1.
Serbian language
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Serbian is the standardized variety of the Serbo-Croatian language mainly used by Serbs. It is the language of Serbia and one of the three official languages of Bosnia and Herzegovina. In addition, it is a minority language in Montenegro, Croatia, Macedonia, Romania, Hungary, Slovakia. Standard Serbian is based on the most widespread dialect of Serbo-Croatian, Shtokavian, which is also the basis of Standard Croatian, Bosnian, the other dialect spoken by Serbs is Torlakian in southeastern Serbia, which is transitional to Macedonian and Bulgarian. Serbian is practically the only European standard language with complete synchronic digraphia, the Serbian Cyrillic alphabet was devised in 1814 by Serbian linguist Vuk Karadžić, who created the alphabet on phonemic principles. The Latin alphabet was designed by Croatian linguist Ljudevit Gaj in 1830, Serbian is a standardized variety of Serbo-Croatian, a Slavic language, of the South Slavic subgroup. Other standardized forms of Serbo-Croatian are Bosnian, Croatian, and Montenegrin and it has lower intelligibility with the Eastern South Slavic languages Bulgarian and Macedonian, than with Slovene. The 2011 census show that 42. 88% still declare Serbian to be their native language, Standard Serbian language uses both Cyrillic and Latin script. Even in official government documents this constitutional requirement is rarely enforced, Serbian is a rare example of synchronic digraphia, a situation where all literate members of a society have two interchangeable writing systems available to them. Media and publishers typically select one alphabet or another, for example, the public broadcaster, Radio Television of Serbia, predominantly uses the Cyrillic script whereas the privately run broadcasters, like RTV Pink, predominantly use the Latin script. A survey from 2014 showed that 47% of the Serbian population favors the Latin alphabet whereas 36% favors the Cyrillic one and these are the tenses of the indicative mood. Apart from the mood, there is also the imperative mood. The conditional mood has two more tenses, the first conditional and the second conditional, Serbian has active and passive voice. As for the verb forms, Serbian has one infinitive. Most Serbian words are of native Slavic lexical stock, tracing back to the Proto-Slavic language, there are many loanwords from different languages, reflecting cultural interaction throughout history. Notable loanwords were borrowed from Greek, Latin, Italian, Turkish, Hungarian, Russian, Serbian literature emerged in the Middle Ages, and included such works as Miroslavljevo jevanđelje in 1192 and Dušanov zakonik in 1349. In the mid-15th century, Serbia was conquered by the Ottoman Empire, however, some of the greatest literary works in Serbian come from this time, in the form of oral literature, the most notable form being Serbian epic poetry. The epic poems were written down in the 19th century, and preserved in oral tradition up to the 1950s
2.
Serbian Orthodox Church
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The Serbian Orthodox Church is one of the autocephalous Eastern Orthodox Christian churches. It is the second oldest Slavic Orthodox Church in the world, the Serbian Orthodox Church comprises the majority of population in Serbia, Montenegro, and the Republika Srpska entity of Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is organized into metropolises and eparchies located primarily in Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro and Croatia, the Serbian Orthodox Church is an autocephalous, or ecclesiastically independent, member of the Orthodox communion. Serbian Patriarch serves as first among equals in his church, the current patriarch is Irinej, the Church achieved autocephalous status in 1219 under the leadership of St. Sava, becoming independent Archbishopric of Žiča. Its status was elevated to that of a patriarchate in 1346 and this patriarchate was abolished by the Ottoman Turks in 1766. The modern Serbian Orthodox Church was re-established in 1920 after the unification of the Patriarchate of Karlovci, the Metropolitanate of Belgrade, Christianity spread to the Balkans beginning in the 1st century. Florus and Laurus are venerated as Christian martyrs of the 2nd century, Constantine the Great, born in Niš, was the first Christian Roman Emperor. Several bishops seated in what is today Serbia participated in the First Council of Nicaea, in 380, Eastern Roman Emperor Theodosius decreed that his subjects would be Christians according to the Council of Nicea formula. Greek was used in the Byzantine church, while the Roman church used Latin, with the definite split in 395, the line in Europe ran south along the Drina river. Tim Judah says that the Roman split resulted in that Serbs are Orthodox, among old Christian heritage is the Archbishopric of Justiniana Prima, established in 535, which had jurisdiction over the whole of present-day Serbia. However, the Archbishopric did not last, as the Slavs and Avars destroyed the region sometime after 602, in 731 Leo III attached Illyricum and Southern Italy to Patriarch Anastasius of Constantinople, transferring the papal authority to the Eastern Church. Slavs invaded and settled the Balkans in the 6th and 7th centuries, the history of the early medieval Serbian Principality is recorded in the work De Administrando Imperio, compiled by the Byzantine Emperor Constantine VII Porphyrogenitus. The DAI drew information on the Serbs from, among others, the Serbs were said to have received the protection of Emperor Heraclius, and Porphyrogenitus stressed that the Serbs had always been under Imperial rule. The Christianization was due partly to Byzantine and subsequent Bulgarian influence, at least during the rule of Kocel in Pannonia, communications between Serbia and Great Moravia, where Methodius was active, must have been possible. This fact, the pope was presumably aware of, when planning Methodius diocese as well as that of the Dalmatian coast, there is a possibility that some Cyrillomethodian pupils reached Serbia in the 870s, perhaps even sent by Methodius himself. Serbia was accounted Christian as of about 870, the first Serbian bishopric was founded at Ras, near modern Novi Pazar on the Ibar river. According to Vlasto, the affiliation is uncertain, it may have been under the subordination of either Split or Durazzo. The early Ras church can be dated to the 9th–10th century, the names of Serbian rulers through Mutimir are Slavic dithematic names, per the Old Slavic tradition
3.
