoman feudal oppression. Although the Ottomans crushed the First Uprising in 1813, the Second Uprising forced theSublime Porte to grant Serbia substantial autonomy in 1815–1816; in the early 1830s Serbia’s autonomy and borders were formally recognised with Miloš Obrenović acknowledged as hereditary prince, the last Ottoman troops withdrew in 1867,[77] and full international recognition of independence finally came at theCongress of Berlin in 1878.[87] The revolution not only laid the foundations of modern Serbia but also abolished feudalism early and inspired subsequent national movements across the Balkans.[88] The revolution as a consequence also produced one of Europe’s earliest codified legal systems, the Serbian Civil Code of 1844, making Serbia the fourth modern-day European country, after France, Austria and the Netherlands, to have a codified legal system.[89]
DuringWorld War II, Yugoslavia was invaded in 1941 by theAxis powers and subsequently divided, with Serbia placed under direct German occupation.[95] Serbs inoccupied Yugoslavia subsequently formed a resistance movement known as theYugoslav Army in the Homeland, or the Chetniks. The Chetniks had the official support of theAllies until 1943, when Allied support shifted to the CommunistYugoslav Partisans, a multi-ethnic resistance movement, formed in 1941. Although Serbs constituted the majority of Yugoslav Partisan fighters in the first two years of the war, other ethnic groups joined in larger numbers after the Italian capitulation in 1943.[95] Over the entire course of the war, the ethnic composition of the Yugoslav Partisans was approximately 53 percent Serb.[96][97]
At the end of the war, the Partisans, led byJosip Broz Tito, emerged victorious. They abolished the monarchy, and established theFederal People’s Republic of Yugoslavia (renamed Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia in 1963) as a federation of six republics:Slovenia,Croatia,Bosnia and Herzegovina,Serbia,Montenegro, andMacedonia. Tito’s Yugoslavia pursued a unique path of "socialist self-management", broke withStalin and the Soviet bloc in 1948, co-founded theNon-Aligned Movement, and maintained relative political independence and a higher standard of living than most communist countries, while suppressing nationalism and holding the multi-ethnic state together through the strength of theLeague of Communists of Yugoslavia and Tito's personal authority. After Tito's death in 1980, economic stagnation, rising debt, and resurgent ethnic nationalism weakened the federal system throughout the 1980s, setting the stage for the violent break-up of the country in the early 1990s.[110]
Yugoslaviadisintegrated in the early 1990s, triggering theYugoslav Wars that ultimately produced five successor states. The most intense fighting took place in Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina, where parts of the Serb population, supported by Serbia, rebelled and proclaimed independent entities. TheCroatian War of Independence ended in 1995 whenOperation Storm, a Croatian military offensive, crushed the self-proclaimedRepublic of Serbian Krajina, resulting in the exodus of 200,000 ethnic Serbs. TheBosnian War concluded the same year with theDayton Agreement, which divided Bosnia and Herzegovina along ethnic lines into two entities (one of them being Serb entity,Republika Srpska). In 1998–1999, escalating conflict in Kosovo between Serbian security forces and theKosovo Liberation Army seeking independence culminated in a 78-dayNATO air campaign that forced the withdrawal of Serbian forces from the province, resulting in yet another exodus of ethnic Serbs.[111] In 2008, Kosovounilaterally declared independence, an act Serbia has never recognized.
Serbs are thetitular nation and largest ethnic group in Serbia, theirnation-state, numbering 5.3 million and making up 80.6% of the population.[112] The Serb population in countries and territories bordering Serbia is approximately 1.5 million, almost identical to the estimated 1.6 million Serbs living in the diaspora.
