History of Ottoman Serbia

The territory of what is now the Republic of Serbia was part of the Ottoman Empire throughout the Early Modern period. Ottoman culture significantly influenced the region, in architecture, cuisine, language, and dress, especially in arts, and Islam.

In the 14th and 15th centuries, the Serbian Despotate was subdued by the Ottoman conquest of the Balkans. The Ottomans defeated the Serbs at the Battle of Maritsa in 1371, making vassals of the southern governors. Soon thereafter, Serbian Emperor Stefan Uroš V died; as he was childless and the nobility could not agree on the rightful heir, the Empire was subsequently ruled by semi-independent provincial lords, who often were in feuds with each other. The most powerful of these, Tsar Lazar, a Duke of present-day central Serbia (which had not yet come under Ottoman rule), stood against the Ottomans at the Battle of Kosovo in 1389. The result was indecisive, but it resulted in the subsequent fall of Serbia. Stefan Lazarević, the son of Lazar, succeeded as ruler, but had by 1394 become an Ottoman vassal. In 1402 he renounced Ottoman rule and became an Hungarian ally, the years following are characterized by the Ottomans and Hungary battling over the territory of Serbia. In 1453, the Ottomans conquered Constantinople, and in 1458 Athens was taken. In 1459, Serbia was annexed, Greece as well, a year later.

Several minor, unsuccessful and short-lived revolts were conducted against Ottoman rule mostly with the help of the Habsburgs; 1594, 1688–1691, 1718–1739 and 1788. In 1799, the dahia (jannissary leaders, high-status infantry in the provinces) took over the Sanjak of Smederevo, renouncing the Sultan and imposing higher taxes. In 1804, they murdered the most notable intellectuals and nobles, known as the Slaughter of the Dukes. In retaliation, the Serbs took arms and had by 1806 killed or driven out all of the dahia, but the fight did not stop, when the Sultan were to send the new Pasha into the province, the Serbs killed him. The revolt continued, in what would be known as the First Serbian Uprising, with the Serbs under Karageorge defeating the Turks in several battles, liberating most of central Serbia - a fully working government was established. In 1813, Serbs suffered a huge defeat, an unsuccessful rebellion followed in 1814, and in 1815 the Second Serbian Uprising began. In 1817, Serbia was de facto independent (as Principality of Serbia).

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