The Serbians were a Slavic or Slavicized people that entered the Balkan peninsula in the early 7th century. Our main source on early Serbian history is the Byzantine Emperor Kōnstantinos VII in his De Administrando imperio, written about 950. The emperor described the struggle between the sons of Vlastimir and the competition between Bulgaria and Byzantium over Serbia in the early 10th century. In 924 Simeon I of Bulgaria tired of backing members of the Serbian princely family and annexed the country, but 7 years later the Serbian prince Časlav Klonimirović escaped from Preslav and reestablished Serbian independence with tacit Byzantine support. However, Časlav’s Serbia was opposed by both Bulgaria and the Magyars, and the following century is very poorly known. The Byzantine conquest of Bulgaria in 1018–1019 would have turned Serbia into a vassal state, but in the second half of the 11th century it came under the control of a collateral line of the rulers of Dioclea (Zeta). Vukan was able to eclipse his Zetan overlords and his successors maintained a precarious autonomy in the face of Byzantine and Hungarian interference. Stefan Nemanja discarded Byzantine suzerainty in the 1180s and his son Stefan I obtained the title of King from the Pope in 1217. An autocephalous Serbian Orthodox Church was established in 1219 under Stefan I’s brother Sava. Stefan Radoslav and Stefan Vladislav I appear to have been allies, if not dependents, of their respective fathers-in-law, Theodōros Angelos Komnēnos of Thessalonica and Ivan Asen II of Bulgaria. It was Stefan Uroš II Milutin who made Serbia a “great power” in the Balkans in the late 13th century, dividing Bulgarian Macedonia with Byzantium. Stefan Uroš III Dečanski followed up his father’s successes by defeating a Bulgarian-Byzantine coalition at Velbăžd in 1330 (although the significance of this battle is often exaggerated), but lost his throne, and ultimately his life, to his son Stefan Uroš IV Dušan. Dušan promptly made an alliance with Ivan Aleksandăr of Bulgaria and took advantage of the Byzantine civil war to annex Byzantine Macedonia, Epirus, and Thessaly in the 1340s. With the support of the Bulgarian emperor and patriarch, Dušan made his own archbishop patriarch and had himself crowned Emperor in 1345/46. However, Dušan’s son Stefan Uroš V succeeded as a minor and was unable to control his father’s nobles. Early on his uncle Siniša Uroš proclaimed himself Emperor in Thessaly and Epirus, and later Stefan Uroš V had to accept Vukašin Mrnjavčević as co-ruler and King in Macedonia. The deaths of Vukašin and Stefan Uroš V in 1371 led to further dissolution of the Serbian state, but the core was retained by prince Lazar I who had married a distant descendant of Stefan Nemanja. The imperial title disappeared, while the royal title was claimed by Vukašin’s son Marko and by the ban of Bosnia Stefan Tvrtko I. The Serbian principalities in Macedonia, Epirus, and Thessaly were overrun by the Ottomans by the late 1390s, while Lazar’s son Stefan III retained northern Serbia. He and his nephew and successor Đurađ I Branković acquired the title of despot from the Byzantine court. In spite of a desperate alliance with Bosnia, Serbia was completely conquered by the Ottomans in 1459. A Hungarian counteroffensive led to the reestablishment of a Serbian principality in the extreme North, but this too was terminated by the Ottomans in the early 16th century.
In 1808 Karađorđe Petrović led a rebellion against the Ottomans in northern Serbia, but this movement was suppressed in 1813. In 1815 Milan Obrenović repeated the endeavor with more success and managed to establish an autonomous principality within the Ottoman Empire. Serbia benefited from the Congress at Berlin in 1878 and expanded to the South, while its prince took the title of King in 1882. A violent coup overthrew the Obrenović dynasty in 1903 and reestablished the Karađorđevići on the throne. During the Balkan Wars, Serbia secured control of Kosovo and Macedonia, while the outcome of the First World War made its kings also rulers of Slovenia, Croatia, and Montenegro (as well as Bosnia). The new state was renamed Yugoslavia (Jugoslavija), but its non-Serbian members soon came to resent the centralizing rule of Aleksandar I, who was assassinated by a separatist. During the Second World War, Yugoslavia was invaded by Germans and Italians, Croatia was given independence, and Macedonia ceded to Bulgaria. The partisan movement led by Josip Bros (Tito) defeated the Germans and Yugoslavia was reconstituted in the aftermath of the Second World War. King Petar II, who had been taken into exile during the German invasion, was not allowed to return to his throne.