Serbs in the countries and territories bordering Serbia, commonly termedСрби у Региону /Srbi u Rеgionu (lit. "Serbs in the Region"), are not regarded as part of the Serb diaspora, since they constitute autochthonous communities that have the legal status of recognized ethnic minorities or, in Bosnia and Herzegovina, one of the constituent peoples.Serbs in Bosnia and Herzegovina andSerbs in Montenegro are the second-largest ethnic group in their respective countries and constitute about one-third of the population in each.[113][114]Serbs in Croatia andSerbs in Kosovo are also the second-largest ethnic group, but their share of the population is relatively small (3% and 5%, respectively).[115] Small ethnic Serb communities are to be found inNorth Macedonia,Romania, andHungary.
Serb diaspora consist of ethnic Serbs and their descendants living predominantly inEurope and, to a much lesser extent, overseas. There is a particularly large Serb diaspora in German-speaking countries (Germany,Austria, andSwitzerland), while significant overseas communities exist in theUnited States,Canada, andAustralia. Serb emigration has occurred in several distinct and massive waves over the past century and a half. The first major wave began in the late 19th century and continued until the outbreak of theWorld War II. It was almost entirely economic in character and drew people from the poorest and most inaccessible regions:Herzegovina, Montenegro,Lika,Dalmatian Hinterland.[116] The second wave was much smaller but politically sharp and took place immediately after the World War II, when the victory ofYugoslav Partisan forces forced tens of thousands of defeated soldiers (mainly members of the royalistChetnik movement) to flee the newcommunist Yugoslavia to the United States, Canada, Australia, Argentina, and, to a lesser degree, theUnited Kingdom andFrance.[117] By far the largest wave was the exodus that began in the mid-1960s and lasted until the late 1980s - this generation of diaspora is collectively known asgastarbajteri, after Germangastarbeiter ("guest worker"), since most of the emigrants headed for German-speaking countries. The fourth wave, during the 1990s, was the most dramatic: thebreakup of Yugoslavia and the subsequentYugoslav Wars drove hundreds of thousands of Serbs from their homes in Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina. At the same time, the rump Yugoslavia (Serbia and Montenegro) sufferedhyperinflation,international sanctions, economic collapse, and finally theNATO bombing of 1999. Many headed to Canada, Australia, and the traditional European destinations, but new countries such asNorway,Denmark, and evenNew Zealand, also appeared on the map of Serb emigration.
Serbs are renowned for their contributions toicon painting, literature, music, dance, and medieval architecture. Traditional Serbian visual arts (especially frescoes and icons) and ecclesiastical architecture are strongly influenced by Byzantine traditions, with additional Mediterranean and Western elements.[118] Traditional folk music is rich and varied, withgusle as anational instrument. Gusle is abowed single-stringed musical instrument (and musical style) always accompanied by singing. The gusle holds a central place inSerbian epic poetry, serving as the traditional accompanying instrument for a centuries-old oral tradition of patriotic songs. The vast majority of these epics centre on the Ottoman occupation and the Serbian struggle for liberation. Other instruments employed by traditional Serb folk music includeflutes andtrumpets.[119]
A 2005 cross-cultural study published by the American Psychological Association, surveying nearly 17,000 individuals across 53 nations, found Serbia to have the highest level of national self-esteem of all countries surveyed, while also ranking among the ten most collectivist societies.[121][122]
Serbs are predominantlyOrthodox Christians and the westernmost majority-Orthodox ethnic group in the world. They are, at least nominally, members of theSerbian Orthodox Church, one of the ecclesiastically independentEastern Orthodoxchurches. Led by theSerbian Patriarch church is organized intometropolitanates andeparchies, located in Serbia,Bosnia-Herzegovina,Montenegro, andCroatia; other congregations are located in theSerb diaspora.[123] Around 8 million people worldwide adhere to the Serbian Orthodox Church.[124][125][126] During the centuries of Ottoman rule, the Serbian Orthodox Church remained the only permitted Serb institution. Through its monasteries and clergy, it preserved the Serbian language, literacy, written history, and national consciousness when all other forms of statehood and education had been extinguished. When thePrincipality of Serbia gained independence from the Ottoman Empire, Orthodoxy became crucial in definingthe national identity, instead of language which was shared by otherSouth Slavs.[127]
Prior to theirChristianization in the 9th century, the Serbs followedSlavic paganism. After theEast–West Schism of 1054 they aligned with Eastern Orthodoxy. Over subsequent centuries, however, smaller groups of Serbs converted to other religions. DuringOttoman rule, a substantial number of Serbs converted toIslam, particularly inBosnia and Herzegovina andSandžak.[128] Historically, some ethnic Serbs in coastal region of Dalmatia (particularlyBay of Kotor andDubrovnik), belonged to theCatholic Church; this Serb Catholic identity was later associated with theSerb-Catholic movement in Dubrovnik.[129][130][131] Thus, while Eastern Orthodoxy has been the dominant and defining faith of the Serbs for a millennium, minority communities of Catholic and Muslim Serbs have existed at various points in history.
