Serbs

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Serbs
Срби / Srbi

Saint Sava · Stefan Dušan · Karađorđe Petrović · Nikola Tesla · Nadežda Petrović

Total population

12,000,000 - 13,000,000^{[citation needed]}

Regions with significant populations

Serbia 6,807,678 (2008)^[1]
(Included 148,870 Serbs in Kosovo)^[2]

Bosnia and Herzegovina	1,703,005 (2008)	^[3]
Germany	603,332 (2005)	^[4]
Austria	240,365 (2006)	^[5]
Montenegro	223,492 (2008)	^[6]
Croatia	201,631 (2001)	^[7]
Switzerland	185,953 (2008)	^[8]
United States	171,000	^[9]
Sweden	76,600 (2008)	^[10]
Australia	96,895 (2006)	^[11]
United Kingdom	70,000 (2005)	^[12]
France	80,000	^[13]
Italy	78,174 (2004)	^[14]
Slovenia	38,964 (2002)	^[15]
Macedonia	35,939 (2002)	^[16]
Romania	22,518 (2002)	^[17]
Belgium	15,857 (2008)	^[18]
Norway	12,500 (2006)	^[19]
Denmark	12,000 (2001)	^[20]
Greece	10,000 (2001)	^[21]
Hungary	7,350 (0.2%)	^[22]
United Arab Emirates	5,000	^[23]
Turkey	4,600	^[24]
Russia	4,156 (2002)	^[25]
Spain	3,826 (2008)	^[26]

Languages

Serbian

Religion

Predominantly Serbian Orthodox Christian

Related ethnic groups

Other Slavic peoples, especially South Slavs

Serbs (Serbian: Срби, Srbi) are a South Slavic people living in the Balkans and Central Europe, mainly in Serbia, Montenegro, Bosnia-Herzegovina, and, to a lesser extent, in Croatia. They are also a significant minority in two other republics of the Former Yugoslavia, the Republic of Macedonia and Slovenia. Serbs are an officially recognized minority in both Romania and Hungary. There is a sizable Serbian diaspora in Western Europe (concentrated in Germany, Switzerland and Austria), as well in North America: the United States and Canada. Alone in the German-speaking countries live more than a million Serbs^[27].

The Encyclopedia of World History (2001) describes the Serbs as "most westernized of the Eastern Orthodox peoples, both socially and culturally." ^[28] Geographically this nation's Church represents the westernmost bastion of Orthodox Christianity in Europe, which shaped its historical fate through contacts with Catholicism and Islam. Historically the territories settled by Serbs in the 7th century have been under Celtic, Byzantine and Roman rule and were replaced by the successive invasions of the Ottomans, Hungarians, Venetian and Habsburgs. The Serbian revolution (1804-1815) marked the rebirth of modern Serbia and its establishment as a principality which fought the Ottomans, Bulgarians and Austrians for the supremacy over the Balkans. In 1918 Serbia lost its independence to the Yugoslav Kingdom and regained its sovereignty in 2006, after Montenegro left the Serbia and Montenegro union which had been the last fragment of the former Yugoslavia remaining in the 21st Century following the breakup of Yugoslavia in the 1990s.

[edit] Ethnogenesis

Serbian migrations to the Balkans, 600s A.D.

Byzantine sources report that part of the White Serbs, led by the Unknown Archont, migrated southwards from their Slavic homeland of White Serbia (Poland) in the late sixth century and eventually overwhelmed the Serbian lands that now make up Serbia, Macedonia, Montenegro, Bosnia, Herzegovina and Dalmatia. After settling on the Balkans, Serbs mixed with other Slavic tribes (which settled during the great migration of the Slavs) and with descendants of the indigenous peoples of the Balkans: Greeks, Thracians, Dacians and Illyrians.

Afterwards, overwhelmed by the Ottoman wars in Europe which ravaged their territories, Serbs once again started crossing the rivers Sava and Danube and resettling the previously abandoned regions in Central Europe which are today's Vojvodina, Slavonia, Transylvania and Hungary proper. Apart from the Habsburg Empire, thousands were attracted to Imperial Russia, where they were given territories to settle: Nova Serbia and Slavo-Serbia were named after these refugees. Two Great Serbian Migrations resulted in a relocation of the Serbian core from the Ottoman-dominated South towards the developed (Christian) North, where it has remained ever since.

