Why go
Names such as Karađorđe and Miloš Obrenović recur in Serbian history because they represent different stages of the independence struggle. Understanding their roles helps make sense of the competing dynasties behind nineteenth-century accounts, while Belgrade provides a concrete setting for the gradual retreat of Ottoman authority.
The full story
The First Serbian Uprising began in 1804 under Karađorđe Petrović. Its early gains were reversed when Ottoman forces reoccupied the territory. A second uprising followed in 1815, led by Miloš Obrenović, and ended in a negotiated compromise. Independence therefore developed through both armed resistance and diplomacy, rather than arriving with one decisive victory. Autonomy widened over the following decades. The constitution adopted on 15 February 1835 belongs to this period of building institutions alongside the struggle over sovereignty. Ottoman troops left the principality in 1867, an important practical change before formal international recognition at the Congress of Berlin in 1878. The political story also involved rivalry between ruling houses. Obrenović rulers dominated much of the nineteenth century, interrupted by Aleksandar Karađorđević’s reign from 1842 to 1858. Serbia became a kingdom in 1882 under Milan I. The violent overthrow of 1903 brought the Karađorđević dynasty back to power, linking the new monarchy to the family of the first uprising’s leader.