Kingdom of Serbia

Kingdom of Serbia
Краљевина Србија
Kraljevina Srbija
1882–1918
Anthem: Боже правде
Bože pravde
(English: "God of Justice")
The Kingdom of Serbia in 1914
The Kingdom of Serbia in 1914
Capital
and largest city
Belgrade
44°48′35″N 20°27′47″E
Common languagesSerbian
Religion
Orthodox Christianity (State Religion)[1]
Demonym(s)Serbian, Serb
GovernmentUnitary parliamentary constitutional monarchy
King 
• 1882–1889
Milan I
• 1889–1903
Alexander I
• 1903–1918
Peter I
Prime Minister 
• 1882–1883 (first)
Milan Piroćanac
• 1912–1918 (last)
Nikola Pašić
LegislatureNational Assembly
Historical era
6 March 1882
• May Coup
10 June 1903
30 May 1913
10 August 1913
20 July 1917
28 November 1918
21 December 1918
CurrencySerbian dinar
Preceded by
Succeeded by
1882:
Principality of Serbia
1918:
Kingdom of Montenegro
1915:
Military General Governorate of Serbia
1915:
Bulgarian occupation of Serbia
1918:
Kingdom of SHS
Today part of

The Kingdom of Serbia (Serbian: Краљевина Србија, Kraljevina Srbija) was a country located in the Balkans which was created when the ruler of the Principality of Serbia, Milan I, was proclaimed king in 1882. Since 1817, the Principality was ruled by the Obrenović dynasty (replaced by the Karađorđević dynasty for a short time). The Principality, under the suzerainty of the Ottoman Empire, de facto achieved full independence when the very last Ottoman troops left Belgrade in 1867. The Congress of Berlin in 1878 recognized the formal independence of the Principality of Serbia, and in its composition Nišava, Pirot, Toplica and Vranje districts entered the South part of Serbia.

In 1882, Serbia was elevated to the status of a kingdom, maintaining a foreign policy friendly to Austria-Hungary. Between 1912 and 1913, Serbia greatly enlarged its territory through engagement in the First and Second Balkan WarsSandžak-Raška, Kosovo Vilayet and Vardar Macedonia were annexed. At the end of World War I in 1918 it united with Vojvodina and the Kingdom of Montenegro, and in December 1918 it merged with the newly created State of Slovenes, Croats and Serbs to form the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes (later known as Kingdom of Yugoslavia) under the continued rule of the Karađorđević dynasty.

  1. ^ Bataković, Dušan T. (2011). Minorities in the Balkans: state policy and interethnic relations (1804–2004): Les minorites dans les Balkans. Balkanološki institut SANU. p. 98. ISBN 9788671790680.