Principality of Serbia

For other uses, see Principality of Serbia (disambiguation).

Principality of Serbia
Књажество Србија (Serbian)
Knjažestvo Srbija
1815–1882
The Principality of Serbia in 1878
Capital
Common languagesSerbian
Religion
Serbian Orthodoxy (official)
DemonymSerbian, Serb
Government
Prince (Knez) 
• 1817–1839 (first)
Miloš Obrenović I
• 1868–1882 (last)
Milan Obrenović IV
Prime Minister 
• 1815–1816 (first)
Petar Nikolajević
• 1880–1882 (last)
Milan Piroćanac
Legislature
History 
• Recognition by the Sublime Porte
1815
February 15, 1835
• de facto independence
April 18, 1867
July 13, 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 (Serbian: Књажество Србија, romanized: Knjažestvo Srbija) was an autonomous, later sovereign state in the Balkans that came into existence as a result of the Serbian Revolution. Its creation was negotiated first through an unwritten agreement between Miloš Obrenović, leader of the Second Serbian Uprising, and Ottoman official Marashli Pasha, followed by a series of decrees of the Sublime Porte in 1828–1833. 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

Main article: History of modern Serbia

The Serbian revolutionary leaders—first Karađorđe and then Miloš Obrenović—succeeded in their goal of liberating Serbia from centuries-long Ottoman rule. Ottoman authorities acknowledged the state by the 1830 Hatt-i Sharif, and Miloš Obrenović became the hereditary prince (knjaz) of Serbia. Serbia was de jure an autonomous province of the Ottoman Empire, its autonomy was constrained by the presence of the Ottoman 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.[2]

At first, the principality included only the territory of the former Pashaluk of Belgrade, but in 1831–1833 it expanded to the east, south, and west. In 1866 Serbia began the campaign of forging the First Balkan Alliance by signing a series of agreements with other Balkan entities in the period 1866–1868. On 18 April 1867 the Ottoman government ordered the Ottoman garrison, which since 1826 had been the last representation of Ottoman suzerainty in Serbia, withdrawn from the Belgrade fortress. The only stipulation was that the Ottoman flag continue to fly over the fortress alongside the Serbian one. Serbia's de facto independence dates from this event.[3] 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

  • Akkerman Convention (October 7, 1826), treaty between the Russian Empire and Ottoman Empire, contained article 5 on Serbia: autonomy, and return of lands removed in 1813, Serbs were also granted freedom of movement through the Ottoman Empire. Rejected by Mahmud II in 1828.
  • 1829 hatt-i sharif
  • 1830 hatt-i sharif
  • 1833 hatt-i sharif

Administrative divisions

Main article: Administrative divisions of the Principality of Serbia

The Ottoman-derived nahija remained as the highest administrative unit until 1834. Following 1836, Serbia was administratively organized into 17 okrug (districts), in turn divided into srez.

Military

Main article: Armed Forces of the Principality of Serbia

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's modern history, after which the country gained its full independence. It was succeeded by the Royal Serbian Army.

Demographics

See also: Demographic history of Serbia

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 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.[4] In 1862 more than 10,000 Muslims were expelled to Ottoman Bulgaria and Ottoman Bosnia.[5] 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
Ethnicity
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 1833
  • The Principality of Serbia from 1833 to 1878

List of princes

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 Lifespan Reign Notes
Miloš Obrenović I March 17, 1780–September 26, 1860 November 6, 1817–June 25, 1839 leader of Second Serbian Uprising.
Milan Obrenović II October 21, 1819–July 8, 1839 June 25, 1839–July 8, 1839 eldest son of Prince Miloš. Died at age 19 of tuberculosis.
Mihailo Obrenović III September 16, 1823–June 10, 1868 July 8, 1839–September 14, 1842 son of Prince Miloš. Overthrown by the Defenders of the Constitution.
Aleksandar Karađorđević October 11, 1806 –May 3, 1885 September 14, 1842–December 23, 1858 youngest son of Karađorđe, the leader of the First Serbian Uprising. Abdicated following loss of popularity.
Miloš Obrenović I March 17, 1780–September 1860 December 23, 1858–September 26, 1860 Second reign. Recalled with the Saint Andrew's Day Assembly.
Mihailo Obrenović III September 16, 1823–June 10, 1868 September 26, 1860–June 10, 1868 Second reign. Returned from 18-year exile. Assassinated.
Milan Obrenović IV August 22, 1854–February 11, 1901 June 10, 1868–March 6, 1882 grandson of Jevrem Obrenović. Elevated to King.

See also

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Principality of Serbia.