[edit] Genetics

The subbranch E3b1-a is present at high frequencies among the Greeks, Serbs and South Italians (up to 25%). Subclade J2f1 is at 2.5% in Serbs and Slavic Macedonians. I1b* is at 29-32% in Serbs, Macedonians and Croats, as low as 3% in Macedonian Roma and Kosovar Albanians, as high as 63% in Herzegovinians. The R1a is the same in Macedonians and Serbs at 15% and close to Herzegovinians at 12%, notable gap between the Albanians (4%) and Croats (35%). Bosnian Serbs are closer to Bosniaks than to Croats, the J Haplogroup is 9% in Serbs and 12% in Bosniaks and almost non-existant among Croats. I-P37 is higher in Croats (71%) than in Serbs (31%) and Bosniaks (44%).^[29]

[edit] Chromosome Y

Y Chromosome HG2 is around 50% in Yugoslavs, Georgians, Ukrainians, with Turks and French at 25%. HG1 is at 10-15% in Serbs, Greeks, Cypriots, Belarusians, Ukrainians and in the Baltic peoples. HG3 is frequent in Central Europe but declines towards Eurasia, 15% in Serbs and Romanians, 8% in Greeks, 50% in Russians and 55% in Poles. HG9 is non-existent in Northern Europe, 10% in Czechs, Slovaks, Slovenes, Serbs, Portuguese, higher concentration in Italy, Greece, Turkey and Caucasus. HG21 is at 13% in Serbs, Italians and Portuguese, higher concentration in Greeks at 30% and as low as 4% in Ukrainians.^[30]

Serbs are generally of "Balkan genetics", contributed by people dominating the Balkans before the Slav arrival (Greeks, Illyrians, Thracians, Dacians).

[edit] Oldest Serbian origin

Next noted that the Chaldean, Assyrian and misirski manuscripts and stone monuments of one of the oldest documents of human civilization, the over seven thousand years, and in them mentioned the name of Serb. According to some scientific theories of the development of human settlements, the rules for different ends in different times. By others considered to be the first settlement occurred in Central Asia,where the people still displaced time. By such statements for the Serbs are believed to branch arijskog or Indo-European mice, which belong to and Romance, Celtic and Germanic peoples. The proof is the same language all Slavic people, "proizasao" from "prasrpskog" language Indo-Asian origin.

A large number of scientists that India considers Serbian prapostojbinom. All they agree to the migration of Serbs from India started before six to seven thousand years and that lasted about a thousand years. One advocate of Serbian origin from India and Dr. Nenad Djordjevic, who in his large study "History of Serbs," argues that and we belong Indo-European tree. He claims that the Serbs always carry your name. There are theories that the first migration of Serbs, realizing in the direction of movement of the sun from east to west. Cot for all European nations considered to be India, where migration to the West started before petnćst thousands of years. Proof how many words in Sanskrit language, and the same meaning as in Serbian, but also are more than three thousand years. As the first historical Zabeleska referred to that Serbh has meaning relatives, seeds and knees. And in today's Indian languages and Serbian words at the same time there is a lot of meaning.