Serbs
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The Serbs are a South Slavic ethnic group that formed in the Balkans. The majority of Serbs inhabit the state of Serbia, as well as Bosnia and Herzegovina. They form significant minorities in Croatia, Macedonia and Slovenia, there is a large Serb diaspora in Western Europe, and outside Europe there are significant communities in North America and Australia. The Serbs share many traits with the rest of the peoples of Southeast Europe. They are predominantly Eastern Orthodox Christians by religion, the Serbian language is official in Serbia, co-official in Kosovo and Bosnia and Herzegovina, and is spoken by the majority in Montenegro. The modern identity of Serbs is rooted in Eastern Orthodoxy and traditions, in the 19th century, the Serbian national identity was manifested, with awareness of history and tradition, medieval heritage, cultural unity, despite living under different empires. When the Principality of Serbia gained independence from the Ottoman Empire, Orthodoxy became crucial in defining the national identity, instead of language which was shared by other South Slavs. The tradition of slava, the family saint feast day, is an important ethnic marker of Serb identity, the origin of the ethnonym is unclear. Serbia has among the tallest people in the world, after Montenegro and Netherlands, Slavs invaded and settled the Balkans in the 6th and 7th centuries. Up until the late 560s their activity was raiding, crossing from the Danube, the Danube and Sava frontier was overwhelmed by large-scale Slavic settlement in the late 6th and early 7th century. What is today central Serbia was an important geo-strategical province, through which the Via Militaris crossed and this area was frequently intruded by barbarians in the 5th and 6th centuries. The numerous Slavs mixed with and assimilated the descendants of the indigenous population, numerous small Serbian states were created, located in modern Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, and Serbia. With the decline of the Serbian state of Duklja in the late 11th century, Raška separated from it, prince Stefan Nemanja conquered the neighbouring territories of Kosovo, Duklja and Zachlumia. The Nemanjić dynasty ruled over Serbia until the 14th century, over the next 140 years, Serbia expanded its borders. Its cultural model remained Byzantine, despite political ambitions directed against the empire, the medieval power and influence of Serbia culminated in the reign of Stefan Dušan, who ruled the state from 1331 until his death in 1355. Ruling as Emperor from 1346, his territory included Macedonia, northern Greece, Montenegro, when Dušan died, his son Stephen Uroš V became Emperor. With the death of two important Serb leaders in the battle, and with the death of Stephen Uroš that same year, hrebeljanović was subsequently accepted as the titular leader of the Serbs because he was married to a member of the Nemanjić dynasty. In 1389, the Serbs faced the Ottomans at the Battle of Kosovo on the plain of Kosovo Polje, both Lazar and Sultan Murad I were killed in the fighting
4.