Letters of theSerbian Cyrillic alphabet. Serbian is the only European language with activedigraphia, using both Cyrillic and Latin script.
Serbian has activedigraphia, using bothCyrillic andLatin scripts.[133]Serbian Cyrillic, widely regarded as a key symbol of Serb cultural identity, was devised in 1814 by Serbian linguistVuk Karadžić, who designed it according to strict phonemic principles (one letter per sound).[134] It differs from other Slavic Cyrillic alphabets by omitting several letters. The Serbian Latin alphabet was created byLjudevit Gaj and designed to correspond perfectly, letter-for-letter, to the Serbian Cyrillic alphabet that Vuk Karadžić had standardized a more than a decade earlier.[135] In Serbia, Serbian Cyrillic has the constitutional status of "official script", while the Latin script is designated as "script in official use" for practical purposes. Serbian Cyrillic is also script in official use in both Montenegro and Bosnia-Herzegovina, alongside the Latin alphabet.
Loanwords in the Serbian language besides common internationalisms are mostly fromGreek,[136] German,[137] and Italian,[138] while words ofHungarian origin are present mostly in the north. TheOttoman conquest began a linguistical contact between Ottoman Turkish and South Slavic languages.[139] Besides Turkish loanwords, also many Arabic (such asalat, "tool",sat, "hour, clock") and Persian (čarape, "socks",šećer, "sugar") words entered via Turkish, called "Orientalisms" (orijentalizmi).[139] There is considerable usage of French words as well, especially in military related terms.[137] One Serbian word that is used in many of the world's languages is "vampire" (vampir).[140][141][142][143]
Many Serbian names and surnames are derived from the word for "wolf" (vuk) which is both thenational animal and a prominent motif in Serbian mythology.[144][145]
Most Serbian surnames are paternal, maternal, occupational or derived from personal traits. It is estimated that over two thirds of all Serbian surnames have the suffix-ić (-ић) ([itɕ]), a Slavicdiminutive, originally functioning to createpatronymics. Thus the surnamePetrović means the "son of Petar" (from a male progenitor, the root is extended with possessive-ov or-ev). Due to limited use of international typewriters and unicode computer encoding, the suffix may be simplified to-ic, historically transcribed with a phonetic ending,-ich or-itch in foreign languages. Other common surname suffixes found among Serbian surnames are-ov,-ev,-in and-ski (without-ić) which is the Slavicpossessive case suffix, thus Nikola's son becomes Nikolin, Petar's son Petrov, and Jovan's son Jovanov. Other, less common suffices are-alj/olj/elj,-ija,-ica,-ar/ac/an/a. The ten most common surnames in Serbia, in order, areJovanović,Petrović,Nikolić,Marković,Đorđević,Stojanović,Ilić,Stanković,Pavlović, andMilošević.[146]
TheSerb tricolour consists of three horizontal stripes: red, blue, and white (from top to bottom). It has been in continuous use since 1835 and is used more as an ethnic rather than state symbol. It serves as thecivil flag of Serbia, theflag of Republika Srpska in Bosnia and Herzegovina, the official ethnic flag of Serb minorities inCroatia andNorth Macedonia, and is widely used bySerb diaspora communities worldwide.
