Timeline of Serbian history

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**History of the Serbs**
Eurasia 50 A.D.	•2nd century A.D.- The famous scientist Ptolemy in his Geography associates the Serbs with the Sarmatian tribes of the North Caucasus and Lower Volga, just as his predecessors had.But this claim is probably false.New exploration including genetic show that Serbian tribes came from Baltic area,mixing with Celtic and Illyrians tribes.
Carpathians 375 A.D.	• The Huns and Alans trigger a Serbian (and other Slavic tribe) migration toward Central Europe and South Europe. • Roman Emperor Licinius refers to the Carpathians as "Montes Serrorum".
Byzantine Empire 630-680	• Serbs defeat Avars under the Unknown Archont. The Eastern Roman Emperor Heraclius invites Serbs to settle in the provinces of Salonica and Dalmatia. The Unknown Archont's descendants (House of Višeslavić-Vlastimirović, House of Vojislavljević) will rule Serb states for the entire early medieval period (until 1166), mainly under Byzantine supremacy • 680 - The Serbian leader, the Unknown Archont, dies. The Serbs acknowledge the supremacy of Byzantium and, at times, Bulgaria. The first Serb states emerge: Raška, Duklja, Bosnia, Pagania, Travunia and Zahumlje. A policy of Christianization begins. • 680 - Byzantine sources mention the Serbian settlement of Gordoservon ("City of the Serbs") in Asia Minor.
Serb lands in the 9th century	• Prince Višeslav unites various Serbian principalities into a single state called Raška. His descendants will rule the state for the next 350 years (until 1165), sometimes independently, mostly depending on the Byzantine Empire • 822 - Ljudevit Posavski, Prince of Pannonian Croats, becomes a Prince of Serbs in Pagania's city of Srb, as Franks approach the Serbian lands. This Serbo-Croatian defence union expires in 823. • 825 In Raška, the House of Višeslavić-Vlastimirović strengthens the state against its immediate neighbours, the Frankish Empire, First Bulgarian Empire and Byzantine Empire. Vlastimir of Serbia repels Bulgarian attacks led by Khan Boris. • Missionaries and Sts. Cyrill and Methodius fully convert Serbs to Christianity • Magyars settle in Slavic Pannonia, effectively splitting South Slavs from the West Slavs. Occasional clashes with Byzantine, Bulgarian and Serb forces over Raška's soil
Raška realm 924-950	• The First Bulgarian Empire temporarily annexes Raška (924-927) • Prince Časlav Klonimirović-Vlastimirović liberates Raška from the Bulgarians in 927 A.D., uniting all Serb principalities into a single Serbian state. He dies in a clash with Magyars, and his realm disintegrates in defensive wars against Croatia, Byzantines, Bulgaria, and the Kingdom of Hungary. • De Administrando Imperio is written by the Byzantine emperor Constantine VII, describing the Serbian lands which are bounded by the Cetina river in the west (today's central Dalmatia).
Serb lands 950-1040	• Byzantine rule is imposed upon Raška; Serbia becomes a thema (region) directly subjugated to Constantinople. Constantine Diogenes -(a Greek)- is mentioned as the strategos of Serbia. Rise of the Vojislavljević dynasty in Duklja. • The East-West Schism splits Christianity in 1054. Most Serbs opt for the Orthodox Christianity due to Byzantine pressure, but many in the coastal lands embrace Catholicism, influenced by Venice. The Archbishopric of Bar is established by the Vatican in 1089
First Kingdom of Duklja 1034-1113	• 1034 - The Vojislavljević dynasty claims the Serbian throne of Duklja as a legal heir of the Vlastimirović dynasty. Under Stefan Vojislav, Duklja becomes independent as the First Serbian Realm, becoming a new core of the Serbian world. • 1077 - Mihailo I Vojislav assumes the title of the King of Duklja in Ston, becoming the first internationally recognized Serbian king. His title was Ruler of Tribals and Serbs, ruling most of today's Montenegro and Dalmatia. His son Konstantin Bodin asserts the throne of Second Bulgarian Empire and annexes large parts of this country to Serbian realm • King Konstantin Bodin unites large parts of Rascia, Bosnia and Travunia with the Duklja, defending it successfully from the Normans, Albanians, Byzantines and numerous Serb noblemen. • 1101 - Raymond IV of Toulouse, leader of the Crusaders, meets with King Bodin in the city of Skadar. The Uroševićs will rule most of the aforementioned territories for decades to come. However, tensions will rise among the noble families of Raška, Duklja, and its dominions, leading to the disintegration of the Realm in the mid-12th century and a Byzantine intrusion. • 1113 - King Konstantin Bodin's relative, Stefan Nemanja Vojislavljević, is born in Ribnica, Duklja, in a Catholic Serb royal family. Exiled by his fathers opponents, he settles in Ras in Raška and converts to Orthodox Christianity. He is the founder of the most powerful royal house of Medieval Serbia, the Nemanjić dynasty. The dynasty will have a decisive role in establishing the national identity of the Serbs (Orthodoxy, Empire, art, culture)
Raška realm 1166-1190	• Following the power vacuum in the Realm and Byzantium, Stefan Nemanja asserts himself as the Grand Prince of Serbs, following the clash with his brothers in Duklja, Raška, Zahumlje and Travunia. Related by blood with the Vojislavljević, the dynasty considers itself a legal heir of their lands. This time is known as the Golden Era of Serbia. • 1176 - the Grand Prince Stefan Nemanja sides with Venice, Duchy of Austria and Principality of Hungary, undermining Byzantine authority in the Adriatic sea. • 1185 - Stefan Nemanja repels the Byzantine forces, proclaiming the independence of Raška, which triggers an anti-Byzantine revolt in Bulgaria and Wallacia. • 1189 - Holy Roman Emperor Friedrich Barbarossa and his 100,000 men army are hosted by the Grand Prince Stefan Nemanja in Niš, during the Third Crusade. Their alliance would give the Serbian Grand Prince enough time to take Kosovo and Northern Macedonia from the Greeks. • 3 structures which would later become UNESCO World Heritage Sites are built during the reign of Stefan Nemanja, such as Đurđevi Stupovi, Studenica and Our Lady of Ljeviš. Miroslav's Gospel, the oldest surviving document written in the Serbian language, is written, alongside the disputed Chronicle of the Priest of Duklja.
2nd Kingdom of Raška 1217	• Stefan the First-Crowned is crowned the King of the Serbs by Pope Honorius III, establishing the Second Serbian Realm. The full title of his dominions was King of the land of Rascia, Dioclea, Travunia, Dalmatia and Zachlumia. Catholicism expands within the Realm. • King Stefan the First-Crowned's brother, Prince Rastko Nemanjić (Saint Sava), establishes an autocephalous Serbian Orthodox Church with the support of the Patriarch of Constantinople, putting an end to religious divisions among Serbs. Kosovo becomes the spiritual, cultural and political core of the Serbian realm. Stefan Nemanja becomes another patron saint of the SOC, known as Saint Simeon.
3rd Kingdom of Syrmia 1284-1316	•King Stefan Dragutin of Syrmia, first Serbian monarch to control Belgrade, receives the city as a gift from the Kingdom of Hungary, making it the capital of his Kingdom of Syrmia. (Belgrade was returned to Hungarian control following his death, as Serbia continued spreading to the south.) • 1316 - The Kingdom of Syrmia is annexed by the Serbian Kingdom following the death of King Stefan Dragutin of Syrmia. Belgrade is returned to the control of the Kingdom of Hungary. Clashes with the Kingdom of Hungary over northern Serbia results in the division of the former Kingdom of Syrmia, with the Kingdom of Hungary gaining all territories north of Sava and Danube and a region of Belgrade.