Here are some: agan - oganj; bagas - bog; brath - brat; bhala - bela; chata - ceta; deti - dete; div - div; dina - dan; dasa - deset; dama - dom; girja - gora; grad - grad; iskra - iskra; kada - kada; kuta - kuca; lip - lep; lot - ljut; laghi - laki, lagan; ljubhva - ljubav; matr - mater; mala - mali; more - more; mil - mili; nabas - nebo; nava - novi; paraha - prah; prati - protiv; panca - pet; pena - pena; rabh - rob; rosa - rosa; sa - so; sila - sila; sas - sest; stan - stan; sabha - soba; stala - stol; tata - tata; ta - taj; tvar - stvar; trasti - tresti; trang - trag; tamas - tama; tri - tri; trijdosa - trinćst; tada - tada; vrt - vrt; vicur - vece; vatara - vatra; vi - vi; vas - vas; viva - zivi. In the Sanskrit language family names are identical Serbian, such as: Dad, mint, brother, good, sister, aunt, father-in-law, mother-in-law, groomsman, man, sister-in-law. Then:guvno, hlad, stoka, govece, jama, apsara, mana, raka, jad, med, guditi i druge. There are certainly more. Other evidence of Serb origin related to the obicaji India, which are very similar in both nations, for example, kidnapping girls, over palenje Christmas Eve, divination, the motives of nadgrobnim berths and monuments, social and state order. Even at the Serbs were saved and obicaji burning the dead. Tell Zupa and county mayors in Serbian have meaning in the industrial association or cooperative, in Sanskrit mean connectivity. English writers have emphasized the Indian identity and social Serbian units, municipalities, which at that time were najdemokratskiji form of society, saved in Serbia until today. Makarov recorded the names of many Serbian living, who stayed until days danasnjeg: Indostan, Afghanistan, Kurdistan, Rajasthan, and still many others.Nisades, beautiful and not accessible top, flat gods by indijskoj religion, was the first Serbian postojbina. Quote from the knight, at 29, reads: "With the top measure (the mountain in India) to give its branches as Himavat, Henakutas, Nisades, which lived severe Clad in suit and the skin of people Serba or Serbs. Signs that the Serbs originally lived in the area between himalajskih and hindokuskih mountain, over six thousand years before Christ. Russian historian Moroskin outlines that other nations were enviable to the Serbs, who have inhabited the area Dunaj in India. He also states that in the states of India were Prazija, Gangazija and Sarbarska (Serbian), primorskom in the area that was Panovska. The existence of these two Serbian state have been found records of Alexander the Great. This points to the possibility that the names of the Danube and Pannonia are also originate from India (or vice versa). And in the Indian geographical maps of a Serbian name meaning: Serbs, harvested, Carnigor, Belospor, Kovilje, Zhytomyr, Small Scale, White Zora, City, emperors, coma, Mlava, Drvar, fighter, Zagora, gray ox, Ravnagora, Borje, Dub, Veselgrad, Timok, Sarbatu, Srbistan, Morava, State, Kotor, and other Srbalj. Moroskinu by Serbs who lived in India several thousand years before iseljavanja in Central Asia, but also the mass migration before 5000 years. All derived from that of the origin of the Serbs in India can speak as a period of some eight thousand years or more. Mass iseljavanja from India caused by the appearance of plague, who is numerically almost prepolovila, as well as invasion from the south of black people who were mercilessly plundered. By Moroskinu first branch Serbs iselio from India in the direction of Mesopotamije, the river Euphrates and Tigra, where they founded their new Sabarsku state on the territory of danasnjeg Iraq. Local cities called the Serbian names, there are about them and even today some testimony. The arrival of Serbs in Mesopotamiju dates back about three thousand years before Christ, you have to maintain at least about one millennium. Of the Serb children are spread in Asia Minor, and somewhat later, there are finished in Europe. Some are inhabited and Egypt. After the death of Pharaoh Pepija II the Serbs zavladalo the area that are settled and that their rule lasted from 2261 to 2052 years old era. The theory represents the French and egiptolog Gaston Maspero, who says that the Serbs from Sarbarske arrived in Africa three times. Gaston his claim based on the Serbian labels on the Egyptian pyramids and stone monuments. Serbs the Egyptians named "kings of the shepherd, and were lowest Egypt. This is in complete accordance with our izučavanjima istoricara Stojan Boskovic, who in "The History of the world," says the Egyptians to raise revolts against Serbian ruler in lower Egypt. Francis-Maria Apendini says that the Serbs a time when our Syria, where they attacked Egypt. For so-called "cudesni 'period of Egypt means the enslavement of some foreign nations and the rule of a Arse (his name is written cirilicom APCA). For the" cudesni "period Francisco-Maria Apendini says that people come behind the Caspian lakes, which are najratoborniji people, and were a long time, Egypt and Syria and called the Serbs. The first settlers in Europe still have the Balkan peninsula, while the smaller groups gone to Italy and even to Spain, 3000 years before Christ. Arrival of the first Serbian Balkan happened about three to four thousand years before Christ. Šafarik claims to be neither a European nation, except the Serbs, can not prove the origin of India, for the Serbs to a history. Even in the baskijskom recniku called say Serbian name: the mountains and mountain (what mountain). A fact that even in the language Baska has 30-40% say Serbian meaning. Milos Milojevic, in which wrote about the life of Serbs in France and Denmark, where today there are geographical TOPONIMI Serbian meaning, said that during the displacement of Serbs stradalo 30 to 60 million Serbs in Europe. He also says Serbian residence in the Netherlands and Belgium to Amsterdam is sometimes called Slavengrad. And when Dr. Olga Lukovic-Pjanovic come in France, some lady Hermina her ispričala story of their parents, which the Serbs reigned in Alsace, which Olga did not know. Madjutim later to determine the true and could not forgive his professors that it is not learned, and even more Serbian Academy of Sciences that these things permanently cuti.

The second branch of the Serbs in India is going to the Caspian Sea and Caucasus mountains, where they founded homeland 2,560 years before Christ and called the Serbanija. And there are a few centuries to maintain, all while there are Potis new Osvajaci.

Third Serbian branch directed by the kitajskog Emperor (China), in the north and have lived in Sibiriji, where they founded the state Sirbidija or Sirbija 3,200 years before Christ. Sirbija of the river has become today comes Sibirija.

Migration of the second and third of the Serbs are also lasted about a thousand years, started almost the same time the first branch, according to the occupied their new place about two to three millennia before Christ. While the move the way are mostly waged a war, conquering new space for its own survival, but also many perished. Most Serbs, fell in the long-term struggle with Kitajcima, Hunima and Mongol.