TheSerbian cross is the main heraldic symbol and is widely used by Serbs as an ethnic identifier. The cross appears on the stateflag andcoat of arms of Serbia but is also a distinctlySerbian Orthodox Church symbol. It is composed of across symbol with four firesteels or, more commonly in heraldry, four stylised Cyrillic letters "С" (representing the motto Само слога Србина спасава /Samo sloga Srbina spasava – "Only Unity Saves the Serbs").
Thethree-finger salute (raising the thumb, index and middle finger while folding the ring and little fingers) is a distinctly Serb gesture, recognised as a sign of ethnic pride. The gesture is widely used in wide variety of events: from street demonstrations and celebrations, election campaign rallies, to sporting events and personal celebrations.[147][148]
Group of young Serbs in traditional costumes, wearingšajkača and carrying theSerb tricolor flag.
Slava is the Serbian Orthodox tradition of the veneration and observance of the family's patron saint.[149] Every family has their own patron saint that is celebrated on thefeast day. The most common feast days areSt. Nicholas (Nikoljdan, December 19),St. George (Đurđevdan, May 6),St. John the Baptist (Jovandan, January 20),Saint Demetrius (Mitrovdan, November 8), andSt. Michael (Aranđelovdan, November 21). A key feature of Slava is its emphasis on hospitality: on that day, the family’s home is open to everyone who knows the date of their celebration: typically relatives, friends, neighbours, and acquaintances.[150]
TheSerbian traditional folk costume varies from region to region, while the most common is that ofŠumadija, a region in central Serbia.[151] It includesšajkača (hat with a V-shaped top, typically black or grey in colour, made of soft, homemade cloth) andopanci (footwear with low back, curved peak at front, with woven front upper, a low back and leather ties).[152]
Kolo is a traditional folk dancing. It is thecircle dance, usually performed amongst groups of at least three people and up to several dozen people, with dancers holding each other's hands and forming a circle, a single chain or multiple parallel lines.[153] The most popular varieties includeUžičko kolo andMoravac.[154]
Serbian cuisine is largely heterogeneous, with heavy Oriental, Central European, and Mediterranean influences.[155] Despite this, it has evolved and achieved its own culinary identity. Food is very important in Serbian social life, particularly during religious holidays such asChristmas,Easter, and Serbian Orthodox patron saint celebration (slava).[155] Staples of the Serbian diet include bread, meat, fruits, vegetables, and dairy products. Traditionally, three meals are consumed per day. Breakfast generally consists of eggs, meat and bread. Lunch is considered the main meal, and is normally eaten in the afternoon.[155] Bread is the basis of all Serbian meals, and it plays an important role in Serbian cuisine and can be found in religious rituals. A traditional Serbian welcome is to offerbread and salt to guests, and alsoslatko (fruit preserve).[156] Meat is widely consumed, while fish is eaten to a much lesser extent. Serbian specialties includećevapi (grilled dish of minced meat),pljeskavica (grilled dish consisting of a mixture of spiced minced pork, beef and lamb meat),Karađorđeva šnicla (breaded cutlet dish of veal or pork steak, stuffed with kajmak),gibanica (an egg and cheese pie made with filo dough),kajmak (dairy product similar to clotted cream),proja (cornbread), andkačamak (corn-flour porridge).[155]
Šljivovica (its international name, "Slivovitz", originates from the Serbian language), or plum brandy, is Serbia’s national drink, distilled fromplums, the country’s national fruit, and has been produced domestically for centuries.[157] Serbia is the world’s largest exporter of Slivovitz and the second-largest plum producer. Šljivovica holds a central place in Serbian culture: it is the traditionalrakija, served as an aperitif, offered at the start or end of meals, and present at every major life event (birth, baptism, wedding, funeral) as well as at theslava.[158] Although šljivovica dominates, Serbia also has a long winemaking tradition, dating back to Roman times in the 3rd century, with Serbs actively involved since the 8th century.[159][160] Traditionally,Turkish coffee is prepared after a meal, and is served in small cups.
