Serbia (Differently)

Kingdom of Serbia
Краљевина Србија
Timeline: Differently
Kingdom of Serbia Краљевина Србија Timeline: Differently
Flag	Coat of arms
	Anthem: ; Устани Србијо; "Arise, Serbia" https://althistory.fandom.com/wiki/File:Vostani_Serbie.ogg;
	Location of Serbia (green)
Capital; (and largest city)	Belgrade
Official languages	Serbian
Religion	92.5% Orthodoxy; 2.6% Catholicism; 2.2% Manichaeism; 1.5% Islam; 1.2% other/none
Demonym(s)	Serbian
Government	Unitary parliamentary constitutional monarchy
Legislature	National Assembly
Establishment
Area
Population
Currency	Serbian dinar

Serbia, officially the Kingdom of Serbia, is a landlocked sovereign state in the Balkans. It borders Montenegro to the sout-west, Rhomania to the south, Vlachia to the east, Bulgaria to the southeast, Bosnia and Danubia to the north. Its surface area of 88,361 square kilometers makes it the 17th-largest country in Europe and the 106th-largest in the world. With a population of over 9 million inhabitants, it is the 17th-most populous country in Europe and the 99th in the world. In 2023 the fertility rate was 2.05.

Continuously inhabited since the Paleolithic Age, the territory of modern-day Serbia faced Slavic migrations in the 6th century, establishing several regional states in the early Middle Ages at times recognised as tributaries to the Byzantine, Frankish and Hungarian kingdoms. The Serbian Kingdom obtained recognition by the Holy See and Constantinople in 1217, reaching its territorial apex in 1346 as the relatively short-lived Serbian Empire. By the mid-16th century, the Byzantines re-conquered the entirety of modern-day Serbia; their rule was at times interrupted by the Habsburg Empire, which began expanding towards Central Serbia from the end of the 17th century while maintaining a foothold in Vojvodina.

In 1882, the Serbian Revolution established the nation-state as the region's first constitutional monarchy, which subsequently expanded its territory throughout the late 19th century and early 20th century. The Kingdom would expand with the Vojvodinan Purchase. The monarchy would exist until a communist coup in 1945 overthrew the monarchy and replaced it with a socialist republic. The socialist republic would exist in various communist forms until the Serbian Revolution in 1975. Following the end of the socialist era and a provisional republic, Serbia's monarchy was restored following a short referendum. In 2008, the parliament of the province of Kosovo unilaterally declared independence. This was met with mixed response all over the world and resulted in diplomatic Serbian victory over Kosovo, who then eventually made a compromise that Kosovo would be granted more autonomy.

Serbia is a developing country, with an upper-middle income economy, ranks 64th in the Human Development Index. It is a unitary parliamentary constitutional monarchy, and is a member of the LoN, CoE, OSCE, PfP, BSEC, and WTO. Since 2022, the country has been apart of the European Union, being one of its founders. Serbia has been formally adhering to the policy of military neutrality. The country provides universal health care and free primary and secondary education to its citizens.

History[]

Prehistory and antiquity[]

Archaeological evidence of Paleolithic settlements on the territory of present-day Serbia is scarce. A fragment of a human jaw was found in Sićevo (Mala Balanica) and is believed to be up to 525,000–397,000 years old.

Approximately around 6,500 years BC, during the Neolithic, the Starčevo, and Vinča cultures existed in the region of modern-day Belgrade. They dominated much of Southeastern Europe (as well as parts of Central Europe and Asia Minor). Several important archaeological sites from this era, including Lepenski Vir and Vinča-Belo Brdo, still exist near the banks of the Danube.

During the Iron Age, local tribes of Triballi, Dardani, and Autariatae were encountered by the Ancient Greeks during their cultural and political expansion into the region, from the 5th up to the 2nd century BC. The Celtic tribe of Scordisci settled throughout the area in the 3rd century BC. It formed a tribal state, building several fortifications, including their capital at Singidunum (present-day Belgrade) and Naissos (present-day Niš).

The Romans conquered much of the territory in the 2nd century BC. In 167 BC the Roman province of Illyricum was established; the remainder was conquered around 75 BC, forming the Roman province of Moesia Superior; the modern-day Srem region was conquered in 9 BC; and Bačka and Banat in 106 AD after the Dacian Wars. As a result of this, contemporary Serbia extends fully or partially over several former Roman provinces, including Moesia, Pannonia, Praevalitana, Dalmatia, Dacia, and Macedonia.

The chief towns of Upper Moesia (and broader) were: Singidunum (Belgrade), Viminacium (now Old Kostolac), Remesiana (now Bela Palanka), Naissos (Niš), and Sirmium (now Sremska Mitrovica), the latter of which served as a Roman capital during the Tetrarchy. Seventeen Roman Emperors were born in the area of modern-day Serbia, second only to contemporary Italy. The most famous of these was Constantine the Great, the first Christian Emperor, who issued an edict ordering religious tolerance throughout the Empire.