Dubrovcanin Mauro Orbini wrote that the Serbs, which he called Slavjanam, originally from Jefeta, the son of Noah, two hundred settlements province of Asia through Europe. His book "The kingdom of Slavs" (from the year 1601) is translated into Serbian only in 1968 and without subtitles the first part of 248 pages, in which the author writes about the former Serbian kingdoms before the Roman Empire. Zakljucaka from Mauro Orbini flows to the last dynasty Nemanjica middle Serbian dynasty. Jovan Rajić says that the Serbian party name out of the river zebris names (or Serbisė), which tece between the Euphrates and Tigra. Indeed, the river is now so called. Today in the Persian language at the same time there are many words meaning as in Serbian. Here are some: god-god; Zemo-country, winter-winter, women-women; berezo-speed; Mislj-thought; zarja-dawn; bear-med; night-night; paurvi first two two-, three-three ; Four-four, etc.. And in the Jewish and Armenian language also say there is Serbian, as Jewish historians taken for determining your origin through Jefet, the son of Noe. Serbs have left their names wherever they lived. Here are some: Lake Srbonis in Syria, Serbetes, place in Mauritania, Serbanica (or Srbica) on crnomorskoj coast, Serberion the mouth of the river Don, Sarbakon in Crimea, Sorbhag in Iran, Serbka in India, Sarbinovo in Ukraine, Serban-water in Poland , Croatia, Romania, Serbinė in Greece, Sarbiodunum in Sardinia, Sarbat river in Turkey at a time when the Turks still have not lived in their current territories. For historians say that Serbs have lived in the entire Europe, and had no need to prepare for war. Professor Miomir Jovic found that the migration of Serbs from India took years 4500-4000 BC A fiery Radulovic, in the quest for roots Serbs, said that from his prapostojbine India Serbs went before six thousand years, usmerivsi in three directions, which is one of the group after a short holding in Mesopotamia arrived in the valley of Pharaoh. Straben Greek historian wrote that in western Asia by mountains ziveli Serbs, or Brdjani, who odlikovalo rusom kosom and blue eyes. About them are drunk and Russian istoricara Michael Lomonosova. Dubrovcanin Ivan Gundulić singing about slavnoj three: When the sea management Serbian side in przinah desolate Zala Three lie buried, from the Greek fire fell. A Car Dusan built his deputy in the Asia Small bass in the field of three.

Olga Lukovic-Pjanovic says, in the second book "The Serbs oldest people," page 59, as the "Chicago Tribune" 19 February 1981 published the news that the Chinese otkopana oldest mummy, which was blue women, Caucasian. Then the same news published in Paris on TV. These news Olgu are potsetile to those who claim that the Illyrians Siptari only because they dwelt on the Illyrian territories. Accordingly, Olga concludes that the "blue Chinawoman" could only be srpkinja.

There are numerous recordings of Serbian destruction of times in the new era. Here are some. During the great war with the Turkish and Mongolian tribes disappeared many Serbian villages in which ziveli centuries. According to Greece hronici Roman Emperor Justinian in the seventh century forcibly moved many Serbs from the region present Old Serbia in Asia Minor and they created the selected army of 30,000 horsemen. In the fight Arabia with 692 two-thirds of the army Predji na of the Arabs and Justinian gave an account that all the remaining family Serbian slaughter. Something later, 762 years, from Macedonia moves about 250,000 Serbs in Asia Minor, a 802 year again dodje similar to the migration, after a Greek car Komnen subdued Raska. And finally, in petnćstom century when the Turks conquered Bosnia, sultan Suleiman shifted the 30,000 Serbian male children in Turkey which is a Janissary and isve them utrosio in the obracuna with the Serbs. Latin bishops for the time sinoda in Salons declared Cyrillic "djavolom letter and restrict its use. Poland, Czech Republic and Croatia now had left and launched the fight against Cyrillic. This fight produzena to the present day, and it is also a struggle between the two churches, which lasts for centuries. All are evidence that the Serbs centuries bivali exposed to sufferings, the blood of their own paid a high price for survival.

A branch of the Serbs who migrated to the Balkans before three to four thousand years, which are written Greek and Roman historians, the direct father danasnjih Serbs. The branch is due even to Spain and the northern coast of Africa. The migration of these records forsook the Czech Pulkova and societies Silvije, which lists the migration of Serbs at the time of the Tower of Babylon. France Mosper wrote three break shepherd from the Small Asia in Egypt and claims to the Serbs. And at the Egyptian pyramids hijeroglufima is written to the 1,600 years before Christ in Libya and Mauritaniju doprli white peoples blue eyes. Egyptian sources claim that those nations in their region by the state that existed seven centuries. Dr. Olga Lukovic-Pjanovic adorable description of the prisoners of war, whose characters are carved in Egypt piramiadama with radial crowns on the heads, with the conclusion based on the word "pereset" and "finger" to the Serbs (str. 215-230) . Rajic cite Russian letopisca, who say that Vendi, Serbs, helped Trojance in the fight against the Greeks, and after the defeat with their vojvodo Antonorom moved from low to the Adriatic coast of Asia. Allegations continue to claim that the Serbs settled Boku, Montenegro, Dalmatia, Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina and to Venice before three thousand years. Šafarik, later wrote that these were Vendi jednorodni with Vendi from the Danube regions.