Serbia
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Serbia, officially the Republic of Serbia, is a sovereign state situated at the crossroads of Central and Southeast Europe, covering the southern part of the Pannonian Plain and the central Balkans. Relative to its territory, it is a diverse country distinguished by a transitional character, situated along cultural, geographic, climatic. Serbia numbers around 7 million residents, and its capital, Belgrade, following the Slavic migrations to the Balkans from the 6th century onwards, Serbs established several states in the early Middle Ages. The Serbian Kingdom obtained recognition by Rome and the Byzantine Empire in 1217, in the early 19th century, the Serbian Revolution established the nation-state as the regions first constitutional monarchy, which subsequently expanded its territory. During the breakup of Yugoslavia, Serbia formed a union with Montenegro which dissolved peacefully in 2006, in 2008 the parliament of the province of Kosovo unilaterally declared independence, with mixed responses from the international community. Serbia is a member of organizations such as the UN, CoE, OSCE, PfP, BSEC. An EU membership candidate since 2012, Serbia has been negotiating its EU accession since January 2014, the country is acceding to the WTO and is a militarily neutral state. Serbia is an income economy with dominant service sector, followed by the industrial sector. The country ranks high on the Social Progress Index as well as the Global Peace Index, relatively high on the Human Development Index, located at the crossroads between Central and Southern Europe, Serbia is found in the Balkan peninsula and the Pannonian Plain. Serbia lies between latitudes 41° and 47° N, and longitudes 18° and 23° E. The country covers a total of 88,361 km2, which places it at 113th place in the world, with Kosovo excluded, the area is 77,474 km2. Its total border length amounts to 2,027 km, all of Kosovos border with Albania, Macedonia and Montenegro are under control of the Kosovo border police. The Pannonian Plain covers the third of the country while the easternmost tip of Serbia extends into the Wallachian Plain. The terrain of the part of the country, with the region of Šumadija at its heart. Mountains dominate the third of Serbia. Dinaric Alps stretch in the west and the southwest, following the flow of the rivers Drina, the Carpathian Mountains and Balkan Mountains stretch in a north–south direction in eastern Serbia. Ancient mountains in the southeast corner of the country belong to the Rilo-Rhodope Mountain system, elevation ranges from the Midžor peak of the Balkan Mountains at 2,169 metres to the lowest point of just 17 metres near the Danube river at Prahovo. The largest lake is Đerdap Lake and the longest river passing through Serbia is the Danube, the climate of Serbia is under the influences of the landmass of Eurasia and the Atlantic Ocean and Mediterranean Sea
5.
Kosovo Serbs
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Kosovo Serbs are the largest ethnic minority group in Kosovo, numbering around 150,000 people. By the end of 19th century they were the majority population, Kosovo was the cultural, diplomatic and religious core of the medieval Serbian state. Because of Serbian medieval history and monuments, Kosovo has long called the Serbian Jerusalem. The Medieval Monuments in Kosovo, founded by the Nemanjić dynasty, is a combined World Heritage Site consisting of four Serbian Orthodox Christian churches and monasteries, after centuries of Ottoman rule, Kosovo was annexed by the Kingdom of Serbia in 1912, following the First Balkan War. The formal names for the Serb community in Kosovo is Serbs in Kosovo and Metohija or Serbs of Kosmet, in use by the community itself and they are also referred to as Serbs of Kosovo or Serbs in Kosovo. The term Kosovo Serbs is predominantly used in English and they are known by the demonym Kosovci, though this is properly used for inhabitants of the region of Kosovo, along with Metohijci. Sclaveni raided and settled the western Balkans in the 6th and 7th century, through linguistical studies, it is concluded that the Early South Slavs were made up of a western and eastern branch, of parallel streams, roughly divided in the Timok–Osogovo–Šar line. Parts of northwestern Kosovo were part of the Serbian Principality, in the late 9th century the region was seized by the Bulgar Khanate, while the region switched hands between the Byzantines and Bulgars until the Byzantine restoration of 1018–19. In 1040–41 a massive Slavic rebellion broke out, which included Kosovo, vukan, the new independent Serbian Grand Prince, began raiding Byzantine territories, first in Kosovo, advancing into Macedonia. He broke several peace treaties concluded personally with the Byzantine Emperor at Zvečan and Lipljan, in 1166, a Serbian prince, Stefan Nemanja, the founder of the Nemanjić dynasty, asserted independence after an uprising against the Byzantine Emperor Manuel I Comnenus. Nemanja defeated his brother, Tihomir, at Pantino near Pauni, Nemanja was eventually defeated and had to return some of his conquests, and vouched