- published: 20 Mar 2015
- views: 2821
Belgrade (/ˈbɛlɡreɪd/; Serbian: Beograd / Београд; [beǒɡrad]; names in other languages) is the capital and largest city of Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers, where the Pannonian Plain meets the Balkans. Its name translates to "White city". The city has a population of 1.23 million, while over 1.65 million people live within city limits .
One of the most important prehistoric cultures of Europe, the Vinča culture, evolved within the Belgrade area in the 6th millennium BC. In antiquity, Thraco-Dacians inhabited the region, and after 279 BC Celts conquered the city, naming it Singidūn. It was conquered by the Romans during the reign of Augustus, and awarded city rights in the mid-2nd century. It was settled by the Slavs in the 520s, and changed hands several times between the Byzantine Empire, Frankish Empire, Bulgarian Empire and Kingdom of Hungary before it became the capital of Serbian king Stephen Dragutin (1282–1316). In 1521, Belgrade was conquered by the Ottoman Empire and became the seat of the Sanjak of Smederevo. It frequently passed from Ottoman to Habsburg rule, which saw the destruction of most of the city during the Austro-Ottoman wars. Belgrade was again named the capital of Serbia in 1841. Northern Belgrade remained the southernmost Habsburg post until 1918, when the city was reunited. As a strategic location, the city was battled over in 115 wars and razed to the ground 44 times. Belgrade was the capital of Yugoslavia (in various forms of governments) from its creation in 1918, to its final dissolution in 2006.
Enrique Miguel Iglesias Preysler (/ɛnˈriːkeɪ ɪˈɡlɛsiəs/; Spanish: [enˈrike iˈɣlesjas]) (born 8 May 1975), is a Spanish recording artist and record producer. He is widely regarded as the King of Latin Pop. Iglesias started his career in the mid-1990s on an American Spanish Language record label Fonovisa under the name Enrique Martinez, before switching to the stage name Enrique Iglesias, and turning into one of the biggest stars in Latin America and the Hispanic Market in the United States. By the turn of the millennium, he had made a successful crossover into the mainstream market and signed a multi-album deal with Universal Music Group for US $68,000,000 with Universal Music Latino to release his Spanish albums and Interscope to release English albums. In 2010, he parted with Interscope and signed with another Universal Music Group label Republic Records to release bilingual albums. In 2015, Enrique parted ways with Universal music group after a decade. He signed for Sony Music and it has been reported that it is one of the biggest contracts offered to any artist in recent years in terms of advances and royalties. His upcoming albums will be by Sony Music Latin in Spanish and RCA in English.