Archduke Franz Ferdinand of AustriaArchduke Franz Ferdinand Carl Ludwig Joseph Maria of Austria (18 December 1863 – 28 June 1914) was the heir presumptive to the throne of Austria-Hungary. His assassination in Sarajevo was the most immediate cause of World War I. Franz Ferdinand was the eldest son of Archduke Karl Ludwig of Austria, the younger brother of Emperor Franz Joseph I of Austria. Following the death of Crown Prince Rudolf in 1889 and the death of Karl Ludwig in 1896, Franz Ferdinand became the heir presumptive to the Austro-Hungarian throne.
Serbs of Bosnia and HerzegovinaThe Serbs of Bosnia and Herzegovina (Srbi u Bosni i Hercegovini) are native in both regions of Bosnia and Herzegovina. They’re one of the three constitutive nations (state-forming nations) of the country mainly residing in the political-territorial entity of Republika Srpska and are known as Bosnian Serbs (Bosanski Srbi) in English, regardless what region they’re from. Serbs have a long and continuous history of inhabiting the present-day territory of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and a long history of statehood in this territory.
Franz Joseph I of AustriaFranz Joseph I or Francis Joseph I (Franz Joseph Karl fʁants ˈjoːzɛf ˈkaʁl; Ferenc József Károly ˈfɛrɛnt͡s ˈjoːʒɛf ˈkaːroj; 18 August 1830 – 21 November 1916) was Emperor of Austria, King of Hungary, and the ruler of the other states of the Habsburg monarchy from 2 December 1848 until his death on 21 November 1916. In the early part of his reign, his realms and territories were referred to as the Austrian Empire, but were reconstituted as the dual monarchy of the Austro-Hungarian Empire in 1867.
Congress of BerlinThe 'Congress of Berlin' (13 June – 13 July 1878) was a diplomatic conference to reorganise the states in the Balkan Peninsula after the Russo-Turkish War of 1877–78, which had been won by Russia against the Ottoman Empire. Represented at the meeting were Europe's then six great powers: Russia, Great Britain, France, Austria-Hungary, Italy, and Germany; the Ottomans; and four Balkan states: Greece, Serbia, Romania and Montenegro. The congress concluded with the signing of the Treaty of Berlin, replacing the preliminary Treaty of San Stefano that had been signed three months earlier.
Nicholas II of RussiaNicholas II (Nikolai II Alexandrovich Romanov; 1868 - 17 July 1918), known in the Russian Orthodox Church as Saint Nicholas the Passion-Bearer, was the last Emperor of Russia, King of Poland and Grand Duke of Finland, ruling from 1 November 1894 until his abdication on 15 March 1917. During his reign, Nicholas gave support to the economic and political reforms promoted by his prime ministers, Sergei Witte and Pyotr Stolypin. He advocated modernization based on foreign loans and close ties with France, but resisted giving the new parliament (the Duma) major roles.
Wilhelm II, German EmperorWilhelm II (Friedrich Wilhelm Viktor Albert; 27 January 1859 - 4 June 1941) was the last German emperor (Kaiser) and King of Prussia from 15 June 1888 until his abdication on 9 November 1918, which marked the end of the German Empire and the House of Hohenzollern's 300-year reign in Prussia and 500-year reign in Brandenburg. Born during the reign of his granduncle Frederick William IV of Prussia, Wilhelm was the son of Prince Frederick William and Victoria, Princess Royal.
Bosnian CrisisThe Bosnian Crisis, also known as the Annexation Crisis (Bosnische Annexionskrise; Анексиона криза) or the First Balkan Crisis, erupted on 5 October 1908 when Austria-Hungary announced the annexation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, territories formerly within the sovereignty of the Ottoman Empire but under Austro-Hungarian administration since 1878. This unilateral action—timed to coincide with Bulgaria's declaration of independence from the Ottoman Empire on 5 October—sparked protestations from all the Great Powers and Austria-Hungary's Balkan neighbors, Serbia and Montenegro.
Battle of KolubaraThe Battle of Kolubara (Колубарска битка, Schlacht an der Kolubara) was fought between Austria-Hungary and Serbia in November and December 1914, during the Serbian Campaign of 1914. It commenced on 16 November, when the Austro-Hungarians under the command of Oskar Potiorek reached the Kolubara river during their third invasion of Serbia that year, having captured the strategic town of Valjevo and forced the Serbian army to undertake a series of retreats. The Serbs withdrew from Belgrade on 29–30 November, and the city soon fell under Austro-Hungarian control.
Kosovo MythThe Kosovo Myth (Косовски мит / Kosovski mit), also known as the Kosovo Cult (Косовски култ / Kosovski kult) and the Kosovo Legend (Косовска легенда / Kosovska legenda), is a Serbian national myth based on legends about events related to the Battle of Kosovo (1389). It has been a subject in Serbian folklore and literary tradition and has been cultivated oral epic poetry and guslar poems. The final form of the legend was not created immediately after the battle but evolved from different originators into various versions.