Derived from the front to the Serbs inhabited Europe and the Balkans with the other Indo-European nations: German, Greek and Latin. Six hundred years after the trojan war, the Serbs are completely settlements in the Balkans that time, Macedonian emperor Alexander the Great its Charter gave them the land of the Adriatic Sea to Baltickog for their courage and loyalty. It is that the Alexander the Great and his father Philip also Serbs, because at that time are still there Slavs. Croat Sver said that the mother of Alexander the Great was Illyrian blood, and knows that the Serb party named Illyrians. This is interpreted to songs from John Gundulca "Osman", which says: From Lesandra Srbljanina of svijeh emperor, the emperor famous Alexander svidoci to the king of all large suite. Mr Alexander the Great is Karanovic, a name derived from the titles of Karan, who is dodeljivana Serbs in the high dignitaries and plemića or princu vladarske from home, related the king or emperor, during his set at the duty commander of the military or the province. According to Deretić, only the Serbs at the time of Alexander the Great had a military formation that interpretation of the match. And two thousand years before the birth of Christ, the only state ancient emperor Nina was the world empire, which belonged to a half of modern Europe, part of Asia and Africa - Ilirska, Dacka and Carpathian Serbia. In ancient time, by Deretić, the state was organized community based on customary law. For the old Greeks in the original Europe they are not your ubrajali Greece, Europe is for them was only of Serbia and nothing more. The state was olicavao ruler, lord, and was as much as the monarch managed to put it under your authority, and it successfully managed.

After the disintegration of the Roman Empire after the Serbian state 461 years, the coronation Markelina in Thessaloniki. Markeli, Serb, was vojskovodja the Roman Empire, which contributed to the victory over Attila, the Katalinskim fields 451 years. Serbian state was established Ostorilo Svevladov 490 years and was called the Serbian empire or Serbia. From then until the end of the 15th century, full of a thousand years, Serbia is a state without interruption. Deretić cite Anonymous Reventanisa who presented the existence of three of Serbia, the same names: the first from the Adriatic Sea to the Danube, called Ilirska Serbia, the other from the Danube to Carphatian, called Dacka Serbia and the third of Carphatian Baltickog to the sea, called Sarmatskom Serbia. It was two centuries before Christ. Romans won Ilirsko Dacka a part of Serbia, a century after Christ, and a part between the Tisa and Danube rivers remained forever is not taken, which is in favor of claims that nikda not lost tradition of Roman conquest. Full Sarmatska Serbia remained out of reach of the Roman Empire. Dacka Serbia today called Vlaska, a Baltic Serbia called Poland. So the establishment of Ninovog Empire, about 2,015 years old era, and to this day, over four thousand years of Serbian state tradition is not lost. Hence, Serbia "Vecna".

Sebastian Dolce and inadvertently connected Illyrian language with the Serbs. A Laonikos Halkokondilos in the book "The Turkey", says that the same language spoken by all nations must Jonskog to Venice, and Sarma said that they lived in Poland today, and are down to the Danube, which confirms and Šafarik and Surovjecki, pisuci about the distribution of the Serbian people. Croatian writer and Dinko Zlatarić in "Elektra", pay Zrinski, writes about his "Alexander the Great, king of Serbian". Orfelin on Russian Peter great Caesar, in gramati of 3 March 1711, written to the "car of all Russians call the Serbs rebelled against the Turks, potsecajuci them to sete junačkih and their famous predecessors, in the first row of Serbian Tsar Alexander the Great Macedonia, which is many careve won many state osvoio.

[edit] Serb migration between 4500-4000 BC

1: By Moroskinu first branch Serbs iselio from India in the direction of Mesopotamije, the river Euphrates and Tigra, where they founded their new Sabarsku state on the territory of danasnjeg Iraq. Local cities called the Serbian names, there are about them and even today some testimony. The arrival of Serbs in Mesopotamiju dates back about three thousand years before Christ, you have to maintain at least about one millennium. Of the Serb children are spread in Asia Minor, and somewhat later, there are finished in Europe. Some are inhabited and Egypt. After the death of Pharaoh Pepija II the Serbs zavladalo the area that are settled and that their rule lasted from 2261 to 2052 years old era. The theory represents the French and egiptolog Gaston Maspero, who says that the Serbs from Sarbarske arrived in Africa three times. Gaston his claim based on the Serbian labels on the Egyptian pyramids and stone monuments. Serbs the Egyptians named "kings of the shepherd, and were lowest Egypt. This is in complete accordance with our izučavanjima istoricara Stojan Boskovic, who in "The History of the world," says the Egyptians to raise revolts against Serbian ruler in lower Egypt. Francis-Maria Apendini says that the Serbs a time when our Syria, where they attacked Egypt. For so-called "cudesni 'period of Egypt means the enslavement of some foreign nations and the rule of a Arse (his name is written cirilicom APCA). For the" cudesni "period Francisco-Maria Apendini says that people come behind the Caspian lakes, which are najratoborniji people, and were a long time, Egypt and Syria and called the Serbs.