Today,Marina Abramović, though primarily known forperformance art, remains the most globally recognized figure to emerge from the Serbian art scene.[170]
The earliest known Serbian composers date back to the 14th and 15th centuries. Among them,Kir Stefan the Serb stands out as one of the most important figures of medieval Serbian church music, renowned for his sophisticated liturgical compositions and notated manuscripts.[171]
Stevan Stojanović Mokranjac, a composer andmusicologist, is widely regarded as the founder of modern Serbian music.[172][173]Kornelije Stanković, the pioneer who in the mid-19th century first systematically harmonized and notated Serbian church melodies and folk songs in Western notation, laying essential foundations for all later national composers.Petar Konjović preserved a strong national character in his works while modernizing Romantic traditions toward Impressionism.Stevan Hristić similarly combined Serbian national expression with a refined evolution of Romanticism into Impressionist styles.Miloje Milojević, the third major figure of this first generation, also maintained national roots while directing his music toward Impressionism. Other prominent Serbian classical composers include: Isidor Bajić (known for his lyrical operas and choral works deeply rooted inVojvodina folk traditions),Stanislav Binički (celebrated especially for composing theMarch on the Drina which became one of the most powerful musical symbols of Serbian national identity, often compared to whatLa Marseillaise is for France),Josif Marinković (master of Romantic choral music and one of the most important 19th-century Serbian song composers), andIsidora Žebeljan (one of the most internationally performed Serbian composers of the 21st century, acclaimed for her operas, orchestral works, and chamber music that combine Balkan folk elements with contemporary techniques).[174]
In the 20th and 21st centuries, Serbia has produced world-class performers as well. ViolinistStefan Milenkovich, a former child prodigy who performed for presidents and popes by age ten, is today one of the most respected soloists of his generation.Nemanja Radulović, has become an international star, regularly performing with leading orchestras and reaching wide audiences.
Most literature written by early Serbs was about religious themes, variousgospels,psalters,menologies,hagiographies, along with essays and sermons.[175] The earliest surviving works are medieval religious texts, with the magnificently illuminated late-12th centuryMiroslav GospelsandVukan Gospels standing as masterpieces of the era. TheCrnojević printing house was the first printing house in Southeastern Europe and is considered an important part of Serbian cultural history.[176]
In the 19th century, the rationalist thinking was continued by thepositivistSvetozar Marković, the leading Serbian socialist thinker who criticized utopian socialism and advocated a realist, materially grounded social analysis, though his thought aligned more with Russian populist revolutionary-democracy than with strictMarxist scientific socialism.
Among contemporary Serbian philosophers, the most internationally recognized names are classicistMihailo Đurić and the religious philosophers, BishopNikolaj Velimirović andJustin Popović, whose Orthodox theology continues to have a wide influence.
Serbian American mechanical and electrical engineerNikola Tesla is widely regarded as one of the greatest inventors in history, celebrated especially for his revolutionary work onalternating current (AC) electricity andmagnetism. Physicist and electrical engineerMihajlo Pupin developed the landmark theory of modern electrical filters and held numerous patents. AstronomerMilutin Milanković formulated the theory of long-term climate change driven by variations in Earth’s orbit and axis, now known asMilankovitch cycles.[191]Roger Joseph Boscovich, a Ragusan physicist, astronomer, mathematician and polymath of paternal Serbian origin, produced a precursor ofatomic theory, made many contributions toastronomy and discovered theabsence of atmosphere on theMoon.[192][193][194][195] Nuclear physicistPavle Savić helped lay the groundwork for the discovery of nuclear fission and later led nuclear research efforts in Yugoslavia. Theoretical physicistMileva Marić,Albert Einstein's first wife, contributed significantly to the early development of the theory ofspecial relativity and other foundational works in modern physics. Physicist and environmental scientistTihomir Novakov made groundbreaking discoveries about the role of black carbon (soot) in atmospheric aerosols, significantly advancing the understanding of air pollution and its impact on climate change. ChemistSima Lozanić was among the first promoters of theperiodic table of elements, while archaeologistMiloje Vasić became widely recognized after the discovery of theNeolithic site ofVinča culture in 1905 and subsequentexcavation, which began in 1908.Jovan Žujović made a decisive contribution to the geological research of theBalkan Peninsula.
