Flag of Serbia
History
Early Middle Ages
Being on the crossroads of many European powers, Serbian history is long and eventful. The history of Yugoslavia will be covered in a separate topic.
The history of Serbia starts with the immigration of Slavic tribes in the region around 600 AD. In 768 the first Principality of Serbia was established. The principality was often allied to the Byzantine Greeks in their struggles against the Bulgarian Empire, an allegiance between the two nations that would remain strong for centuries to come. Christianity was adopted in 869, following Greek Christian traditions.
Serbian states until Ottoman conqusst (1091-1459)
After more than a century of Byzantine dominance, the Grand Principality of Serbia emerged in 1091. The most influentual Grand Prince was Stefan Numanja, who unified Serb territories laying the foundations of the Kingdom (1217-1346) and Empire (1346-1371) that would follow. Serbia emerged as a powerful and influential state in the 14th century.
The Serbian Empire around 1350 AD.
When Emperor Uroš 'the Weak' died childless in 1371, the empire fell apart into fragments controlled by local chiefs, which made it vulnerable to the invading Ottoman armies. Prince Lazar ruled a central part of Serbia but died in the Battle of Kosovo in 1389, a very important turning point in Serb history. The Serbian Despotate was the last Serb state left until final Ottoman conquest in 1459.
Ottoman Serbia (1459-1815)
The Serbs retained their identity despite centuries of Ottoman domination. The non-Muslim population was subject to high taxation and other restrictions. Serbians in more remote regions often revolted, and especially the mountaineous region of Zeta (Montenegro) was relatively independent.
Habsburg Austria invaded Ottoman Serbia during the Great Turkish War (1684-1699) but had to retreat, and during the Austro-Turkish War of 1716-8, after which the Kingdom of Serbia was reestablished, although as a Habsburg crown land. It was short-lived as the Ottomans retook Serbia in 1739. Most Serbians had supported the Habsburgs during this time.
National awakening and independence (1815-1882)
A new Serbian rebellion started in 1807, leading to the establishment of the Principality of Serbia recognised as an Ottoman protectorate in 1815, but effectively the Great Powers of Europe were in control, and demanded the Turkish army to leave Serbia in 1867. In 1882 Serbia became a kingdom.
Serbia after independence.
Territorial expansion (1882-1914)
The Kingdom of Serbia was highly militarised and sought to liberate all Serbs and other South Slavs (literally Yugoslavs) under foreign rule. The Ottoman Empire was the 'sick man of Europe' and the Serbians fought multiple wars to expand its territory mostly southwards into present-day Macedonia and Kosovo, the land which was symbolic after the lost battle of 1389.
Serbia after the Balkan Wars, just before World War I. Present-day Serbia excludes Macedonia and Kosovo (though disputed) but includes Vojvodina which lies north of the Danube and was part of Hungary until 1918.
Over the centuries, the demographics of Kosovo had changed drastically: many Christian Serbs had fled Ottoman rule and were replaced by Albanians who mostly converted to Islam. Kosovo's demographic situation and importance to Serb identity continues to dominate geopolitics of the region to this day.
Meanwhile, Serbians themselves were also divided. King Aleksandar of the House of Obrenović was assassinated in an overthrow in 1903 and replaced by Petar of the House of Karađorđević.
World War I (1914-1918)
Serbian nationalism was encouraged by the successful Balkan Wars of 1911-3 during which the country removed all Ottomans from Macedonia, accompanied by massive ethnic cleansing of non-Serbs. Now that the Ottomans were defeated, the focus moved to Bosnia, a formerly Ottoman province that had been occupied by Austria-Hungary during the Russo-Turkish War of 1878. Serbians regarded Bosniacs as Serbs who had converted to Islam and Croats and Slovenes as South Slav brother nations under Austro-Hungarian occupation.
Gavrilo Princip, part of an underground Serbian nationalist group in Bosnia, assassinated Archduke Franz Ferdinand, son of Austro-Hungarian Emperor Franz Josef II, in Sarajevo in 1914. This event was the match that lit the powder keg that Europe had become. The Austrians responded with extreme demands towards Serbia under the threat of a military invasion. Both Serbian and Austrian diplomats were willing to give in somewhat but the populations themselves were crying for war. Austria declared war a few weeks after, triggering Russian support for Serbia, German support for Austria and French/British support for Russia. This is what started World War I, a major conflict that effectively marked the beginning of the end of the military dominance of European powers that they had witnessed for centuries on a global scale.
Serbia withstood the first Austrian attacks of 1915, but fell prey to an invasion as Bulgaria joined the Central Powers and attacked from the south east. Bulgaria annexed Macedonia which it claimed as being part of Greater Bulgaria based on language and history. Serbians retreated to neutral Greece and the Montenegrin mountains and gained the upper hand in 1918, liberating and conquering vast lands that same year. Serbia lost around a quarter of its population in WW1. However, they were victorious and saw Slovenes, Croats and Montenegrins join their effort in establishing the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes in 1918 under the Serbian royal dynasty.
Interwar years (1918-1941)
The Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes was renamed to Yugoslavia in 1929. The relationship with Italy was problematic, as Mussolini's regime sought disputes over formerly Venetian territories in Dalmatia. King Alexander was assassinated by a Bulgarian Macedonian nationalist in 1934, leaving the throne to his 11-year old son Petar II.
Partition of Yugoslavia by Axis forces during World War 2. Many atrocities were committed by both Nazi Germany and Croat nationalists, and in return by Yugoslav partisans. Reunifying the country after its liberation in 1944 was a challenge on its own.
