Even though Montenegro is a very new place for most of its first time visitors, possesses a long history and it is consider and Old European stated, whose statehood is actually much older that its current name. we will share with you some details of its history over the centuries.
We can clearly mention three periods: Doclea (Duklja) / Zeta / Montenegro we could call it the history of a country with three names therefore three nations.
The Docleans were known as Illyrian settlements along Lake Skadar and along the coast of the country during the bronze age before the arrival of the Romans during the Second century B.C. After the fall of the Roman Empire, the area fell under the Byzantine rule followed by the arrival of the Slavic tribes, these after three centuries of assimilation with the population and Christianization had as a result the first Montenegrin State called Duklja.
Montenegro during the Middle Ages
Stefan Nemanja created the Principality of Zeta during the 11th Century, which was under the reins of the Kingdom of Serbia and covered the area of practically the entire present territory of Montenegro.
During 1346 became part of the Raska Empire originated from Kingdom of Serbian neighboring areas only after 10 years after the death of Tsar Dusan the Mighty, Zeta became independent ruled by the Balsic Dynasty until the last of the Balsics, Balsa the third shortly before his death in 1421, Zeta afterwards became part of Moravian Serbia estate which was a result after the fall of the Serbian Empire ruled by Stefan Lazarevic.
After Lazarevic death, his nephew Durad Brankovic inherited the throne, during his reign the expansion of the Ottoman Empire represented a serious threat and Zeta was not a priority.
During the following years the Cernojevic Dynasty emerged as governors of Zeta. The Most important members of the family were Stefan I Crnojevic (ruling period 1451-1465) and his son Ivan I Crnojevic (ruling period 1465-1490). At this poing the name Crna Gora which translates literally to Black Mountain, was very common.
The Ottomans imprisoned the last Crnojevic, Durad IV (ruling period 1490-1496) who was sent to Istanbul to face death, with the victory of the Turks, part of the present day Montenegro became part of the Ottoman Empire from 1498 until 1912 during the same period of time the coast of Montenegro nowdays Bay of Kotor belonged to the Venetian Republic from 1420 until 1797.
From 1516 the rest of the territory of Montenegro was ruled as a Theocratic stated bishops known as Vladikas would be in charge of the state.
During the first years, the bishops were chosen by the Montenegrin clans, but in 1690 a hereditary system was established. Given the prohibition to the bishops to marry, the power was transmitted from uncle to nephew. In the 16th and 17th centuries, Montenegro was under continuous threat from the Turks and battles continued. Among all the confrontations that took place, the battle of 1613 stands out, in which just 4,000 Montenegrins managed to defeat 40,000 enemies, confirming the fame of the country's inhabitants as brave warriors.
Montenegro Modern history
In the first half of the 19th century Montenegro was ruled by Petar Petrovic Njegos, one of the most important figures of Montenegrin history. In addition to being a prince-bishop, he was a philosopher and poet , he is consider the mastermind behind Montenegro modernization, he promoted education and culture and improved his country economy as well as infrastructure.
Petar Petrovic Njegos was succeded by his nephew Danilo Petrovic Njegos, who chose to renounced his ecclesiastical status in order to marry, with this change Montengro became a secular state which power will be inherit exclusively by male line unfortunately Danilo Petrovic was assassinated in Kotor before embarking a voyage. His Nephew Nicholas Mirkov Petrovic-Njegos came to power from 1860 to 1918 and he will be know as the only King in throne of Montenegro, during his ruling King Nicholas moved away from the Ottomon empire and focused on creating strong ties wth Serbia and the Russian Empire.
During the 20th century the alliance of Montenegro, Serbia, Greece and Bulgaria defeated the Ottoman empire, freeing the Balkans from their occupation.
The constitution of the country of Montenegro was promulgated in 1905 and years later Nicholas Mirkov Petrovic-Njegos, who until then had the title of prince was proclaimed King under the name of King Nicholas I.
During WWI Montenegro join in alliance with Serbia against the Astro-Hungarian Empire however both countries were invaded and their Kings exiled, as an after war result Montenegro became part of the Kingdom of the Serbs, Croats and Slovenes, a state that brought together several of the Balkan countries between 1918 and 1929 becoming the Kingdom of Yugoslavia just a year later. During WWII Montenegro was invaded by the Italians and Germans.
In 1942 the later proclaimed president of Yugoslavia, Josip Broz "Tito" together with the partisans a resistance group with a communist ideology began to fight the invaders. In 1945 Montenegro was liberated and integrated into the new Socialist Republic of Yugoslavia.
During the war of the 90's Montenegro supported Serbia by sending troops to the front against Croatia and Bosnia-Herzegovina as a result of this was, we had the union with Serbia in 1992 as the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia.
In May 2006 the result of the referendum mark the independence of the country and since June 2006 Montenegro was proclaimed as an independent country!