The Serbian Revolution (1804–1835) transformed Serbia from an Ottoman province into an autonomous constitutional monarchy, laying the foundation for modern Serbian statehood.
Key Facts
- Duration
- 1804 to 1835
- Triggering event
- Slaughter of the Knezes by Ottoman Janissaries
- Ottoman occupation ended
- 370 years of Ottoman rule challenged
- First Balkan constitution
- Adopted 1835, abolished feudalism and serfdom
- Autonomy recognized
- Serbia recognized as autonomous principality in 1830 and 1833
- Term coined by
- Leopold von Ranke, Die Serbische Revolution (1829)
By the Numbers
Location
Cause → Event → Consequence
In 1804, Ottoman Janissaries carried out the Slaughter of the Knezes, executing prominent Serbian nobles throughout Central Serbia and displaying their severed heads publicly. This act of brutal repression, combined with 370 years of Ottoman occupation, oppressive taxation based on religious affiliation, and the absence of formal legal protections, galvanized the Serbian population into organized armed resistance.
The Serbian Revolution unfolded between 1804 and 1835 in two distinct phases. The first (1804–1817) involved two armed uprisings — the First Serbian Uprising led by Karađorđe Petrović and the Second led by Miloš Obrenović — which secured a ceasefire and growing autonomy. The second phase (1817–1835) was a peaceful consolidation of political power, culminating in the adoption of Serbia's first written constitution in 1835.
The revolution resulted in Serbia's recognition as an autonomous principality with hereditary princes in 1830 and 1833, and the adoption of the first constitution in the Balkans in 1835, which abolished feudalism and serfdom. De facto independence followed in 1867 when Ottoman garrisons withdrew, and de jure independence was formally recognized at the Congress of Berlin in 1878, establishing modern Serbia.