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Princes of Serbia or Raška, Grand Župans 1090, Kings of Serbia 1217–1395, Emperors of Serbia 1345–1371, Princes 1371 |
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840–865 |
VLASTIMIR |
Son of Prosigoj son of Radoslav son of Višeslav |
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865–891 |
MUTIMIR |
Son of Vlastimir |
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GOJNIK |
Son of Vlastimir; co-ruler 865–875; expelled by Mutimir |
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STROJIMIR |
Son of Vlastimir; co-ruler 865–875; expelled by Mutimir |
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891–892 |
PRIBISLAV |
Son of Mutimir; deposed, fled to Croatia |
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892–917 |
PETAR |
Son of Gojnik; deposed by Bulgarians, died 917 |
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917–921 |
PAVLE |
Son of Bran son of Mutimir; deposed by Bulgarians |
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921–924 |
ZAHARIJE |
Son of Pribislav; fled to Croatia |
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924–931 |
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To Bulgaria |
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931–960 |
ČASLAV |
Son of Klonimir son of Strojimir; killed against the
Magyars |
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960–980 |
TIHOMILJ |
Husband of daughter of Časlav |
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980–1003 |
LJUTOMIR |
Son of Tihomilj (?) |
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1003–1030 |
(Ljutomirović) |
Son of Ljutomir |
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1030–1060 |
LJUTOVID |
Son of Ljutomirović (?) |
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1060–1083 |
PETRISLAV |
Son of Mihailo I of Zeta |
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1083–1085 |
MARKO |
Son of Petrislav |
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1085–1122 |
VUKAN |
Son of Petrislav; co-ruler 1083; Grand Župan 1090 |
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1122–1145 |
UROŠ I |
Son of Vukan |
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1145–1150 |
UROŠ II |
Son of Uroš I; deposed
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1150–1150 |
DESA |
Son of Uroš I; deposed |
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1150–1155 |
UROŠ II |
Restored |
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1155–1155 |
DESA |
Restored; deposed by Byzantines |
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1155–1160 |
UROŠ II |
Restored |
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1160–1162 |
PRIMISLAV |
Son of Uroš I; deposed by Byzantines |
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1162–1163 |
BELOŠ |
Son of Uroš I; abdicated |
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1163–1166 |
DESA |
Restored |
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1166–1171 |
TIHOMIR |
Son of Zavida son of Uroš I; killed against brother
Stefan Nemanja |
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1171–1196 |
STEFAN NEMANJA |
Brother of Tihomir; co-ruler 1168; abdicated, died 1199 |
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STRACIMIR |
Brother of Tihomir; co-ruler 1168–1186/ |
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MIROSLAV |
Brother of Tihomir; co-ruler in Hum 1168–1186/ |
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1196–1202 |
STEFAN I the First-Crowned |
Son of Stefan Nemanja; deposed by brother Stefan Vukan |
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1202–1204 |
STEFAN VUKAN |
Son of Stefan Nemanja; deposed, died 1209/ |
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1204-1227 |
STEFAN I the First-Crowned |
Restored; King 1217 |
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1227–1234 |
STEFAN RADOSLAV |
Son of Stefan I; deposed, died 1235 |
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1234–1242 |
STEFAN VLADISLAV I |
Son of Stefan I; deposed, died 1267/ |
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1242–1276 |
STEFAN UROŠ I |
Son of Stefan I; deposed, died 1276 |
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1276–1282 |
STEFAN II Dragutin |
Son of Stefan Uroš I; co-ruler 1268; abdicated, died 1316 |
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1282–1321 |
STEFAN UROŠ II Milutin |
Son of Stefan Uroš I |
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(1321–1322) |
STEFAN KONSTANTIN |
Son of Stefan Uroš II; killed against brother Stefan
Uroš III |
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(1321–1324) |
