1st C. AD		Roman territory of Dalmatia established.
7th C. AD		Slav tribes from the Carpathian region invade Dalmatia and settle the region.
9th C. AD		Serbs converted to Orthodox Christianity. Area comes under the control of the Byzantine Empire.
11th C. AD		Serbs revolt against Byzantium and form first Serb kingdom.
1103		Croatia falls under Austro-Hungarian control after the last Croatian king, Peter, was killed in the battle on Gvozd mountain.
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, but Montenegro gains independence from Serbia.
1459		Remaining Serbian territory absorbed into Ottoman Empire.
late 13th C.		Most of Slovenia falls under Austro-Hungarian control.
1804-13		Serbs revolt against Turkish control.
1815-17		Second Serbian revolt against Turkish control.
1829		Autonomy granted to Serbia by Ottoman Turkey after Russo-Turkish War.
1867		Withdrawal of Turkish garrisons from Serbia.
1875		Rebellion by Christians in neighbouring Bosnia and Hercegovina against their Turkish rulers.
1876-78		Serbo-Turkish war. Serbia and Montenegro attack Ottoman Empire to help Bosnians but only win with Russian help.
13 July 1878		Serbia & Montenegro gain formal independence from Turkey at Congress of Berlin.
March 1882		Serbia becomes a kingdom.
1885		Austro-Hungarian Empire given mandate to occupy Bosnia & Hercegovina - despite protests from Serbia.
1885-1886		Serbo-Bulgarian War over Bulgarian annexation of Rumelia. Serbia defeated.
1903		Serbian military coup establishes constitutional monarchy.
1908		Austro-Hungary annexes Bosnia & Hercegovina.
1910		Montenegro proclaimed a kingdom.
1912		Creation of Balkan League by Serbia, Montenegro, Bulgaria and Greece.
1912		First Balkan War - Balkan League attempts to liberate Macedonia from Turkish control.
1913		Second Balkan War - Serbia gains control of much of Macedonia and Old Serbia.
28 June 1914		Bosnian-Serb Gavrilo Princep assassinates Archduke Franz Ferdinand - heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne - in Sarajevo, Bosnia-Hercegovina. Austro-Hungary (A-H) issues an ultimatum to Serbia, demanding an investigation by A-H officials, which Serbia refused.
28 July 1914		Austro-Hungarian ultimatum expires and so war is declared on Serbia. Start of First World War as Russia, France and the UK side with Serbia, and Germany and Ottoman Turkey side with Austria.
1915-18		Montenegro invaded and occupied by Austro-Hungarian army.
November 1915		Serbia defeated and occupied by Bulgarian army.
20 July 1917		Exiled South Slavic Committee for National Unity calls for establishment of pan-Slavic state.
1 December 1918		'Triune Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes' created from chaos following Austrian and Turkish defeat in First World War.
1919-24		Dispute with Italy over Fiume (now Rijeka).
6 January 1929		Kingdom renamed 'Yugoslavia' and becomes royal dictatorship.
9 October 1934		King assassinated by Croatian separatists and pro-German regent takes control.
1937		Tito becomes leader of Yugoslav Communist party.
26 August 1939		Agreement reached to give Croatia autonomy - except in defence and foreign affairs.
25 March 1941		Yugoslavia signs Axis Tripartite Pact supporting Nazi Germany.
27 March 1941		Regent deposed in military coup organised by Air Force officers led by General Dusan Simovic. At the same time, the Communist Party of Yugoslavia had independently organised demonstrations against the Tripartite Pact. Neutrality is proclaimed.
6 April 1941		Germany invades Yugoslavia from bases in Italy, Hungary and Bulgaria.
1941		Many Croats and Slovenes support German occupation. Chetniks (Serbian Royalists) and Partisans (communists) form rival resistance groups which fight the occupation and each other.
1941		Puppet states of Croatia and Serbia created under German control.
late 1943		Allies begin support of Partisans led by Marshal Tito. (The only resistance group with supporters in all regions of Yugoslavia)
1944		Tito's Partisans liberate much of Yugoslavia with help from the Allies.
15 May 1945		Yugoslavia completely liberated by Partisans - six days after Germany's surrender, because some units of German and quisling forces refused to surrender earlier.
29 November 1945		Tito becomes Prime Minister after one-party elections.
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.
June 1948		Yugoslavia 'ex-communicated' by Soviet bloc.
14 January 1953		Tito becomes the country's first president.
1963		Country renamed 'Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia'.
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 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.
9 December 1990		Multi-party and Presidential elections held. Slobodan Milosevic elected president of Serbia.
25 June 1991		Secession of Croatia and Slovenia. Serbian dominated Federal Army fails to stop secession but occupies one third of Croatian territory.
6 April 1992		Bosnia-Hercegovina becomes independent.
17 April 1992		New constitution creates 'Federal Republic of Yugoslavia' (FRY), representing Serbia & Montenegro
30 May 1992		UN accuses FRY of fuelling the ethnic conflict in Bosnia and imposes sanctions.
May-August 1995		Croatia re-takes Serbian-held territory inside its borders.
14 December 1995		Dayton peace agreement signed by leaders of Serbia, Bosnia and Croatia.
1 October 1996		UN sanctions formally lifted.
1997		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.
27 May 1999		Yugoslav AA defences shoot down a Lockheed F-117 Nighthawk stealth fighter over Budjanovci, near the city of Ruma.
June 1999		FRY agrees to withdraw Serbian forces from Kosovo. KFOR moves in as international peacekeeping force.
5 October 2000		Slobodan Milosevic overthrown in popular uprising following rigged elections.
November 2000		Yugoslavia rejoins UN and OSCE.
June 2001		Slobodan Milosevic extradited to war crimes tribunal in The Hague. Political rift opens between sections of the new government over Milosevic's handling.
February 2002		Milosevic put on trial for war crimes at the International Criminal Tribunal in The Hague.
March 2002		Serbia and Montenegro agree to scrap 'Federal Republic of Yugoslavia' in favour of a looser 'Union of Serbia & Montenegro'.
4 February 2003		Yugoslav parliament approves new constitutional charter for 'Union of Serbia & Montenegro'.
12 March 2003		Serbian Prime Minister Zoran Djindjic assassinated. Organised crime gangs with links to Milosevic are blamed.
March 2004		Serious clashes between Serbs and ethnic Albanians in Kosovo after violence erupts in Mitrovica.
3 June 2006		Montenegro declares independence from Serbia.