The first settlers in Europe still have the Balkan peninsula, while the smaller groups gone to Italy and even to Spain, 3000 years before Christ. Arrival of the first Serbian Balkan happened about three to four thousand years before Christ. Šafarik claims to be neither a European nation, except the Serbs, can not prove the origin of India, for the Serbs to a history. Even in the baskijskom recniku called say Serbian name: the mountains and mountain (what mountain). A fact that even in the language Baska has 30-40% say Serbian meaning. Milos Milojevic, in which wrote about the life of Serbs in France and Denmark, where today there are geographical TOPONIMI Serbian meaning, said that during the displacement of Serbs stradalo 30 to 60 million Serbs in Europe. He also says Serbian residence in the Netherlands and Belgium to Amsterdam is sometimes called Slavengrad. And when Dr. Olga Lukovic-Pjanovic come in France, some lady Hermina her ispričala story of their parents, which the Serbs reigned in Alsace, which Olga did not know. Madjutim later to determine the true and could not forgive his professors that it is not learned, and even more Serbian Academy of Sciences that these things permanently cuti.

2: The second branch of the Serbs in India is going to the Caspian Sea and Caucasus mountains, where they founded homeland 2,560 years before Christ and called the Serbanija. And there are a few centuries to maintain, all while there are Potis new Osvajaci.

3:Third Serbian branch directed by the kitajskog Emperor (China), in the north and have lived in Sibiriji, where they founded the state Sirbidija or Sirbija 3,200 years before Christ. Sirbija of the river has become today comes Sibirija(Siberia).

[edit] Population

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% in the Srpska entity) and a recognized people in the Republic of Montenegro 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)^[31]. Many Serbs also live in the diaspora, notably in Germany, Austria, The Netherlands, Switzerland, France, Sweden, Brazil, 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-Herzegovina) (c. 220,000), Kragujevac (c. 175,000), East Sarajevo and Prijedor (in Bosnia-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% (83% excluding Kosovo) of the population, including Kosovo, which has declared itself independent from Serbia in February 17, 2008. Another 1,6 million live in Bosnia and Herzegovina [1] and 200,000 in Croatia (650,000 prior to the war), with another 250,000 in Montenegro following its independence. 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 do Istanbul and Paris. The number of Serbs in the diaspora is unknown but it is estimated to be up to 5.5 million. ^[32]^[33] 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. According to official figures, 5000 Serbs live in Dubai but the unofficial figure is estimated to be around 15,000.^[23]

The recent research of the Ministry of Diaspora, showed that more than two thirds of Serbs in diaspora have plans of returning to Serbia, and almost one third is ready to do it immediately should they be given a good employment offer.^[34] 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. The ministry claims that there are 3.5 million Serbs living around the world, quotes the POLITIKA. ^[35]

[edit] Culture

Main article: Serbian culture

Miroslav Gospels, UNESCO, 1186

Serbian culture refers to the culture of Serbia as well as the culture of Serbs in other parts of the former Yugoslavia and elsewhere in the world. The nearby Byzantine Empire had a strong influence in the Middle Ages while the Serbian Orthodox Church has had an enduring influence. However, one must note that the first Serbian kings were crowned by the Vatican, not Constantinople, and that prior to the Ottoman invasion Serbs have had strong Roman Catholic influence, especially in the coastal areas (Montenegro, Croatia). Austrians and Hungarians have highly influenced Serbs of Vojvodina, Croatian Serbs and Bosnian Serbs to smaller extent, while Republic of Venice influenced Serbs living on the coast (Bay of Kotor for example). Serbian culture was also influenced by three centuries of rule under the Ottoman Empire. Following autonomy in 1817 and latter formal independence, there was a resurgence of Serbian culture in today's central Serbia in the nineteenth century. Prior to that of 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.

