1169		Start of major territorial expansion by Serbia under Nemanjic ruling dynasty.
1331		Serbia has now become the leading power in the Balkans.
June 1389		Battle of Kosovo Polje against Ottoman Turks - Serbia decisively defeated. Southern Serbia occupied by the Turks.
1459		Remaining Serbian territory absorbed into Ottoman Empire.
1829		Autonomy granted to Serbia by Ottoman Turkey after Russo-Turkish War.
March 1882		Serbia becomes a kingdom.
31 January 1946		New constitution establishes 'Federal People's Republic of Yugoslavia'. Monarchy abolished and Soviet-style government established. Serbian provinces of Kosovo and Vojvodina created and given limited autonomy.
February 1974		New constitution decentralises government. Kosovo and Vojvodina given substantial autonomy within Serbia.
4 May 1980		Marshal Tito dies. He is succeeded by a collective presidency.
March-April 1981		Rioting among Kosovo Albanians demanding an independent republic - state of emergency fails to halt violent campaign.
1987-88		Severe financial crisis sparks widespread anti-government protests. Slobodan Milosevic, head of the Belgrade communists, becomes head of the Serbian communists instead of Ivan Stambolic.
22 January 1990		Communist Party renounces it's monopoly on political power. Communist Party of Serbia renamed Socialist Party of Serbia, and Serbian Constitution changed to remove autonomy of Kosovo and Vojvodina.
July 1990		Serb Police crackdown on unrest in Kosovo after autonomy ends.
1997		Slobodan Milosevic becomes Federal President.
late 1997		Ethnic Albanian guerillas step-up attacks on Serbs in Kosovo.
March 1999		'Ethnic cleansing' in Kosovo by Serbian units causes mass exodus of refugees. NATO begins air strikes on FRY.
June 1999		FRY agrees to withdraw Serbian forces from Kosovo. KFOR moves in as international peacekeeping force.
March 2004		Serious clashes between Serbs and ethnic Albanians in Kosovo after violence erupts in Mitrovica.
17 February 2008		Kosovo declares independence from Serbia.