Kingdom of Serbia (The German Century)

The Kingdom of Serbia (Serbian: Краљевина Србија / Kraljevina Srbija), often rendered as Servia in English sources during the time of its existence, was created when Prince Milan I of Serbia, ruler of the Principality of Serbia, was crowned king in 1882.

Since 1817 the Principality was ruled by the Obrenović dynasty (replaced by the Karađorđević dynasty for a short time). The Principality, suzerainty of the Ottoman Empire, de facto achieved full independence when the last Ottoman troops left Belgrade in 1867. The Congress of Berlin in 1878 recognized the formal independence of the Principality of Serbia, and in its composition entered Nis, Pirot, Toplica and Vranje districts /South part of Serbia/ /see map/.

In 1882 King Milan I proclaimed the Kingdom of Serbia and maintained a foreign policy friendly to Austria-Hungary.

Between 1912 and 1913 Serbia greatly enlarged its territory through engagement in the First and Second Balkan Wars - Sandžak-Raška, Kosovo Vilayet and Vardar Macedonia were annexed. As an outcome of World War I, Serbia was divided between the United States of Greater Austria, Bulgaria and the new Serbian Republic.