1st Serbian Empire 1346-71	• King Stefan Dušan assumes power, following his triumph over Bulgarian Emperor Michael Assen III in Battle of Velbužd. The Serbian Kingdom (Second Serbian Realm) annexes western parts of the Second Bulgarian Empire. • 1342 - King Stefan Dušan conquers most of European Byzantium, launching his first Siege of Constantinople. The Second Serbian Realm becomes the largest state in Southern/Eastern Europe. • Stefan Dušan crowns himself the Emperor of Serbs and Greeks in Skopje. The Serbian Empire portrays itself as the heir of the crumbling Byzantine Empire. The Serbian Orthodox Church becomes the Serbo-Greek Imperial Patriarchate, its spiritual capital being in Kosovo (Patriarchate of Peć). • 1355 - Czar Stefan Dušan The Great dies of poisoning, following clashes with Hungarians and invading Turks. Stefan Uroš V of Serbia assumes the throne of Serbian Empire, triggering dynastic clashes among Serbian nobility. Simeon Uroš declares himself the Emperor in Thessaly, Balšići took over Montenegro, Mrnjavčevići - Macedonia, Lazarevići - Moravian Serbia, Brankovići - Kosovo, etc. • 1371 - Ottoman Turks break into Europe (Serbian domain of Macedonia), clashing with the Christian league led by Vukašin Mrnjavčević in the Battle of Marica, in the region of Thrace. This is a decisive Ottoman victory. • The Serbian Empire dissolves into numerous independent Serbian duchies following the death of the last Nemanjić, Emperor Stefan Uroš V of Serbia.
4th Kingdom of Bosnia 1377	• Stefan Tvrtko I of Bosnia declares himself King of Serbs, Bosnia and the Seaside and the Western Lands in Monastery of Mileševa in Serbia, as a legal successor of the Nemanjić dynasty (closest surviving relative of the dynasty). This title was supported by the most influential Serbian noblemen, Prince Lazar Hrebeljanović of Rascia and Vuk Branković of Kosovo, as well as the Kingdom of Hungary and the Republic of Venice • 1382 - Stefan Tvrtko I of Bosnia establishes the Adriatic port of Herceg Novi (Castelnuovo), as a counterbalance to the city states of Kotor, Dubrovnik and Venice. Soon after his title was expanded to King of Rascia, Bosnia, Dalmatia, Croatia and the Seaside
Kosovo field 1389	• According to the myth, Miloš Obilić established the Order of the Dragon of St George, an alliance of Serb aristocracy against the Ottoman invadors. Out of 12 knights, only 1 survives the battle, passing his credentials to Stefan Lazarević and various European draconists (knights of Austria, Naples, Kingdom of Hungary, Spain, etc) • 1386 - The Serbian army led by Prince Lazar defeated the Ottomans in the Battle of Plocnik. • 1388 - The Serbian army defeated the Ottomans in the Battle of Bileca. From this, the Ottomans learned how to fight against heavy cavalry. This became valuable experience for the next battle, the Battle of Kosovo. • A 40,000 strong Serbian army led by Prince Lazar Hrebeljanović of Rascia, Vlatko Vuković of Bosnia, Miloš Obilić and most other prominent nobles faced the better equipped and trained Ottoman army in Battle of Kosovo. Casualties on both sides were extremely high - both leaders died in the battle (Serbian Lazar Hrebeljanović and Ottoman sultan Murad I), and most of the Serbian aristocracy became extinct. Most of the Empire was now in Ottoman hands, save for the Serbian Despotate, Montenegro and Bosnia, which soon followed.
Montenegro 1360-1500	• The dynasties of the Balšić and the Crnojević rule Zeta (since then also known as Montenegro). Gradually most of this principality falls into Ottoman and Venetian hands, although never entirely. The House of Petrović-Njegoš assumes the throne in 1679, ruling the state up to 1918
4th Kingdom of Bosnia 1391-1482	• Following King Tvrtko's death in 1391, the Bosnian Kingdom begins to fade, but still manages to preserve its crown until the Ottoman conquest in 1463, when the last medieval Serbian King Stefan Tomašević was executed by the Ottomans in a field not far from Ključ. Herzog (duke) of Saint Sava, Stefan Vukčić Kosača, succumbs to the Ottomans in 1482, completing the conquest of Serbian lands.
Serbian Despotate 1404-1459	• Belgrade becomes the capital of the Serbian Despotate, following the migrations toward the Christian North. Despot Stefan Lazarević, son of the most prominent hero of the Kosovo battle, Prince Lazar, repopulates his Despotate with Serbian refugees and rebuilds Belgrade, making it the most influential remaining stronghold of Orthodox Christianity in Europe. • 1429 - Belgrade is returned to the control of the Kingdom of Hungary following the death of Despot Stefan Lazarević. Đurađ Branković moves his capital to Smederevo. • By 1459, Ottomans destroy the Despotate by taking over the capital city. Bosnian-Serb King Stefan Tomašević losses his Bosnian Kingdom following the conquest of his primary lands, Serbia and Bosnia. • 1456 - The Byzantine Empire collapses. • 1456 - The Siege of Belgrade, one of the greatest crusade wars of medieval times, takes place in Belgrade as Sultan Mehmed II besieges the city with 150,000 soldiers and over 100 ships [1]. Joint Hungarian and Serbian troops, aided by other Christian nations, repel the Ottoman forces. Pope Calixtus III praises Belgrade and its defender John Hunyadi as the Saviors of Christianity. Catholic Belgrade is now the only bastion of Christianity in the Balkans. Massive reconstruction of the city is under way.
2nd Serbian Empire/Belgrade 1521-27	• Belgrade succumbs to the Ottomans following the Second Siege of Belgrade, but retains its cosmopolitanism, continuing its growth as the northernmost point of Ottoman Empire in the Balkans. Kingdom of Hungary collapses due to the Ottoman onslaught. Vienna is besieged, but repels the attackers. • The short-lasting Serbian Empire of Jovan Nenad (2nd Serbian Empire) is proclaimed in Subotica. Emperor Jovan Nenad also claims the throne of the collapsing Kingdom of Hungary, however he is killed following a conspiracy among Hungarian noblemen. The Empire collapses.
Adriatic Sea 1537-73	• 1537 - Clissa succumbs to the Ottomans, enabling Senj to become a Serbian Uskok (pirate) stronghold in the Adriatic Sea. • 1567 - The Republic of Venice and the Ottoman Empire clash over Uskoks and their allegiance. The Kingdom of Spain, the Habsburg Empire and thePapal States join the war in support of the Venetians and Uskoks, ultimately defeating the Turks. The Uskoks mostly owe alligeance to the Habsburgs, and at times to Venice under leaders such as Stojan Janković, a high-ranking Venetian military officer.
Ottoman Serbia 1594-1688	• The Banat Uprising against Ottoman rule erupts among Serbs in Vršac led by Teodor Nestorović, the bishop of Vršac. The revolt is brutally suppressed by the Ottoman authorities after almost one year of unrest. 350 year-old holy relics of Saint Sava are publicly burned down in Belgrade, spreading fear among the majority Christians. This is the largest Serb anti-Ottoman uprising to that date (prior to First Serbian Uprising). • Belgrade is the largest city of Southeastern Europe. Numbering well over 100,000 people, the city flourishes as the centre of trade and culture. New settlers, mainly Armenians, Greeks, Ragusans, and Italians move into the city, known as th Gate of the East and West.
