This article is about the history ofSerbs in general, including the history of Serbs inSerbia and other historical Serbian Lands, as well as history of Serbian regional migrations and modernSerb diaspora. For history ofSerbia itself, seeHistory of Serbia.
Seal of princeStrojimir ofSerbia, from the late 9th centuryBasil I with a delegation of Serbs.The 1389Battle of Kosovo is considered as one of the most influential events in the history of the Serbs.
Slavs settled in theBalkans during the 6th and 7th centuries, where they encountered and partially absorbed the remaining local population (Illyrians,Thracians,Dacians,Celts,Scythians).[2] One of thoseearly Slavic peoples were Serbs.[3] According toDe Administrando Imperio, a historiographical work compiled by the Byzantine emperorConstantine VII Porphyrogenitus (d. 959), migration of Serbs fromWhite Serbia to Balkans occurred sometime during the reign of emperorHeraclius I (610-641) when they arrived inan area near Thessaloniki, but shortly afterwards they left that area and settled lands between theSava and theDinaric Alps.[4][5][6] By the time of the first reign of emperorJustinian II (685-695), who resettled severalSouth Slavic groups from Balkans toAsia Minor, a group of Serbian settlers in the region ofBithynia were alreadychristianized. Their settlement, the city ofGordoserba (Greek:Γορδόσερβα), had its bishop, who participated at theCouncil of Trullo (691-691).[7] In contemporary historiography and archaeology, the narratives ofDe Administrando Imperio have been reassessed as they contain anachronisms and factual mistakes. The account inDAI about the Serbs mentions that they requested from the Byzantine commander of present-day Belgrade to settle in thetheme of Thessalonica, which was formed ca. 150 years after the reign of Heraclius which was in the 7th century. For the purposes of its narrative, the DAI formulates a mistaken etymology of the Serbian ethnonym which it derives from Latinservi (serfs).[8]
As the Byzantine Empire sought to establish its hegemony towards the Serbs, the narrative of theDAI sought to establish a historical hegemony over the Serbs by claiming that their arrival, settlement and conversion to Christianity was the direct result of the Byzantine interference in the centuries which preceded the writing ofDAI.[9] Historian Danijel Dzino considers that the story of the migration fromWhite Serbia after the invitation of Heraclius as a means of explanation of the settlement of the Serbs is a form of rationalization of the social and cultural change which the Balkans had undergone via the misinterpretation of historical events placed in late antiquity.[10]
After their initial settlement in the western regions of the Balkans, Serbs created their first state, the early medievalPrincipality of Serbia, that was ruled by the first Serbian dynasty, known in historiography as theVlastimirović dynasty.[4] During their reigh,christianization of the Serbs was undergoing, as a gradual process, that was finalized by the middle of the 9th century.[11] Serbs also created local states in regions ofNeretvanija,Zahumlje,Travunija andDuklja. Some scholars, likeTibor Živković and Neven Budak, doubt their Serbian identity in 7th century and suppose that sources likeDe Administrando Imperio are based on data related to Serbian rule and identity in 10th century when Serbian ethnogenesis was finalized.[12][13]
Early medieval Serbian areal was also attested by theRoyal Frankish Annals, that note, under the entry for 822, that princeLjudevit left his seat atSisak and went to the Serbs.[14] According to Živković, the usage of the term Dalmatia in the document to refer both to the land where Serbs ruled as well as to the lands under the rule of Croat duke, was likely a reflection of the Franks' territorial aspirations towards the entire area of the former Roman Province of Dalmatia.[15] The same entry mentions "the Serbs, who are said to hold a great/large part ofDalmatia" (ad Sorabos, quae natio magnam Dalmatiae partem obtinere dicitur),[16][17][18] but according toJohn (Jr.) Fine, it was hard to find Serbs in this area since the Byzantine sources were limited to the southern coast, also it is possible that among other tribes exists tribe or group of small tribes of Serbs.[19][20] However, the mentioning of "Dalmatia" in 822 and 833 as an old geographical term by the authors of Frankish Annals wasPars pro toto with a vague perception of what this geographical term actually referred to.[21]