to the Emperor that he would not raise his hand against him. Nemanjas son, Stefan, ruled a realm reaching the river of Lab in the south, Stefan conquered all of Kosovo by 1208, by which time he had conquered Prizren and Lipljan, and moved the border of his realm to the Šar mountain. In 1217, Stefan was crowned King of Serbs, due to which he is known in historiography as Stefan the First-Crowned, in 1219, the Serbian Church was given autocephaly, with Hvosno, Prizren and Lipljan being the Orthodox Christian eparchies with territory in modern-day Kosovo. By the end of the 13th century, the centre of the Serbian Church was moved to Peć from Žiča. King Stefan Dušan founded the great Monastery of the Holy Archangel near Prizren in 1342–52, the Serbian Kingdom was elevated into an Empire in 1345–46. Stefan Dušan received John VI Kantakuzenos in 1342 at Pauni to discuss an alliance against the Byzantine Emperor, in 1346, the Serbian Archbishopric at Peć was upgraded into a Patriarchate, but it was not recognized before 1375. After the death of Dušan in 1355, the fall of the Serbian Empire began, with feudal disintegration during the reign of his successor, parts of Kosovo became domain of Vukašin Mrnjavčević, but Vojislav Vojinović expanded his demesne further onto Kosovo. The armies of Vukašin from Pristina and his allies defeated Vojislavs forces in 1369, after the Battle of Maritsa on 26 September 1371 in which the Mrnjavčević brothers lost their lives, Đurađ I Balšić of Zeta took Prizren and Peć in 1372. A part of Kosovo became the demesne of the Lazar of Serbia, the Ottoman Empire invaded the realm of Prince Lazar on 28 June 1389, at the Battle of Kosovo near Pristina, at Gazimestan
6.
Serbs in Vojvodina
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The Serbs of Vojvodina are the largest ethnic group in this northern province of Serbia. According to the 2011 census, there were 1,289,635 Serbs in Vojvodina or 66. 76% of the population of the province, before the Roman conquest in the 1st century BC, Illyrian, Thracian and Celtic tribes inhabited the territory of present-day Vojvodina region. During the Roman rule, original inhabitants were heavily Romanized, and it is thought that this original population had not entirely disappeared, leaving certain genetic traces among the modern Serb population of the region. The Slavs settled todays Vojvodina in the 6th and 7th centuries, until the 13th century, the region had dominant Slavic population. In the 9th century the region of present-day Vojvodina was ruled by the two local Bulgaro-Slavic dukes and their names were Salan and Glad. Salan ruled the territory of Bačka, and his city was Titel. The descendant of Glad was Ahtum, another local duke of Banat, the important local Bulgaro-Slavic duke was also Sermon, a vassal of the Bulgarian emperor Samuil, who ruled over Srem in the 11th century. Parts of Vojvodina were conquered by the Kingdom of Hungary between the 10th and 12th centuries and this was followed by the destruction of the local Slavic tribal organization and introduction of the county system of rule. The first known prefect of the Bač county was recorded in 1074 and his name was Vid, during the rule of the Hungarian king Coloman, the local Serb nobles in Bačka were Uroš, Vukan and Pavle. A record from 1309 speak about Schismatics, who lived in Bačka, arsenije I Bogdanović from Srem, the second Serb archbishop after Saint Sava, was born in Srem, in the village Dabar near Slankamen. From 1282 to 1316 Serbian King Stefan Dragutin Nemanjić reigned several lands as a King of Syrmia, the center of his realm was in Lower Syrmia, while he also possibly ruled Upper Syrmia. Stefan Dragutin died in 1316, and was succeeded by his son Vladislav, an increasing number of Serbs began settling in the Vojvodina region from the 14th century onward. By 1483, according to a Hungarian source, as much as half of the population of the Vojvodina territory of the Kingdom of Hungary at the time consisted of Serbs. The Hungarian kings encouraged the immigration of Serbs to the Kingdom, after the Ottoman Empire conquered Serbian Despotate, Serbian titular despots ruled in parts of Vojvodina as vassals of the Hungarian crown. The residence of the despots was Kupinik in Srem, the Serbian despots were, Vuk Grgurević, Đorđe Branković, Jovan Branković, Ivaniš Berislav, Stevan Berislav, Radič Božić, Pavle Bakić and Stefan Štiljanović. The last three did not rule in the territory of present-day Vojvodina, but had possessions in the territories of present-day Romania, Hungary, the Ottoman Empire took control of Vojvodina following the Battle of Mohács of 1526 and the conquest of Banat in 1552. Soon after the Battle of Mohač, Jovan Nenad, a leader of the Serb mercenaries, established his rule in Bačka, northern Banat and he created an ephemeral independent state, with Subotica as its capital. At the pitch of his power, Jovan Nenad proclaimed himself Serbian Emperor in Subotica, taking advantage of the extremely confused military and political situation, the Hungarian noblemen from the region joined forces against him and defeated the Serbian troops in the summer of 1527
7.