Dalmatia, Venice, Madrid 1615-1617	• The Uskok War erupts between the Republic of Venice and the Habsburg Empire over the Venetian supremacy on the Adriatic sea. Uskoks were the main source of jeopardy for this Republic's trade. Peace in Madrid in 1617 put and end to Serbian Uskoks' activity in Venetian territories.
Habsburg Serbia 1688-1691	• The Austro-Ottoman War ravages Belgrade. After the incorporation of Hungary and Vojvodina, the Habsburg Empire annexes Serbia, expelling its non-Christian overlords. By 1691, however, Ottomans retake Belgrade, forcing Serbs and other Christians into exile. Leopold I, Holy Roman Emperor invites Serbs to settle in the Habsburg Empire, triggering the First Great Serbian Exodus across the Danube and Sava rivers, leaving the southern regions and Belgrade itself underpopulated.
Habsburg Vojvodina 1699	• Members of the Holy League - the Habsburg Monarchy, the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, the Republic of Venice and the Russian Empire - conclude a peace treaty with the Ottoman Empire, by which the territories of modern Vojvodina and Slavonia are passed to Habsburg Empire in the Treaty of Karlovci. Following the Congress, Sremski Karlovci and Novi Sad become major hubs of Serbian culture in the Habsburg Empire. Serbs enter the Enlightment period alongside other Western nations, leaving behind the previous Ottoman-imposed values.
Habsburg Serbia 1718-1739	• The Treaty of Passarowitz once again cedes Serbia to the Habsburg Empire. • Belgrade undergoes a Catholic-like transformation, having its ancient walls and city gates refortified and rebuilt. The Ottomans, however, advance toward the north in 1739, triggering the Second Great Serbian Exodus into the Habsburg Empire and Imperial Russia. Belgrade is leveled to the ground by the Ottomans. As Habsburg Serbia capitulates, a dark era for the remaining Serbs begins.
Habsburg Empire 1748	• Holy Roman Empress Maria Theresa gives royal city rights to Novi Sad, the biggest Serbian settlement in this Empire, following the capitulation of Habsburg Serbia. The city becomes known as Serbian Athens, a place of Serbian national revival. Most of Serbian culture, including its patriarchy (Metropolitanate of Karlovci), is now "in exile" across the Danube and Sava rivers, overlooking Ottoman Serbia to the south. More Serbian cities are granted a Free Royal Status in years to come, chiefly by Maria Theresa of Austria: Sombor, Bečkerek, Subotica (Maria-Theresiopolis), etc
Russian Empire 1755	• Serbs permanently settle in the Russian Empire, fleeing from Ottoman onslaughts in the Balkans. The Czar gives them territories of Nova Serbia and Slavo-Serbia. Today these Serbs are mostly assimilated into Ukrainians, although their traces still reflect in toponyms such as the city of Slovianoserbsk and the district of Slovianoserbsk in south-eastern Ukraine.
Ottoman Serbia 1739-1804	• The Ottoman Empire rules Serbia. The country depopulates due to constant migrations into Serb-populated Habsburg lands, especially the majority-Serb Military Frontier, but also Dalmatia and the Kingdom of Hungary. • 1766 - Turks abolish the Serbian Orthodox Church, subjugating it to Constantinople. Two Serbian patriarchs have found refuge in the Habsburg Empire during the preceding migrations. Southern Serbia slowly becomes Muslim in character, following the colonization of Muslim Albanians and Turkish peoples. • 1778 - The first Serbian Faculty is established in Sombor, Habsburg Empire, under the name Teacher's College. It is the oldest higher-education facility in the region.
Revolutionary Serbia 1804-13	• The massacre of Serbian knights near Valjevo triggers a national revolution known as the First Serbian Uprising. Led by Karađorđe, Serbs liberate most of Serbia proper in a matter of months. • Belgrade is retaken from the Ottomans and proclaimed the capital of the independent Principality of Serbia. The government (Praviteljstvujušći Sovjet) is formed, prince (Karađorđe) inaugurated, and the first Serbian University (University of Belgrade) is formed as of 1808. • 1808 - The country's Narodni Zbor (Revolutionary Parliament) adopts the first constitutional act in this part of Europe, defining Serbia as a constitutional monarchy under Karađorđe's supreme rule.
Dalmatia, Montenegro 1804	• Napoleon annexes the Bay of Kotor to the First French Empire as a part of the Illyrian provinces. The Venetian Republic collapses after almost 1000 years of existence. • Serbian Prince Karađorđe seeks aid from Napoleon as the national revolution spreads. Napoleon rejects the idea, fearing the riots among Dalmatians Serbs. Instead he attacks Imperial Russia.
Revolutionary Serbia 1809-13	• The revolutionary Serbian army suffers their greatest defeat in the Battle of Čegar. In a clash with Ottoman forces, 15,000 die, led by a talented officer Stevan Sinđelić, who himself died in this battle. Serbia has expelled the Turks but weakened significantly. Skull Tower is built by the Ottomans out of 1,000 Serbian skulls in vicinity of today's Niš as a horrible reminder of this event. • 1813 - The Revolutionary Serbia is crushed, facing the Ottomans as they invade the country with 200,000 soldiers. The lack of support from Napoleon and Imperial Russia, who were at war at the time, has also contributed to Serbian defeat. Wide spread revenge attacks upon civilians, nobles and intelligence trigger a second insurrection.
Revolutionary Serbia 1814-15	• The Second Serbian Uprising is launched in Takovo by the elite gathered around Miloš Obrenović, following wide-spread revenge attacks upon Serbian civilians. • Victorious in the battles of Ljubic and Dubalj, the Serbian revolutionary army expels the Ottomans from Serbia. • 1816 - The Ottoman governor, Marashli Ali Pasha, approves partial autonomy for the rebel province, pressured by Imperial Russia and the Habsburg Empire, the supervisors and protectors of the Serbian people in the Sultanate. • A second round of negotiations between Belgrade and Istanbul begins, resulting in raising Serbia's autonomy to the level of an autonomous principality. The country pays taxes to the Porte, but remains independent in all other fields such as foreign relations, government, militia, and education.
Principality of Serbia 1817-1867	• The Principality of Serbia is a semi-independent state within the Ottoman Empire, governed by its own royal dynasty Obrenović, a Parliament, and a Constitution (1835).
Habsburg Empire 1848-60	• 1848 - The Spring of Nations erupts in Europe. The Serbs of Habsburg Empire demand self-rule according to the 1691 charter of Leopold I, Emperor of Austria. The Serbs proclaimed the creation of autonomous Serbian Vojvodina in Sremski Karlovci, as the Serb army in the Habsburg Monarchy clashes with the Hungarians. • The new Austrian crownland, the Voivodship of Serbia and Tamiš Banat, is introduced following the military defeat of the Hungarians in Vojvodina, granting Serbs and Danube Swabians greater powers in the region. • In the Adriatic sea, the Serb National Guard of Kotor rejects the unification of the Bay of Kotor with Dalmatia, stating that Serbs have to be unified first before uniting with Croats. • 1850 - In Vienna, Serbian and Croatian linguists agree to create a unified literary language based on the Shtokavian dialect. It becomes known as Serbo-Croatian for the next 150 years. The aim is to establish closer cultural ties between the two closest nations and boost local Serbian support for the Croatian cause. Croats accept Serbian grammar based on Vuk Stefanović Karadžić's reform. • 1860 - Franz Joseph of Austria abolishes the Serbian crownland of Voivodship of Serbia and Tamiš Banat, igniting a revolt among Serbs, without any success.
