The Kingdom of Serbia (Serbian Cyrillic: Краљевина Србија, Kraljevina Srbija) was a state that existed in the Balkans from 1882 to 1918. It was recognised as the Principality of Serbia by the Congress of Berlin in 1878.
History
It fought several wars, including the Serbo-Bulgarian War of 1885, and the Balkan Wars of 1912–13 (the First Balkan War in 1912–13, and the Second Balkan War in 1913). It won the first Allied victory of World War I in 1914, but de facto ceased to exist in 1915, due to a combined invasion by Austro-Hungarian, German, and Bulgarian troops, culminating in its almost total defeat during the Battle of Kosovo. After the war's end, it united with the Kingdom of Montenegro and the short lived State of Slovenes, Croats and Serbs to form the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes, later known as the Kingdom of Yugoslavia.
Economy
The Kingdom was the object of a trade embargo by Austria-Hungary in 1906, known as Pig War. Austria-Hungary intended to cripple the Kingdom's economy, but the embargo instead led to an end to Serbia's dependence on the Austro-Hungarian market for its livestock exports. The measure was counterproductive and Serbia's exports actually rose from £2.864 mln in 1906 to £3.259 in 1907, while in 1905 they had been £2.879 mln. [1]
Rulers
Despite its relatively short existence, the Kingdom was ruled by two dynasties: the House of Obrenović and the House of Karađorđević. King Milan Obrenović ruled from 6 March 1882 to 6 March 1889, when he abdicated the throne. He was succeeded by his son, Aleksandar Obrenović, who ruled from 6 March 1889 to 11 June 1903, when he was deposed in a bloody military coup. The slaughter of the royal couple (the king and Queen Draga) by the Black Hand shocked Europe. This opened the way for the descendants of Karađorđe (Karageorge), regarded by Serbs throughout the Balkans as the man who threw off the Turkish yoke, to return to the throne. Petar Karađorđević was initially reluctant to accept the crown, disgusted as he was by the coup d'état. However, he finally did accept and was the Kingdom's sovereign from 15 June 1903 to 1 December 1918, the day that the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes was proclaimed and the Kingdom of Serbia ceased to exist.
Cities
The largest cities in the Kingdom of Serbia were (with population figures from ca. 1910-1912):
- Belgrade - 100,000
- Prizren - 60,000
- Bitola - 54,000
- Skopje - 50,000
- Niš - 25,000
- Veles - 24,000
- Priština - 20,000
- Prilep - 20,000
- Kragujevac - 18,500
- Ohrid - 18,000
- Tetovo - 14,000
- Leskovac - 13,700
- Šabac - 12,800
- Požarevac - 12,000
- Mitrovica - 12,000
- Vranje - 12,000
- Pirot - 10,000
Notes and references
See also
External links
Maps
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The Kingdom of Serbia in 1913, following the Balkan Wars.
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The Kingdom of Serbia in Europe, 1914.
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Yugoslavia (1929 - 1941; 1945 - 2003)
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Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Vojvodina, and Boka Kotorska were part of Austria-Hungary
(until 1918)
See State of Slovenes, Croats and Serbs and Banat, Bačka and Baranja
Free State of Fiume
(Rijeka)
(1920-1924)
Annexed by Italy in 1924, became part of Yugoslavia in 1947
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Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes
(1918-1929)
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Kingdom of Yugoslavia
(1929-1941)
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Nazi Germany annexed parts of Slovenia
(1941-1945)
Fascist Italy annexed parts of Slovenia, Croatia and Montenegro
(1941-1943)
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Democratic Federal Yugoslavia
(1943-1946)
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Federal People's Republic of Yugoslavia
(1946-1963)
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Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia
(1963-1992)
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Slovenia
(since 1991)
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Independent State of Croatia
(1941-1945)
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Croatia
(since 1991)
Also, Republic of Serbian Krajina (1991-1995)
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Bosnia and Herzegovina
(since 1992)
Composed of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Republika Srpska since 1995, and of the Brčko District since 2000
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Hungary annexed Bačka, Baranja, Međimurje, and Prekmurje
(1941-1944/1945)
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Federal Republic of Yugoslavia
(1992-2003)
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Serbia and Montenegro
(2003-2006)
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Serbia
(2006-2008) *Kosovo was an autonomous province of Serbia under UN administration from 1999-2008
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Serbia
(Since 2008)
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Autonomous Banat (1941-1944)
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Kosovo
(Since 2008)
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Kingdom of Serbia
(until 1918)
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Nedić's Serbia (1941-1944)
Republic of Užice (1941)
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Albania annexed most of Kosovo, western Macedonia and south-eastern parts of Montenegro
(1941-1944)
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Montenegro
(since 2006)
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Kingdom of Montenegro
(until 1918)
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Montenegro (occupied by Italy)
(1941-1945)
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Modern Republic of Macedonia was part of Kingdom of Serbia
(until 1918)
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Bulgaria annexed most of modern Republic of Macedonia and south-eastern parts of Serbia
(1941-1944)
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Republic of Macedonia
(since 1991)
International: The former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia
(since 1993)
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