Sovereignty Day of Serbia – February 15, 2025

History of Sovereignty Day of Serbia

The Republic of Serbia is a country in Southeast Europe. It borders Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria, North Macedonia, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Montenegro. The land was first inhabited in the Paleolithic, at least 525,000 years ago. During the Neolithic, the Starcevo and Vinca cultures resided in what is known today as Belgrade. During the Middle Ages, White Serbs settled the area between the Sava river and the Dinaric Alps. And by the mid-ninth century, Serbia had undergone Christianization.

By the time half of the 15th century had passed, most of the area in modern-day Serbia was ruled by the Ottoman Empire, whilst the rest was controlled by the Austro-Hungarian Habsburgs. In 1804, Serbia was controlled by the Dahijas, a section of Ottoman troops. They feared returning full control of the region to the main Ottoman Empire, and thus executed 70 Serb nobles, which later came to be known as the ‘Slaughter of the Dukes’ or ‘Slaughter of the Knezes.’ This led to the beginning of the first Serbian uprising on February 14 — the uprising was initially supported by the Ottomans, but they retracted their support in the face of demands for greater autonomy. The Serbians fought back and formed a government by 1805.

The Serbians were subjugated again by the Ottomans in 1813, following the Russo-Turkish War. Another uprising began in 1815 and went on for about two years. As a result, Serbia was granted the status of a Principality. On February 15, 1835, Serbia adopted its first-ever Constitution, in addition to establishing a National Parliament and abolishing feudalism and serfdom. The Constitution was ultimately repealed in April of the same year. The last Turkish troops left Serbia in 1867.