Austria-Hungary, Principality of Serbia 1867-73	• 1867 - The Habsburg Empire is replaced by the Dual monarchy of Austria-Hungary. Serbian lands are split between the two. • 1869 - Subotica, one of the biggest Serbian settlements, is connected to the West by railway. • 1873 - Banat Krajina is abolished and included into Transleithania, despite the wishes of the majority Serbs and Germans. This is the first step towards the destruction of the Serb-populated Military Frontier inherited from the Habsburg Empire. By 1883 the Military Frontier is entirely abolished and incorporated into the Kingdom of Hungary and the Kingdom of Croatia-Slavonia, save for the Bay of Kotor (Austria). • 1867 - Southwards, in the Principality of Serbia, Serbs rebel against Ottoman authorities following the bombardment of Belgrade. Great Britain and France urge the Ottomans to withdraw their troops from Serbia. The Principality of Serbia is now de facto independent, 50 years after the Second Serbian Uprising.
Balkans 1875-1878	• 1877 - The Russo-Turkish War begins. Majority people, Bosnian Serbs, launch an uprising against the Ottomans in Nevesinje, declaring their unification with the Principality of Serbia. Nikola Pašić and Nicholas I of Montenegro proclaim the formal independence of Serbia and Montenegro. The Ottoman Empire declares war on Serbia and Montenegro. • 1878 - Christian troops besiege Istanbul. Western interference stops the collapse of Ottoman Turkey by acknowledging de jure independence of Montenegro, Serbia and Romania with the Treaty of Berlin, all of which have already been sovereign for some time prior to the Congress. • Austria-Hungary occupies Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Raška region, preventing the Serbian unification. The Bosnian-Serb Uprising is crushed by Austria-Hungary, resulting in a severe discontent among Serbs.
1882 - 1903	• 1882 - The Kingdom of Serbia (5th Serbian Realm) is proclaimed under austrophile King Milan Obrenović, following a corruption scandal he was involved in. • 1885 - The Serbo-Bulgarian War results in the country's humiliation following the Unification of Bulgaria, increasing hostility toward the House of Obrenović. • 1889 - King Milan Obrenović abdicates the throne in favour of his minor age son Aleksandar Obrenović. Austrophile policy continues. • 1893 - Aleksandar Obrenović assumes power following a coup d'état. • 1903 - The May Coup d'Etat results in the savage execution of the royal couple King Aleksandar Obrenović and Queen Draga Mašin by Black Hand activists. • The House of Karađorđević under Peter I assumes power, claiming descent all the way to the first rulers of Serbia, the Nemanjić pedigree.
Balkans 1906-1910	• 1906 - The Pig War between Austria-Hungary and the Kingdom of Serbia begins. Austria imposes an economic blockade on Serbia following Serbia's decision to improve cooperation with France, Britain, and Bulgaria. Serbia eventually triumphs with the aid of Western allies. • 1908 - At the peak of the economic blockade, Austria-Hungary annexes Bosnia and Herzegovina, triggering the Bosnian crisis in Europe. • Serbia and Montenegro mobilize their armies in support to Bosnian Serbs, claiming support from Imperial Russia. Russia, however, drops their support of the Serbs, forcing Serbia and Montenegro to demobilize their armies. • 1908 - The Young Turk Revolution starts within the Ottoman Empire. As Bulgaria proclaims independence, Serbia starts looking toward Kosovo and Macedonia in the south, having to accept the Bosnian occupation. • 1910 - The Kingdom of Montenegro is proclaimed in Cetinje under King Nicholas I of Montenegro. His long-term programme is the restoration of the Serbian Empire with himself as an Emperor. Two rival Serbian dynasties now fight for supremacy among Serbs.
Balkans 1912-13	• 1912 - The Balkan Wars begin, as Montenegro and Serbia declare war on the Ottoman Empire, followed by Bulgaria and Greece. The Balkan League besieges Constantinople. • Serbia and Montenegro divide the Raška region, Albania and Kosovo, while Serbia also takes the offensive on Macedonia in the Battle of Kumanovo and the Battle of Bitola. The Ottoman Empire capitulates. • 1912 - Albania proclaims independence from the Ottoman Empire, and are approved in the Treaty of London, forcing Serbo-Montenegrin troops to withdraw from the country. • The Bulgarian army attacks the Serbian Army and Greek Army over Macedonia. In the course of a few months, the Bulgarian invasion is repelled by Serbia, Romania, Greece and even the Ottoman Empire. • The Kingdom of Serbia has doubled its territory, but lost outlets to the Adriatic Sea and Aegean Sea due to Austrian intervention. It numbers ca. 4,5 million people.
Austrian Bosnia July 1914	June 28, 1914 - The Assassination in Sarajevo of Archduke Franz Ferdinand sparks a major European crisis. The July Ultimatum is delivered to Serbian authorities, demanding that Austro-Hungarian troops march into Serbia. The Kingdom of Serbia rejects the proposal, supported by Imperial Russia, France and Great Britain. Austria-Hungary and the German Empire declare war on the Kingdom of Serbia, triggering the outbreak of World War I
Kingdom of Serbia August 1914	• 1914 - The Battle of Cer marks the First Allied Victory in the War, as the Serbian First Army under field marshal Stepa Stepanović pushes the Austro-Hungarian Army across the Drina and Sava rivers, expelling them from the Kingdom of Serbia. Serbia suffers 16,000 casualties, compared to 30,000 Austro-Hungarian casualties in this part of the Serbian Campaign. • Three months later, Austria-Hungary launches the 2nd invasion on the Kingdom of Serbia. Belgrade falls from 110,000 to 20,000 following the bombing from the Sava and Danube rivers. The Battle of Kolubara begins, resulting in second decisive victory of the Serbian First Army and retreat of Austria-Hungary across the rivers a month later. Field marshals Radomir Putnik and Živojin Mišić's strategy has been hailed throughout the country. Serbia is free for almost a year, but at a terrible cost; it lost approximately 170,000 men, almost a half of its entire army.
Occupied Serbia Oct 1915	• 1915 - A typhus epidemic begins. 150,000 people die in Serbia\| this year alone. The country's population has already dropped by 10% since the beginning of the war • The 3rd invasion of Serbia begins in October. Austria-Hungary conquers Belgrade, marching toward the south. Bulgaria invades Serbia, cutting its supply route from Greece. The Serbian First Army is forced to retreat across Albania and Kosovo. The Kingdom of Serbia capitulates following the Austro-Hungarian and Bulgarian occupations, as the Serbian Royal Army enters the Kingdom of Montenegro. • The Yugoslav Committee, founded by the Austro-Hungarian Serbs and Croats in exile, is proclaimed in London. Its primary goal is the liberation of the South Slavic lands from Austro-Hungary, with the intention of joining the Kingdom of Serbia. • The secret London Pact (pictured) offers, among many other European territories, western Dalmatia to the Kingdom of Italy, and the eastern parts to the Kingdom of Serbia, that would also be combined with Bosnia and Herzegovina, most of Slavonia, and a large part of Vojvodina and northern Albania.
Greece 1916-1918	• The entire Serbian First Army withdraws through the Alpine peaks of Kosovo, Montenegro and Albania, towards allied Greece. Overwhelmed by the harsh Alpine climate, food and water shortages, and clashes with Albanian tribes, another 150,000 soldiers perish during this action. Only 100,000 reach Corfu, an island in Greece. This action is now known as the Serbian Golgotha, and the island of Vido near Corfu and its waters as the Blue graveyard. Another typhus epidemic cripples the Serbian population. • Several thousand Serbian soldiers are sent to North Africa. Many of them are buried in Bizerta, Tunisia. • The Yugoslav Committee, made up of exiled Austro-Hungarian Serbs, Croats and Slovenes, signs the Corfu Declaration with the representatives of the Kingdom of Serbia, enabling the creation of the joint state of all Serbs, Croats and Slovenes. • The Army of the Orient, consisting of Serbian, British, French and Greek forces, created to defeat Bulgaria, starts its operations outside Greece. In only a month and a half, Serbian First Army re-enters Serbia and defeats Austria-Hungary and Bulgaria.