References

  1. ^ a b c d e Palairet, Michael R. (2002). The Balkan Economies c. 1800–1914: Evolution Without Development. Cambridge University Press. pp. 16–17. ISBN 978-0-521-52256-4.
  2. ^ Rastović 2020, p. 137.
  3. ^ Shaw, Stanford J.; Shaw, Ezel Kural (1977). History of the Ottoman Empire and Modern Turkey. Vol. 2: Reform, Revolution and Republic—The Rise of Modern Turkey, 1808–1975. Cambridge University Press. p. 148.
  4. ^ Rama, Shinasi (2019). Nation Failure, Ethnic Elites, and Balance of Power: The International Administration of Kosova. Springer. p. 72. ISBN 978-3030051921. Retrieved March 27, 2020.
  5. ^ 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

  • Arsić, M. (2000). "Crkvene matične knjige u propisima Kneževine Srbije". Arhivski pregled (1.4): 52–55.
  • Divac, Zorica (2006). "Family and marital affairs in 19th century Serbia". Glasnik Etnografskog instituta SANU. 54: 219–232.
  • Kandić, Ljubica (1961). Делатност скупштина за време прве владе Милоша Обреновића. Анали Правног факултета у Београду (in Serbian). 1.
  • Katić, Bojana Miljković (2013). Сеоско професионално занатство Кнежевине Србије (1834–1866). Историјски часопис (in Serbian). 62: 309–329.
  • Katić, Bojana Miljković (2014). Пољопривреда Кнежевине Србије: (1834-1867) [Agriculture of the Principality of Serbia (1834–1867)] (in Serbian). Vol. 65. Istorijski institut.
  • Leovac, Danko Lj. (2014). Србија и Русија за време друге владавине кнеза Михаила: (1860–1868) (Thesis). University of Belgrade, Faculty of Philosophy.
  • Ljušić, Radoš (1986). Кнежевина Србија (1830–1839). Srpska akademija nauka i umetnosti. ISBN 9788670250253.
  • MacKenzie, David (2004). "Jovan Ristić at the Berlin Congress 1878". Serbian Studies: Journal of the North American Society for Serbian Studies. 18 (2): 321–339.
  • Marinković, Mirjana; Terzić, Slavenko (1999). Турска Канцеларија Кнеза Милоша Обреновића, 1815–1839 (in Serbian). Historical Institute of the Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts.
  • Meriage, Lawrence P. (1978). "The First Serbian Uprising (1804–1813) and the Nineteenth-Century Origins of the Eastern Question" (PDF). Slavic Review. 37 (3): 421–439. doi:10.2307/2497684. JSTOR 2497684. S2CID 222355180.
  • Mrđenović, Dušan, ed. (1988). Устави и владе Кнежевине Србије. Устави и владе Кнежевине Србије, Краљевине Србије, Краљевине СХС и Краљевине Југославије (1835–1941) (in Serbian). Belgrade: Nova knj.
  • Nedeljko, V. (2016). "Autonomy of the Orthodox Church in the Principality of Serbia and the arondation of the episcopacies (1831-1836)". Istraživanja: Journal of Historical Researches. 25: 233–248.
  • Nikolić, Dragan K. (1988). Izvori i priroda krivičnog prava Kneževine Srbije u vreme pripreme krivičnog zakona (in Serbian).
  • Popović, Radomir J. (2013). Пројект Устава Србије Матије Бана из 1846. године. Мешовита грађа (in Serbian). 34: 149–171.
  • Radosavljević, Nedeljko V. (2010). "The Serbian Revolution and the Creation of the Modern State: The Beginning of Geopolitical Changes in the Balkan Peninsula in the 19th Century". Empires and Peninsulas: Southeastern Europe between Karlowitz and the Peace of Adrianople, 1699–1829. Berlin: LIT. pp. 171–178. ISBN 9783643106117.
  • Rajić, Suzana (2010). "Serbia – the Revival of the Nation-state, 1804–1829: From Turkish Provinces to Autonomous Principality". Empires and Peninsulas: Southeastern Europe between Karlowitz and the Peace of Adrianople, 1699–1829. Berlin: LIT. pp. 143–148. ISBN 9783643106117.
  • Rastović, Aleksandar (2020). "The Army of the Principality of Serbia". In Vučetić, Biljana (ed.). War, Peace and Nation building (1853 to 1918). Institute of History. ISBN 978-86-7743-140-2.
  • Ristić, Jovan (1898). Diplomatska istorija Srbije za vreme srpskih ratova za oslobođenje i nezavisnost: Drugi rat 1875–1878 [Diplomatic history of Serbia during the Serbian wars of liberation and independence: The Second War 1875–1878]. Slovo ljubve.
  • Samardžić, Radovan (1982). Greek–Serbian Cooperation, 1830–1908: Collection of Reports from the Second Greek–Serbian Symposium, 1980. Serbian Academy of Science and Arts, Institute for Balkan Studies.
  • Шешум, Урош. "Периодизација нововековне прошлости становништва Београдског пашалука и кнежевине Србије 1815-1839." Београдски историјски гласник 16 (2025): 97-118.
  • Stranjaković, Dragoslav (1936). Politička propaganda Srbije u jugoslovenskim pokrajinama: 1844–1858 godine (in Serbian). Štamparija Drag. Gregorića.
  • Stranjaković, Dragoslav (1931). Jugoslovenski nacionalni i državni program Kneževine Srbije iz 1844 god (in Serbian). Srpska manastirska štamparija.
  • Stranjaković, Dragoslav (1932). Srbija pijemont južnih slovena, 1842–1853. Narodna štamparija.
  • Terzić, Slavenko; Gavrilović, Slavko (1992). Srbija i Grčka: (1856-1903): borba za Balkan (in Croatian). Istorijski institut. ISBN 9788677430030.

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

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