Краљевина Србија Kraljevina Srbija Kingdom of Serbia ←   ← 1882–1918 → Flag Coat of arms Motto Samo sloga Srbina spašava (Only Unity Saves the Serbs) Anthem Bože Pravde The Kingdom of Serbia pre-WW1 Capital Belgrade Government Constitutional monarchy King  - 1882–1889 Milan Obrenović IV  - 1889–1903 Aleksandar Obrenović  - 1903–1918 Peter I Karađorđević History  - Established 6 March 1882  - Serbian Front (WWI) August 1914 – November 1915  - Joined Yugoslavia 1 December 1918

The Kingdom of Serbia (Serbian: Краљевина Србија, Kraljevina Srbija) was created when Prince Milan Obrenović, ruler of the Principality of Serbia, was crowned King in 1882. The Principality of Serbia was ruled by the Karadjordjevic dynasty from 1817 onwards (at times replaced by the Obrenovic dynasty). The Principality, suzerain to the Porte, had expelled all Ottoman troops by 1867, de facto securing its independence. The Congress of Berlin in 1878 recognized the formal independence of the Principality of Serbia.

In international affairs, The Kingdom of Serbia was the legal predecessor of Yugoslavia which was formed after World War I at the Versailles Peace Conference, 1919. Internally, however, Kingdom of Serbia had ceased to exist in 1918, when, alongside the Kingdom of Montenegro, it joined the former Habsburg South Slavic lands to form the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes.

[edit] History

The Kingdom's territorial peak in 1918, covering all of present-day Serbia, Macedonia and Montenegro; parts of Croatia, Romania and Hungary

It fought several battles, 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 in 1915 it was occupied by foreign troops due to a combined invasion by Austro-Hungarian, German, and Bulgarian troops. 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.

[edit] Rulers

Milan Obrenović, King of Serbia

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 by a group of officers. 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.

[edit] International Relations

In a brief period between WWI and WWII the Kingdom of Yugoslavia, succesor to the Kingdom of Serbia, formed a "Small Entente" loose union between Czechoslovakia, Romania and Serbia. The alliance was suported by France and dissolved in 1934 as German influence in Europe was growing.

[edit] Cities

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Balkan-style palace in Kragujevac

Headquarters of the Belgrade University, pictured in 1890

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
• Leskovac - 14,300
• Tetovo - 14,000
• Požarevac - 13,600
• Šabac - 12,800
• Mitrovica - 12,000
• Vranje - 10,500
• Pirot - 10,000

[edit] Notes and references

[edit] See also

• History of Serbia
• Kingdom of Montenegro

[edit] External links

• Kingdom of Serbia in 1912
• Kingdom of Serbia in 1914
• Kingdom of Serbia in 1918
• Map

[edit] Maps

The Principality of Serbia in 1878.

The Kingdom of Serbia in 1913, following the Balkan Wars.

The Kingdom of Serbia in 1918 (27 November – 1 December), following its unification with Syrmia (24 November) and Vojvodina (Banat, Bačka and Baranja, 25 November) as well as with the Kingdom of Montenegro at the Podgorica Assembly (27 November).

The Kingdom of Serbia in Europe, 1914.