STEFAN VLADISLAV II |
Son of Stefan II; expelled by cousin Stefan Uroš III |
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1321–1331 |
STEFAN UROŠ III Dečanski |
Son of Stefan Uroš II; deposed and murdered 1331 |
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1331–1355 |
STEFAN UROŠ IV Dušan |
Son of Stefan Uroš III; co-ruler 1322, Emperor 1345 |
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1355–1371 |
STEFAN UROŠ V the Weak |
Son of Stefan Uroš IV; co-ruler (King) 1346 |
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1366–1371 |
VUKAŠIN Mrnjavčević |
Co-ruler of Stefan Uroš V as King in Macedonia; killed
against the Ottomans |
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1371–1395 |
MARKO Kraljević |
Son of Vukašin; King in Macedonia; killed against Wallachia |
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1371–1389 |
Stefan LAZAR I Hrebljanović |
Son of Pribac Hrebljanović; Prince of Serbia;
killed against the Ottomans |
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1389–1427 |
STEFAN III |
Son of Lazar I; (Despot 1402) |
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1427–1456 |
ĐURAĐ I Branković |
Son of Vuk Branković by Mara daughter of Lazar I;
(Despot 1429) |
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1456–1458 |
LAZAR II |
Son of Đurađ I; co-ruler 1446 |
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1458–1459 |
Stefan the Blind |
Son of Đurađ I; regent, died 1476 |
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1459–1459 |
STEFAN IV Tomašević |
Son of Stefan Tomaš of Bosnia; husband of Jelena
(Marija) daughter of Lazar II; deposed, executed by the Ottomans 1463 |
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1459–1471 |
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To the Ottoman Empire |
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1471–1485 |
VUK the Firedragon |
Son of Grgur son of Đurađ I; prince in
northern Serbia under Hungarian protectorate |
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1486–1496 |
ĐURAĐ II |
Son of Stefan the Blind; abdicated, died 1516 |
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1496–1502 |
JOVAN |
Son of Stefan the Blind |
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1502–1521 |
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Northern Serbia to Hungary |
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1521–1808 |
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To the Ottoman Empire |
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Princes of Serbia |
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1808–1813 |
ĐORĐE Petrović (Karađorđe) |
Son of Petar; rebel against the Ottomans; deposed, died
1818 |
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1813–1815 |
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To the Ottoman Empire |
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1815–1839 |
MILOŠ Obrenović |
Son of Todor Obrenović; abdicated |
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1839–1839 |
MILAN I Obrenović |
Son of Miloš Obrenović |
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1839–1842 |
MIHAILO Obrenović |
Son of Miloš Obrenović; deposed |
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1842–1858 |
ALEKSANDAR Karađorđević |
Son of Đorđe Petrović; deposed, died
1885 |
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1858–1860 |
MILOŠ Obrenović |
Restored |
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1860–1868 |
MIHAILO Obrenović |
Restored; murdered |
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1868–1882 |
MILAN II Obrenović |
Son of Miloš son of Jefrem brother of Miloš
Obrenović; King from 1882 |
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Kings of Serbia
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1882–1889 |
MILAN I Obrenović |
= Prince Milan II; abdicated, died 1901 |
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1889–1903 |
ALEKSANDAR I Obrenović |
Son of Milan I; murdered |
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1903–1918 |
PETAR I Karađorđević |
Son of Aleksandar Karađorđević; King of
Serbs, Croats and Slovenes (Yugoslavia) from 1918 |
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Kings of Yugoslavia (Jugoslavija) |
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1918–1921 |
PETAR I |
= King Petar I of Serbia |
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1921–1934 |
ALEKSANDAR I |
Son of Petar I; murdered |
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1934–1945 |
PETAR II |
Son of Aleksandar I; deposed by the Communists, died
1970 |