The Serbs (, ) are a South Slavic ethnic group of the Balkans and southern Central Europe. Serbs are located mainly in Serbia, Montenegro and Bosnia and Herzegovina, and form a sizable minority in Croatia, the Republic of Macedonia and Slovenia. Likewise, Serbs are an officially recognized minority in both Romania and Hungary, as well as in Albania, the Czech Republic and Slovakia. There is also a large Serbian diaspora presence in Western Europe, particularly in Germany, Sweden, Switzerland and Austria, as well as in France and Italy. More than a million people of Serbian origin live in German speaking countries: Luxembourg (1%), Austria (1,8%), Switzerland (1%), and Germany (~1%).

Ethnology

The Serbs are a Slavic people, specifically of the South Slavic subgroup, which has its origins in the 6^th and 7^th century communities developed in Southeastern Europe (see Great Migration). Slav raids on Eastern Roman territory are mentioned in 518, and by the 580s they had conquered large areas referred to as Sclavinia (transl. Slavdom, from Sklavenoi - Σκλαυηνοι, the early South Slavic tribe which is eponymous to the current ethnic and linguistic Indo-European people). In 649, Constantine III relocates conquered Slavs "from the Vardar" to Gordoservon (Serb habitat). Among communities part in the Serb ethnogenesis are the Romanized Paleo-Balkan tribes of Illyrians, Thracians and Dacians, Celts, Greek colonies and Romans.

In 822, the Serbs are mentioned as "inhabiting the larger part of Dalmatia" (Serbian lands), and Emperor Constantine VII (r. 913–959) writes in his work "Administration of the Empire"

I2a-P37.2 is the most prevailing haplogroup, accounting for nearly one-third of Serbian Y-chromosomes. Its frequency peaks in Herzegovina (64%), and its variance peaks over a large geographic area covering B-H, Serbia, Hungaria, Czech Republic, and Slovakia. Geneticists estimate that I2a-P37.2 originated some 10,000 years before present (ybp) in the Balkans, from where it began to expand to Central, Eastern, and Southern Europe about 7000 ybp. It is the second most predominant Y-chromosomal haplogroup in the overall Slavic gene pool. Slavic migrations to the Balkans in the early Middle Ages contributed to the frequency and variance of I2a-P37.2 in the region. It became the most predominant haplogroup in the general Slavic paternal gene pool. The variance of R1a1 in the Balkans might have been enhanced by infiltrations of Indo-European speaking peoples between 2000 and 1000 BC, and by the Slavic migrations to the region in the early Middle Ages.

R1b1b2-M269 is moderately represented among the Serb males (6–10%). It has its frequency peak in Western Europe (90% in Wales), but a high frequency is also found in the Caucasus among the Ossetians (43%).

J2b-M102 and J2a1b1-M92 have low frequencies among the Serbs (6–7% combined). Various other lineages of haplogroup J2-M172 are found throughout the Balkans, all with low frequencies. Haplogroup J and all its descendants originated in the Middle East. It is proposed that the Balkan Mesolithic foragers, bearers of I-P37.2 and E-V13, adopted farming from the initial J2 agriculturalists who colonized the region about 7000 to 8000 ybp, transmitting the Neolithic cultural package. Principal component analysis of Y-chromosomal haplogroup frequencies among the three ethnic groups in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbs, Croats, and Bosniacs, showed that Serbs and Bosniacs are genetically closer to each other than either of them is to Croats.

Name and etymologies

According to the Tale of Bygone Years, the first Russian chronicle, Serbs are among the first five Slav peoples who were enumerated by their names.

Serbs are thought to be first mentioned by Tacitus in 50 AD, Pliny the Elder in 77 AD (Naturalis Historia) and Ptolemy in his Geography 2nd century AD, who associate the "Serbs" with the Sarmatian tribe of Serboi of the North Caucasus and Lower Volga. Ptolemy also mentions the town of Serbinum, present day Gradiška in Republika Srpska, Bosnia and Herzegovina. The works of Vibius Sequester also mention the Serbs. Roman Emperor Licinius referred to the Carpathians as "Montes Serrorum" in the 5th century AD. Procopius uses the name Sporoi as an umbrella term for the Slavic tribes of Antes and Sclaveni, it is however not known whether the Slavs used this designation for themselves or he himself coined the term, it has been theorized however that the name is corruption of the ethnonym Serbs. The Serb ethnonym is written as Surbi, Sorabi, Σερβlοι (Servloi) in early medieval sources.

Having defeated the Avars, under the Unknown Archont, the Eastern Roman Emperor Heraclius invited Serbs (who came from Bojka,

Scholars have suggested that the Indo-European root *ser- 'to watch over, protect', akin to Latin servare 'to keep, guard, protect, preserve, observe', Old English searu 'weapons, armor, skill', Lithuanian sárgas 'watchman', are connected with the ethnonym.

Among other autonyms are Slavs, or the common historical demonyms Rascians (from Rascia>Ras) or Docleans (from Doclea).

Historical exonyms include: Triballians and Dalmatians used by medieval Byzantine writers, Illyrians in the Austrian Empire (term for South Slavs). Among deemed derogatory terms are Vlachs, referring to the Orthodox Serbs in Habsburg and Austro-Hungarian proximity.

Famous Serbs

, ranked 2nd in tennis.]]

Serbs have played a significant role in the development of the arts and sciences. Prominent individuals include the scientists Nikola Tesla, Michael I. Pupin, Jovan Cvijić, and Milutin Milanković; the renowned mathematician Mihailo Petrović and controversial co-author of Theory of Relativity Mileva Marić (Albert Einstein's first wife); Stevan Mokranjac and Stevan Hristić; the celebrated authors Borislav Pekić and Miloš Crnjanski; the prolific inventor Ogneslav Kostović Stepanović; the polymath Đura Jakšić; the famous sports stars like Ana Ivanović, Jelena Janković, Novak Djokovic, Predrag Stojakovic, Dejan Stanković, Nemanja Vidić, Siniša Mihajlović, Dejan Bodiroga, Vlade Divac; actors Karl Malden (Mladen Sekulovich), Mila Jovovic, Rade Šerbedžija. Famous directors like Dušan Makavejev, Peter Bogdanovich and Emir Kusturica. The Serb ruler during the Middle Ages (see List of Serbian rulers), Stephen Nemanja, and his son, Saint Sava, founded the monastery of Hilandar for the Serbian Orthodox Church, one of the greatest and oldest Orthodox Christian monuments in the world. Famous singers Željko Joksimović and Marija Šerifović are from Serbia.

The mother of the last Byzantine Emperor, Constantine XI Paleologos Dragases, was a Serbian princess, Helena Dragash (Jelena Dragaš). Many Serbian Royal Families have had significant roles in European and Balkan history. Such as the House of Nemanjić, House of Mrnjavčević, House of Lazarević, House of Branković, House of Obrenović and House of Karađorđević. Some of the most venerated royal historical persons are Emperor Dusan, Tsar Lazar, Milos Obilic and Karageorge.

Vuk Stefanović Karadžić was a Serbian linguist and major reformer of the Serbian language. Nadežda Petrović is considered the most important Serbian female painter from the late 19th and early 20th century.

According to the National Enquirer, author Ian Fleming patterned James Bond after Duško Popov, a real life Serbian double agent nicknamed "Tricycle".

Gavrilo Princip, a Bosnian Serb nationalist, assassinated Archduke Franz Ferdinand on 28 June 1914, precipitating the crisis between Austria-Hungary and Serbia that led to the World War I.

Culture

of Šumadija, with the Šajkača hats]]

Serb culture has a wide spectra; besides the main [South] Slavic traits, the Byzantine (Eastern Roman) cultural heritage and Christianity (Serbian Orthodox Church) being prevalent. Western-Central European (Austro-Hungarian) cultural influence is higher in Vojvodina, Croatian Serbs and Bosnian Serbs, while the Serbs living in maritime regions (e.g. Bay of Kotor) have been influenced by Italian culture (Republic of Venice). The centuries under Ottoman rule have highly influenced with Oriental elements.

Following autonomy in 1817 and latter formal independence, there was a reawakening of Serbdom (Serbian identity/culture) followed by the emerging South-Slavic unity. Prior to that, Habsburg Vojvodina was the cultural bastion of the Serbian national identity. Socialist Realism was predominant in official art during the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia but recent decades have seen a growing influence from the West as well as traditional culture.

Language

"Srpske narodne pjesme" (Serbian folk poems), Vienna, 1841]]

Serbs speak the Serbian language, a member of the South Slavic group of languages, specifically in the Southwestern Slavic group, with the Southeastern Slavic group including Macedonian and Bulgarian. It is mutually intelligible with the standard Croatian and Bosnian language (see Differences in standard Serbian, Croatian and Bosnian) and some linguists still consider it a sub-set of the Serbo-Croatian language.

The Serbian language comprises several dialects, the standard language is based on the Shtokavian dialect.

It is an official language in Serbia, Bosnia & Herzegovina (Republika Srpska), Montenegro and Romania, and a minority language in Croatia, Macedonia, Hungary and Slovakia.

Older forms of Serbian are Old Serbian, the redaction of Old Church Slavonic, and the Russo-Serbian variant, a version of the Church Slavonic language.

