A (short) History of Serbia

Serbia, another country with a varied history. It has been an oppressor and it has been oppressed and its population and boundaries have been much changed over the centuries. Like Croatia it was subject to Roman rule before developing its own (short lived) empire in the 14th century, encompassing modern day Kosovo and North Macedonia. Occupation by the Ottoman Empire followed with centuries of repression and oppression for the Serbian people. To add to the mix the Austrian Empire also had their eye on Serbia and spent years fighting the Ottomans to try and wrest control of the country from them. A number of uprisings by the Serbs against their Ottoman overlords - usually brutally crushed - eventually led to recognition of Serbia as an autonomous principality within the Empire and, ultimately, an independent country on the world stage. 

It was not until the First and Second Balkan wars at the start of the twentieth century however, that the yoke of Empire was fully removed. Serbs, Greeks, Montenegrins and Bulgarians combined forces to drive a weakened Ottoman Empire from the Balkan region after which a much enlarged Serbia looked to expand further.  The ethnic Serbian population in Bosnia to the west were seen as a natural addition to the nation. Unfortunately, while Serbia was now independent, Bosnia was part of the Austro-Hungarian empire and the ensuing politics of Empire and Serbian nationalism led disastrously to the First World War. 

After WW1 Serbia, Montenegro, Croatia and Slovenia Serbian formed the Kingdom of Yugoslavia, led by the King of Serbia. It was an uneasy union from the start, possibly its lowest ebb being the assassination in Parliament of a Croatian politician - who stood against Serbian dominance of the union - by a fellow parliamentarian, a Montenegrin Serb. However, the union lasted until the beginning of the Second World War at which time the Kingdom was overrun by the Axis powers.

After the War Yugoslavia was reformed as the Communist Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia comprising Serbia and the other Balkan states under former partisan fighter General Josip Tito. Tito's political strength held the country together but upon his death the country broke apart as the desire for independence from the constituent nations again became a goal. While some of the separation was peaceful it was not entirely so and Serbia's hope of unifying Serbs in other nations once again led to war. 

Today’s Republic of Serbia was recognised in 2006 when, in the final footnote to the Yugoslav wars, Serbia and Montenegro, the remaining rump of the former Yugoslavian nation, separated. While regional issues are still rumbling along in the political arena, not least that of Kosovo as an independent country, Serbia is today more settled politically and is now working towards EU membership.

Modern Serbia