Serbs of Bosnia and Herzegovina
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The Serbs of Bosnia and Herzegovina are one of the three constitutive nations of the country, predominantly residing in the political-territorial entity of Republika Srpska. In the other entity Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina Serbs form the majority in Drvar, Glamoč, Bosansko Grahovo and they are frequently referred to as Bosnian Serbs in English, regardless of whether they are from Bosnia or Herzegovina. They are also known by names such as Krajišnici, Semberci, Bosanci, Hercegovci. The 2013 population census registered 1,086,733 Serbs or 30. 8% of the population of Bosnia. Bosnian Serbs are the most territorially widespread nation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the vast majority live on the territory of the Republika Srpska, where they constitute around 88% of population. The majority of Bosnian Serbs are adherents of the Serbian Orthodox Church, the Serbs of Bosnia and Herzegovina speak the Serbian language in its Ijekavian accent, similar to that of Serbs of Montenegro and Croatia, and also to the language of Bosniaks and Bosnian Croats. Slavs settled the Balkans in the 6th and 7th centuries, according to De Administrando Imperio, the Serbs had settled what is now Bosnia and Herzegovina. They inhabited and ruled Serbia, which included Bosnia, and the principalities of Travunija, Zahumlje and Paganija. Serbia was at the time ruled by the Vlastimirović dynasty, during the rule of Mutimir, the Serbs were Christianized. Prince Petar, defeated Tišemir in Bosnia, annexing the valley of Bosna, Petar took over the Neretva, after which he seems to have come into conflict with Michael, a Bulgarian vassal ruling Zahumlje. Časlav defeated the Magyars on the Drina river banks when protecting Bosnia, however, after his death, Duklja emerged as the most powerful Serb polity, ruled by the Vojislavljević dynasty. Constantine Bodin installed his relative Stefan as Ban of Bosnia, next, the Nemanjić dynasty acquired the rule of the Serbian lands. With the establishment of the autocephalous Serbian Church, Archbishop Sava founded the Metropolitanate of Zahumlje, with the Ottoman conquest of medieval Serbia, there were large migrations towards Bosnia and Herzegovina. The Serb Uprising of 1596–97 was suppressed at Gacko, in 1809, Jančićs Revolt broke out in Gradiška. In 1834, Priest Jovicas Revolt broke out in Gradiška, in 1858, Pecijas First Revolt broke out in Knešpolje. In 1875, the Herzegovina Uprising broke out in the Bosnia Vilayet, on July 2,1876, Golub Babić and his 71 commanders signed the Proclamation of the Unification of Bosnia with Serbia. In 1878, Bosnia and Herzegovina became a protectorate of Austria-Hungary, the first parliamentary elections in Bosnia and Herzegovina were held in 1910, the winner was Serbian National Organization. On June 28,1914, Bosnian Serb Gavrilo Princip made international headlines after assassinating Arch Duke Francis Ferdinand in Sarajevo and this sparked World War I leading to Austria-Hungarys defeat and the incorporation of Bosnia and Herzegovina into the Kingdom of Yugoslavia
8.
