SOUTH EASTERN EUROPE 545Situated at the heart of the Balkan
Peninsula, Serbia has played a cen tral
role in the history and culture of
South Eastern Europe. A turbulent
past has produced a nation that
seems uncertain about the future, but
is rarely lacking in cultural pride.
At the crossroads of history,
Serbia’s population of just under 7.5
million is composed of various ethnic
groups. The majority are Orthodox
Christian Serbs, although the north ern
province of Vojvodina is home to a
large number of Catholic Hungarians,
alongside small num bers of Slovaks,
Romanians and Croats. In addition,
there are signi ficant numbers of
Muslim Bosnjaks, who are mostly
concentrated in the southeast.HISTORY
The establishment of a Serb state
dates back to the early 13th century,
when the rulers of the Raška region
(modern-day Novi Pazar) established
a kingdom with an autonomous
church. The state reached its zenith
under Stefan Dušan (r. 1331–46),
who conquered territories in mod-
ern-day Macedonia and Greece.
However, Serbian power went into
decline with the arrival of the
Ottomans in the Balkans. Although
the epic Battle of Kosovo (1389) held
them at bay for a while, the con stant
conflict weakened the state and, after
70 years of resistance, Serbia fell to
the Ottomans, ushering in four cen-
turies of foreign occu pation. In theSERBIA
L
ying at the crossroads of Europe, Serbia’s history goes back to the
Neolithic era. Settled by Slavs in the 6th century, the country was
home to a thriving civilization in the Middle Ages, and many of
the surviving churches and monasteries from the period are UNESCO
protected today. Serbia’s natural forests, pristine moun tain lakes and
karst rock formations add to its stunning natural beauty.
The renovated Sopoćani Monastery, founded in the 13th century
View of the 15th-century Nebojša Kula on the Sava river, Kalemegdan Park, Belgrade