When the Roman Empire was divided in 395, most of Serbia remained under the Eastern Roman Empire. At the same time, its northwestern parts were included in the Western Roman Empire. By the 6th century, South Slavs migrated into the European provinces of the Byzantine Empire in large numbers. They merged with the local Romanised population that was gradually assimilated.

Middle Ages[]

White Serbs, an early Slavic tribe from White Serbia eventually settled in an area between the Sava river and the Dinaric Alps. By the beginning of the 9th century, Serbia achieved a level of statehood. Christianization of Serbia was a gradual process, finalized by the middle of the 9th century. In the mid-10th-century, the Serbian state stretched between the Adriatic Sea, the Neretva, the Sava, the Morava, and Skadar. During the 11th and 12th century, Serbian state frequently fought with the neighbouring Byzantine Empire. Between 1166 and 1371 Serbia was ruled by the Nemanjić dynasty (whose legacy is especially cherished), under whom the state was elevated to a kingdom in 1217, and an empire in 1346, under Stefan Dušan. Serbian Orthodox Church was organized as an autocephalous archbishopric in 1219, through the effort of Sava, the country's patron saint, and in 1346 it was raised to the Patriarchate. Monuments of the Nemanjić period survive in many monasteries (several being World Heritage sites) and fortifications.

During these centuries the Serbian state (and influence) expanded significantly. The northern part (modern Vojvodina), was ruled by the Kingdom of Hungary. The period after 1371, known as the Fall of the Serbian Empire saw the once-powerful state fragmented into several principalities, culminating in the Battle of Belgrade against the resurgent Byzantine empire.

Byzantine and Habsburg Rule[]

The Land conquered by the Byzantines was organized as the Theme of Serbia. Much of the populace either fled, or experienced Romanization. The Serbian Patriarchate was kept.

After the loss of statehood to the Byzantines, Serbian resistance continued in northern regions (modern Vojvodina), under titular despots (until 1537), and popular leaders like Jovan Nenad (1526–1527). From 1521 to 1552, the Empire conquered Belgrade and regions of Syrmia, Bačka, and Banat. Continuing wars and various rebellions constantly challenged Byzantine rule. One of the most significant was the Banat Uprising in 1594 and 1595, which was part of the Long War (1593–1606) between the Habsburgs and the Byzantine Empire. The area of modern Vojvodina endured a century-long Byzantine rule before being ceded to the Habsburg Empire by the Treaty of Karlovci (1699).

As the Great Serb Migrations depopulated most of southern Serbia, the Serbs sought refuge across the Danube River in Vojvodina to the north and the Military Frontier in the west, where they were granted rights by the Austrian crown under measures such as the Statuta Wallachorum of 1630. Much of central Serbia switched from Byzantine rule to Habsburg control (1686–91) during the Austro-Byzantine War (1683-1699). Following several petitions, Emperor Leopold I formally granted Serbs who wished to settle in the northern regions the right to their autonomous crown land.

In 1718–39, the Habsburg Monarchy occupied much of Central Serbia and established the First Kingdom of Serbia as a crownland. Those gains were lost by the Treaty of Belgrade in 1739, when the Byzantine retook the region; apart from territory of modern Vojvodina which remained under the Habsburg Empire, central regions of Serbia were occupied once again by the Byzantines.

Revolution and independence[]

Inspired by the Byzantine Revolution, the Serbian Revolution for independence from Byzantium lasted eleven years, from 1804 until 1815. The revolution comprised two separate uprisings which gained autonomy from the Ottoman Empire (1830) that eventually evolved towards full independence (1882). During the First Serbian Uprising (1804–1813), led by vožd Karađorđe Petrović, Serbia was independent for almost a decade before the Byzantine army was able to reoccupy the country. Shortly after this, the Second Serbian Uprising began in 1815. Led by Miloš Obrenović, it ended with a compromise between Serbian revolutionaries and Byzantine authorities. The First Serbian Constitution was adopted on 15 February 1835 (the anniversary of the outbreak of the First Serbian Uprising). 15 February is now commemorated as Statehood Day, a public holiday.

Follong the clashes between the Byzantine army and Serbs in Belgrade in 1862, and under pressure from Great Powers, by 1867 the last Greek soldiers leftthe Principality, making the c de fac independent. By enacting a new constution in 1869, without consulting the Porte, Serbian diplomats confirmed the de facto independence of the country. In 1880, Serbia declared war on the Byzantine Empire, siding with the ongoing Nationalist uprisings in Bosnia-Herzegovina and Bulgaria.

Politics[]

Provinces[]

Province	Capital	Population	Area (km²)
Vojvodina(Атономна Покрајина Војводина;Autonomna Pokrajina Vojvodina)	Novi Sad	2,205,614	21,614
Belgrade(Београд; Beograd)		1,687,132	3,222.6
Šumadija and Western Serbia(Шумадија и западна Србија;Šumadija i zapadna Srbija)	Kragujevac	2,031,697	26,493
Šouthern and Eastern Serbia(Јужна и источна Србија;Južna i istočna Srbija)	Niš	1,505,732	26,245
Kosovo(Аутономна Покајина Косово;Autonomna Pokrajina Kosovo)	Pristina	2,081,072	10,910