Serbs of Montenegro
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Serbs of Montenegro or Montenegrin Serbs, compose the second largest ethnic group in Montenegro, after the Montenegrins. In historiography, the Orthodox people of Montenegro were called Serbs, in the constitutions of the Principality of Montenegro and Kingdom of Montenegro, the Montenegrin peoples ethnonym was Serbs. With the formation of Socialist Yugoslavia, the censuses showed a majority of people declaring as Montenegrins, following the Slavic settlement of the Balkans in the 6th and 7th centuries, several principalities were established in the Western Balkans towards the Adriatic. Duklja, first mentioned in the De Administrando Imperio, was one of the Serbian principalities that came under Byzantine rule in 1018 after Basil IIs conquest of Bulgaria, the Serbs were the Empires most important but insubodinate subjects in the western Balkans. Duklja broke away from Byzantine rule in 1042 under ruler Stefan Vojislav, all of what is today Montenegro came under the rule of Grand Prince Stefan Nemanja, the founder of the Nemanjić dynasty, after 1180. Zeta, formerly known as Duklja, became an important region in the Serbian state. Nevertheless, it remained a land, given to the heir of the monarch. Several monasteries date to this period, such as, Praskvica, Banja, Morača, Vranjina, Montenegro saw independence under the Petrović-Njegoš dynasty, firstly as a principality and then as a kingdom. Both Kingdoms fought together as independent states in the Balkan Wars, the conflict led to the Christmas Uprising, in which the Whites with support from the Serbian army defeated the Greens. During the Second World War both Serbs and Montenegrins were very active in resistance movements, the Yugoslav Partisans and the Yugoslav Army in the Fatherland known as the Chetniks. At the end of the war the socialist Yugoslavia was created and we Montenegrins are the salt of the Serbs. All the strength of the Serbs is not here but their soul is, the country was renamed Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. Montenegro was also included by the sanctions imposed to Serbia during the 1990s. During the 1999 NATO bombing of Yugoslavia both Serbia and Montenegro suffered the attacks of the NATO forces and several targets inside Montenegro were also bombarded. In 2006, six years after the fall of Milošević in 2000, and after insisting on international diplomacy, the former Yugoslavia became known as the state union of Serbia and Montenegro. The process of becoming a state union ironically lead to the separation of the two states - a change which was officiated by the referendum on Montenegrin independence on 21 May 2006. A total of 419,240 votes were cast, representing 86. 5% of the total electorate, of them,230,661 votes or 55. 5% were in favour of independence and 185,002 votes or 44. 5% were against. Since independence, the Montenegrin society has been divided among many issues, the Montenegrin language lacks ISO code, and the Montenegrin Orthodox church is canonically unrecognized
9.
Serbs of Croatia
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The Serbs of Croatia or Croatian Serbs constitute the largest national minority in Croatia. The community is predominantly Eastern Orthodox Christian by religion, as opposed to the Croats who are Roman Catholic, there has been a substantial Serb population in the territory of what is today Croatia since the Early Modern period. Serbs settled in several waves, and they populated the Dalmatian hinterland, Lika, Kordun, Banija, Western Slavonia, Eastern Slavonia. An important part of their identity is the Habsburg military service, the population has been declining sharply since 1991 and the Croatian War, from 12% to 4%. According to the 2011 census there were 186,633 ethnic Serbs living in Croatia,4. 4% of the total population. Their number was reduced by more than two thirds in the aftermath of the 1991–95 War in Croatia as the 1991 pre-war census had reported 581,663 Serbs living in Croatia,12. 2% of the total population. The lands of Pagania, Zachumlia and Travunia were inhabited by Serbs, the event would have taken place during the rule of either Radoslav or his son, Prosigoj. In the 880s, the Serb Prince Mutimir exiled his two brothers due to treachery, but kept his nephew Petar at the court, Petar later fled to the Croatian principality. When Mutimirs son Pribislav had ruled for a year, Petar returned and defeated him, in 894 Bran returned but was defeated and blinded. Pavle, the son of Bran, later returned and defeated Pavle with Bulgarian aid, King Mihailo I built the St. Michaels Church in Ston, which has a fresco depicting him. Beloš Vukanović, a member of the Serb Vukanović dynasty, was given the title of Ban of Croatia by the Kingdom of Hungary and ruled 1142-1158 and briefly in 1163. The first Serbian Orthodox monastery in Croatia, Krupa, was built in 1317 by Stephen Uroš II Milutin of Serbia, other monuments include Krka. Many monasteries and churches were damaged in the War in Croatia, members of the Orlović Serb clan settled in Lika and Senj in 1432, they later joined the Uskoks. On 22 November 1447, the Hungarian King Ladislaus V wrote a letter which mentioned Rascians, as many former inhabitants of the Austrian-Ottoman borderland fled northwards or were captured by the Ottoman invaders, they left unpopulated areas. After the Ottoman capture of Smederevo fortress in 1459 up to 200,000 Orthodox Christians moved into central Slavonia, at the beginning of the 16th century settlements of Orthodox Christians were also established in western Croatia. In the first half of the 16th century Serbs settled Ottoman part of Slavonia while in the part of the 16th century they moved to Austrian part of Slavonia. In 1550 they established the Lepavina Monastery, the Austrian Empire encouraged people from the Ottoman Empire to settle as free peasant soldiers, establishing the Military Frontiers in 1522. They were mostly of Orthodox faith, Serbs and Vlachs, Catholic Vlachs were assimilated into Croats, while the Orthodox, under the Serbian Orthodox Church, identified with Serbs
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