| Summary: | This paper gives an overview of the history of Belgrade from the reign of
Justinian I (527-565), i.e. the time of Slavic settlement, to the Ottoman
conquest in 1521. The millennium can be divided into three thematic and
chronological units: the Byzantine era (up to 1204), the Serbian era and,
finally, the Ottoman era (fifteenth-sixteenth centuries). Within the
Byzantine cultural orbit, and especially during the twelfth century, the city
played a major role in the relations between the Byzantine Empire and
Hungary. Byzantine emperors sojourned in Belgrade on multiple occasions. The
city reached its peak during the reign of Despot Stefan in the early
fifteenth century. After his death in 1427, the Ottoman threat cast its
shadow over the city. Its inhabitants, the Serbs, defended Belgrade for
almost a century (1427-1521), thus defending the whole of Central Europe.
Belgrade’s fall into the Ottoman hands was followed by the demise of the
Kingdom of Hungary in 1526. Even Vienna was threatened by the Ottomans, in
1529.
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