Central Europe Oct 1918	• Austria-Hungary capitulates, disintegrating into several statelets, the largest one being the State of Slovenes, Croats and Serbs governed from Zagreb • Joint Serbian, British and French forces expel Bulgaria from the pre-war Serbian territories (including Kosovo and Macedonia). Bulgaria capitulates. • 1918 - World War I comes to an end, following decisive Entente Powers victory. Contribution to the Entente had large consequences: the Kingdom of Serbia has lost 28% of its entire prewar population, falling from 4,5 down to 3,2 million people. • Syrmia breaks off from State of Slovenes, Croats and Serbs and joins the Kingdom of Serbia. • Vojvodina (Banat, Bačka and Baranja) joins the Kingdom of Serbia by the decision of the Serb National Board in Novi Sad. • The Kingdom of Montenegro overthrows its dynasty of the Petrović and accepts the supremacy of the House of Karađorđević.
First Yugoslavia November 1918	• The State of Slovenes, Croats and Serbs joins the Kingdom of Serbia, fearing the possible Italian invasion. The newly created South Slavic state is considered a legal successor of the Kingdom of Serbia and is openly labelled as hostile by the Kingdom of Italy, which was hoping to annex the rest of Istria, Dalmatia and Montenegro • The Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes, {First Yugoslavia), is proclaimed in Belgrade under Regent Alexander I. Belgrade unites with Zemun and Pančevo (formerly Serb-populated cities under the Habsburg Monarchy).
Montenegro January 1919	• The Christmas Uprising erupts in Montenegro as supporters of the House of Petrović, allegedly aided by the Kingdom of Italy, oppose to acknowledge the Karađorđević dynasty and the decision of the Grand National Assembly. Guerilla clashes would continue for another 6 years and result in the defeat of the separatists.
Rijeka September 1919	• Italian poet and fascist Gabriele D'Annunzio enters the Free State of Rijeka, bringing the two neighbours to the verge of war. • 1920 - The Treaty of Rapallo recognizes the state's independence. • 1921 - The Kingdom of Italy invades Rijeka and annexes it, despite Belgrade's objections.
Belgrade 1920-31	• The Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes joins Little Entente, alongside Kingdom of Romania and Czechoslovakia, as a defensive alliance against Hungarian territory claims. The union collapses as the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes refuses to invade the Bolshevik state of the Hungarian Soviet Republic alongside Romania and Czechoslovakia. • The St. Vitus Day Constitution is adopted in the National Parliament by the minimal majority principle (ethnic voting). Serbs and Muslims - Albanians, Turks, Bosnian Muslims - vote in favour, while most Croats, Slovenes, Germans and Hungarians rejected the act. The unitary monarchy has led to discontent among Croat and Slovene bourgoisie and constant struggle for power with Belgrade's elite. • 1924 - the Balkan Entente is formed by the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes, the Kingdom of Romania, Greece and Turkey, as a counterbalance to the revisionists (chiefly Italy and Hungary). It also served as a buffer-zone with the Soviet Union • 1929 - The 6th of January Dictatorship is introduced by King Alexander of Yugoslavia, following the assassination of the Croatian Peasant Party leader and the most important Croatian politician at the time, Stjepan Radić, by a Montenegrin Serb member of the Serbian People's Radical Party, Puniša Račić. The Constitution is suspended and the Parliament dissolved as the King starts his 2-year dictatorship, aimed at restoring order in the ethnically divided Kingdom. The state is renamed as the Kingdom of Yugoslavia, and its internal borders are reintroduced through 9 banovinas. • 1931 - The new Constitution of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia is introduced by King Alexander, putting an end to his 2-year long dictatorship. The Croatian question again becomes activate again, as many start demanding federalization of the unitary monarchy. Many Croatian politicians end up in prison, including Vlatko Maček, leader of the CPP, under the pretext that they dismiss the Constitution. • In response to the dictatorship, the Ustaše terrorist movement is formed in Italy and declares as its goal a Croatia free from Serbian hegemony and oppression.
Marseille 1934	• King Alexander I of Yugoslavia is shot dead by the Bulgarian and Croatian fascists, Vlado Chernosemski and the Ustaše. Prince Paul temporarily seizes the throne. Alexander's son Peter II was a minor at the time.
Zagreb 1939	• Former political prisoner Vlatko Maček is appointed vice premier of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia, following an appeasement policy of the Royal Court towards Croats. An autonomous Banovina of Croatia is carved out of large parts of Croatia, as well as parts of Bosnia and Vojvodina. As Vlatko Maček announces the potential independence of the province^{[citation needed]}, a deep crisis in the Kingdom follows. Yugoslavia has just started disintegrating.
Belgrade March 1941	• Prince Paul of Yugoslavia signs the Tripartite Pact on 25th of March in Vienna, fearing an invasion of the Axis Powers into his weakened Kingdom. • Massive demonstrations erupt in downtown Belgrade, as an overwhelming majority of the Serbs denounce the Pact Trety. Following a military coup d' etat, 17-year old Peter II assumes the throne, naming Dušan Simović as his chief general. The Kingdom of Yugoslavia withdraws its support for the Axis Powers on March 27th.
Serbia 1941	• Massive Luftwaffe airstrikes hit the Yugoslav capital as Hitler decides to crush the rebellion, causing 17,000 casualties in the Battle of Belgrade. Other Serbian cities follow suit, such as Leskovac, Kraljevo and Niš. • The Kingdom of Italy, Third Reich, Fascist Hungary and Fascist Bulgaria invade and dismantle the Kingdom of Yugoslavia, aided by Banovina of Croatia and Albania and some domestic minorities. • The Kingdom of Yugoslavia capitulates as its royal army disintegrates, following the evacuation of the royal family to Africa and a multi-party occupation. Greece succumbs to the Axis 10 days later. Operation Barbarossa begins with a month delay, enabling the Soviet Union to regroup during the Axis invasion of Southern Europe^[1]. • The Yugoslav Army in the Fatherland, a guerilla force loyal to the Kingdom of Yugoslavia's government in exile, is founded on Ravna Gora by Colonel Draža Mihajlović. Until the Yalta conference in 1943 this royal army would be considered a chief ally to Great Britain, the U.S.A. and the Soviet Union. Their chief opponents within the country would be the communists (Yugoslav partisans). • The Serbian division of the Partisan resistance movement, loyal to communists of Josip Broz Tito, launches an uprising in the Nazi-occupied town of Užice, proclaiming it a free state, The Republic of Užice. Uprisings also erupt in Italian-held Montenegro, Bosnia and Slovenia. Užice succumbs to the Germans 4 months later. • First clashes between the Royalists of Draža Mihajlović and the Communists of Josip Broz Tito occur at this time over the supremacy in Yugoslav resistance movement; these two rival movements fight both each other and the Axis powers and thus expand the civil war to 3 sides: Communist partisans, Royalist chetniks and Fascist Ustaše.
