Principality of Serbia

Principality of Serbia
Кнежевина Србија Kneževina Srbija
1815–1882
Flag Coat of arms
Principality of Serbia in 1878
Capital		Belgrade Kragujevac (1818–38) Gornja Crnuća (1815–18)
Government		Principality
Prince
•	1817–39	Miloš Obrenović I (first)
•	1868–82	Milan Obrenović IV (last)
Prime Minister
•	1815–16	Petar Nikolajević Moler (first)
•	1880–82	Milan Piroćanac (last)
History
•	Recognition by the Sublime Porte	1815
•	Statehood Day	February 15, 1835
•	de facto independence	1867
•	de jure Ottoman recognition	July 13, 1878
•	Proclaimed Kingdom	1882
Preceded by Succeeded by Sanjak of Smederevo Revolutionary Serbia Kingdom of Serbia

The Principality of Serbia (Serbian: Кнежевина Србија / Kneževina Srbija) was a semi-independent state in the Balkans that came into existence as a result of the Serbian Revolution which lasted between 1804 and 1817. Its creation was negotiated first through an unwritten agreement between Miloš Obrenović, leader of the Second Serbian Uprising and Ottoman official Marashli Pasha. It was followed by the series of legal documents published by the Porte in 1828, 1829 and finally, 1830 — the Hatt-i Sharif. Its de facto independence ensued in 1867, following the expulsion of all Ottoman troops from the country; Treaty of Berlin (1878) recognized its independence internationally. By 1882 the country was elevated to Kingdom of Serbia.

The Serbian revolutionary leaders — first Karađorđe and then Miloš Obrenović — succeeded in their goal of liberating Serbia from centuries-long Turkish rule. Turkish authorities acknowledged the state in 1830 by the charter known as the Hatt-i Sharif, and Miloš Obrenović became a hereditary prince (knjaz) of the Serbian Principality.

At first, the principality included only the territory of the former Pashaluk of Belgrade, but in 1831–33 it expanded to the east, south, and west. In 1866 Serbia began campaign of forging The First Balkan Alliance by signing the series of agreements with other Balkan entities in period 1866-68. On 18 April 1867 the Ottoman government ordered the Ottoman garrison, which had been since 1826 the last representation of Ottoman suzerainty in Serbia, withdrawn from the Belgrade fortress.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. 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.