, reformer of Modern Serbian]] Serbian is the only European language with active digraphia, using both Cyrillic and Latin alphabets. Serbian Cyrillic was devised in 1814 by Vuk Karadžić, who created the alphabet on phonemic principles, the Cyrillic itself has its origins in Cyril and Methodius' transformation of the Greek script in the 9th century.

Loanwords in the Serbian language besides common internationalisms are mostly from Turkish, German and Italian, words of Hungarian origin are present mostly in the north and Greek words are predominant in the liturgy.

Two Serbian words that are used in many of the world's languages are "vampire" and "paprika". Common words of Serbian cuisine are "Slivovitz" and "ćevapčići". Paprika and Slivovitz are borrowed via German; paprika itself entered German via Hungarian. Vampire entered most West European languages through German-language texts in the early 18th century.

Naming system

(Lazarević) - son of Lazar of Serbia.]]

Given names

A child is given a first name chosen by their parents but approved by the godparents of the child (the godparents rarely object to the parents' choice). The given name comes first, the surname last, e.g. "Željko Popović", where "Željko" is a first name and "Popović" is a family name. Female names end with -a, e.g. Dragan -> Dragana.

Popular names are mostly of Serbian (Slavic), Christian (Biblical), Greek and Latin origin.

Serbian: Nenad, Dragan, Zoran, Goran and Slobodan.

Greek: Nikola, Dimitrije, Đorđe, Aleksandar and Filip.

Biblical: Jovan, Danilo, Petar, Pavle, Mihailo and Gavrilo.

Latin: Marko, Srđan, Antonije and Miljan.

Surnames

Most Serbian surnames (like Bosniak, Croatian and Montenegrin) have the surname suffix -ić (pronounced or , Cyrillic: -ић). This is often transliterated as -ic or -ici. In English-speaking countries, Serbian names have often been transcribed with a phonetic ending, -ich or -itch. This form is often associated with Serbs from before the early 20th century: hence Milutin Milanković is usually referred to as Milutin Milankovitch.

The -ić suffix is a Slavic diminutive, originally functioning to create patronymics. Thus the surname Petrić signifies little Petar, similar to Mac ("son of") in Scottish & Irish, and O' (grandson of) in Irish names. It is estimated that some two thirds of all Serbian surnames end in -ić and some 80% of Serbs carry such a surname.

Other common surname suffixes are -ov or -in which is the Slavic possessive case suffix, thus Nikola's son becomes Nikolin, Petar's son Petrov, and Jovan's son Jovanov. Those are more typical for Serbs from Vojvodina. The two suffixes are often combined.

The most common surnames are Marković, Nikolić, Petrović, and Jovanović.

Religion

the Archbishop of Peć, Metropolitan of Belgrade and Karlovci, Serbian Patriarch Irinej.]] , Kosovo, Serbia]] , famous Serb- catholic, Ragusologist and historian (1860- 1942)]]

Conversion of the South Slavs from paganism to Christianity began in the 7th century, long before the Great Schism. The Serbs were said to be christianized during the reign of Heraclius (610-641) but the full christianization and establishment of state-religion took place after the baptism by missionaries Cyril and Methodius or their disciples ca 869 during the rule of Basil I, after Knez Mutimir had acknowledged the suzerainty of the Byzantine Empire. After the Schism, those who lived under the Byzantine sphere of influence became Orthodox and those who lived under the Roman sphere of influence became Catholic. Later, with the arrival of the Ottoman Empire, many Serbs were converted into Islam, today members of the Gorani and Bosniaks (Muslims by nationality). Still, up into the 20th century there were influential movements of Serb Catholics, Muslim Serbs, as well as protestants (in Vojvodina) and Atheists.

Geographically, the Serbian Orthodox Church represents the westernmost bastion of Orthodox Christianity in Europe, which shaped its historical fate through contacts with Catholicism and Islam.

The Serbs have suffered at various times in their history because of their religious convictions. Many Serbs were converted against their will (Devshirme, see also Turkification and Islamization) during the reign of the Ottoman Empire in the Balkans, while others converted voluntarily for better social status. During the Second World War, the Croatian Axis Ustasha regime had a prominently anti-Serbian ideology and rejected Orthodox Christianity as being incompatible with their principles, they sought to create an ethnically "pure" Croatian state, and as such the forcible conversion, explusion and murder of Serb people was a key strategy.

Symbols

The Civil Flag of Serbia (and ethnic colours) is the red-blue-white tricolour (Slavic tricolour), the official flag has the coat of arms depicting the Serbian Eagle (which has the Serbian cross and other folkloric elements).

The Serbian eagle, a white two-headed eagle, which represents dual power and sovereignty (monarch and church), was the coat of arms of the House of Nemanjić.

The Serbian cross is based on the Byzantine cross, but where the Byzantine Cross held 4 Greek letter 'V' (or 'B') meaning King of Kings, ruling over Kings, the Serbian cross turned the Byzantine "B" into 4 Cyrillic letters of 'S' (C) with little stylistic modification, for a whole new message. If displayed on a field, traditionally it is on red field, but could be used with no field at all.

Both the eagle and the cross, besides being the basis for various Serbian coats of arms throughout history, are bases for the symbols of various Serbian organizations, political parties, institutions and companies.

Serbian folk attire varies, mostly because of the very diverse geography and climate of the territory inhabited by the Serbs. Some parts of it are, however, common:

The traditional shoes Opanci (sing. Opanak), are recognizable by the distinctive tips that spiral backward. The Opanci are part of the wider folk clothing of the Balkans.

The traditional hat Šajkača. It is easily recognizable by its top part that looks like the letter V or like the bottom of a boat (viewed from above), after which it got its name. It originated as military headgear in the 18^th-century Serbian river flotilla. It gained wide popularity in the early 20^th century as it was used by the Serbian Army in World War I. It is worn on everyday basis by some villagers even today, and it was a common item of headgear among Bosnian Serb military commanders during the Bosnian War in the 1990s. The "šajkača" is traditionally used in the region of Šumadija (Central Serbia), while Serbs in other regions naturally have other traditional types of hats.

Cuisine

The Serbian cuisine, just like Serbian culture, implies not only regional elements connected to Serbia, but other parts of former Yugoslavia as well. Great influences have been marked on the whole cooking process due to peasantry, which also influenced the folk craft, music and arts.

Traditional dishes made in Serbia today have common roots with the dishes prepared throughout the Balkans. The whole Serbian cuisine is derived from a mixture of influences coming from the Mediterranean (Greek and Italian), Central European (Hungarian and Austrian) and Turkish cuisines.

Serbs have great passion for food in general, especially barbecue, having a rich cuisine and a large diversity of alcohol beverages that accompany these fat-rich dishes. Slivovitz, the national drink, is a strong, alcoholic beverage primarily made from distilled fermented plum juice, tasting similar to brandy (plum brandy in English). Foods include a variety of grilled meats and bread. Desserts range from Turkish-style baklava to Viennese-style tortes. Local Serbian wine is highly regarded and popular in respective wine regions. Among most popular dishes are: Pljeskavica, Ćevapčići, Ajvar, Burek, Gibanica, Karađorđeva šnicla, Musaka, Sarma, Kajmak.

Customs

The Serbs are a highly family-oriented society. A peek into a Serbian dictionary and the richness of their terminology related to kinship speaks volumes.

, John the Baptist]]

Of all Slavs and Orthodox Christians, only Serbs have the custom of slava. Slava is celebration of a saint; unlike most customs that are common for the whole people, each family separately celebrates its own saint (of course, there is a lot of overlap) who is considered its protector. A slava is inherited, mostly, though not exclusively from father to son (if a family has no son and a daughter stays in parental house and her husband moves in, hers, not his, slava is celebrated). Each household has only one saint it celebrates, which means that the occasion brings all of the family together. However, since many saints (e.g. St. Nicholas, St. John the Baptist, St. George, St. Archangels of Gabriel and Michael, and the Apostles St. Peter and Paul) have two feast days, both are marked.

mountain]]

The traditional dance is a circle dance called kolo, which is in reality the same as the oro, common among Serbs, Bulgarians, Croats, Macedonians and Montenegrins. It is a collective dance, where a group of people (usually several dozen, at the very least three) hold each other by the hands or around the waist dancing, forming a circle (hence the name), semicircle or spiral. Similar circle dances also exist in other cultures of the region.

, Belgrade.]]

Serbs have their own customs regarding Christmas. The Serbian Orthodox Church uses the Julian calendar, so Christmas currently falls on January 7 of the Gregorian calendar. Early in the morning of Christmas Eve, the head of the family would go to a forest in order to cut badnjak, a young oak, the oak tree would then be brought into the church to be blessed by the priest. Then the oak tree would be stripped of its branches with combined with wheat and other grain products would be burned in the fireplace. The burning of the badnjak is a ritual which is most certainly of pagan origin and it is considered a sacrifice to God (or the old pagan gods) so that the coming year may bring plenty of food, happiness, love, luck and riches. Nowadays, with most Serbs living in towns, most simply go to their church service to be given a small parcel of oak, wheat and other branches tied together to be taken home and set afire. The house floor and church is covered with hay, reminding worshippers of the stable in which Jesus was born.

