I have long planned to visit the countries of the Balkans, but the tense political situation of the 1990s and the wars that followed have made me wait. After the situation calmed down, I started visiting the countries in the region. The last two countries I visited were Bosnia-Herzegovina and Montenegro.
During a nearly 1,500-kilometer drive, I visited large parts of the two, small, interesting and very beautiful, countries of Bosnia-Herzegovina and Montenegro in the Balkans. My journey began and ended in Sarajevo, the capital of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Montenegro history in brief
According to computerannals, many different peoples have fought for domination in what is today Montenegro, mainly Illyrians, Romans and Serbs, with whom the Montenegrins are closely related
Montenegro history, older
100s BC, the area was conquered by the Romans
395 AD
After the division of the Roman Empire into a western and an eastern part, different peoples formed in conflict with each other and with the Eastern Roman Empire, Byzantium, new states in the Balkans of varying scope and longevity
600s, middle
Had the slaves colonized almost the entire Balkans. The area that is today Montenegro was first called Duklja, then Zeta and then Crna Gora (black mountain), better known in the Venetian form – Montenegro
1000s The mighty medieval Serbian Empire emerged
12th century Montenegro became part of the Serbian kingdom
1187 The Serbian Empire was recognized by the Byzantine emperor
1219
The Serbian Empire got its own Serbian Orthodox archbishop. The church became a unifying force and became very important for the Serbs’ national and cultural identity
14th century, end
Montenegro liberated itself from Serbia and, under the leadership of Orthodox bishops, Vladikas, succeeded in resisting attempts at conquest by Venetians and Ottomans, among others.
1878 Montenegro’s independence is recognized at the Berlin Congress
1910 Montenegro was proclaimed a kingdom under Nicholas I.
1912 – 1913 and 1914 – 1918
Montenegro supported Serbia in the Balkan Wars, 1912–1913, and in World War I, 1914–1918
1916 Occupied Habsburgs, Austrians, Montenegro
1918
When the Habsburg Empire collapsed, the country was occupied by Serbia and King Nikola was forced to abdicate.
In December, the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes, from 1929, proclaimed the Kingdom of Yugoslavia
1939 – 1945
During World War II, Montenegro was occupied by Italy but fought the occupiers together with Tito’s partisans and after the war became one of six republics in socialist Yugoslavia.
1974
The constitution, which came about after a Croatian uprising, gave the republics extensive autonomy with their own governments and administrations. The central government in Belgrade was responsible for foreign policy, defense and parts of the economy, but the republics were able to veto important issues and for the most part the federation’s best came second
1980
After Tito’s death, the contradictions within Yugoslavia began to become clear. Montenegro, however, for a long time loyally supported Serbia during all the wars and crises that followed the disintegration of Yugoslavia, first as part of a “Rest Yugoslavia” with Serbia, then as part of a looser union with Serbia. Eventually, however, relations between Serbia and Montenegro became increasingly strained