Between 1166 and 1371, Serbs were ruled by theNemanjić dynasty, founded by grand princeStefan Nemanja (1166-1196), who conquered several neighbouring territories, including Kosovo, Duklja, Travunija and Zahumlje. Serbian state was elevated to akingdom in 1217, during the reign of Nemanja's son,Stefan Nemanjić.[23] In the same time,Serbian Orthodox Church was organized as anautocephalous archbishopric in 1219,[24] through the efforts ofSava, who became the patron saint of Serbs.[25]
Over the next 140 years, Serbia expanded its borders. Its cultural model remained Byzantine, despite political ambitions directed against the empire. The medieval power and influence of Serbia culminated in the reign ofStefan Dušan, who ruled the state from 1331 until his death in 1355. and anempire In 1346, he was crowned as emperor, thus creating theSerbian Empire.[26] In the same time,Serbian Orthodox Church was raised to thePatriarchate (1346). Territory of the Empire includedMacedonia, northern Greece, Montenegro, and almost all of Albania.[27] When Dušan died, his sonStephen Uroš V became Emperor.[28] WithTurkish invaders beginning their conquest of the Balkans in the 1350s, a major conflict ensued between them and the Serbs, the first major battle was theBattle of Maritsa (1371),[29] in which the Serbs were defeated.[30] With the death of two important Serb leaders in the battle, and with the death of Stephen Uroš that same year, theSerbian Empire broke up into several small Serbian domains.[29] These states were ruled by feudal lords, withZeta controlled by the Balšić family, Raška,Kosovo and Metohija and northern Macedonia held by theBranković family andLazar Hrebeljanović holding today'sCentral Serbia and a portion of Kosovo.[31] Hrebeljanović was subsequently accepted as the titular leader of the Serbs because he was married to a member of the Nemanjić dynasty.[29] In 1389, the Serbs faced the Ottomans at theBattle of Kosovo on the plain ofKosovo Polje, near the town ofPristina.[30] Both Lazar andSultanMurad I were killed in the fighting.[32] The battle most likely ended in a stalemate, and Serbia did not fall to the Turks until 1459.[32] There existsc. 30Serbian chronicles from the period between 1390 and 1526.[33]
The Serbs had taken an active part in the wars fought in the Balkans against the Ottoman Empire, and also organized uprisings.[34] Because of this, they suffered persecution and their territories were devastated.[34] Major migrations from Serbia into Habsburg territory ensued.[34] The period ofOttoman rule in Serbia lasted from the second half of the 15th century to the beginning of the 19th century, interrupted by three periods ofHabsburg occupation during later Habsburg-Ottoman wars.
Alarge migration of Serbs to Habsburg lands was undertaken by Patriarch Arsenije III.[40] The large community of Serbs concentrated in Banat, southern Hungary and the Military Frontier included merchants and craftsmen in the cities, but mainly refugees that were peasants.[40] Smaller groups of Serbs also migrated to theRussian Empire, where they occupied high positions in the military circles. In Russian empire there even created a big historic region, theNew Serbia[41][42] Serbia remained under Ottoman control until the early 19th century, with the eruption of theSerbian Revolution in 1804.[citation needed]
The uprising ended in the early 1830s, with Serbia's autonomy and borders being recognized, and withMiloš Obrenović being recognized as its ruler. The last Ottoman troops withdrew from Serbia in 1867, although Serbia's independence was not recognized internationally until theCongress of Berlin in 1878.[43] When thePrincipality of Serbia gained independence from the Ottoman Empire, Orthodoxy became crucial in defining the national identity, instead of language which was shared by other South Slavs (Croats and Muslims).[44]
Serbian Army during its retreat towards Albania; more than one hundred thousand Serbs died duringWorld War I.
