Principality of Serbia

Coordinates: 44°48′39″N 20°27′45″E / 44.81083°N 20.46250°E / 44.81083; 20.46250
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Principality of Serbia
Княжество Сербіа
Књажество Србија
1815–1882
Anthem: Востани Сербије
Miloš Obrenović I
• 1868–1882 (last)
Milan Obrenović IV
Prime Minister 
• 1815–1816 (first)
Petar Nikolajević
• 1880–1882 (last)
Milan Piroćanac
LegislatureNone (rule by decree)
(1815–1838)
National Assembly
(1838–1882)
History 
• Recognition by the Sublime Porte
1815
15 February 1835
• de facto independence
1867
13 July 1878
1882
Area
1815[1]24,440 km2 (9,440 sq mi)
1834[1]37,511 km2 (14,483 sq mi)
Population
• 1815[1]
322,500–342,000
• 1834[1]
702,000
• 1874[1]
1,353,000
ISO 3166 codeRS
Preceded by
Succeeded by
Sanjak of Smederevo
Revolutionary Serbia
Kingdom of Serbia
Today part ofSerbia

The Principality of Serbia (

Hatt-i Sharif. Its de facto independence ensued in 1867, following the evacuation of the remaining Ottoman troops from the Belgrade Fortress and the country; its independence was recognized internationally in 1878 by the Treaty of Berlin. In 1882 the country was elevated to the status of kingdom
.

Background and establishment

The Serbian revolutionary leaders—first

Hatt-i Sharif, and Miloš Obrenović became a hereditary prince (knjaz) of the Serbian Principality. Serbia was de jure an autonomous province of the Ottoman Empire, its autonomy was constrained by the presence of the Turkish army on its soil and by being forced to pay to Istanbul a yearly tribute of 2.3 million groschen, which represented about 10% of the country's budget.[3]

At first, the principality included only the territory of the former

Ottoman flag continue to fly over the fortress alongside the Serbian one. Serbia's de facto independence dates from this event.[4] A new constitution in 1869 defined Serbia as an independent state. Serbia was further expanded to the southeast in 1878, when its independence from the Ottoman Empire won full international recognition at the Treaty of Berlin. The Principality would last until 1882 when it was raised to the level of the Kingdom of Serbia
.

Political history

Constitutions

Autonomy

Administrative divisions

The principality was divided into seventeen districts known as Okrug which were then divided into a number of cantons, known as Sres, according to the size of the district. The Principality had a total of sixty-six Sres.[5]

Military

The Armed Forces of the Principality of Serbia was the armed forces of the Principality of Serbia. Founded in 1830, it became a standing army to take part to the First and Second Serbo Turkish Wars of 1876-1878, the first conflict in the nation modern history, after which the country gained its full independence. It was succeeded by the Royal Serbian Army.

Demographics

In the first decades of the principality, the population was about 85% Serb and 15% non-Serb. Of those, most were Vlachs, and there were some Muslim Albanians, which were the overwhelming majority of the Muslims that lived in Smederevo, Kladovo and Ćuprija. The new state aimed to homogenize of its population. As a result, from 1830 to the wars of the 1870s in which Albanians were expelled from the country, it has been estimated that up to 150,000 Albanians that lived in the territories of the Principality of Serbia had been expelled.[6] In 1862 more than 10,000 Muslims were expelled to Ottoman Bulgaria and Ottoman Bosnia.[7] During the Serbian–Ottoman Wars of 1876–1878, the Muslim population was expelled from the Sanjak of Niš.

Historical population
YearPop.±%
1834678,192—    
1841828,895+22.2%
1843859,545+3.7%
1846915,080+6.5%
1850956,893+4.6%
1854998,919+4.4%
18591,078,281+7.9%
18631,108,668+2.8%
18661,216,219+9.7%
18781,669,337+37.3%
Name 1866 Census % population
Ethnicities
Serbs 1,057,540 87%
Vlachs (Romanians) 127,326 10.5%
Roma (Gypsies) 25,171 2.1%
Others 5,539 0.5%
Religion
Orthodox 1,205,898 99.20%
Islam 6,498 0.54%
Catholic 4,161 0.31%
Others 0.2%
  • The Principality of Serbia in 1817
    The Principality of Serbia in 1817
  • The Principality of Serbia in 1833
    The Principality of Serbia in 1833
  • The Principality of Serbia from 1833–1878
    The Principality of Serbia from 1833–1878

Rulers

The Principality was ruled by the Obrenović dynasty, except for a period under Prince Aleksandar of the Karađorđević dynasty. Princes Miloš and Mihailo Obrenović each reigned twice.

Portrait Name Birth Death From Until Notes
Miloš Obrenović I
March 17, 1780 September 26, 1860 November 6, 1817 June 25, 1839
Milan Obrenović II
October 21, 1819 July 8, 1839 June 25, 1839 July 8, 1839 son of Miloš Obrenović I
Mihailo Obrenović III
September 16, 1823 June 10, 1868 July 8, 1839 September 14, 1842 son of Miloš Obrenović I
Aleksandar Karađorđević October 11. 1806 May 3. 1885 September 14, 1842 December 23, 1858
Miloš Obrenović I
March 17, 1780 September 1860 December 23, 1858 September 26, 1860
Mihailo Obrenović III
September 16, 1823 June 10, 1868 September 26, 1860 June 10, 1868
Milan Obrenović IV
August 22, 1854 February 11, 1901 June 10, 1868 March 6, 1882

See also

  • History of Serbia
  • List of orders, decorations, and medals of the Principality of Serbia

References

  1. ^ .
  2. . Retrieved 27 March 2020.
  3. ^ The Institute of History et al. 2020, p. 137.
  4. ^ Stanford J. Shaw and Ezel Kural Shaw, History of the Ottoman Empire and Modern Turkey, Volume 2: Reform, Revolution and Republic—The Rise of Modern Turkey, 1808–1975 (Cambridge University Press, 1977), p. 148.
  5. ^ Mijatović 1872, p. 265.
  6. . Retrieved 27 March 2020.
  7. ^ Özkan, Ayşe. "The Expulsion of Muslims from Serbia after the International Conference in Kanlıca and Withdrawal of the Ottoman Empire from Serbia (1862-1867)". Akademik Bakış.

Sources

Further reading

Other languages

External links

44°48′39″N 20°27′45″E / 44.81083°N 20.46250°E / 44.81083; 20.46250