Some traditional adult games and contests included the long jump, stone throwing, pole climbing, and rope pulling; standard disciplines of village sports games that have been held annually up to the present-day.[203]
Serbs are renowned for their sporting achievements and have produced a remarkable number of world-class athletes.[204][205]
^The figure represents the approximate sum of all the referenced populations.
^The figure is considered an underestimation. In the 2022 census, 136,198 respondents chose not to declare their ethnicity (the question being voluntary), while an additional 322,013 individuals were recorded under the "Unknown" ethnic classification, covering residents whose data were taken from administrative registers rather than direct responses. The majority of both groups are estimated to be ethnic Serbs, as indicated by the ethnic breakdown of those who declared their ethnicity.
^"So, just how many Serbs live in Britain? Britić figures defy census figures of 2001". Ebritic.com. 3 June 2011. Archived fromthe original on 6 January 2019. Retrieved17 January 2015.There have been various attempts to estimate the population of Serbs living in the UK. The simplest answer was the 2001 national census which stated that there are 31,244 UK residents born in Serbian and Montenegro. A further 6,992 were born in Croatia. However, the obvious problems are that many Serbs were born in the UK (maybe even most British Serbs). Moreover, in 2001 there were still a large number of Kosovan Albanians in Britain who would have been registered as being born in Serbia and Montenegro. The Serbian Embassy made their own estimate ten years ago and arrived at a figure of 70,000.
^Ćirković, Sima M. (2008)."Srbi među europskim narodima (excerpt)"(PDF).www.mo-vrebac-pavlovac.hr. Golden Marketing-Tehnička Knjiga. pp. 26–27.Archived(PDF) from the original on 8 January 2020. Retrieved5 December 2019.
^Rajko L. Veselinović (1966).(1219–1766). Udžbenik za IV razred srpskih pravoslavnih bogoslovija. (Yu 68-1914). Sv. Arh. Sinod Srpske pravoslavne crkve. pp. 70–71.Устанак Срба у Банату и спалмваъье моштийу св. Саве 1594. — Почетком 1594. године Срби у Банату почели су нападати Турке. Устанак се -нарочито почео ширити после освадаъьа и спашьиваъьа Вршца од стране чете -Петра Маджадца. Устаници осводе неколико утврЬених градова (Охат [...]
^Editions speciales. Naučno delo. 1971.Archived from the original on 27 September 2023. Retrieved8 July 2019.Дошло ]е до похреаа Срба у Ба- нату, ко]и су помагали тадаппьи црногоски владика, Херувим и тре- бюьски, Висарион. До покрета и борбе против Ту рака дошло ]е 1596. године и у Цр- иэ] Гори и сус]едним племенима у Харцеговгаш, нарочито под утица- ]ем поменутог владике Висариона. Идупе, 1597. године, [...] Али, а\адика Висарион и во]вода Грдан радили су и дал>е на организован>у борбе, па су придобили и ...
^Gavrilović, Slavko (2006),"Isaija Đaković"(PDF),Zbornik Matice Srpske za Istoriju (in Serbian), vol. 74, Novi Sad:Matica Srpska, Department of Social Sciences, Proceedings i History, p. 7, archived fromthe original(PDF) on 16 September 2011, retrieved21 December 2011
^Janićijević, Jovan (1996),Kulturna riznica Srbije (in Serbian), IDEA, p. 70,ISBN978-86-7547-039-7,archived from the original on 2 January 2016,Велики или Бечки рат Аустрије против Турске, у којем су Срби, као добровољци, масовно учествовали на аустријској страни
^"SISAK CAMP".Jasenovac Memorial Cite. Archived fromthe original on 31 January 2018. Retrieved30 January 2018.