Serbia fought in theBalkan Wars of 1912–13, which forced the Ottomans out of the Balkans and doubled the territory and population of theKingdom of Serbia. In 1914, a youngBosnian Serb student namedGavrilo PrincipassassinatedArchduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria, which directly contributed to the outbreak ofWorld War I.[45] In the fighting that ensued, Serbia was invaded byAustria-Hungary. Despite being outnumbered, the Serbs subsequently defeated the Austro-Hungarians at theBattle of Cer, which marked the firstAllied victory over theCentral Powers in the war.[46] Further victories at the battles ofKolubara and theDrina meant that Serbia remained unconquered as the war entered its second year. However, an invasion by the forces ofGermany,Austria-Hungary andBulgaria overwhelmed the Serbs in the winter of 1915, and a subsequent withdrawal by theSerbian Army through Albania took the lives of more than 240,000 Serbs. Serb forces spent the remaining years of the war fighting on theSalonika front in Greece, before liberating Serbia from Austro-Hungarian occupation in November 1918.[47]
DuringWorld War II, Yugoslavia was invaded by theAxis powers in April 1941. The country was subsequently divided into many pieces, with Serbia being directly occupied by the Germans.[49] Serbs in theIndependent State of Croatia (NDH) experienced persecution at the hands of the Croatian ultra-nationalist, fascistUstaše, who attempted to exterminate the Serb population in death camps. More than half a million Serbs were killed in the territory of Yugoslavia during World War II.[50] Serbs in occupied 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 force, formed in 1941, which also had a large majority of Serbs in its ranks in the first two years of war, later, after the fall of Italy, September 1943. other ethnic groups joined Partisans in larger numbers.[49] At the end of the war, the Partisans, led by the CroatJosip Broz Tito, emerged victorious. Yugoslavia subsequently became a Communist state. Tito died in 1980, and his death sawYugoslavia plunge into economic turmoil.[51]
Yugoslaviadisintegrated in the early 1990s, and aseries of wars resulted in the creation of five new states. The heaviest fighting occurred inCroatia andBosnia and Herzegovina, whose Serb populations rebelled and sought unification withSerbia, which was then still part of theFederal Republic of Yugoslavia. Thewar in Croatia ended in August 1995, with a Croatian military offensive known asOperation Storm crushing theCroatian Serb rebellion and causing as many as 200,000 Serbs to flee the country. TheBosnian War ended that same year, with theDayton Agreement dividing the country along ethnic lines. In 1998–99, aconflict in Kosovo between the Yugoslav Army and Albanians seeking independence erupted into full-out war, resulting in a 78-day-longNATO bombing campaign which effectively drove Yugoslav security forces from Kosovo.[52] Subsequently, more than 200,000 Serbs and other non-Albanians fled the province.[53] On 5 October 2000, YugoslavPresidentSlobodan Milosević was overthrown in a bloodless revolt after he refused to admit defeat in the2000 Yugoslav general election.[54]
TheSerbian Revival refers to a period in the history of the Serbs between the 18th century and thede jure establishment of thePrincipality of Serbia (1878). It began in Habsburg territory, inSremski Karlovci.[55] The "Serbian renaissance" is said to have begun in 17th-centuryBanat.[56] The Serbian Revival began earlier than theBulgarian National Revival.[57] The first revolt in theOttoman Empire to acquire a national character was theSerbian Revolution (1804–1817),[55] which was the culmination of the Serbian renaissance.[58] According to Jelena Milojković-Djurić: "The first literary and learned society among the Slavs wasMatica srpska, founded by the leaders of Serbian revival in Pest in 1826."[59]Vojvodina became the cradle of the Serbian renaissance during the 19th century.[60]Vuk Stefanović Karadžić (1787–1864) was the most instrumental in this period.[61][62]
^Curta 2001, p. 66: They were first given land in the province of Thessalonica, but no such theme existed during Heraclius’ reign. Emperor Constantine's explanation of the ethnic name of the Serbs as derived from servi is plainly wrong
^Serbian Studies. Vol. 2–3. North American Society for Serbian Studies. 1982. p. 29....the Serbs, a people that is said to hold a large part of Dalmatia
^Djokić, Dejan (2023).A Concise History of Serbia.Cambridge University Press. p. 61.ISBN9781107028388.'a people that is said to hold a large part of Dalmatia'. This was a reference to the ancient Roman province of Dalmatia, which extended deep into the western Balkan interior, from the eastern Adriatic coast to the valleys of the Ibar and Sava Rivers.
^John V. A. (Jr.) Fine; (2010)When Ethnicity Did Not Matter in the Balkans p. 35; University of Michigan Press,ISBN0472025600
^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
^Viktor Novak (1980).Revue historique.Иако је српски препород старији од бугар- ског, они су се надопуњивали. Књижевно „славеносрпски" и „сла- веноблгарски" су били блиски један другом, „нису се много разли- ковали и једнако су били доступни и за наше и за ...
^Soviet Literature. Foreign Languages Publishing House. January 1956.He helped Vuk Karadzich, prominent in the Serbian Renaissance, and one of the leading figures in the educational movement of his times,
Hehn, Paul N. (1971). "Serbia, Croatia and Germany 1941-1945: Civil War and Revolution in the Balkans".Canadian Slavonic Papers.13 (4):344–373.doi:10.1080/00085006.1971.11091249.JSTOR40866373.
Isailović, Neven G.; Krstić, Aleksandar R. (2015). "Serbian Language and Cyrillic Script as a Means of Diplomatic Literacy in South Eastern Europe in 15th and 16th Centuries".Literacy Experiences concerning Medieval and Early Modern Transylvania. Cluj-Napoca: George Bariţiu Institute of History. pp. 185–195.
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.
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