Serbia - East of West and West of East Quiz

Answer: 6th and 7th century A.D.

Serb, as well as Croat tribes, inhabited western portions of Byzantine Empire during 6th and 7th century AD, together with other South Slavic peoples and tribes. They were accompanied by Turkish tribe of Avars.

Answer: Constantine Porfirogenitus

Roman Emperor Constantine Porfirogenitus, himself a knowledgeable historian, first mentioned Serbs and Croats in his work 'De administrando imperio' (About Administering the Empire), and delimited their respective areas like this: east of River Cetina (in Dalmatia) and east of river Piva (today in western Bosnia) live Serbs, while west of this line live Croats. ** The others listed are also Byzantine emperors.

Answer: Cyril and Methodius

Cyril (827-869)and Methodius (825-884, Greek brothers from Thessalonica, christianized the southern Slavs and strongly influenced the cultural development of all Slavic peoples. Both were outstanding scholars, theologians, and linguists. In 863, they started their work among the Slavs, using Slavonic language in the liturgy.

They translated the Holy Scriptures into the language later known as Old Church Slavonic and invented a Slavic Alphabet based on Greek capital letters, that became the Cyrillic alphabet today used in Serbia, Macedonia, Bulgaria and Russia. ** St Franciscus and St Dominic are Catholic saints. Cirrius and Damaskus is just made up.

Answer: Stefan Prvovencani

In 1169 Stefan Nemanja became Great zupan of Raska. His son Stefan Prvovencani ('the first-crowned') was the man who layed foundation of Serbian medieval state. He was granted the title of king of Raska by Pope Honorius III in 1217. ** Zupans were regional political and religious leaders. Zupan Vlastimir first acknowledged the suzerainty of the Byzantine Empire, thus opening the Serb lands for conversion to Eastern Orthodox Christianity; the zupan Mutimir was converted about 879.

Answer: Sava

Stefan Nemanja's younger son, Rastko, later canonized as St. Sava, became (1219) the first archbishop of a newly autonomous Serbian Orthodox Church. ** Milutin and Dragutin, sons of Stefan Uros I, were also Serbian kings. Crippled by a fall from his horse, King Dragutin was forced to give up the throne to his younger brother and political rival Milutin. Dragutin then retired to Bosnia with his wife, where he embraced Catholicism.

He invited the Pope to send him a mission of Franciscans that he might convert the Orthodox and heretic Bogomils.

The harshness of the ensuing Catholic persecutions are given as a major factor in the Bosnians subsequent embrace of Islam. ** Makarius is just made up.

Answer: Stefan Decanski

Serbian king Stefan Uros III Decanski (ruled 1321-1331). His father, king Milutin, gave him the city of Zeta to govern, but Decanski joined the rebellion of Zeta's nobility against the crown in 1314. Defeated and partially blinded, Decanski was exiled for seven years to Constantinople, where he lived under the protection of Andronicus II. Before his death, Milutin allowed his son to return. Decanski fended off his family rivals and assumed the throne.

He married first a daughter of the Bulgarian Tzar Smilac, and then a noble lady of the Byzantine Palaiologos family. Cruel irony dictated that Decanski put his young son, Stefan Dusan, in command of Zeta, from where he rebelled against his father. Dusan though, succeeded where his father had failed and usurped the throne for himself. ** The monastery he built, Visoki Decani, is a beautiful example of the combination of Serbo-Byzantine church architecture and Italian early Rennaissance architecture. Situated in foothills of Prokletije mountains, (today close to the border of the Serbian province of Kosovo and neighboring Albania) it was a center of religious and spiritual life for centuries to come.

Answer: Dusan

Under king Stefan Decanski' son, Stefan Dusan (reigned 1331-55), the Nemanjic dynasty reached its peak, ruling from the Danube to central Greece. It was a "Golden Age" of Serbian medieval culture and political power. Dusan's empire disintegrated after his death in 1355. Dusan died very suddenly, after lunch, and there are some theories that he was poisoned by Greeks opposing Serbian domination. Dusan also brought in his famous "Zakonik" (The Dusan Code of Laws), proclaimed in Skopje in 1349, based on Roman law, thus implementing the highest level of contemporary legislation. ** King Dragutin was King Milutin's brother, who gave him his crown on his own will. Lazar was King that died in Battle of Kosovo (1389) with Turks.

Answer: Lazar and Murat

The battle was fierce and bloody. Serb forces of some 30,000 against dominant invaders of more then 100,000 Turks. In the beginning, Serbs had advantage, especially when Milos Obilic, pretending to surrender, killed Turkish commander, Sultan Murat. However, superiority in number of soldiers brought Turks victory in the end. Tens of thousands died on both sides.

However, it was a phyrric victory for the Turks, and Murat's son, Bajazid, had to rush home and secure the empty throne. In effect, Serbia has become Turkish vassal, but retained semi-independent status for almost a century more. ** Vuk Brankovic was a Serbian landowner from Bosnia who according to legend betreyed the Serbs at Kosovo by not showing up at the battle.