World War 2 (1941-1945)
Despite its neutrality, Yugoslavia was invaded by Axis forces in 1941, and subsequently carved up in many pieces. Serbia became German occupied territory, with Macedonia again annexed by Bulgaria. During this bloody era Yugoslav Partisans gave the occupying forces a hard time. By 1944 they had succeeded in driving the Germans away. The most prominent partisan leader was Josep Broz Tito, who would lead resurrected Yugoslavia until his death in 1980.
Socialist Yugoslavia (1944-1989)
Tito saw nationalism as the biggest threat to Yugoslavia, and ensured that Serb power was limited in order to maintain balance in the pluriform country. The Serbians had again paid a very high price for its liberation during WW2, during which Croatian fascists of the Ustaşe movement had killed many Serbs. Tito's reforms and policies suppressed nationalism and revanchism on all levels. It worked well for decades, despite the painful memories of WW2.
After Tito's death in 1980 nationalism gained the upper hand again, against the background of a stumbling economy and high inflation. The differences between the wealthier catholic Slovenes and Croats and more powerful orthodox Serbians grew, accusing each other of war crimes during and after WW2. According to Serbian nationalists, the Slovene and Croat nationalists were ungrateful for Serbian blood spilled to repel fascism. Furthermore, Kosovo's autonomous status was revoked in 1989, leading to furious reactions in the Albanian community.
Slobodan Milošević was president of Serbia from 1989 to 1997 and Yugoslavia until 2000, and a staunch nationalist. His hardline approach gained him many supporters as well as enemies. His rule and the secessionist nationalism of other Yugoslav republics were the main catalysts for the breakup of Yugoslavia. After all Tito was right about his assessment on what was the greatest threat to his country.
Yugoslav Wars (1991-1999)
It was against this background that Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia and Macedonia proclaimed independence in 1991. In Serbia this was seen as treason towards all the hard work the Serbs had done to unify and liberate the Yugoslav peoples. Croatia and Bosnia had large Serbian communities, and the prospects of these living outside a Serbian state was unacceptable for the nationalists. The Serb-dominated Yugoslav Army (JNA) tried to prevent the breakup of Yugoslavia and subsequently assisted the Serbian insurgencies in Croatia and Bosnia, often accompanied with large-scale ethnic cleansing of previously mixed communities.
The remainder of Yugoslavia faced economic hardships under the international sanctions and resulting hyperinflation. Many youths also deserted from the army. As the breakaway republics gained international support the conflicts eventually entered into a stalemate in Bosnia and a Croatian victory in Croatia. The Dayton Agreements of 1995 ended these theaters of the Yugoslav Wars.
Despite everything Kosovo had remained relatively peaceful so far. An insurgency that started in 1998 caused the last chapter of the tragic Yugoslav Wars. In a desperate attempt to secure Kosovo for Serbia, Milošević chose to expel the Albanian population to neighbouring countries. An estimated 700,000 people were displaced when a NATO-led force intervened. This intervention included air strikes on the Serbian cities of Belgrade and Novi Sad, an action which has remained highly controversial. Russian prime minister Viktor Chernomyrdin convinced Milošević to give in and allow the UN to enter Kosovo.
Ruined by a decade of war, economic collapse and a polarised society, Milošević rule came to an end in 2000 when he lost the elections versus the moderate Koštunica. As Serbia was facing bankruptcy it was agreed to arrest Milošević in 2001 and extradite him to a UN tribunal in return for renewed IMF loans.
Recent history (2001-date)
Montenegro declared independence after a narrowly decided referendum in 2006, breaking up the federation that was known as Serbia & Montenegro since 2003. In 2008 Kosovo declared independence as well, a move sharply opposed by the Serbian authorities. Kosovo's recognition is still limited to around half the world's countries today. Serbia still regards it as its own territory, despite the de facto self-rule of Kosovo since 2001. Recently there have been some negotiations between Kosovo and Serbia to attempt to normalise the relationship.
Serbia applied for EU membership in 2009 and became a candidate in 2012. Negotiations for joining started in 2014. The last decade its relationship with for example Croatia have improved, but the Kosovo situation is still a sensitive topic with both populations. Serbia's economy recovered at a steady pace until the Global Financial Crisis of 2008. Even now unemployment is still high.
Currency and coins
Serbian coins can be categorised in 4 different eras:
- Medieval coinage, mostly 13th and 14th century
- Principality and Kingdom of Serbia (1862-1918)
- Nazi occupied Serbia (1941-1944)
- Republic of Serbia (2003-date)
Medieval Serbia
Medieval Serbian coins were influenced by designs from the Byzantine Empire.
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Principality and Kingdom
It took Serbia until 1862 to introduce its own currency. Because of the medieval legacy the name Dinar was chosen, and this version was equal to the French Franc and other Latin Monetary Union (LMU) currencies of the time. Despite wars and political instability the Dinar was stable until the outbreak of WW1 at a rate of 25.22 Dinars per British Pound or 5.18/$. The Serbian Dinar evolved into the Yugoslav Dinar after 1918.
Nazi occupied Serbia
The Nazi German military authorities replaced the Yugoslav Dinar with the Serbian Dinar at par in 1941. Other parts of Yugoslavia started using other currencies. Zinc coins of 1, 2, 5 and 10 Dinar were struck for circulation during this dark epoch.
Republic of Serbia
The last truly Yugoslav coins were struck in 2002, even though Montenegro had replaced it with the Deutschmark already in 1996. Despite the fact the name of the country was Serbia & Montenegro, the coins from 2003 only have Serbia on its legend.
The Serbian Dinar replaced the Yugoslav Novi Dinar, which was introduced in 1994, at par. In 2006 there were around 60 RSD/$, in 2016 this has become 110/$.
Coins of Serbia:
https://en.numista.com/catalogue/serbie-1.html
Coins of Yugoslavia:
https://en.numista.com/catalogue/yougoslavie-1.html
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