Christmas Day itself is celebrated with a feast, necessarily featuring roasted piglet as the main meal. The most important Christmas meal is česnica, a special kind of bread. The bread contains a coin; during the lunch, the family breaks up the bread and the one who finds the coin is said to be assured of an especially happy year.

Christmas is not associated with presents like in the West, although it is the day of Saint Nicholas, the protector saint of children, to whom presents are given. However, most Serbian families give presents on New Year's Day. Santa Claus (Deda Mraz, literally Grandpa Frost) and the Christmas tree (but rather associated with New Year's Day) are also used in Serbia as a result of globalisation. Serbs also celebrate the Old New Year (currently on January 14 of the Gregorian Calendar).

On Orthodox Easter, Serbs have the tradition of Slavic Egg decorating.

Another related feature, often lamented by Serbs themselves, is disunity and discord; as Slobodan Naumović puts it, "Disunity and discord have acquired in the Serbian popular imaginary a notorious, quasi-demiurgic status. They are often perceived as being the chief malefactors in Serbian history, causing political or military defeats, and threatening to tear Serbian society completely apart." That disunity is often quoted as the source of Serbian historic tragedies, from the Battle of Kosovo in 1389 to Yugoslav wars in 1990s. Even the contemporary notion of "two Serbia's"—one supposedly national, liberal and Eurocentric, and the other conservative, nationalist and Euroskeptic—seems to be the extension of the said discord. Popular proverbs "two Serbs, three political parties" and "God save us from Serbs that may unite!", and even the unofficial Serbian motto "only unity saves Serbs" (Samo sloga Srbina spasava) illustrate the national frustration with the inability to unite over important issues.

As with many other peoples, there are popular stereotypes on the local level: in popular jokes and stories, inhabitants of Vojvodina (Lale) are perceived as phlegmatic, undisturbed and slow; Montenegrins are lazy and pushy; southern Serbians are misers; Bosnians are raw and stupid; people from Central Serbia are often portrayed as capricious and malicious, etc.

History

Middle Ages

Sclavinia

The Slavs invaded Balkans during Justinian I rule (527–565), when eventually up to 100,000 Slavs raided Thessalonica. The Western Balkans was settled with "Sclaveni", the east with Antes. Archaeological evidence in Serbia and Macedonia conclude that the White Serbs may have reached the Balkans earlier, between 550-600, as much findings; fibulae and pottery found at Roman forts point at Serb characteristics. and thus could have been a fraction of the early invading Slavs who upon organizing in their refuge of the Dinaric region, formed the ethnogenesis of Serbs and were pardoned by the Byzantine Empire after acknowledging their suzerainty.

Serbs in De Administrando Imperio

According to Byzantine tradition (De Administrando Imperio, by Porphyrogenitus); The Serbs are recorded in the Byzantine Empire; Balkans with the arrival of the Unknown Archont and his part of the Serb tribe. The White Serbs came from White Serbia, situated in present day western Poland, led by this archont who took half of the people after the death of his father, who was a King. The first Serb settlement in the Balkans took place between 610 and 626 after being sent for by the Byzantine Emperor Heraclius to secure the Byzantine frontier from the problematic Avars. They lived briefly in Servia, in the province of Thessalonica where they were settled, but soon decided to return to their homeland, however on their way back, near the Danube, they requested the land of Western Balkans to settle in through the military governor at Belgrade.

Early Statehood

The Serbs were subjects to the Byzantine Empire, they were patriarchal tribesmen initially administered in Sclavinias (Slav area within Byzantine Empire) and were given different dominions to govern, similarly to the strategoi. They soon formed six powerful principalities, called Rascia, Travunia, Zachlumia, Bosnia, Pagania and Doclea. The diplomatic and cultural ties with Byzantine Greeks contributed greatly to Serbian culture. Serbs were baptized initially by "elders of Rome", during the Byzantine Papacy, although the full christianization was finished in the 860s, either by Cyril and Methodius or their disciples. The Great Schism would further divide the Serbs from the neighboring Slav tribe of Croats. The rulers had varying degrees of autonomy under the Byzantine Empire and brief independencies until the early 10th and 11th centuries when Serbian archonts managed without the Byzantines. The era after Serbian Saint Sava, who became the first head of the Serbian Orthodox Church, and his brother Stefan Prvovenčani of Serbia, who became the first Serb king is considered the beginning of the golden ages of Serbia.

In 680, the Byzantines settled Asia minor with 30,000 Serb prisoners in a city named Gordoservon (City of the Serbs), where they would later battle the Umayyads in 692. The Serbs deserted the army because of bad treatment and the battle was lost.

The first Serb state was called Serbia (Σερβλια) and was situated in parts of present-day Bosnia and Herzegovina, southern Serbia, Montenegro and southeasternmost Croatia (Dalmatia, south of Split). In the 822 annals of the Frankish Kingdom, the Serbs are living in the greater part of Dalmatia. The first state would become known as Rascia in 12th-century works, describing the seat of the Serbian throne in the hinterlands (Zagorje), thus becoming a exonym of the Serbian state although in reality it was a region situated around Ras. In the 850s, a fief was established out of a greater region around present-day Trebinje, called Travunia, which was given to the Kings son-in-law. In 912, Zahumlje was established, and with the fall of Rascia in 950/960, the seat of Serbia was relocated to Doclea.

In the 960s, Serbia was conquered by the Byzantines, the Catepanate of Serbia was established, ruled by John, protospatharios and katepano of Ras. In 1018, the Theme of Sirmium was established, at the same time, Serbian statehood was continued in Duklja.

In the time of the Comnenos, 1081–1180, Serbs served in the Byzantine Army.

, Emperor Stefan Dušan]]

Nemanyid era

Serbia reached its golden age under the House of Nemanjić, with the Serbian state reaching its apogee of power in the reign of Tsar Stefan Uroš Dušan. The Serbian Empire lost its powers following Stefan's death and the contemporary incursion of the Ottoman Empire into south-eastern Europe frightened the Balkans. With Ottoman expansion into Europe with the fall of Adrianople and Thrace, Serbs together with Hungarians, Bulgarians, Greeks and others, tried their best for the Balkans integrity. The Turks gained more power, and in 1389, the Serbs fought them in the historical Battle of Kosovo, which is regarded as the key event in the loss of Serbia to the Ottoman Empire. By 1459, Serbia was beaten by the Turks, the small Serbian territories of Bosnia and Montenegro were lost by 1496.

Ottoman and Austro-Hungarian occupation

As Christians, the Serbs were regarded as a "protected people" under Ottoman law, but were however referred to as Giaour (, ). Many converted to Islam in viyalets where Islam was more powerful, notably in the Sandzak and Bosnia region, other converted in order to be more successful in the Ottoman Empire society and many were forced as part of Turkification or Islamisation and avoided persecution. The Janissaries () were infantry units that served directly under the Sultan in the households and bodyguarding the higher people within the Ottoman Turkish government, they were composed of Islamicized Christian boys taken from the conquered countries through the Devşirme (Blood tribute) system, trained and schooled to serve the Ottoman Empire. Serbs, together with Greeks and Bulgarians were favored by the Sultans.

After the Siege of Belgrade, Suleiman I settled Serbs in the nearby forest of Istanbul, present day Bahçeköy, called Belgrade forest.

in the 17th and 18th centuries]]

The Serbs opposed the Ottoman yoke, which resulted in several major battles and rebellions against the Turks and de-population of Serbian lands through mass migrations (Known as "Great Serb Migrations"). Serbs in the south migrated to the north and sought refuge in Croatia and Hungary.

The Serbs of Montenegro were disliked because of their bravery and dignity to each other, unsatisfied with the situation in the region, they assassinated many deployed Turks in the mountains, which caused heavy monitoring of the Serb clans and hiding from the Turks was necessary, or else, death awaited. Years went on and the Austro-Hungarian Empire gained control in the north, which also threatened the dreams of a free state of the Serbs.

In Vojvodina, a Serb mercenary named Jovan Nenad proclaimed himself Emperor, defeating many Hungarian armies with his 15,000 men before being ambushed and killed in Szeged.

In Eastern Serbia, Serbs fought in Hajduk formations in the highlands against the Turks, a notable leader in the 16th century was Starina Novak, who fought as a captain of a 2,000 strong unit in the army of Michael the Brave and successfully liberated several Romanian and Bulgarian towns before being executed by Albanian Giorgio Basta.

Serbian Revolution and First World War

(Black George) leader of the First Serbian Uprising]]

The Serbs and Croats rebelled in Dalmatia and Slavonia in guerilla formations of Uskoks and Hajduks during the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries (prior to Independence). The Serbian revolution took place 1804-1835. The first part of the period, from 1804 to 1815, was marked by a violent struggle for independence from the Ottoman Empire, with two armed uprisings taking place. The later period (1815–1835) witnessed a peaceful consolidation of political power of the newly autonomous Serbia, culminating in the recognition of the right to hereditary rule by Serbian princes in 1830 and 1833 and the adoption of the first written constitution in 1835. These events marked the foundation of Modern Serbia. In 1852, the Principality of Montenegro was proclaimed, a nation-state of the Serbs.

in Prilep, 1904]]

At the beginning of the 19th century, the First Serbian Uprising succeeded in liberating at least some Serbs for a limited time. The Second Serbian Uprising was much more successful, resulting in Ottoman recognition of Serbia as autonomous principality within the Empire. Serbia acquired international recognition as an independent kingdom at the Congress of Berlin in 1878. However, many Serbs remained under foreign rule– that of the Ottomans in the south, and of the Habsburgs in the north and west. The southern Serbs were liberated in the First Balkan War of 1912, while the question of the Habsburg Serbs' independence was the spark that lit World War I two years later. During the war, the Serbian army fought fiercely, eventually retreating through Albania to regroup in Greece, and launched a counter-offensive through Macedonia. Though they were eventually victorious, the war devastated Serbia and killed a huge proportion of its population– by some estimates, over half of the male Serbian population died in the conflict, influencing the region's demographics to this day.