[edit] Famous Serbs

See also: List of Serbs

Lazar of Serbia

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); the famous composers Goran Bregovic, Stevan Mokranjac and Stevan Hristić; the celebrated authors Borislav Pekić, Ivo Andrić and Miloš Crnjanski; the prolific inventor Ogneslav Kostović Stepanović; the polymath Đura Jakšić; the famous sports stars like Ana Ivanović, Novak Djokovic, Predrag Stojakovic, Dejan Stankovic, Nemanja Vidic, Sinisa Mihajlovic, Dejan Bodiroga, Vlade Divac; actors Karl Malden (Mladen Sekulovich), Rade Šerbedžija and the actress Milla Jovovich. 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 "Weird Al" Yankovic, Željko Joksimović and Marija Šerifović are of Serbian origin.

The mother of the last (Eastern) Roman Emperor, Constantine XI Paleologos Dragases, was a Serbian princess, Helena Dragash (Jelena Dragaš), and she liked to be known by her Serbian surname of Dragaš. Many Serbian Royal Families had significant role in Europe's and Balkan history. Such as House of Nemanjić , House of Vojislavljević , House of Mrnjavčević , House of Lazarević , House of Branković , House of Crnojević , House of Balšić , House of Obrenović and House of Karađorđević . The most famous of them was Emperor Dusan . Mehmed-paša Sokolović a 16th-century Ottoman Grand Vizier. Born in an Orthodox Serb family in southeast Bosnia, Sokolović was taken away at an early age as part of the devshirmeh system of Ottoman collection of young boys to be raised to serve as janissaries or in the imperial administration.

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, assassinated Archduke Franz Ferdinand on 28 June 1914, precipitating the crisis between Austro-Hungary and Serbia that led to the World War I.

[edit] Language

Main article: Serbian language

Serbs speak the Serbian language, a member of the South Slavic group of languages. While the Ethnic identity is to some extent linguistic, apart from the Cyrillic alphabet which Serbs use along with Latin alphabet, the language is mutually intelligible to the standard Croatian and Bosnian (see Differences in standard Serbian, Croatian and Bosnian) and some linguists still consider it part of the pre-war Serbo-Croatian language.

Serbian Cyrillic and Serbian Latin, from Comparative orthography of European languages. Source: Vuk Stefanović Karadžić "Srpske narodne pjesme" (Serbian folk poems), Vienna, 1841

There are several variants of the Serbian language. The older forms of Serbian are Old Serbian and Russo-Serbian, a version of the Church Slavonic language.

Some members of the Serbian diaspora do not speak the language (in English-speaking countries of USA, Canada and UK) but are still considered Serbs by ethnic origin or descent.

[edit] Surnames

Main article: Serbian surnames

Most Serbian surnames have the surname suffix -ić (pronounced [itʲ] or [itɕ], Cyrillic: -ић). This is often transliterated as -ic. In history, 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, for historical reasons, as Milutin Milankovitch.

The -ić suffix is a Slavic diminutive, originally functioning to create patronymics. Thus the surname Petrić signifies little Petar, as does, for example, a common prefix Mac ("son of") in Scottish and O' in Irish names. It is estimated that some two thirds of all Serbian surnames end in -ić but that some 80% of Serbs carry such a surname with many common names being spread out among tens and even hundreds of non-related extended families.

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.

[edit] Religion

Main article: Serbian Orthodox Church

Fresco from Visoki Dečani, Visoki Dečani, Serbia, 1200s

Conversion of the South Slavs from paganism to Christianity began in the 7th century, long before the Great Schism, the split between the Orthodox East and the Roman Catholic West, the Serbs were fully christian 870 by Byzantine Christian Missionairies (Saints) Cyril and Methodius. After the Schism, those who lived under the Orthodox sphere of influence became Orthodox and those who lived under the Catholic sphere of influence became Catholic, thus, Croats were Catholic and Serbs - Orthodox Christian. Later, with the arrival of the Ottoman Empire, many Slavs converted to Islam. Some ethnologists consider that the distinct Serb, Croatian and Bosniak identities were drawn from religion rather than ethnicity.

[edit] Symbols

Main article: List of Serbian flags

House of Branković Coat of Arms

The Serbian flag is a red-blue-white tricolour. It is often combined with one or both of the other Serb symbols.

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

The Serbian cross. 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 through 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:

Opanci- shoes of Central Serbia, 1800s

A traditional shoe that is called the opanak. It is recognizable by its distinctive tips that spiral backward. Each region of Serbia has a different kind of tips.
A traditional hat that is called the 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 gained wide popularity in the early 20th century as it was the hat of the Serbian army in the First World War. It is still worn everyday by some villagers today, and it was a common item of headgear among Bosnian Serb military commanders during the Bosnian War in the 1990s. However, "šajkača" is common mostly for the Serbian population living in the region of Central Serbia (Šumadija), while Serbs living in Vojvodina, Montenegro, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Croatia had different types of traditional hats, which are not similar to "šajkača". Different types of traditional hats could be also found in eastern and southern parts of Central Serbia.

[edit] 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.

