The following is a timeline of the history of Belgrade, the capital of Serbia.
Timeline
Early years Historical period Events Vinča culture 5400–4500 BCE: Vinča culture is born in what is today Belgrade's suburb of Vinča. Within the coming two millennia it evolves into a dominant neolithic culture in Europe, especially influencing the Balkans. Sometimes this era is called the First Golden Age of Belgrade. By 4500 BC Vinča culture disperses into several sub-cultures. Barbarian invasions 700–279 BCE: Thraco-Dacians dwell in the region. 279 BCE: Singidūn is founded by the Celtic tribe of Scordisci.
Early AD Historical period Events Roman Empire 6 CE: Aulus Caecina Severus becomes the first governor of Moesia.Syme, Ronald, The Roman Revolution pg. 394, Clarendon Press, Oxford, 1939. Belgrade was known as Singidunum at this time, and Zemun was known as Taurunum and was part of Pannonia.Biographia classica: the lives and characters of the Greek and Roman classics, by Edward Harwood. 86: Legio IV Flavia Felix, a Roman legion, is based in Singidunum, at present day Kalemegdan. fl. 117–138: Roman Emperor Hadrian grants Singidunum municipium status. 332: Roman Emperor Flavius Jovianus (r. 363–364) was born in Singidunum.Edward Gibbon, The Decline And Fall Of The Roman Empire, (The Modern Library, 1932), chap. XXIV., p. 830 He re-established Christianity as state religion. Eastern Roman Empire 395: Singidunum becomes a northwestern frontier city of the Eastern Roman Empire after the death of Theodosius I (r. 379–395) Iranian, Germanic, and Hunic invasions: 5th century 441: The Huns destroy the city. Attila resides in the city. ?: The Sarmatians hold Singidunum. 470: The Ostrogoths expel the Sarmatians. 476: Western Roman Empire collapses. The city becomes a border-town towards the hostile Germanic tribes. 488: The Gepids conquer Singidunum. 504: The Goths capture it again. Byzantine/Frankish rule and Slavic arrival: 6–9th centuries 510: A peace treaty handed over the city to the Byzantine Empire. 535: Byzantine emperor Justinian I rebuilds Singidunum. 584: The Avars conquer and sack it. 592: Byzantine Empire regains the city. 7th century: The Avars destroy it again. 630: The Slavs conquer Singidunum.
9th — 16th centuries
Historical period Events Byzantine, Bulgarian, and Hungarian rule: 9th–11th centuries 827: The First Bulgarian Empire control the fortress. The city is called by Western sources Alba Bulgarica. Frankish Empire temporary annexes Taurunum, today's northern Belgrade. 16 April 878: First known written record of the Slavic name Beligrad. 896: Army of Hungarians attack Belgrade. 1018: The Byzantine emperor Basil II seizes Belgrade from the Bulgarian Empire. Occasional clashes with Hungary. 1071: Hungarians besiege and seize Belgrade from the Byzantine Empire. 1072: Belgrade was briefly retaken by Byzantine Empire, but Hungarians again seize it still in that year. 1096: The city was destroyed by Hungarians, but the Byzantine Empire remained in control of it. Hungarian, Byzantine, and Bulgarian rule: 11th–12th centuries 1096–1189: The Crusaders are passing through Belgrade. 1127: Hungarian king Stefan II destroys Belgrade and used the obtained stones to build a fortress in Zemun. 1154: Byzantine emperor Manuel I Comnenus destroys Zemun and takes the stones back to rebuild Belgrade. 1182: Hungary attack and sacked the city. 1185: Byzantine Empire regained it by diplomacy but loses to the newly reestablished Bulgarian Empire. Serbian, Hungarian, and Bulgarian rule: 13th century 1202: The Hungarians seize Belgrade. 1203: The Bulgarians retake the city. 1213: The city is given to Hungary by emperor Boril. 1221: Belgrade is returned to Bulgaria. 1246: The city becomes part of Hungary. 1284: The Hungarians gift to the Serbian king Stefan Dragutin; this is the first time that Belgrade comes under Serbian rule. Hungarian rule: 14th–16th centuries 1316: Stefan Milutin takes Belgrade from his brother by force. 1319: The Hungarians deprive King Milutin of the city. 1382: The troops of rebellious Croatian noblemen brothers Ivaniš Horvat and Pavao Horvat capture the city from Sigismund, Holy Roman Emperor. 1386: Hungary regains it. 1403: Sigismund, Holy Roman Emperor gives the city to Despot Stefan Lazarević for Despot Stefan's lifetime. Despot Stefan builds Belgrade Fortress anew and establishes Belgrade as the capital of the Serbian Despotate. 19 July 1427: Despot Stefan dies. Hungary reclaims Belgrade from Đurađ Branković. 1440: The Ottoman Empire attacks Belgrade. The city endures the siege following heavy destruction. 1456: Siege of Belgrade (1456): Sultan Mehmed II besieges Belgrade but fails to capture it.