Yugoslavia

After the war, the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes (later called Yugoslavia) was created. Almost all Serbs finally lived in one state, in majority. The Kingdom had its capital in Belgrade and was ruled by a Serbian king; it was, however, unstable and prone to ethnic tensions.

During the Second World War, the Axis Powers occupied Yugoslavia, dismembering the country. Serbia was occupied by the Germans, while in Bosnia and Croatia, Serbs were put under the rule of the Italians and the fascist Ustaša regime in the Independent State of Croatia. Under Ustaša rule in particular, Serbs and other non-Croats were subjected to systematic genocide, known as the Serbian genocide, when hundreds of thousands were killed. The Hungarian and Albanian fascists, who occupied northern and southern parts of the country, also performed persecutions and genocide against the Serb population from these regions. Serbs fought in the resistance movements of royalist Chetnik guerilla and the Partisan movement.

After the war, the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia was formed. As with pre-war Yugoslavia, the country's capital was at Belgrade. Serbia was the largest republic and the Serbs were the largest ethnic group, existent in all republics. There were also two established autonomous provinces within Serbia - Kosovo (with an Albanian majority) and Vojvodina (with an Hungarian minority). Besides Serbia, the large Serb populations were concentrated in Bosnia and Herzegovina (where they were the largest ethnic group until 1971) and Croatia as well as Montenegro (where they were majority until World War II).

Socialist Yugoslavia collapsed in the early 1990s, with four of its six republics becoming independent states. This led to several bloody civil wars, as the large Serbian communities in Croatia and Bosnia attempted to remain within "Yugoslavia", then consisting of only Serbia and Montenegro. Serbs in Croatia formed the Republic of Serbian Krajina which was later abolished by the Croatian government (result of expelling of more than 250,000 Serbs and killing of thousands during Operation Storm) a shuddering reminder of events in World War II. Serbs in Bosnia and Herzegovina formed their state of Republika Srpska, currently one of the two political entities that form the country of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Another war broke out in Kosovo (see Kosovo War) after years of tensions between Serbs and Albanians. Up to 250,000 Serbs fled from Croatia during the "Operation Storm" in 1995, and 300,000 left until 1993, and another 200,000 were expelled from Kosovo after the Kosovo War, and settled mostly in Central Serbia and Vojvodina as refugees.

Communities

of Saint Spyridon in Trieste, Italy -mid 19th century.]] The majority of Serbs live in Serbia, Montenegro and Republika Srpska (in Bosnia and Herzegovina). The Republic of Serbia is the nation-state of the Serb people, they are a constituent nation in Bosnia and Herzegovina (90% ethnic Serb entity Rep.Srpska) and a recognized people in the Republic of Montenegro (former nation-state of the Serbs) where they have lived since their arrival 1,500 years ago. Large indigenous population also lived in Croatia, where they were a constituent nation before 1990 and today a recognized national minority. Much smaller Serb autochthonous minorities exist in the Republic of Macedonia (mainly in Kumanovo and Skopje), Slovenia (Bela Krajina), Romania (Banat), Hungary (Szentendre, Pécs, Szeged) and Italy (Trieste- home to about 6,000 Serbs). Many Serbs also live in the diaspora, notably in Germany, Austria, the Netherlands, Switzerland, France, Sweden, Canada, the US and Australia.

The largest urban populations of Serbs in the former Yugoslavia are to be found in Belgrade (c. 1,700,000), Novi Sad (c. 300,000), Niš (c. 250,000), Banja Luka (in Bosnia and Herzegovina) (c. 220,000), Kragujevac (c. 175,000), East Sarajevo and Prijedor (in Bosnia and Herzegovina) (c. 130,000). All the capitals of the former Yugoslavia contain a strong historical Serbian minority - 10,000 strong and over (taking up anywhere between 2%- 3% of the population - Zagreb, Skopje - through Ljubljana and Sarajevo, and finally, Podgorica - over 26%).

In Serbia, 6.2 million Serbs constitute about 62% of the population (83% excluding Kosovo, see Status of Kosovo). Another 1,6 million live in Bosnia and Herzegovina, 201,892 in Montenegro following its independence and 200,000 in Croatia (580,000 prior to the war). In the 1991 census Serbs consisted 39% of the overall population of former Yugoslavia; there were around 8.5 million Serbs in the entire country.

Abroad, Vienna is said to be home to the largest Serb population followed by Chicago (and its surrounding area) with Toronto and Southern Ontario coming in third. Los Angeles and Indianapolis are known to have a sizable Serbian community, but so does Berlin, Paris, Moscow, Istanbul and Sydney. The number of Serbs in the diaspora is unknown but it is estimated to be up to 5.5 million. Smaller numbers of Serbs live in New Zealand, and Serbian communities in South America (Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil and Chile) are reported to grow and exist to this day.

In Asia, some ethnic Serbs with other ex-Yugoslavians of the Jewish faith can be found in Israel, but Israel offers guest worker permits for non-Jewish Serbians as well. According to official figures, 5000 Serbs live in Dubai but the unofficial figure is estimated to be around 15,000. Serbian immigrants went to the Persian Gulf states to find employment opportunities in the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Qatar and Kuwait in the 1990s and 2000s.

The recent research of the Ministry of Diaspora, showed that more than two thirds of Serbs abroad have plans of returning to Serbia, and almost one third is ready to do it immediately should they be given a good employment offer. The same research shows that more than 25% of the Serb Diaspora has some specialization, i.e. master or PhD titles, while 45% of them have university degrees.

Autochthonous communities with minority status:

In Croatia, Serbs are the largest national minority, scattered across the country. According to the 2001 Census, there were 201,631 Serbs in Croatia, down from the pre-war figure of 581,663, a result of the Operation Oluja; the Croatian War. They were stripped of their constitutional status in 1990.

In Macedonia, Serbs are a minority present in 16 municipalities, the largest being the Čučer-Sandevo Municipality (close to 28%) and Staro Nagoričane Municipality. They are found in the cities of Kumanovo and Skopje.

Serbian minorities exist in the following regions:

In Hungary, Serbs are an officially recognized ethnic minority, numbering 7,350 people or 0.1% of population. They are scattered in the southern part of the country. There are also some Serbs who live in the central part of the country - in bigger towns like Budapest, Szentendre, etc. The only settlement with an ethnic Serb majority in Hungary is Lórév on Csepel Island. In Romania, Serbs are located mostly within the Caraş-Severin County, where they constitute absolute majority in the commune of Pojejena (52.09%) and a plurality in the commune of Socol (49.54%) Serbs also constitute an absolute majority in the municipality of Sviniţa (87.27%) in the Mehedinţi County. The region where these three municipalities are located is known as Clisura Dunării in Romanian or Banatska Klisura (Банатска Клисура) in Serbian. Officially recognized minority in Romania numbers 22,518 or 0.1% of the population (Census 2002). In Albania, Serbs are not officially recognized as a minority. According to the latest national minority census in Albania (2000), there were around 2000 Serbs and Montenegrins (they are listed together as one ethnic group) in the country. Domestic Serb-Montenegrin community claims the figure is around 25,000, while independent sources placed the figure at 10,000 in 1994. Serbian sources estimate up to 30,000. Serbian community in Italy's city of Trieste dates back to the 18th century. Local Serbs have erected one of the most prominent monuments in central Trieste: the Serbian Orthodox Church of Saint Spyridon (1854). There is a small number of Serbs in Slovakia, mostly located in the southern town of Komárno, where they have been living since the 17th century. There has also been a historic minority in Bratislava (Požun), where many Habsburg Serbs studied in the university. Their present number today is unknown but they are nevertheless recognized as an official minority.]]

Serbs are the second largest ethnic group in Kosovo. By the 12th century, the cultural, diplomatic and religious core of the Serbian Kingdom was located in Kosovo. This became essential to the Serbian Empire of the 14th century.

During the 20th century Serbian population constantly decreased. Their share in the overall population of the region is currently estimated at 7% by the CIA. Serbs today mostly populate the enclaves across Kosovo, North Kosovo being the largest one.

Large-scale emigration of ethnic Serbs, especially since 1999 onwards, makes them the only major ethnic group in Kosovo to have a negative natural growth rate with deaths exceeding births. BBC reports that less than 100,000, 5% Serbs remained in Kosovo following a post-war exodus of non-Albanians. The Serbian minority live in separate areas watched over by NATO peacekeepers. International diplomats have voiced concern over slow progress on their rights. Human Rights Watch points out discrimination against Serbs and Roma in Kosovo.

Montenegro

(blue) (2003 Census)]]

The term Montenegrin has traditionally been a geographical name for Serbs of Montenegro.