Of all Slavs and Orthodox Christians, only Serbs have the custom of slava. The custom could also be found among some Russians and Albanians of Serbian origin although it has often been lost in the last century. 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 from father to son and each household may only have one celebration which means that the occasion brings all of the family together.

The traditional Serbian dance is a circle dance called kolo. 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. It is called Oro in Montenegro. Similar circle dances also exist in other cultures of the region.

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 worshipers 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 meaning 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 Orthodox New Year (currently on January 14 of the Gregorian Calendar).

Religious Serbs also celebrate other religious holidays and even non-religious people often celebrate Easter (on the Orthodox date).

For Serbian meals, see Serbian cuisine.

[edit] Stereotypes

One oft-quoted aspect of the Serbian character is inat (инат), roughly translating as "spite," or the stubborn refusal to submit (regardless of the reason), or acting to the contrary, even to the point of harming oneself. While inat can have negative connotations, some cite Serbian tenacity in sports and in warfare to this characteristic.^[36]^[37]

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.^[38] 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.^[39] 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.

[edit] History

Main article: History of Serbs

See also: History of Serbia

Before their arrival on the Balkans, Serbs inhabited White Serbia, situated in present day Poland. The Serb settlement in the Balkans took place between 610 and 626. They formed five principalities in the 7th century which were later to be incorporated into the Serbian Empire, called Rascia, Travunia, Zachlumia, Pagania and Doclea. The Serbs were under the Byzantine Greeks which contributed greatly to the Serbs and their culture. The Serbian region was Christianized by both (anachronistically) Roman Catholic (Rome) and Byzantine Greek (Constantinople) Christian missionaries in several waves even before the arrival of Serbs in 610, before the Great Schism that would further differentiate Serbs from their neighboring Croats.

Serbian settlements in 814, scattered across the Balkans

The first Serb states were Rascia or Raška and Zeta. Their rulers had varying degrees of autonomy, until virtual independence was achieved under 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. Serbia did not exist as a state of that name, but was rather the region inhabited by the Serbs; its kings and tsars were called the "King of the Serbs" or "Tsar of the Serbs", not "King of Serbia" or "Tsar of Serbia". The medieval Serbian states are nonetheless often (if anachronistically) referred as a whole to as "Serbia".

The acceptance of Imperial authorithy in early Serb history can be seen in the Serb naval detachments fighting under Frankish king Ludwig in 870 against the muslim Arabs^[40].

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 it's 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.

Serbs in 1910

As Christians, the Serbs were regarded as a "protected people" under Ottoman law. Many converted to Islam, notably in the Sandzak and Bosnia region, some converted in order to be more successful in the Ottoman Empire society, many were forced as part of Turkification or Islamisation and avoided persecution. Serbs, together with Greeks and Bulgarians, were favored as the Sultans infantry unit called Janissaries, the outcome of the Devşirme system.

The Serbs opposed the Ottoman yoke, which resulted in several major battles and rebellions against the Turks and de-population of Serbian lands. 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. The Serbs and Croats rebelled in Dalmatia and Slavonia in guerrilla formations of Uskoks and Hajduks during the 16th and 17th century. In 1852, the Principality of Montenegro was proclaimed, a nation-state of the Serbs.

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.

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.

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 largest ethnic group. 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.

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 their state of Republika Srpska 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 the 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 expelled 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.

[edit] Subgroups

The subgroups of Serbs are commonly based on regional affiliation. Some of the major subgroups of Serbs include: Šumadinci, Ere, Vojvođani, Crnogorci, Bačvani, Banaćani, Bokelji, Bosanci, Sremci, Semberci, Krajišnici, Hercegovci, Torlaci, Shopi,etc.

Montenegrins were/are considered a subgroup of Serbs for a long time by themselves, as well as by Serbs outside Montenegro. 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 Montenegro made independent from Serbia. However, world wide, the presence of Serb Montenegrins is prevailing.

(Note: These terms can be also used to refer to any native inhabitants of the regions in question, regardless of ethnicity, i.e. to Magyar Vojvodinians or Croat Herzegovinians.)

Some Serbs, mostly living in Montenegro and Herzegovina are organized in clans. See: list of Serbian tribes.

[edit] Maps

Serbs (blue) in Serbia (2002 Census data for Central Serbia and Vojvodina)	Serbs (yellow) in Serbia (2002 Census data for Central Serbia and Vojvodina)	Serbs in Kosovo (red) (2005 OSCE estimates)^[41]	Serbs in Montenegro (blue) (2003 Census)
Serbs in Bosnia and Herzegovina (red) (2006 estimate)	Serbs in Croatia (blue) (2001 Census)	Serbs of Romania (yellow) (2002 Census)	Serbs in the former Yugoslavia (blue) (1991 Census)