16th — 19th centuries
Historical period Events Ottoman and Austrian rule: 16th–19th centuries 1521: Siege of Belgrade (1521): Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent conquers Belgrade. 1688: Siege of Belgrade (1688): Duke Maximilian of Bavaria captures the city. 1690: Siege of Belgrade (1690): the Ottomans capture Belgrade anew. 1717: Siege of Belgrade (1717): Prince Eugene of Savoy captures the city (Prinz Eugen, der edle Ritter). 1718: Belgrade becomes the capital of the Kingdom of Serbia, a Habsburg monarchy province. 1720–1733: Charles Alexander, Duke of Württemberg is the autocratic governor of the Kingdom of Serbia. 1723–1736: Construction of the Kalemegdan fortress by Nicolas Doxat de Démoret. July–September 1739: Siege of Belgrade (1739). 18 September 1739: The Treaty of Belgrade between Austria and the Ottomans returns Belgrade to the Ottoman Empire. 1789: Siege of Belgrade (1789): Marshal Ernst Gideon von Laudon captures the city. 4 August 1791: The Treaty of Sistova returns Belgrade to the Ottomans. 1793: Hadji Mustafa Pasha becomes the Vizier of the Belgrade Pashaluk. 15 December 1801: Kučuk-Alija murders Hadji Mustafa Pasha, marking the beginning of the renegade Janissary officers Dahije rule in Belgrade. Ottoman and Serbian rule: 1804—1878 1804: Following the Slaughter of the Knezes, the Serbs organize themselves against the terror of the Dahije regime, marking the beginning of the First Serbian Uprising under the leadership of Karađorđe Petrović. Dahije leaders leave Belgrade, but are later captured and beheaded. The Ottomans reinstate their rule in Belgrade. 1805: Serbs refuse to disarm, the first armed confrontations between Serbs and the official Ottoman forces take place. : Karađorđe Petrović captures Belgrade and makes it the capital of Serbia. 1808: First Serbian Academy, the Great School, is established. 1813: The Ottomans reconquer the city. 1815: Miloš Obrenović started the Second Serbian Uprising and conquered Belgrade. 1830: Mahmud II proclaimed charter on Serbian autonomy. 1831: First printing works established. : The first newspaper (Novine srbske—"Serbian Newspaper") published. 1840: The first post office in Belgrade. 1841: Belgrade became the capital of the Principality of Serbia under Knez Mihailo Obrenović. 1844: The National Museum of Serbia established. 1855: First telegraph line in Serbia, Belgrade–Aleksinac, established. 1862: After the Čukur Fountain incident, Belgrade was bombarded from the Kalemegdan fortress. 1867: In Kalemegdan, the Ottoman commander of the fortress Ali Riza Pasha handed over the keys of Belgrade to Knez Mihailo Obrenović. : Knez Mihailo Obrenović is assassinated in the Košutnjak Forest. Principality/Kingdom of Serbia: 1878–1914 1878: The Berlin Congress recognized the independence of Serbia in the Treaty of Berlin. 1882: Belgrade is the capital of the Kingdom of Serbia. 1883: The first telephone lines in Belgrade. 1884: railway stations and a railway bridge over Sava is constructed. 1892: The first modern water supply. : Famous inventor Nikola Tesla visits Belgrade. 1893: Electrification of the city. 1894: The first electric tramway. : In a coup d'état, King Aleksandar Obrenović is assassinated, and King Petar I Karađorđević ascends the throne of Serbia. : Huge protests against the Austria-Hungary annexation of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Early 20th century