Answer: Despot Stefan Lazarevic

This educated and enlightened ruler brought a brief period of florishing to Serbia prior to its final disappearance under Turks for four centuries to come. He has written his famous 'Slovo ljubve', 'The letters of love', a classic of Serbian medieval literature.

After his death, the dark ages came to Serbia under harsh Turkish occupation. ** King Marko was a Serbian land-lord in Macedonia, and Ban Tvrtko was contemporary king of Bosnia.

Answer: Metohija

The seat of Serbian Church during Turkish occupation was in Pecka Patrijarsija complex, near the town of Pec, close to the border between Serbian province of Kosovo and Metohija, and Albania. This region is geographically know as Metohija, from the Greek word 'metoh', meaning the 'estate belonging to the church'. Since there were many churches in that area, whole region became known as Metohija.

This religious and cultural center had big religious jurisdiction and, since there was no other Serb political authority, strongly influenced political, cultural and religious affairs of Serbs living under foreign rule.

Answer: Arsenije III Carnojevic

In hope of liberation, Serbs joined Austrian forces under general Prince Eugene of Savoy in their war against Turkey. Having lost the war, vast masses of Serbs fled from Serbia proper in 1689 from Turkish reprisals, and settled mostly in what was then southern Hungary, today autonomous region of Vojvodina. ** Skenderbey (also known as Skanderbeg) was Albanian national hero leading the struggle against Ottoman Turkey.

His mother was a Serbian princess. Marko Kraljevic is a Serbian landowner from Macedonia, the legendary hero of struggle against the Turks.

Answer: Orasac

It was the first uprising of Balkan Christians against Turkey that on religious basis deprived them of very basic human and economic rights. Soon Greeks followed, and then Bulgarians and Romanians. In period 1804-1813, Karadjordje managed to free big areas of central Serbia. Threatened by Napoleonic invasion in 1812, Russian Tsar Alexander I concluded a treaty with the Turks, so the withdrawal of Russia left the Serbs open to Ottoman reprisals. When the uprising was crashed in 1813 by superior Ottoman armies, and Karadjordje fled to Hungary.

Answer: True

Milos was using typical Ottoman tactics: fighting, negotiating and sometimes aligning with Ottomans, when in no position to fight. On one such occasion, he fulfilled Ottoman request to hand over hero of the first liberation war, Karadjordje Petrovic, so he betrayed him and killed him, taking his head to Istambul as a proof of his loyalty.

However, by doing this, he also removed his main rival from power and set bad precedent for future power struggle. Milos was prince of Serbia from 1815 to 1839 and again from 1858 to 1860.

He founded Obrenovic dynasty. Another Serbian dynasty, Karadjordjevic, stems from Karadjordje.

Answer: Balkan League

The league planned a coordinated war against the Turks, but the assassination of Prince Michael Obrenovic (June 10, 1868) derailed the plans and destroyed the league. Educated and illustrious, Prince Mihailo Obrenovic also committed to modernizing and developing Serbia by adopting a more democratic constitution.

He founded the national theater in Belgrade in 1868. He was a liberal monarch. However he was killed by unknown assassin on June 10th, 1868.

Answer: all of these three

Serbia became an independent country at Congress of Berlin in 1878. Under influence of the German Chancellor, Otto von Bismarck, the Congress of Berlin revised the peace settlement of San Stefano (that acknowledged Russia's gains against Turkey) to satisfy the interests of (1) Great Britain (by denying Russia the means to extend its naval power and by maintaining the Ottoman Empire as a European power) and (2) to satisfy the interests of Austria-Hungary (by allowing it to occupy Bosnia and Herzegovina and thereby increase its influence in the Balkans).

The congress failed to consider adequately the aspirations of the Balkan peoples for freedom and so laid the foundation for future crises and conflicts in the Balkans.

Answer: Draga Masin

Contemporary sources indicate that both Austria-Hungary and Russia were deeply dissatisfied with the rule of the irresponsible Alexander, so they favoured the change of dynasty. After the assasination in 1903, Peter I Karadjordjevic became king; he reigned as king of Serbia from 1903 to 1918 and then as king of the Kingdom of the Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes until his death in 1921. ** Cvijeta Zuzoric was rich patron of the arts in Rennaissance Dubrovnik. Kneginja Milica was Duke Milos's wife, a woman respected by the people. Cucuk Stana was wife of Hajduk Veljko, Serbian national hero during wars of independence against Turkey.

She was also very popular.

Answer: Serbia, Bulgaria, Greece and Montenegro

The allies had a combined force of 750,000 soliers. Montenegro opened hostilities by declaring war on Turkey on Oct. 8, 1912, and the other members of the league followed suit 10 days later. The allies were soon victorious. In Thrace, the Bulgarians defeated the main Ottoman forces, advancing to the outskirts of Constantinople (now Istanbul) and laying siege to Adrianople (Edirne).

In Macedonia, the Serbian army achieved a great victory at Kumanovo that enabled it to capture Bitola and to join forces with the Montenegrins and enter Skopje.