NDH, Jasenovac August 1941-45	• The Independent State of Croatia or NDH is officially recognized by the Third Reich as a Nazi state and expanded into Bosnia and Vojvodina. • The Independent State of Croatia (NDH) fully commits to the Nazi ideology by accepting racial laws, aimed at exterminating the Serbs and Jews from this state. At the time Serbs comprised 33% of the Greater Croatia's population^[2]. Ante Pavelić calls for genocide by proclaiming "Legal order of races", followed by the "Legal order of the protection of Aryan blood and the honour of the Croatian people" dated April 30, 1941, as well as the "Order of the creation and definition of the racial-political committee". Religious laws were also used to justify killings and deportation of Serbs. • Serbian Genocide^[3] begins as Ustaša government and Ante Pavelić order internship of Serbs and Jews into the newly-built Jasenovac concentration camp. The complex consisted of 5 detention facilities, out of which two were made in Stara Gradiška concentration camp and one in Sisak. The range of victims in this camp alone range anywhere between 90,000 (currently verified victims) and 700,000 (figures supported by former Yugoslav authorities, Simon Wiesenthal Center, Encyclopedia of the Holocaust, several Nazi German sources, etc). Overwhelming majority of the casualties were ethnic Serbs, followed by Jews, Roma,Bosniaks and some communist and royalist Croats. • In August 1942, tens of thousands of new Serbian inmates, mostly villagers from the Kozara region of Bosnia-Herzegovina, are deported to Jasenovac concentration camp. At the height of the rampant murder, 2 new primitive weapons are officially introduced in the camp, the first of which is a curve bladed knife. The second weapon, "Malj" (The Mallet), was used to crush the skulls of the prisoners, many of whom were children.
Petrovac on sea, Italian Montenegro September 1941	Colonel of the British Royal Navy, Bill Hudson, meets with the commander of the royalists, Draža Mihajlović. The Anglo/Chetnik cooperation would go on all the way until 1944.
Bosnia, Herzegovina 1943	• Several joint Axis offensives, made of German, Italian, NDH, Bulgarian and some Chetnik units, is launched in Bosnia and Herzegovina, aimed at crushing the partisan strongholds in the area. The decisive victory of the Yugoslav National Liberation Army (YNLA) in the Battle of Neretva results in the devastation of Chetnik forces in Bosnia. • As Fascist Italy capitulates in October, Nazi troops march into its territories along the coast of Yugoslavia (Dalmatia, Herzegovina, Montenegro, Raška, Kosovo). • The 2nd Congress of AVNOJ (Anti-Fascist Council of National Liberation of Yugoslavia) proclaims the Yugoslav federation, denouncing the King's right to return to the country after World War II is over. The next day, the Tehran Conference, a meeting between Joseph Stalin, Franklin D. Roosevelt and Winston Churchill, decides to shift their support from the Yugoslav Royal Army to their rivals, the Communist Yugoslav partisans, and de facto legitimize a Communist regime in Yugoslavia.
Adriatic sea, June 1944	The Royal Yugoslav government in exile recognizes the partisans as Yugoslavia's legitimate armed forces, ordering the Royal Army to join the newly named Partisan Yugoslav army, following the Tito-Šubašić agreement on the Adriatic island of Vis. The King calls for Serbs, Croats and Slovenes to unite into a single army under partisan flag. Draža Mihajlović and many of his chetniks refuse to obey and continue fighting on their own, with neither royal nor Allied support, calling on Serbs to emancipate themselves from Yugoslavia in the form of Greater Serbia.
Jasenovac NDH, January 1945	• The YNLA liberates the Jasenovac concentration camp, following a retreat of Nazi and Ustaše forces. 50,000 prisoners who were able to walk were freed and led from the camp. Massive destruction of data preceded the liberation, making it hard to determine the extent of the Serbian Genocide. The numbers reach several hundred thousand victims ^[4]. • Aided by the Soviet army, Yugoslav Partisans expel fascist and Nazi forces from the country, ultimately defeating the royalists as well. Ustaše flee the country as well, among whom also Ante Pavelić, Petar Brzica, etc. Yugoslav Danube Swabians are also forced to leave the country, as well as many Hungarians and Italians. • 1946 - the National Committee for the War Crimes and Reparations concludes that 1,7 million people have died during World War II in Yugoslavia, many of whom were victims of civil war and the Croatian racial policy. Serbs account for about 65% of the total victim count, or 1,2 million people^{[citation needed]}. About one third of the numbers are the victims of the Jasenovac concentration camp, according to this research. These numbers are a matter of controversy today but, nevertheless, reflect a high level of human losses in the country during World War II.
Belgrade November 1945	• Federal People's Yugoslavia or Second Yugoslavia is proclaimed by the Yugoslav Federal Parliament in Belgrade. The monarchy is officially abolished and the royal family banned from entering the country. • Serbian lands are dismantled under a pretext of Serbian hegemony and self-determination^[5], being given to republic of Montenegro, provinces of Kosovo and Vojvodina, republic of Macedonia, republic of Bosnia-Herzegovina, even to republic of Croatia (Baranja region), leaving Serbia, in form of Serbia proper, crippled in territory and population despite its Allied-orientation. Territories of Croatia are expanded into Baranja, Dalmatia and Istria under Croatian dictator Josip Broz Tito, despite the role of Croatia in the war (ethnic balance policy).
Moscow 1948	• The SFRY is expelled from the World Communist League, after refusing to accept the Soviet Union's supremacy in the communist world. Yugoslavia, therefore, has never signed the Warsaw Pact nor has it been, consequently, behind the Iron Curtain, unlike its immediate neighbours. From that point on Yugoslav history differs from that of cold-war Eastern Europe
Free State of Trieste 1954	• The Free Territory of Trieste is dissolved by the Treaty of Osimo, splitting it roughly in half between the SFRY and Italy, putting an end to a decade-long dispute between the Adriatic neighbours.
Belgrade 1968	• The Belgrade Spring erupts among studentry of Yugoslavia, ignited by Belgrade and Zagreb's student demands to improve the conditions in the two largest Universities. Croats also ask for their own literary language apart from Serbian language, for the first time since the Vienna Treaty in 1850.
Belgrade 1974	• A new federal Constitution awards greater powers to individual republics and provinces, shifting it into a voluntary confederation with a right of self-determination for each of the subjects. The Serbian Provinces of Kosovo and Metohija and Vojvodina are de facto separated from Serbia, as they were awarded state-treatment in the Federal Parliament, where they could veto any Serbian decision.
Croatia 1980	• Croatian dictator^[6] Josip Broz Tito dies in Ljubljana at the age of 88. Ethnic tensions rise across the country.
Kosovo 1981	• Riots erupt among Albanians of Kosovo, as they ask for the recognition of the State of Kosovo. The uprising was brutally suppressed by the JNA, as Kosovo Serbs fear being pulled into a civil war. By this date, the population share of Kosovo Serbs has dropped down to 15% compared to 25% a decade earlier.
Belgrade 1986	• The Memorandum of the Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts is proclaimed in Belgrade, calling for a fundamental change and the country's reorganization. This document marks the rise of Serbian nationalism within SFRY, opening the Serbian Question^[7], at the time the country was battling ever-high recession and unemployment rate. Kosovo Serbs and Croatian Serbs are pointed out as the main victims of ethnic hatred and chauvinism^[8], following several clashes with local Albanians and Croats, respectively^{[citation needed]}. The problem also focused on the inferior position of Serbia proper within the SFRY, openly calling for its reunification with the federal provinces of Vojvodina and Kosovo.