Historical period Events Austro-Hungarian invasion 1914 : Austria-Hungary declares war on Serbia, following the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria. World War I begins with the bombing of Belgrade in the evening of the same day. Dušan Đonović falls as the first victim of the warfare. 2 December 1914: Austrians bombard and occupy Belgrade. 15 December 1914: The Serbs liberate Belgrade. Austro-Hungarian occupation 1915–18 6–9 October 1915: German and Austrian troops led by August von Mackensen re-occupy Belgrade. Colonel Dragutin Gavrilović sacrifices the entire legion for the city. 1 November 1918: The Serbs liberate Belgrade. Kingdom of Serbia 1918 24 November 1918: The Assembly of Syrmia proclaims the secession of Syrmia from the State of Slovenes, Croats and Serbs and unification with the Kingdom of Serbia, thus unifying Belgrade with Zemun in the same state. 25 November 1918: The Great people's assembly of Serbs, Bunjevci and other Slavs proclaims the unification of Banat, Bačka and Baranja with the Kingdom of Serbia, thus unifying Belgrade and the settlements on the Danube's left bank in the same state. Kingdom of Yugoslavia 1918–1941 1 December 1918: Belgrade becomes the capital of the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes. The document was signed at Krsmanović's House at Terazije. : In order to coordinate the dating in different parts of the newly formed state, the territories of former Serbia and Montenegro adopt Gregorian calendar, which had already been in use in the other parts of the kingdom. 1923: Paris–Budapest air line extended to Belgrade. 25 March 1927: The first Belgrade airport (Dojno polje Airport) opened. 6 January 1929: King Aleksandar Karađorđević dissolved the National Assembly and started his dictatorship. Belgrade becomes the capital of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia. 24 March 1929: Radio Belgrade started broadcasting. 1 April 1934: Zemun annexed to the City of Belgrade. 27 October 1935: The first bridge over the Danube, the Pančevački most (Bridge of Pančevo) is built. 11 September 1937: Belgrade Fair opened. 20 May 1938: Drying out of the wetland on the Sava's left bank begins, making place for the future New Belgrade. 14 December 1939: Leftist students' protests against the government, poverty and war. During the police breakdown of the demonstrations, five to ten protesters are killed (depending on the sources). 27 March 1941: Huge protests against joining the Axis. 6–8 April 1941: Nazi Germany bombs Belgrade (Operation Retribution). 2,271–4,000 casualties, depending on the sources. Many public and private buildings completely destroyed, including the building of the National Library of Serbia, along with an invaluable collection of books, manuscripts, charters, old maps, journals and many other documents. The Royal Yugoslav Army, while retreating, destroys all the bridges crossing Sava and Danube. Nazi German occupation 1941–1944 12 April 1941: Belgrade is occupied by German forces. April 1941 – October 1944: Belgrade is occupied and divided. Old part of the city becomes a part of Nazi Germany and the capital of the Territory of the Military Commander in Serbia, governed by puppet Government of National Salvation. The settlements on the Danube's left bank become a part of the Banat autonomous region, formally responsible to the puppet governments in Belgrade, but in practice governed by its Volksdeutsche (ethnic German) minority, while Zemun becomes a part of the Independent State of Croatia. Four concentration camps have operated on the territory of the occupied Belgrade: Sajmište, Banjica, Topovske Šupe, and Milišić's brickyard. Approximately 50,000 people have died in these camps, most of them in Sajmište concentration camp, on the territory controlled by the Independent State of Croatia.