Montenegrins are considered a subgroup of Serbs for a long time by themselves (all pre-Communist Montenegrins), as well as by Serbs and the international community that recorded the Serb identity through history. In the late 20th century, an independence movement in Montenegro gained ground, resulting in a split among Montenegrins on the issue. Now some consider themselves to belong to a separate Montenegrin nation. Supported by Albanians, Bosniaks and Croats from Montenegro, they gained a relative majority and won a referendum in 2005 that made Montenegro independent from Serbia. However, world wide, the presence of Serb Montenegrins is prevailing.

The history of Montenegro is twinned with that of Serbia, as the medieval Serbian states of Zeta and Duklja were located in present day Montenegro.

Majority of Montenegrins speak Serbian, with a minority supporting the claim of a separate Montenegrin language since being proclaimed the official language in Montenegro along with Serbian in 2006. A majority of Montenegrins are also followers of the Serbian Orthodox Church (with a minority following the Montenegrin Orthodox Church)

Bosnia & Herzegovina

(blue) (2006 estimate)]] Serbs are one of the three constitutive nations of Bosnia and Herzegovina, predominantly concentrated in the Republic of Srpska entity, although many also live in the other entity called the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

War in Bosnia

The Government of BiH declared independence which was not accepted by the federal Serb controlled government of Yugoslavia, and what followed was the forming of the Serbian Autonomous Area of the Bosnian Frontier in the western Bosnian Frontier region of Bosnia and Herzegovina with its capital in Banja Luka, which was not recognised by the central government. SAO Bosnian Frontier made attempts to unite with the Autonomous Region of the Serbian Frontier in Croatia. The Serb political leadership martialled its own force assisted by the Yugoslav People's Army and declared independence from Bosnia and Herzegovina in late 1992. During this period there was notable support for the idea of a Greater Serbia being made reality, both within Bosnia and in Serbia proper. This ideology advocated the joining of Serb-poulated regions into a contiguous territory. BiH's Bosniak and Bosnian Croat dominated government did not recognize the new Serbian Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina, whose president was Radovan Karadžić seated in Banja Luka. The Serb side accepted the proposed ethnic cantonization of Bosnia and Herzegovina (the Carrington-Cutileiro peace plan), as did the Bosniak and Bosnian Croat sides in Lisbon in 1992, in the hope that war would not break out. The Bosniak political leadership under President Alija Izetbegović of Bosnia and Herzegovina subsequently revoked the agreement refusing to decentralize the newly created country based on ethnic lines. The Bosnian War began.

Throughout most of the war the Serb side fought against both the Bosniak side and the Bosnian Croat side. During Bosniak-Croat hostilities the Serbs co-operated largely with the Croats. There were exceptions to this as well, as Serb forces were also allied with the pro-Yugoslav Bosniaks of the Autonomous Province of Western Bosnia under Fikret Abdić. During most of the war, the Serb Republic comprised around 70% of Bosnia and Herzegovina's soil. During the entire length of war the Army of the Serb Republic maintained the Siege of Sarajevo, allegedly in order to tie down the Bosnian Muslim (Bosniak) forces and resources in what was the capital of the Bosnian-Herzegovinian state. Serb Republic maintained close ties with the Republic of the Serb Frontier and received volunteers and supplies from the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia during the war. The Serb Republic received a large number of Serb refugees from other Yugoslav hotzones, particularly non-Serb held areas in Sarajevo, Herzeg-Bosnia and Croatia. In 1993, the Owen-Stoltenberg peace treaty was suggested that would give 52% of BiH to the Serb side. It was refused by the Bosniak side as too large of a concession. In 1994, the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia imposed sanctions after the National Assembly of the Serb Republic refused the Vance-Owen peace plan. In 1995, Operation Storm, eliminated the Republic of the Serb Frontier. The Croatian Army continued the offensive into the Serb Republic under General Ante Gotovina (currently on trial for war crimes at the ICTY). Some 250,000 Serbs fled to the Serb Republic and Serbia from Croatia, as the Serb side continued a full retreat of Serbs from the Una to the Sana river. The Croatian Army, supported by the forces of the Muslim-Croat Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina came within 20 km of the de facto Bosnian Serb capital, Banja Luka. The war was halted with the Dayton Peace Agreement which recognized Republika Srpska, comprising 49% of the soil of BiH, as one of the two territorial entities of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina. The Serb side suffered a total 30,700 victims - 16,700 civilians and 14,000 military personnel, according to the Demographic Unit at the ICTY. Although exact number are somewhat disputed, mostly by Bosniaks, it is generally agreed that the Bosnian War claimed the lives of about 100,000 people - Serbs, Croats and Bosniaks. See: Casualties of the Bosnian War

The demographics of Bosnia and Herzegovina as well as Republika Srpska were tremendously affected by the war. Current estimates indicate that some 400,000 Serbs no longer live in the Federation of BiH, the other entity in Bosnia which makes up 51% of its territory.

Croatia

In 610-626 Dalmatia saw the permanent settling of Serbs after Byzantine Emperor Heraclius granted them dominion in the Sklavinias of Balkans, soon transformed into the Serbian principalities of Dioklea, Travunia and the present-day parts of southern Dalmatian Croatia: Pagania and Zachlumia. Many Serbian Orthodox churches have been built in Croatia since the 12th century; Krka Monastery, Krupa Monastery, Dragović Monastery, Lepavina Monastery and Gomirje Monastery.

A large number of ethnic Serbs migrated in 1538 when Kaiser Ferdinand I, ruler of the Habsburg Monarchy offered sanctuary and permanent settlement to displaced Serbs from Old Serbia region (Montenegro, Kosovo, Macedonia, southern Serbia) fleeing from the Turks, placing them under Austrian military administration. The newly established military region was called Militärgrenze or Vojna Krajina.

Sometime in 1530, Serb Uskoks under Vladislav Stefović sought lands in Mutnica (Kranjska) to defend the frontiers by attacking Ottoman Turks. The 50 families lived in Metkike to Crnomlja, Kostelo to Lasa, Krasa into Kapela. King Ferdinand granted the Serbs the lands of Žumberak and gave them assistance in organizing their counts and dukes of the many clans. They were exempted of tax pay in return of military service in the Austrian army, they were permitted to raid and pillage Turkish settlements across the border. Nikola Jurisic settled 600 families in 1535. The three Serb military officers of Koprivnica, Križevci and Ivanic formed the Varaždin general command. The Žumberak Serbs had initially freedom of faith but were later converted into Greek Catholicism under pressure from Rome in the 18th century, and later into Roman Catholicism during World War II.

The Austro-Hungarian Empire gained control in Croatia, which also threatened the dreams of a free state of the Serbs. The Serbs and Croats rebelled in Dalmatia and Slavonia in guerilla formations of Uskoks and Hajduks during the 16th and 17th century.

After the First World War, the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes (later called Yugoslavia) was created. Almost all Serbs finally lived in one state, in majority. The Kingdom had its capital in Belgrade and was ruled by a Serbian king.

During the Second World War, the Serbs suffered greatly in Croatia after the Axis Fascist Ustasha regime came into power. The Ustaše aimed at an ethnically "pure" Croatia, and saw the Serbs that lived in Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina as the their biggest obstacle. Thus, Ustaše ministers Mile Budak, Mirko Puk, and Milovan Žanić declared in May 1941 that the goal of the new Ustaše policy was an ethnically clean Croatia. They also publicly announced the strategy to achieve their goal:

# One third of the Serbs (in the Independent State of Croatia) were to be forcibly converted to Catholicism. # One third of the Serbs were to be expelled (ethnically cleansed). # One third of the Serbs were to be killed (in extermination camps).

The Ustaše persecuted the Serbs who were mostly Orthodox Christians in several concentration camps, mass killings in Serb populated town and forced conversion was systematically enacted, race laws patterned after those of the Third Reich were officially adopted, which were aimed against Jews, also the Roma and Serbs, who were collectively declared enemies of the Croatian people.

Estimates of the number of Serbian victims of genocide in Croatia are placed at least 500,000 people, The estimated number of Serbs killed in the Jasenovac concentration camp ranges from 300,000 to 700,000.

The people of Yugoslavia that opposed the Fascists and Nazis were the Partizan and Chetnik forces, the Partizans were led by Josip Broz Tito (later life-long President of Yugoslavia) composed of any ethnic people wanting to liberate the Balkans and the Chetniks who were a royalist unit composed of Serbs.

1931 - 633000 Serbs out of 3430270 People in Croatia (18.45%)

2001 - 201631 Serbs out of 4437460 People in Croatia ( 4.54%)

War in Croatia

The Croatian War of Independence, began when Serbs in Croatia who were opposed to Croatian independence announced their secession from Croatia in June 1991. Fighting in this region had actually begun weeks prior to the Ten-Day War in Slovenia. The move was in part triggered by a provision in the new Croatian Constitution that replaced the explicit reference to Serbs or "Croats of the Serbian Orthodox faith" in Croatia as a "constituent nation" with a generic reference to all other nations, and was interpreted by Serbs as being reclassified as a "national minority". The Serbian community of Krajina whom outnumbered Croats there 5 to 1 was an independent republic from July 1991 to Oct. 1995 when they finally fell to the Croatian army.