Kosovo 1987-89	• Slobodan Milošević is appointed to Kosmet by the Serbian chairman Ivan Stambolić, to pacify the Kosovo Serbs who were asking for the reintegration with Serbia proper, and Kosovo Albanians, who were opposing the idea. Slobodan Milošević makes his famous speech in Priština, announcing to the Serbian crowd that No one shall molest them. • June 28th, 1989 - Slobodan Milošević delivers his Gazimestan Speech in front of 1,000,000 Serbs at the central celebration marking the 600th anniversary of the Battle of Kosovo. He calls for a "full equality among peoples of Yugoslavia", demanding an end to the "dramatic ethnic and political divisions". This was basically a message to both his political (democratic) and nationalist (Croat, Bosniak) opponents. His popularity skyrockets among nationalist Serbs, leading to his victory in the elections for the Serbian president a few months later. • Several amendments to the Serbian Constitution deprive Kosmet and Vojvodina of their federal authorities, de facto reintegrating them into Serbia. An unconstitutional Kosovo Parliament declares the independence of Kosovo, without any foreign recognition. Following the "Anti-bureaucratic revolution" pro-Milošević regimes emerge in Montenegro, Kosovo and Vojvodina, raising the number of Serbian votes in the Federal Presidency up to 4 (out of 8). Croatia and Slovenia protest this.
Belgrade 1990	• The League of Communists of Yugoslavia dissolves along ethnic lines, as Slovene and Croatian representatives storm out of the Congress after opposing the strengthening of the Union. The first free elections are held several months later in Croatia (Croatian parliamentary election, 1990) and Slovenia, where separatist options have prevailed overwhelmingly.
Croatia 1990	• The Parliament of Croatia ratifies a new Constitution, declaring the indigenous Serbs of Croatia (12.2%) a national minority rather than a constituent nation. Serbs have enjoyed that autonomy de facto since the Croat-Hungarian Ausgleich in the 19th century^[9]. Franjo Tuđman, leader of the Croatian Democratic Union, publicly denounces the Serbian Genocide and the extent of the Holocaust^[10], spreading fear among minority Croatian Serbs as he assumes power as the president of Croatia. • Serb-populated regions of Croatia organize a poll on their self-rule within Croatia. The Log Revolution is also launched in the hinterland of Dalmatia, the Serbian city of Knin, blocking Croatian roads and splitting the country into two parts. The National Council of the Croatian Serbs, led by Milan Babić, declares "the autonomy of the Serbian people on ethnic and historic territories on which they live and which are within the current boundaries of the Republic of Croatia as a federal unit of the SFR Yugoslavia" in form of Kninska Krajina.
Slovenia 1990	• The Slovenian independence referendum passes with an 88% support. Independence would have been declared within the succeeding 6 months
Belgrade 1991	• Hundreds of thousands of people gather in downtown Belgrade, peacefully demonstrating against Slobodan Milošević. The government orders "restoration of order" by force, deploying tanks onto the streets of the capital. 2 people are killed and over 300 injured in the clashes that followed; the democratic opposition led by Vuk Drašković and Zoran Đinđić is de facto suppressed for years to come.
Croatia 1991	• Croatian War of Independence begins, following the Plitvice Lakes incident. Security forces of the Republic of Croatia clash with rebel Serbs of Croatia, as they take over the territory of the national park (Serb-populated). 2 policemen die (one from each side). An emergency session of the Federal Parliament decides to send the troops of the JNA into the region. The National Assembly of Serbia supports this decision, asking for the protection of Serbs. • The Borovo Selo massacre takes place in the Serb-populated village of Borovo Selo in eastern Croatia, as 4 Croatian police-officers attempt to change the Yugoslav flag with the Croatian one, after which they are captured by Vojislav Šešelj's troops. Attempting to free them, Croatian policemen are led into an ambush and twelve are killed, some mutilated.^[11] Number of the Croatian Serbs killed in the incident varies anywhere between four on one side, and twenty, on the other. ^[12] ^[13]
Slovenia, Croatia June 1991	• A series of Yugoslav wars begin as Croatia and Slovenia declare independence from the SFRY, opposed by the Serbs and the JNA. Slovenia is granted its independence following a Ten-Day War, however the conflict in Croatia is bound to last, as the Republic of Serbian Krajina emerges. • Serb forces embark on an ethnic cleansing campaign in the territory under their control - 78,000 people - virtually the whole Croat, Muslims and non-Serb population is forcibly removed, deported or killed.^[14] • Starting in July, Serb forces and the JNA start to attack Croatian-majority areas. The Battle of Dalmatia begins. In August, they attack Vukovar, starting the most bloody battle of the Croatian war.^[15] • September 17, 1991 - A Serbian teenage girl is killed in Sisak by a bullet fired through a window in Sisak, which is a matter of ongoing investigation.^[16] • October 1, 1991 - JNA, Montenegro and Serb forces attack Dubrovnik, bombing a world-famous tourist attraction. Between 82 and 88 civilians are killed.^[17]^[18] • October 10, 1991 - the Lovas massacre begins in which Serb paramilitary forces kill 70 civilians, which is a matter of ongoing investigation.^[19] • October 16, 1991 - 120 Serbs^[20] are massacred in the town of Gospić (region of Lika, Croatia), by members of a Croatian paramilitary unit, in what the Croatian human rights activists called the first major massacre of civilians in the Yugoslav civil wars. The mastermind of the massacre, Mirko Norac, was charged with crimes against humanity by both Croatia and the ICTY for his involvement in the mass killings of Serbian civilians during the Croatian War of Independence • November 18, 1991 - Vukovar falls and Serb paramilitary forces massacre over 250 civilians and POWs^[21]. • In December, Serb paramilitary forces kill 43 civilians in the Voćin massacre.^[22]
Bosnia 1991-93	• Contrary to the Yugoslav Constitution of 1974, which gave the right of self-determination only to constituent nations (majority population of republics; Bosnian Muslims in Bosnia) and not nationalities (minorities in republics)^[23], Bosnian Serbs proclaim the autonomous region of Bosnian Serb Community and Bosnian Croats announce the creation of the Croatian Community of Herzeg-Bosnia. Bosniaks under Alija Izetbegović denounce the partition, calling for a unitary Bosnian state, while Bosnian Serbs and Bosnian Croats call for unification with their respective states^[24], led by their nationalist leaders Slobodan Milošević and Franjo Tuđman. • The Bosnian War erupts in 1992, following the ethnically-motivated killings between Bosniaks and Bosnian Serbs. Bosnia and Herzegovina declares independence from the SFRY, opposed by the Bosnian Serbs (37%), who in turn proclaim independence of the Serbian Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina (65% its territory). Bosnian Croats maintain to govern their lands apart from the Sarajevo government. Bosnia is de facto divided into 3 independent statelets • May 1992 - The Siege of Sarajevo is officially imposed by the Bosnian Serbs and their forces (Radovan Karadžić being the chief commander). It is aimed at blocking the Bosniak institutions and protection of the Bosnian Serbs, 33% of the local population. It lasted for 44 months and resulted in 12,000 casualties, chiefly among Bosniaks and Serbs. • The Army of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina, led by Naser Orić (ICTY-indictee), commits hundreds of ethnically-motivated murders against Bosnian Serbs in eastern Bosnia. Figures range between 1,000 and 3,000 victims.^{[citation needed]} • In 1993, Bosniaks and Croats split over the division of Bosnia, as the Croatian State of Herzeg-Bosnia refuses to merge with the Sarajevo-held territories. Open war erupts among all three constituent nations of Bosnia
FR Yugoslavia 1992	• SFRY (Second Yugoslavia) is abolished following the declaration of independence of Macedonia. • Montenegro's independence referendum fails, as its citizens overwhelmingly supported union with Serbia. • The Federal Republic of Yugoslavia or Third Yugoslavia comes into existence in April.
