History
Prehistory
History of today’s Serbian territory is old as European history. Because of it’s position and natural charted roads which had been used by the oldest European tribes, Serbia hosts traces of the earliest human settlements. Remaining of the Paleolithic communities could be found in the foothill caves of Eastern and Western Serbia. Those communities featured seasonal settlements, hunting and picking. Lepenski Vir, one of the oldest Mesolithic (7000 B.C.) permanent settlements was founded in Danube’s Djerdap Gorge on low, isolated river terraces rich in drinking water, fish, game, nature products and logs. For the first time in the history, urban approach in settlement organization had been used. Most important Neolithic culture (4500 B.C.) in Serbia is Vinca (Vincha). During the Neolithic period, beginnings of primitive agriculture, cattle feeding, stone polishing and use of the ceramics took place. World famous Figurines from Vincha made of black polished stone represent female pagan goddesses. At that time Vincha was the biggest European Neolithic culture. Some of it’s settlements were larger and more populated than settlements of the Middle East. It was the time of the first mine excavating (Majdanpek – first European copper mine). During Copper and Bronze Age, Indo-European tribes comes, completely changing ethnical structure of Europe. Between 12th and 7th century B.C. there are great migrations through Panonnian plain and Balkan peninsula bringing Iliric, Thracian and Daco-Moesian tribes. Precious metal procesing is characteristic for this period, and causes class stratification and creation of tribe aristocracy. In 3rd C B.C. Danube area settling Celtic tribes which where known as Scordescians, bringing new type of building fortifications and pottery wheel. They had founded numerous of settlements including Singidunum (Belgrade).
Antique times
Conqering Dardanians, Tribals and Scordescians, Romans are taking over the rule of the Balkan Peninsula. On the Danube river they had fortified borders of Roman empire – Limes. Today’s Serbia was divided between four provinces: Panonnia, Dalmatia, Moesia Superior and Dacia. Many Roman fortresses – Castrums were founded on the Limes: Sirmium, Singidunum, Viminacium, Margum, Sirrea, Taliata and Pontes. Beside them there were other towns: Diana, Feliks Romuliana, Mediana and Justiniana Prima. Today, its remains represent world-famous archeological attractions. Some of the most important Roman roads were passing trough Serbia connecting central part of the Balkans with Adriatic, Aegean and Black sea. Seventeen Roman Emperors were born in today’s Serbia, some of them are: Decius, Claudius Gothicus, Quintillus, Aurelian, Probus, Maximian, Galerius, Constantine I, Licinius, Constantius II, Jovian etc. At the end of 4th century AD barbarian tribes invaded Roman Empire. For ease of defense in 395AD Emperor Theodosius splits the empire on the Eastern Roman or Byzantine Empire and Western Roman Empire. In the middle of 6th century Western Roman Empire disappears forever and the Eastern will last another 1000 years.
Slavic Migrations
In the period from 4th to 7th century great migrations of people took place in the Euro-Asian continent, which completely changed the ethnic structure of Europe. Slavic tribes settled on Balkan peninsula. According to Byzantine written sources Slavic tribes who lived un-unified together with other surrounding nations performed incursions into the Byzantine territory. During the 9th century are Christianization of Slavs was directed from two centers: Rome and Constantinople. Serbian tribes mostly fall under the influence of Eastern Christianity.
Medieval Serbia
At the end of 12th century Serbian Grand Prince Stefan Nemanja uses the period of weak Byzantine and unites Serbian tribes into the first Serbian state. His son Stefan Nemanjić becomes first crowned king of Serbia in 1217, and Rastko, the youngest son, became a monk Sava, and the first Serbian archbishop, which established autocephaly Serbian church in 1219. For the next two centuries kings of Serbia from ruling dynasty Nemanjić, expand, strengthen and regulate the state, building medieval cities and monasteries, traded with Byzantine, Hungary, Venice and Dubrovnik. In this period there are strong dynastic conflicts and the struggle for power. In the first half of 13th century king Stefan Dušan expanding Kingdom and declared for the Emperor of Serbs and Greeks in 1346. Two years later, in 1349, he made and enforced Dušan’s Code, a universal system of laws and the most important legal act of medieval Europe. After Tsar Dušan’s death, in 1355 the Serbian Empire comes to the disintegration and his son Stefan Uros The Weak together local dukes rule over the un-unified principalities. After Uroš’s death the rule of this dynasty is over.
Ottoman Turks’ Occupation
Weakened Serbian counties became easy target for incoming Ottoman Turks at the end of 14th century. After two historical battles on Marica River and Kosovo Turks occupied the Balkan Peninsula. Last rulers of Serbian medieval state, Despot Stefan Lazarevic and Đurađ Brankovic, moved Serbian capital from Krusevac to Belgrade and Smederevo. At the mid-15th century, the Turks conquered the last Serbian cities and ceased to exist the Serbian medieval state. During the time of the Turkish occupation the Serbian Orthodox Church was the only institution that connected Serbian people and surviving through the centuries preserving cultural and historic identity of Serbian nation. The beginning of the 19th century brings the idea of liberation from the Turkish occupation.
Liberation
The First Serbian Uprising in 1804, lead by Karadjordje Petrović, and The Second Serbian Uprising in 1815, headed by Milos Obrenovic, were leading to final liberation and recognition of the Serbian Kingdom on Congress of Berlin in 1878. In that period were established institutions of a modern European state, but it was followed by political instability and dynastic struggle between Obrenovic and Karadjordjevic dynasty.
20th Century
Since 1903 the Karadjordjevic dynasty governed Serbia through two Balkan Wars and The First World War, after which the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes was created in 1918 and the Kingdom of Yugoslavia was established in 1929. During The Second World War Communist Party of Yugoslavia headed by Josip Broz Tito comes to power and dismissed the monarchy. After The Second World War comes to the creation of a new state of Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, which was split by the civil wars in 1990s. The rule of Slobodan Milosevic marked this period. He was removed on the 5th October 2000. The first democratically elected Prime Minister of Serbia Zoran Djindjic was killed on 12th March 2004. It slowed down Serbia towards European integration. Even today in 2009, Serbia is not a member of the European Union.
