Serbs are a recognized ethnic minority in Romania. According to data from the 2021 census, the population of ethnic Serbs in Romania is 12,026, constituting 0.06% of the total population.[1] They are mainly concentrated in the Romanian part of the Banat region.
From the late 14th century to the beginning of the 16th century a significant number of Serbs lived in Wallachia and Moldavia.[2] Following Ottoman expansion in the 15th century, Serb mass migrations ensued into Pannonian Basin primarily to the territories of present-day Serbian province of Vojvodina, but also to Hungary and Romania.[2] Serbian Orthodox monasteries began to be built in the area of today's western Romania as early as 15th century, including Kusić and Senđurađ (built by despot Jovan Branković), and in the 16th century including Bezdin and Hodoș-Bodrog Monastery (built by the Jakšić family).[2] During the Ottoman administration of Banat, the area saw new waves of Serbs settling there and constituting a significant portion of the population.[3] Some thirty Serbian Orthodox monasteries were built within the administrative unit Eyalet of Temeşvar.[2] Famous Ottoman historical figures from the area, such as Osman Ağa of Temeşvar was of Serbian descent.[4]
The Serb Uprising in Banat in 1594 against the Ottomans in Eyalet Temeşvar, included territories that are part of present-day Romania. The uprising came as a result of Ottoman tax system of devshirme, where male children from Serb families were taken as part of taxes and were forcibly converted to Islam and made to serve as janissaries.[5] There were reprisals, contemporary sources speaking of "the living envied the dead".[6] After the crushing of the uprising in Banat, many Serbs migrated to Transylvania under the leadership of Bishop Teodor; the territory towards Ineu and Teiuș was settled, where Serbs had already lived, building churches as well as opening schools and printing houses.[6]
Serbs probably constituted the vast majority of mercenary troops known as seimeni, given that their nucleus is attested to have been formed by "Serb seimeni" (as it was during their revolt in 1655), and that the rule of PrinceMatei Basarab had witnessed the arrival of a large group of Serb refugees.[citation needed]
After defeating the Ottoman Turks and ending Ottoman rule, resulting in the Treaty of Karlowitz of 1699, southern Crișana (i.e. northern Pomorišje) was ceded to the Habsburg monarchy, and, between 1702 and 1751, it was part of the Tisa-Mureș (Potisje-Pomorišje) section of the Habsburg Military Frontier. During this period, the Serb population in the region was still significant: the area between Szeged and Arad was mainly populated by Serbs, while area in the east of Arad mainly by Romanians. In 1720, the population of Arad, the main city in the region, numbered 177 Romanian, 162 Serbian, and 35 Hungarian families.
The Habsburg administrative unit of Voivodeship of Serbia and Banat of Temeschwar which existed from 1849 to 1860, had its seat in Timișoara. However, the share of Serbs (less than a third of the total population) and the marginal position of local authorities in the territory of the entire Habsburg Monarchy did not meet the aspirations of the Serb community, so its abolition did not mean anything new for the existence of Serbs in Banat. At this time, the Serbian Gymnasium in Timișoara was founded.
In the late 19th century and the beginning of 20th century, was period of a rapid economic development of Banat, including Timisoara. The development of Timisoara and the growth of its population reduced the share and importance of the Serb community in the city.
At the end of the World War I, in Novemeber of 1918, the Serbian Army entered most of Banat. From November 1918 to March 1919, western and central parts of Banat were governed by Serbian administration from Novi Sad, as part of the Banat, Bačka and Baranja province of the Kingdom of Serbia and newly formed Kingdom of Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes. However, at the Paris Peace Conference, Kingdom of Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes failed to preserve the central and eastern part of Banat with Timisoara as its center, and it was handed over to Romania in 1919. A particularly difficult issue during the peace conference was the position of the Banat Gorge, inhabited mainly by Serbs. However, after the demarcation, approximately the same number of Serbs and Romanians remained on both sides of the border - about 60 thousand, respectively.
The position of Serbs in the Kingdom of Romania in the interwar period was good: Serb newspapers were founded, cultural and educational institutions were established as well. Even under Ion Antonescu's fascist dictatorship during World War II, the situation of the Serbs remained tolerable.
The post-war friendly relations between the communist states of Romania and Yugoslavia had at first a positive impact on the Serb minority. However, as a result of Tito–Stalin split in 1948, began the difficult period for Serbs in Romania, which at that time was a "satellite" of the Soviet Union. There were large-scale deportations of Serbs to the Bărăgan Plain, and the suppression of cultural and religious life.[8] After the re-establishment of good neighborly relations in 1956, the position of the Serb minority improved somewhat, but it still remained rather difficult. The closure of Serb schools and cultural institutions as well as the "silent" assimilation, contributed to the decline of the Serb population. Numerous settlements with a Serb majority, especially around Timisoara, became majority Romanian durign this period. In 1990, there were half as many Serbs as there were 50 years before. Numerous settlements with a Serbian majority, especially around Timisoara, became majority Romanian.
Demographics
According to data from the 2021 census, 12,026 people in Romania declared Serb ethnicity.[1]
The vast majority of Serbs live in about sixty localities in the west and south-west part of Romania, starting with the village of Pecica and the towns of Nădlac and Arad on the north-side of Mures river, all the way to the commune of Sviniţa located on the Danube along the border with Serbia. The number of Serbs is constantly decreasing, it has decreased by three times in last hundred years: according to the statistics of the Serbian Orthodox Eparchy of Timisoara, there were 44,078 Serbs in Romania in 1924.[9]
The following municipalities had a Serb population greater than 1% according to the 2021 census (placenames in Serbian are included in brackets):
↑ Kornauth, Friedrich; Kreutel, Richard Franz, eds. (1966). "Zwischen Paschas und Generälen. Bericht des Osman Aga aus Temeschwar, über die Höhepunkte seines Wirkens als Diwansdolmetscher und Diplomat". Osmanische Geschichtsschreiber. Vol.V. Verlag Styria. ISSN0473-5129.
↑ Thomas, Raju; Frim, H Richard (2001). The South Slav Conflict: History, Religion, Ethnicity, and Nationalism. New York: Taylor & Francis. ISBN9781000525458.
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