Diaspora

There are currently 3.5 million Serbs in diaspora throughout the world (those that are not constitutional peoples; like in Serbia, Montenegro and Bosnia and Herzegovina in this case). The Serb diaspora was the consequence of either voluntary departure, coercion and/or forced migrations or expulsions that occurred in six big waves: # To the west and north, caused mostly by the Ottoman Turks. # To the east (Czechoslovakia, Russia, Ukraine and across the former USSR from World War I and World War II, to until the fall of Communism in Eastern Europe by the early 1990s). # To the USA for economic reasons, but Serbians also migrated to Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and South America. # During wartime, particularly World War II and post-war political migration, predominantly into overseas countries (large waves of Serbians and other Yugoslavians into the USA, Great Britain, Canada, Australia and New Zealand). # Going abroad for temporary work as "guest workers" and "resident aliens" who stayed in their new homelands during the turbulent 1960s and 1970s (to Austria, Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, the Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, Sweden and the United Kingdom), however some Serbians returned to Yugoslavia in the 1980s. # Escaping from the uncertain situation (1991–1995) caused by the dissolution of Yugoslavia, the renewal of vicious ethnic conflicts and civil war, as well as by the disastrous economic crises, which largely affected the educated or skilled labor forces (i.e. "brain drain"), increasingly migrated to Western Europe, North America and Australia/New Zealand.

The existence of the centuries-old Serb or Serbian diaspora in countries such as Austria, Czech Republic, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Romania, Russia, Poland, Slovakia, Turkey and Ukraine, is the result of historical circumstances – the migrations to the North and the East, due to the Turkish conquests of the Balkans and as a result of politics, especially when the Communist Party came into power, but even more when the communist state of Yugoslavia collapsed into inter-ethnic conflict, resulting in mass expulsions of people from certain regions as refugees of war. Although some members of the Serbian diaspora do not speak the Serbian language nor observe Christianity (some Serbians are Jews, Slavic Muslims, Protestants, Roman Catholics, Eastern Rite Catholics, or atheists) or members of the overseas dioceses of the Serbian Orthodox Church, they are still traditionally regarded as Serbs or Serbians other than Yugoslavians or Yugoslavs.

See also

Serbia, nation-state of Serbs

List of Serbs, a list of notable Serbs

Serbian lands, states, regions, territories of Serbs

Serb clans, Serb feudal organizations of Montenegro and Herzegovina

Yugoslavs, national demonym and umbrella term of the peoples of the Yugoslav federation

Slavs; List of Medieval Slavic tribes; South Slavs

Notes

Sources

Constantine VII Porphyrogenitos, ca. 950, , De Administrando Imperio, The early history of the Slavonic settlements in Dalmatia, Croatia, & Serbia (1920),

Ćorović, Vladimir (1997) Istorija srpskog naroda

Vladimir Ćorović (2005). ИЛУСТРОВАНА ИСТОРИЈА СРБА, Book II, Politika.

External links

Project Rastko - Serbian cultural and historical research society

Serbs Category:Ethnic groups in Europe Category:Ethnic groups in Montenegro Category:Ethnic groups in Bosnia and Herzegovina Category:Ethnic groups in Croatia Category:Ethnic groups in the Republic of Macedonia Category:Ethnic groups in Hungary Category:Ethnic groups in Romania Category:Ethnic groups in Slovenia Category:Slavic ethnic groups Category:Serbian society Category:South Slavs

Croats () are a South Slavic ethnic group mostly living in Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and nearby countries. There are around 4 million Croats living inside Croatia and up to 4.5 million throughout the rest of the world. Responding to political, social and economic pressure, many Croats have since migrated throughout the world, and established a notable Croatian diaspora. Large Croat communities exists in The United States, Chile, Argentina, Germany, Austria, Australia, Bolivia, Canada, Serbia, New Zealand and South Africa. Croats are noted for their culture, which throughout the ages, has been variously influenced by different cultural circles. The strongest influences came from Central Europe and the Mediterranean, where, at the same time, Croats gave their contribution. The Croats are predominantly Catholic and their language is Croatian.

Locations

Croatia is the nation state of the Croats, while in the adjacent Bosnia and Herzegovina they are one of the three constituent peoples.

Autochthonous Croat minorities exist in or among:

Vojvodina, the northern autonomous province of Serbia, where the Croatian language is official (along with five other languages); the vast majority of the Šokci consider themselves Croats, as well as many Bunjevci (the latter had settled the vast and abandoned area after the Ottoman retreat, as well as other nationalities there; the origins of this Croat subgroup are from the south; mostly in the region of Bačka).

The Šokci and Bunjevci communities in Bács-Kiskun county in Hungary.

Croats are a recognized people in the Montenegro as well as Croatian language in use; they mostly live in the Bay of Kotor.

a very small community in Carso and Trieste area, in Italy. This is the northwesternmost area populated by of Croats - they are mostly assimilated, but there traces in surnames and some placenames.

Primorska, Prekmurje and in the Metlika area in Dolenjska regions in Slovenia.

Zala, Baranya and Somogy counties in Hungary, which are border areas with Croatia).

Krashovans in the Romanian mostly consider themselves Croatian - see Croats of Romania.

Burgenland in the eastern part of Austria, and the bordering areas of western Hungary (counties Vas and Győr-Moson-Sopron) and Slovakia - the Croats of Gradišće - Burgenland Croats.

Kosovo - Janjevci (Letničani).

Molise area in Italy - Molise Croats.

Szentendre town in Hungary, magyarized, but with a memory of their Croat origins (from Dalmatia).

Slovakia area around Bratislava in villages Chorvátsky Grob, Čunovo, Devínska Nová Ves, Rusovce and Jarovce. Most of them have assimilated but a small minority still preserves its Croatian identity.

Moravia region in Czech Republic. Villages Jevišovka (Frielištof), Dobré Pole (Dobro Polje) and Nový Přerov(Nova Prerava).}

The population estimates are reasonably accurate domestically: around four million in Croatia and nearly 600,000 in Bosnia and Herzegovina, or 15% of the total population.

Diaspora

(Chile) municipal cemetery]] A large number of Croats were forced over the course of the time for economic or political reasons to leave their traditional homeland, thus today there exists quite a large Croat diaspora outside of their traditional homeland of the southern Central Europe.

The first large emigration of Croats took place in the 15th and 16th centuries, at the beginning of the Ottoman conquests in today's Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina. People fled into safer areas within today's Croatia, and other areas of the Habsburg Empire (today's Czech Republic, Slovakia, Austria, Hungary, Slovenia, Croatia and small parts of Italy, Germany and Ukraine). This migration resulted in Croat communities in Austria and Hungary.

At the end of the 19th and the beginning of the 20th century, larger numbers of Croats emigrated, particularly for economic reasons, to overseas destinations. Some destinations included North America (Croatian American and Canadians of Croatian ancestry), South America above all Chile (Croatian Chilean) and Argentina (Croatian Argentine) with smaller communities in Bolivia and Peru, Australia and New Zealand; and South Africa.

A further larger emigration wave, this time for political reasons, took place immediately after the end of the Second World War. Here fled both collaborators of the Ustaša regime, and refugees who did not want to live under a communist regime.

In the second half the 20th century numerous Croats left the country as immigrant workers, particularly to Germany, Austria, and Switzerland. In addition some emigrants left for political reasons. This migration made a lowering of unemployment for communist Yugoslavia possible at that time and created at the same time by the transfers of the emigrants to its families an enormous foreign exchange source of income. During this period, tens of thousands of Croats also emigrated to neighboring Slovenia; up to this day, Croats of Slovenia represent the second largest ethnic group in the country after the Slovenes.

The last large wave of Croat emigration occurred during and after the Yugoslav Wars, when many people from the region (not only Croats but Serbs, Bosniaks and others as well) had to leave as refugees. Migrant communities that were already established in countries such as Australia, the USA, and Germany grew as a result.

Abroad, the count is only approximate because of incomplete statistical records and naturalization, but (highest) estimates suggest that the Croatian diaspora numbers between a third and a half There are also smaller groups of Croatian descendants in the UK, France, Romania, Sweden, Netherlands, Spain, Brazil, Mexico, Russia and South Korea. The most important organization of the Croatian diaspora are the Croatian Fraternal Union, Croatian Heritage Foundation and the Croatian World Congress.

