Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes, Kingdom of

Balkan state formed in 1918 after World War I. It included the previously independent kingdoms of Serbia and Montenegro and the southern Slavic territories formerly subject to the Austro-Hungarian Empire, including Dalmatia, Croatia-Slavonia, Slovenia, and Bosnia and Herzegovina.

The kingdom was ruled by the Serbian Karadjordjević dynasty. In 1929 King Alexander I sought to combat local nationalisms by proclaiming a royal dictatorship and renaming the state Yugoslavia. See also Serbia and Montenegro.

* * *

▪ historical kingdom, 1918-29, Balkans

      Balkan state formed on December 1, 1918. Ruled by the Serbian Karadjordjević dynasty, the new kingdom included the previously independent kingdoms of Serbia and Montenegro and the South Slav territories in areas formerly subject to the Austro-Hungarian Empire: Dalmatia, Croatia-Slavonia, Slovenia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and the Vojvodina. In 1919 four small Bulgarian territories in the southeast, including Strumica, were ceded to the new state. In 1925 the Monastery of St. Naum was transferred from Albania to Serbia. In an effort to combat local nationalism, King Alexander I proclaimed a royal dictatorship and renamed the state Yugoslavia (Serbia) in 1929. He was determined that Serbian, Croatian, or Slovene nationalism should give place to a wider loyalty, Yugoslav (“South Slav”) patriotism.

* * *