The Serbs / Sima M. Ćirković ; translated by Vuk Tošić.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Ćirković, Sima M., 1929-2009.

Series:

Peoples of Europe

The peoples of Europe

Language:

English

Serbian

Subjects (All):

Serbs--History.

Serbs.

History.

Serbia--History.

Serbia.

Yugoslavia--History.

Yugoslavia.

National characteristics, Serbian.

Physical Description:

xxix, 322 pages : illustrations, maps ; 24 cm.

Place of Publication:

Malden, MA : Blackwell Pub., 2004.

Summary:

This sweeping history of the Serbian people starts with the settlement of the Slavs on the Balkan Peninsula in the seventh century and ends with the dissolution of Yugoslavia at the end of the twentieth. Drawing on his own research and on contemporary literature, Sima Cirkovic looks at how the Serbs have fared through the ages ndash; struggling for independence against Byzantium, suffering as slaves of the Ottoman sultans, and modernizing in a troubled corner of south-eastern Europe. Cirkovic's detailed account provides a counter-balance to traditionally one-sided political histories of the Serbs, paying close attention to the nationrsquo; s socio-economic development. His narrative gives equal weight to the medieval and modern periods, but draws from the processes of both integration and disintegration that have characterized Serbian history. The book gives readers the historical background to the Serbs, providing an essential insight into recent events.

Contents:

Introduction: Time, Space, and People xvi

1 Ancient Heritage 1

The Roman Provinces 1

Settlement of the Slavs 7

Sclavinias 10

Christianization 15

The Theme of Serbia and the Principality of Serbia 20

The Coastal Principalities 24

The Town of Ras and Raska Land 29

2 The Dynasty of Sacred Roots 34

Nemanja's Legacy 34

Independent Kingdom 38

The Autocephalous Archbishopric 40

Stability Put to the Test 46

Two Kingdoms 49

Economic Development 52

Dynastic Ideal and Reality 58

The Empire 63

Land of the Emperor and Land of the King 67

Unfinished Society 71

Rift within the Dynasty 75

3 Between the Cross and the Crescent 77

The New Lords and the End of the Dynasty 77

Transfer of the Kingdom to Bosnia 80

The Battle of Kosovo

Reality and Myth 82

The Consequences 85

The Despot and His Land 87

The Restless Littoral 91

Economic Progress 93

Continuity as an Ideal 96

The Burden of Double Vassalage 101

A Chronicle of Demise 105

4 The Sultan's Protected Subjects 111

The Old and the New 111

Flight, Migration, and Settlement 115

The Orientalization of Towns: Varos and Kasaba 120

Economic Life 126

Clans and Clan Society 129

Church in Slavery 133

From Submission to Rebellion 140

5 The Emergence of Modern Christian Society 146

A New State Framework 146

Extending and Reorganizing the Framework 151

Peasants and Citizens, Soldiers and Nobles 157

Christian Education 162

The Beginning of Europeanization 167

6 The Era of Democratic Revolutions 176

"The Serbian Revolution" 176

Imposed Revolution 183

From Prince's Autonomy to Autonomous Principality 190

The Serbs and Serbia in the Revolution of 1848 196

7 National State: For and Against 204

Changes in Reality and Changes in Ideas 204

Ruling Nation 211

National Minority 217

In the Center of the Great Eastern Crisis (1875-8) 221

Diverging Paths of Development 226

Constitution and Parliament Put to the Test 237

Times of War 243

8 All the Serbs in One State 252

Between Unitarian Ideal and Pluralist Reality 252

Yugoslavia Decreed 261

Death and Resurrection 269

Reconstruction and Development 274

Modernization through Socialism 279

Epilogue: Breakup of the Federation and the Struggle for a National State 288.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages [297]-300) and index.

ISBN:

0631204717

OCLC:

53232011