Origins

by Ferdinand Quiquerez.]] :"ROMAE · ET · AUGUSTO · CAESARI · DIVI · F · PATRI · PATRIAE" - "Roma and Augustus Caesar, son of the deity, father of the fatherland"]] The origin of the Croatian tribe before the great migration of the Slavs is uncertain. According to the most widely accepted Slavic theory of the 7th century, the Croatian tribe moved from the area north of the Carpathians and east of the river Vistula (referred to as White Croatia) and migrated into the western Dinaric Alps. White Croats formed the Principality of Dalmatia in the upper Adriatic. Another wave of Slavic migrants from White Croatia subsequently founded the Principality of Pannonia. However, some scholars doubt the above theory, which is based primarily on De Administrando Imperio, a tenth-century work by Byzantine Emperor Constantine Porphyrogenitus. The doubt is primarily on archaeological and historiographical grounds. In 603 AD, according to the codices of the church of Thessaloniki, Croats, who have had invaded Dalmatia and Istria, have been confusing Maximus the bishop of Salona, because they wrote him back. He described the Croats as the "insightful" Slavs. According to a letter of Pope Gregory, the colonization by Slavs of Imperial estates in Istria, which were available to the public, was known since the 6th Century, but was still in the 9th Century on the agenda for a People's Assembly in Istria, which brought forth some very remarkable documents. D.A.I. states that the Croats arrived during Heraclius' regnal years (610–640 AD) from "Bagibareja", which translated means that they arrived from "a prominent town". However, there is little archaeological supporting such a migration. Moreover, it is unlikely that any political entity such as White Croatia ever existed, because the justification for it is only in the clearly erroneous translation of the word Bagibareja. Instead, Curta points to some burial assemblages in the northern Dalmatia region, which he dates to 800 AD. Here, there are some exceptionally rich burials showing Byzantine, Avar, Frankish and Slavic material elements, perhaps representing a "community of Croats". That is, Curta suggests that the Croats emerged as some kind of an elite caste of Slavic-speaking warriors, consequently spreading their influence, thus their name, over much of Dalmatia and parts of Pannonia. A theory of migration from the north to the south may be interpreted in this context as a philosophical balance with the propagation of the faith from the south to the north. Subsequent papal recognition ensured the evolution from "a prominent tribe" to a medieval kingdom. However, because of events such as the earthquakes between 350 and 450 AD, a migration theory cannot be avoided, also because Ostrogorski claims that the Slavs, who had tried to take Thessaloniki in 597, invaded Crete in 623, but the sources for his thesis are not clearly known, and because Alexandria was taken by Khosrau II of Persia in 616, but Heraclius recovered it a few years later. Here could be a link to the linguistic Persian theory, too.

According to the Gothic theory, Croats would be descendants of Ostrogoths/eastern Goths. This theory is based on a historic chronicle from Thomas the Archdeacon called Historia Salonitana where he mentions Croats as Goths. Also, Slavs in area of today Croatia are equated to Goths in Chronicle of the Priest of Duklja.

According to the autochthonous model, mostly promoted by the Illyrian Movement in the 19th century and abandoned argues that Slav migration from the north did happen, but the actual number of Slavic settlers was small and that the Illyrian ethnic substratum was prevalent for formation of Croatian ethnicity.

The Iranian theory suggests that the Croats are a tribe from Arachosia; this theory is based solely on linguistic evidence and spread of the Old Croatian ethnonym *xъrvatъ, which is almost certainly a borrowing into Slavic probably from the Middle Persian "harw, hrw", which means "all, each, every", and from the Middle Persian "xwad, hwt", which means "self" or from the Sanskrit "kratu", which means "insightful", and of the Sanskrit "Bagibareja", which means "a prominent town". It is important to note that 'origin' theories are often developed amidst a wider context of ideological-political discourse. Nevertheless the Gothic and Iranian origins theories have at times been supported by scholars such as Ivan Muzic. They represent an attempt to distance Croats from other Slavs, especially Serbs, during the volatile period of late 1970s until recently.

For all the theories, the documentary and archaeological evidence is rather clear – the Croats emerged within ninth-century northern Dalmatia. At this time, there was no migration to account for, rather, political circumstances created a climate conducive to the emergence of new polity in the northern Adriatic, between the Carolingian and Byzantine Empire. Ruled by local notables - the 'Croats' - the Croat ethonym later spread (and contracted) following the political fortunes of the Croat Kingdom. The creation of Christianized Croat kingdom, recognized by Byzantium and the Papacy cemented its existence and membership into a 'club' of European Christian Monarchic states. As Danijel Dzino summarized, "the question whether the Croats were migrants to Dalmatia or the indigenous population is not important. The earliest Croat identity we know of appeared with the disappearance of a structural Avar continuum and the establishment of new power structures in Dalmatia which were established on a new social and spiritual system from the West, indigenous regional polities - zupanias, and the use of the ancient past as a justification of that power". The Croats, based in the Nin-Knin-Skradin triangle, might have taken over local rule from an earlier socio-political collective- the Guduscani of Lika.

Genetics & Anthropology

Anthropologically, the craniometrical measurements made on Croat population show Croats from Croatia are predominantly dolichocephalic, suggesting that they are more prone to dolichocephalic sub-racial types such as Nordic and Mediterranean than brachycephalic ones like Alpine and Dinaric.

Croats from the northern regions generally have blonde-brown hair, and lighter eye colours, similar to the pigmentation of surrounding peoples such as Slovenians, Bosnians and Austrians. Croats from Dalmatia and Herzegovina generally have slightly darker hair, and higher incidence of brown eyes, although lighter hair and eyes are also common.

Genetically, on the Y chromosome line, a majority (>85%) of Croats belong to one of the three major European Y-DNA haplogroups - Haplogroup I (45%), Haplogroup R1a (27%) and Haplogroup R1b (13%).

Later, neolithic lineages, originating in the Middle East and that brought agriculture to Europe, are present in surprisingly low numbers. The haplogroups J, E and T constitute together about 13% - significantly lower than other populations in the region. Haplogroup I among Croatians is divided in two major subdivisions

And the third conclusion from the genetic evidence points to the fact Croats are genetically heterogeneous, pointing to a high degree of mixing of the newly arrived medieval migrant tribes (such as Slavs) with the indigenous populations that were already present in the region of the modern day Croatia. Hence, most modern day Croats are directly descended from the original European population of the region and have lived in the territory by other names, such as Illyrians and their forebears. These original inhabitants also served an important role in re-populating Europe after the last ice age. The ensuing Ottoman conquests and Habsburg domination broke the Croatian lands into disunity again, with the majority of Croats living in Croatia proper and Dalmatia. Large numbers of Croats also lived in Slavonia, Istria, Rijeka, Herzegovina and Bosnia. Over the centuries ensued a wave of Croatian emigrants, notably to Molise in Italy, Burgenland in Austria and eventually the United States of America and Western Europe.

After the First World War, most Croats were united within the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes, created by joining South Slavic lands under the former Austro-Hungarian rule with the Kingdom of Serbia. Croats became one of the constituent nations of the new kingdom. The state was transformed into the Kingdom of Yugoslavia in 1929 and the Croats were united in the new nation with their neighbours – the South Slavs-Yugoslavs. In 1939, the Croats received a high degree of autonomy when the Banovina of Croatia was created, which united almost all ethnic Croatian territories within the Kingdom. In the Second World War, the Axis forces created the Independent State of Croatia led by the Ustaše movement which sought to create an ethnically pure Croatian state on the territory corresponding to present-day countries of Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Post-war Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia became a federation consisting of 6 republics, and Croats became one of two constituent peoples of two – Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina (in the latter one of the three since 1968). Croats in Serbian autonomous province of Vojvodina are one of six main ethnic groups composing this region. Following the democratization of society, accompanied with ethnic tensions that emerged in the post-Tito era, in 1991 the Republic of Croatia declared independence, which was followed by war with its Serb minority, backed up by Serbia-controlled Yugoslav People's Army. In the first years of the war, over 200,000 Croats were displaced from their homes as a result of the military actions. In the peak of the fighting, around 550,000 ethnic Croats were displaced altogether during the Yugoslav wars.

Post-war government's policy of easing the immigration of ethnic Croats from abroad encouraged a number of Croatian descendants to return to Croatia. The influx was increased by the arrival of Croatian refugees from Bosnia and Herzegovina. After the war's end in 1995, most Croatian refugees returned to their previous homes, while some (mostly Croat refugees from Bosnia and Herzegovina and Janjevci from Kosovo) moved into the formerly-held Serbian housing.

Culture and traditions

descends from the cravat, a Croatian invention.]] The area settled by Croats has a large diversity of historical and cultural influences, as well as diversity of terrain and geography. The coastland areas of Dalmatia and Istria were subject to Roman Empire, Venetian and Italian rule; central regions like Lika and western Herzegovina were a scene of battlefield against the Ottoman Empire, and have strong epic traditions. In the northern plains, Austro-Hungarian rule has left its marks.

In spite of foreign rule, Croats developed a strong, distinctive culture and sense of national identity, a tribute to the centuries in which they remained distinct, avoiding assimilation of the overlords' population. The most distinctive features of Croatian folklore include klapa ensembles of Dalmatia, tamburitza orchestras of Slavonia. Folk arts are performed at special events and festivals, perhaps the most distinctive being Alka of Sinj, a traditional knights' competition celebrating the victory against Ottoman Turks. The epic tradition is also preserved in epic songs sung with gusle. Various types of kolo circular dance are also encountered throughout Croatia.

The Croatian language has the longest written tradition of all South Slavic languages, with documents like Baška Tablet dating as early as 1100. The modern standard language is based on ijekavian shtokavian dialect. There are two other dialects, chakavian (spoken in Istria and Dalmatia) and kajkavian, (spoken in Zagorje and wider Zagreb area), which to an extent have been influenced and superseded by the standard, yet they still color the respective vernacular speeches. Despite that diversity, Croats take their language as a strong issue of national consciousness and are fairly negative towards foreign influences.

Croats are vastly Roman Catholic, and the church has had a significant role in fostering of the national identity. The confession played a significant role in the Croatian ethnogenesis.