^Marija Vuselica: Regionen Kroatien in Der Ort des Terrors: Arbeitserziehungslager, Ghettos, Jugendschutzlager, Polizeihaftlager, Sonderlager, Zigeunerlager, Zwangsarbeiterlager, Volume 9 of Der Ort des Terrors, PublisherC.H.Beck, 2009,ISBN9783406572388 pages 321–323
^Anna Maria Grünfelder: Arbeitseinsatz für die Neuordnung Europas: Zivil- und ZwangsarbeiterInnen aus Jugoslawien in der "Ostmark" 1938/41-1945, Publisher Böhlau Verlag Wien, 2010ISBN9783205784531 pages 101–106
^Đorđević, Oliver, ed. (2016).Living tradition: guide to roots and folk music in Serbia. Belgrade: World music association of Serbia. pp. 9–15.ISBN978-86-89607-20-8.
^Comrie, Bernard; Corbett, Greville G. (1 September 2003).The Slavonic Languages. Taylor & Francis. p. 45.ISBN978-0-203-21320-9.Archived from the original on 27 September 2023. Retrieved23 December 2013.... following Vuk's reform of Cyrillic (see above) in the early nineteenth century, Ljudevit Gaj in the 1830s performed the same operation on Latinica,...
^Ursula Hemetek; Adelaida Reyes; Institut für Volksmusikforschung und Ethnomusikologie--Wien (2007).Cultural diversity in the urban area: explorations in urban ethnomusicology. Institut für Volksmusikforschung und Ethnomusikologie.ISBN978-3-902153-03-6.They played newly composed folk music as well as kolos such as Uzicko kolo, a very popular dance melody from Serbia. The dance, one of the musical ethnic symbols of Serbia; might allude to Serbian ethnicity; otherwise we did not find any ...
^Mitchell, Laurence (2010).Serbia. Bradt Travel Guides. p. 43.ISBN978-1-84162-326-9.Archived from the original on 27 September 2023. Retrieved1 August 2019.
^Preradović, Zoran (14 December 2007)."Srpski pisac sa najviše prevoda".Radio Slobodna Evropa (in Serbo-Croatian).Archived from the original on 14 July 2022. Retrieved12 July 2022.
Кунчер, Драгана (2009).Gesta Regum Sclavorum. Vol. 1. Београд-Никшић: Историјски институт, Манастир Острог.Archived from the original on 10 August 2020. Retrieved20 May 2019.
Hoare, Marko Attila (2011). "The Partisans and the Serbs". In Ramet, Sabrina P.; Listhaug, Ola (eds.).Serbia and the Serbs in World War Two. London, England: Palgrave Macmillan. pp. 201–224.ISBN978-0-23034-781-6.
Katić, Tatjana (2012).Tursko osvajanje Srbije 1690. godine. Beograd: Srpski genealoški centar, Centar za osmanističke studije.Archived from the original on 5 April 2023. Retrieved10 May 2019.
Živković, Tibor; Bojanin, Stanoje; Petrović, Vladeta, eds. (2000).Selected Charters of Serbian Rulers (XII-XV Century): Relating to the Territory of Kosovo and Metohia. Athens: Center for Studies of Byzantine Civilisation.
Levy, Michele Frucht (2009). ""The Last Bullet for the Last Serb": The Ustaša Genocide against Serbs: 1941–1945".Nationalities Papers.37 (6):807–837.doi:10.1080/00905990903239174.S2CID162231741.
Dulić, Tomislav (2006). "Mass killing in the Independent State of Croatia, 1941–1945: a case for comparative research".Journal of Genocide Research.8:255–281.doi:10.1111/nana.12433.S2CID242057219.
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.svg)