The Greeks, meanwhile, occupied Salonika (Thessaloníki) and advanced on Ioánnina. In Albania, the Montenegrins besieged Shkodër, and the Serbs entered Durrës. Under a peace treaty signed in London on May 30, 1913, the Ottoman Empire lost almost all of its remaining European territory (apart from a small area near Istanbul) including all of Macedonia and Albania. Albanian independence was insisted upon by the European powers (Germany, Austria-Hungary, Grat Britain and Italy) and Macedonia was to be divided among the Balkan allies.

Answer: Serbia and Greece against Bulgaria

The Second Balkan War began when Bulgaria asked for redistribution of gains in Macedonia. The war began on the June 29th, 1913, when King Ferdinand of Bulgaria ordered his troops to attack Serbian and Greek forces in Macedonia. The Bulgarians were defeated, and a peace treaty was signed between the combatants on Aug. 10, 1913. Under the terms of the treaty, Greece and Serbia divided up most of Macedonia between themselves, leaving Bulgaria with only a small part of the region.

Answer: Young Bosnia

The bitter resentment that the annexation of Bosnia in 1908 caused among Serb and South Slav nationalists, led to the growth of revolutionary groups and secret societies aiming to overthrow the Habsburg rule. One of these, Mlada Bosna ("Young Bosnia"), was especially active in Bosnian schools and universities. Tension was heightened when in May 1913 the military governor of Bosnia, General Oskar Potiorek, declared a state of emergency, dissolving the parliament, closing down Serb cultural associations, and suspending the civil courts.

The heir to the Habsburg throne, Archduke Francis Ferdinand, traveled to Bosnia to review a military exercise as a preparation of war against Serbia. He was killed there on June 28, 1914, by a young patriot from the Mlada Bosna organization, Gavrilo Princip. Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia one month later, precipitating World War I. ** VMRO (also known as IMRO) was a Bulgarian clandestine organization in Macedonia.

The Illirian Movement was pro-Yugoslav movement in Croatia. Young Serbia is just made up.

Answer: Cer, Kolubara

In two weeks in September 1914 Serbian Army, under commander Stepa Stepanovic, heavily defeated invading Austrian army and in counterattacks reached the suburbs of Sarajevo. The Battle on the River Kolubara in November/December 1914 was even heavier defeat of Austrians.

In a very difficult situation, pressed by more numerous and better armed Austrians, General Zivojin Misic, against orders of the High Command, ordered a deep retreat and a regrouping of the Serbian army. The frontline was shortened and Belgrade abandoned. Just when the capitulation of Serbia was expected, a sudden counter-offensive of the re-grouped Serbian army caught the Austrians by surprise, and they were defeated heavily.

The Battle of Belgrade was fought in 1915 against invading Germans.

The Battle on Misar was fought against Turkse during Liberation wars.

Answer: freedom for Serbs, Croats and Slovenes

The Serbian War parliament in Nis, in December 1914, declared that the war goal of Serbia is freedom not only for all Serbs, but also for Croats and Slovenes. In 1917, Prime Minister Nikola Pasic and Ante Trumbic's Yugoslav Committee (a body of South Slav exiles from Austria-Hungary and based in London and Paris) signed the Corfu Declaration (July 20, 1917) which laid down the broad lines for a postwar unified Yugoslav state. ** Acquisition of access to the sea was also an important goal for Serbia.

When a German block, aided by Great Britain, formed the Albanian state in 1912 in order to prevent Serbia gaining access to the sea, and thus alleged Russian influence, Serbia asked Bulgaria for a re-assessment of partition of Macedonia, the issue that brought two countries to the Second Balkan war.

Indirectly, these powers layed preconditions for this conflict.

Answer: 70,000

In defending the country in 1914-15, Serbian army has lost some 120,000 soldiers, while during Albanian retreat another 70,000, because of hunger, cold, exhaustion, attacks of Albanian guerillas. Another 25,000 died of disease on the island of Corfu, where army was recovering. In all, army has lost some 70% of its members! In relation to the size of its armed forces and its population, Serbia suffered by far the highest proportion of war dead in WWI.

Answer: September 1918

The Serbian Army, accompanied by two French Divisions, attacked well-dug enemy lines on September 15th, 1918. After heavy fighting, the trenches were broken and army advanced very quickly to the North. Belgrade was freed on November the 1st, and the war terminated on November 11th.

Answer: 50%

Serbia has suffered tremendously from WWI and it has lost almost one half of its entire male population, the highest percentage of losses of all participants in WWI. However, its brilliant victories and the high morale of population in very hard circumstances brought it independence and unification.

Answer: 1 December 1918

Instead of Greater Serbia, offered secretly by the Great Powers by Treaty of London 1915, Serbia opted for wider unification of all the South Slavs into one unified state. The particular form that unification took in 1918 (unitary kingdom) was not part of the original war aims of any of the South Slav peoples. Nevertheless, the need to respond rapidly to the collapse of Habsburg and Ottoman power led the various political leaders to conclude that the kingdom offered the best possible opportunity for realizing their own peoples' aspirations.

The Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes was renamed Yugoslavia in 1929.