Dalmatia Maslenica 1993	• [The [Croatian army]] invades southern regions of the self-proclaimed Republic of Serbian Krajina. In the clashes that followed between different paramilitary units up to 500 Krajina Serbs and 120 Croats lose their lives. Croatian Army withdrew its forces after a successful campaign. • A Croatian military operation in the Medak Pocket is launched in September 1993, led by Mirko Norac and Rahim Ademi, the Hague Tribunal indictees. The predominantly Serbian population of the several adjecent villages, 400 strong, leaves the area. 16 are killed.^[25]^[26]
Croatia 1995	• Operation Flash, conducted by the Croatian Army in May, successfully recaptures Republic of Serbian Krajina-held west Slavonia. Tens of Croatian Serbs have been killed during this action.^[27] • Milan Martić, leader of the RSK (war criminal according to the ICTY), orders the shelling of Zagreb (far beyond the Serbian held-territories). 7 people are killed and hundreds wounded in the Zagreb rocket attack.^[28] • Operation Storm, a large-scale military operation, is carried out throughout the self-proclaimed Republic of Serbian Krajina by the Croatian Army, in August 1995, de facto ending the Croatian war which took 20,000 lives. In the aftermath of the operation 200,000 Croatian Serb civilians left the area. Hundreds of civilians who had remained in the area were killed by the members of the Croatian army.^[29] ^[30] • In a matter of days, RSK was dismantled and reintegrated into Croatia, following the largest post-war ethnic cleansing^[31] in Europe. Ante Gotovina, the mastermind of this operation ^[32], currently awaits his sentence in the Hague War Tribunal for the crimes against humanity against Serbs of Croatia.
Srebrenica, Bosnia 1995	• Srebrenica massacre, the largest mass murder in Europe since the end of World War II, takes place in a Bosniak enclave within Republika Srpska, following the retreat of the Dutch soldiers from this "UN safe zone". Between 3,000 and 7,000 Bosniak men (captured soldiers) have been systematically executed by the Army of Republika Srpska, under the command of general Ratko Mladić, who is still at large.
Dayton, Ohio 1995	• Amidst intense pressure by the Contact Group, the Dayton Peace Agreement is reached by the three leaders, Franjo Tuđman of Croatia, Alija Izetbegović of Bosnia, and Slobodan Milošević of Yugoslavia, putting an end to a three-year-long Bosnian war which claimed 100,000 lives. Bosnia and Herzegovina is acknowledged as a sovereign state of 2 equal-sized entities- the Muslim-Croat Federation and Republika Srpska.
Belgrade 1996-97	• Democratic demonstrations erupt in Belgrade following the electoral fraud at local elections. Yugoslav economy is on standstill for 3 months before the government recognizes the democratic victory in the capital. Zoran Đinđić becomes the first democratically elected mayor of Belgrade in the post-communist period.
Kosovo 1998	• Clashes between the Yugoslav Army and the terrorist forces started in Kosovo (KLA) escalate into a violent conflict. There is some evidence that KLA members were trained by US and European intelligence agencies^[33]. A civil war between the majority Albanians and minority Serbs is underway.
Belgrade, Priština 1999	• In January, the Račak massacre occurs, in which Serb forces kill at least 45 Albanians, including the terrorist Adem Jasari. • The Kosovo War officially begins as NATO starts bombing Yugoslavia supporting KLA troops on the ground. Slobodan Milošević announces the mandatory mobilisation of the troops. • Ethnic cleansing[2] of Albanians takes place in Kosovo following the bombardment of the Yugoslav troops. • There are numerous killings of Albanians and Serbs following the armed clashes between the two. NATO bombs major Serbian cities including downtown Belgrade, as well as Niš (city market), bridges of Novi Sad, oil refinery of Pančevo • 16 technicians are killed following the bombing of the national television RTS in downtown Belgrade, and tens of others in civilian bombings in trains (Grdelica gorge), markets (Niš), hospitals (Belgrade, Varadin) and refugees (north of Priština) • The Kosovo war ends following an agreement reached in Kumanovo after 3 months of aerial bombardments. Serbian casualties range anywhere between 3,500 and 7,000 (including the ones missing), while Albanian casualties stand at about 10,000 victims overall (including the pre-war period). UN Resolution 1244 acknowledges sovereignty of FRY over the province but puts it under UN-occupation. • An ethnic cleansing of Serbian population[3] begins following the retreat of the Yugoslav Army and the arrival of Albanians, protected by the UN and NATO. 200,000 Kosovo Serbs are expelled from or escape from Kosovo, leaving only a fraction of pre-war Serbian population behind (about 140,000). Serbs fall down to mere 7% of the overall population, as Albanians repopulate former Serbian houses and take over their businesses. Tens of medieval SOC churches are leveled to the ground. Around 3,000 Kosovo Serbs are believed to have been killed.^[34]
Belgrade 2000	• Slobodan Milošević is ousted following the 5th October Overthrow and million-strong demonstrations in central Belgrade. Vojislav Koštunica assumes power as the first democratic president of Yugoslavia.
South Serbia 2001	• Albanian guerilla forces linked to the KLA attack Yugoslav forces within the ground safety zone between Serbia proper and Kosovo. The conflict went on for several weeks, spreading into Serbia's municipalities of Preševo, Bujanovac, Medveđa, before the resistance was finally suppressed. Guerilla fighters take refuge in Macedonia, igniting a 2001 Macedonia conflict
Serbia and Montenegro 2003	• Third Yugoslavia is abolished and replaced with a state union of Serbia and Montenegro, with Belgrade its capital. • Serbian Prime Minister, Zoran Đinđić, is assassinated in front of the governmental palace in Belgrade, by a criminal clan from Zemun who opposed his liberal and pro-European actions. Hundreds of thousands escort the late PM to his burial site. • A state of emergency is declared in Serbia. Operation Sablja would ultimately succeed in bringing to justice hundreds of criminals throughout the country, without serious violations of human rights, according to most European sources.
Kosovo 2003	• The March Pogrom explodes among Kosovo Albanians. 36 medieval Serbian Orthodox Monasteries are leveled to the ground, over 1,000 Serbian houses sacked and torched and thousands of Kosovo Serbs expelled from the province, before the eyes of the UN peacekeepers. The destroyed monasteries included the UNESCO-protected, 12th century Our Lady of Ljeviš in Prizren. 19 Kosovo Serbs are killed during the pogrom^[35].
Serbia and Montenegro 2005	• SAA talks with the EU are launched, aimed at providing closer ties with the EU. The state becomes an EU potential candidate country
Serbia 2006-07	• The last of the former Yugoslav leaders to pass away, Slobodan Milošević, dies during his trial in the Hague Tribunal. Croatian Franjo Tuđman and the Bosniak Alija Izetbegović have also passed away before facing any indictments or verdicts from the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia in the Hague. • Serbia becomes independent following the Montenegrin independence referendum. Serbia and Montenegro is abolished, ending an 88-year long union between the two states. • The new Constitution of Serbia is approved by its citizens. Kosmet is declared an integral part of Serbia, while Vojvodina gains substantial economic autonomy. • The NATO's Partnership for Peace programme with Serbia opens a possibility of the country's admission as a member of the Alliance in the years to come. • Kosovo negotiation talks are launched in Vienna, aimed [4] at resolving a decade-long dispute between Belgrade and Priština. The talks are still underway. • The International Court of Justice found Serbia not guilty of committing nor taking part in the genocide in Bosnia. The court, however, concluded that Serbia had failed to prevent the Srebrenica massacre in July 1995 and violated its international obligations by not handing over individuals accused of the crime [5].