Kingdom of Serbia

Infobox Former Country
native_name = Краљевина Србија
Kraljevina Srbija
conventional_long_name = Kingdom of Serbia
common_name = Serbia
continent = Europe
region = Balkans
country = Serbia
year_start = 1882
year_end = 1918
date_start= 6 March
event1 = Serbian Front (WWI)
date_event1 = August 1914 – November 1915
date_end= 1 December
event_end=Joined "Yugoslavia"
event_post =
date_post = |
p1 = Principality of Serbia
p2 = Kingdom of Montenegro
p3 =
flag_p1 = National flag of Serbia.pngflag_p2 = Flag_of_Montenegro_%281941-1944%29.svg
flag_p3 =
s1 = Kingdom of Yugoslavia
flag_s1 = Flag of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia (civil).svg|

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national_anthem = "Bože Pravde"
official_languages = Serbian
capital = Belgrade
latd=44 |latm=49 |latNS=N |longd=20 |longm=28 |longEW=E
government_type = Constitutional monarchy
title_leader = King
leader1 = Milan Obrenović IV
year_leader1=1882–1889
leader2 = Aleksandar Obrenović
year_leader2=1889–1903
leader3 = Peter I Karađorđević
year_leader3=1903–1918

The Kingdom of Serbia (Serbian Cyrillic: Краљевина Србија, Serbian Latinica:"Kraljevina Srbija") was created when Prince Milan Obrenović, ruler of the Principality of Serbia, was crowned King. Congress of Berlin in 1878 recognized the borders of the Principality of Serbia. The Kingdom of Serbia was the legal predecessor of Yugoslavia which was formed after World War I at the Versailles Peace Conference.

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 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.

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 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.

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

* History of Serbia
* Kingdom of Montenegro

External links

* [http://www.allempires.com/forum/uploads/20060812_092005_in-Img_Balkan-4.gifKingdom of Serbia in 1912]
* [http://www.nytimes.com/specials/bosnia/context/yugo1914.gifKingdom of Serbia in 1914]
* [http://www.terra.es/personal7/jqvaraderey/193818BK.gifKingdom of Serbia in 1918]
* [http://terkepek.adatbank.transindex.ro/kepek/netre/99.gifMap]

Maps