Historical Invaders of Serbia

Serbia's strategic Balkans location has attracted numerous invaders:

• Ottoman Empire (14th–19th c., conquest 1459, rule until 1804/1878)
• Austrian/Habsburg Empire (1688–90, 1717–39, 1788–91 occupations; 1914 WWI invasion)
• Russian Empire (18th–19th c. interventions, often as Ottoman opponent)
• France (Napoleonic Illyrian Provinces 1809–13; WWI Salonika front)
• Germany (WWI occupation 1915–18; WWII occupation 1941–44)
• Bulgaria (WWI 1915–18; WWII 1941–44 occupation of SE Serbia)
• Italy (WWI Adriatic; WWII 1941–43 occupation of Kosovo/parts of Serbia)
• NATO (1999 bombing campaign, not invasion per se)

Each left deep demographic, cultural, and political imprints.