Ragusan Republic and Dalmatia are the homeland of Croatian literature. It was developed largely in the renaissance period, with works of Dalmatian and Ragusan authors like Marko Marulić and Marin Držić, and continued through baroque with Ivan Gundulić, romanticism with Ivan Mažuranić and August Šenoa up to the modern days.

Art

chatedral by sculptor Majstor Radovan, c. 1240]] In the 7th century the Croats, with other Slavs and Avars, came from Northern Europe to the region where they live today. The Croats were open to roman art and culture, and first of all to Christianity. First churches were built as royal sanctuaries, and influences of Roman art was strongest in Dalmatia where urbanization was thickest, and there was largest number of monuments. Gradually that influence was neglected and certain simplification, alteration of inherited forms and even creation of original buildings appeared. The largest and most complicated central based church from 9th century is St Donatus in Zadar. From those times, with its size and beauty we can only compare the chapel of Charlemagne in Aachen. Altar enclosure and windows of those churches were highly decorated with transparent shallow string-like ornament that is called Croatian pleter (meaning to weed) because the strings were threaded and rethreaded through itself. Sometimes the engravings in early Croatian script – Glagolitic appeared. Soon, the glagolic writings were replaced with Latin on altar boundaries and architraves of old-Croatian churches.

, UNESCO Heritage]]By joining the Hungarian state in the twelfth century, Croatia lost its independence, but it did not lose its ties with the south and the west, and instead this ensured the beginning of a new era of Central European cultural influence. Early Romanesque art appeared in Croatia at the beginning of 11th century with strong development of monasteries and reform of the church. In that period many valuable monuments and artefacts alongside Croatian coast were made, like Cathedral of St. Anastasia, Zadar (natively - St. Stošija) in Zadar (13th century). In Croatian Romanesque sculpture we have a transformation of decorative interlace relief (Croatian pleter) to figurative. The best examples of Romanesque sculpture are: wooden doors of Split cathedral done by Andrija Buvina (c.1220) and Stone portal of Trogir cathedral done by artisan Radovan (c. 1240). Early frescoes are numerous and best preserved in Istria. On them we can evidence the mixing of influences of Eastern and Western Europe. The oldest miniatures are from 13th century – Evangelical book from Split and Trogir.

in capital of Croatia, Zagreb, interior from 14th century]] The Gothic art in 14th century was supported by culture of cities councils, preaching orders (like Franciscans), and knightly culture. It was the golden age of free Dalmatian cities that were trading with Croatian feudal nobility in the continent. Largest urban project of those times was complete building of two new towns – Small and Large Ston, and about a kilometre of wall with guard towers between them (14th century). After Hadrian's wall in Scotland, the longest wall in Europe. Tatars destroyed Romanesque cathedral in Zagreb during their scourge in 1240, but right after their departure Zagreb got the title of a free city from Hungarian king Bela IV. Soon after bishop Timotej began to rebuild the cathedral in new Gothic style.

Zadar was an independent Venetian city. The most beautiful examples of gothic humanism in Zadar are reliefs in gilded metal as in Arc of St Simon by artisan from Milan in 1380. Gothic painting is less preserved, and finest works are in Istria as fresco-cycle of Vincent from Kastv in Church of Holy Mary in Škriljinah near Beram, from 1474. From that times are the two of the best and most decorated illuminated liturgies done by monks from Split, – Hvals’ Zbornik (today in Zagreb) and Misal of Bosnian duke Hrvoje Vukčić Hrvatinić (now in Istanbul).

, Manchester.]] In 15th century, Croatia was divided between three states – northern Croatia was a part of Austrian Empire, Dalmatia was under the rule of Venetian Republic (with exception of Dubrovnik) and Slavonia was under Ottoman occupation. Dalmatia was on the periphery of several influences so religious and public architecture with clear influence of Italian renaissance flourished. Three works out of that period are of European importance, and will contribute to further development of Renaissance: Cathedral of St. James in Šibenik, in 1441 by Juraj Dalmatinac; chapel of Blessed John from Trogir in 1468 by Nikola Firentinac; and Sorkočević’s villa in Lapad near Dubrovnik in 1521.

In northwestern Croatia, the beginning of the wars with the Ottoman Empire caused many problems but in the long term it both reinforced the northern influence (by having the Austrians as the rulers). With permanent danger by Ottomans from east, there was modest influence of renaissance, while fortifications thrived, like fortified city of Karlovac in 1579 and fort of Ratkay family in Veliki Tabor from 16th century. Some of the famous Croatian renaissance artists lived and worked in other countries, like brothers Laurana (natively - Vranjanin, Franjo and Luka), miniaturist Juraj Klović (also known as Giulio Clovio) and famous mannerist painter Andrija Medulić (teacher of El Greco).

In 17th and 18th century Croatia was reunited with the parts of country that were occupied by Venetian Republic and Ottoman Empire. The unity attributed to sudden flourishing of Art in every segment. Large fortifications with radial plan, ditches and numerous towers were built because of constant Ottoman threat. The two largest ones were Osijek and Slavonski Brod. Later they become large cities. Urban planning of Baroque is felt in numerous new towns like Karlovac, Bjelovar, Koprivnica, Virovitica etc. Cities of Dalmatia also got baroque towers and bastions incorporated in their old walls, like the ones in Pula, Šibenik or Hvar. But biggest baroque undertaking happened in Dubrovnik in 17th century after catastrophic earthquake in 1667 when almost entire city was destroyed. Wall painting experienced flourishing in all parts of Croatia, from illusionist frescoes in church of Holy Mary in Samobor, St Catherine in Zagreb to Jesuit church in Dubrovnik. An exchange of artists between Croatia and other parts of Europe happened. The most famous Croatian painter was Federiko Benković who worked almost his entire life in Italy, while an Italian – Francesco Robba, did the best Baroque sculptures in Croatia.

In Austrian countries on the beginning of 19th century Romantic movement in Croatia was sentimental, gentle and subtle. At the end of 19th century architect Herman Bolle undertook one of the largest projects of European historicism – half-kilometer long neo-renaissance arcade with twenty domes on Zagreb cemetery Mirogoj. At the same time the cities in Croatia got important urban makeover. Pseudo building that emphasizes all three visual arts is former building of Ministry of Prayer and Education (so called "Golden Hall") in Zagreb (H. Bolle, 1895). Vlaho Bukovac brought the spirit of impressionism from Paris, and he strongly influenced the young artists (including the authors of “Golden Hall”). On the Millennium Exhibition in Budapest they were able to set aside all other artistic options in Austro-Hungary.

The turbulent twentieth century re-oriented Croatia politically on many occasions and affected it in many other ways, but it could not significantly alter its already peculiar position at the crossroads of many different cultures.

Symbols

, including the current coat of arms.]] , Dubrovnik, Dalmatia, Istria, and Slavonia.]]

The Flag of Croatia consists of a red-white-blue tricolor, and in the middle is the Coat of Arms of Croatia. The red-white-blue tricolor was chosen, as it was the colors of Pan-Slavism, popular in the 19th Century.

The coat of arms consists of the traditional red and white squares or "grb", which simply means 'coat of arms'. It has been used to symbolise Croats for centuries; some speculate that it was derived from Red and White Croatia, historic lands of the Croatian tribe. The current design added the five crowning shields which represent the historical regions from which Croatia originated.

The red and white checkerboard has been a symbol of Croatian kings since at least the 10th century, ranging in size from 3×3 to 8×8, but most commonly 5×5, like the current coat. It was traditionally conjectured that the colours originally represented two ancient Croat tribes, Red Croats and White Croats, but there is no generally accepted proof for this theory. The oldest source confirming the coat as an official symbol is a genealogy of the Habsburgs, dated from 1512 to 1518. In 1525 it was used on a votive medal. The oldest known example of the šahovnica (chessboard in Croatian) in Croatia is to be found on the wings of four falcons on a baptismal font donated by king Peter Krešimir IV of Croatia (1058–1074) to the Archbishop of Split.

Unlike in many countries, Croatian design more commonly uses symbolism from the coat-of-arms, rather than from the Croatian flag. This is partly due to the geometric design of the shield which makes it appropriate for use in many graphic contexts (e.g. the insignia of Croatia Airlines or the design of the shirt for the Croatia national football team), and partly due to the fact that neighbouring countries like Slovenia and Serbia use the same Pan-Slavic colours on their flags as Croatia.

The Croatian wattle (pleter or troplet) is also a commonly used symbol which originally comes from monasteries built in the period between the 9th and 12th century. The wattle can be seen in various emblems and is also featured in modern Croatian military ranks and Croatian police ranks insignia.

Maps

See also

List of Croats

Croatian diaspora

Croatian literature

Croatian Chilean

Croatian Argentine

Croatian Brazilian

Croatian Australian

Croatian Peruvian

Timeline of Croatian history

List of Medieval Slavic tribes

References

Notes

External links

Matica hrvatska

Review of Croatian History at Central and Eastern European Online Library

Croats of Bosnia and Herzegovina: History

The Croatian nation at the beginning of the 20th century

* Famous Croats and Croatian cultural heritage

*Croatian Heritage Foundation Hrvatska matica iseljenika

*Croatians in Arizona

Category:Croatian society Category:Slavic nations Category:South Slavs