SERVIA 781 ants are free householders. Community of interests prevails among the laboring classes, who live together under the authority of a chief or "father of the house," of their own selection. The Greek religion is that of al- most all the inhabitants, and there is a synod consisting of the metropolitan at Belgrade and three bishops. Secession from the church is rigorously prohibited ; but Roman Catho- lics (about 5,000), Protestants (400), and Jews (1,500) enjoy religious liberty. Education in the higher branches is better provided for by the government than in the lower by the com- munes, and in the elementary schools is free and obligatory. The academy of Belgrade was made a university in 1869. Servia pays to Turkey an annual tribute of 2,300,000 piasters, and has enjoyed since 1834 a perfect autonomy, which was confirmed by the treaty of Paris of March 80, 1856, and guaranteed by the Euro- pean powers. The right of garrisoning Bel- grade and other fortresses was finally relin- quished by the Porte in 1867. In 1872 a postal treaty was made with Roumania. Commercial treaties were concluded with Russia and Aus- tria in 1874, and Servia established her own coinage in 1875. There are Servian diplomatic agents at Constantinople and Bucharest, and many foreign consular and diplomatic agents reside in Belgrade, the national capital. The government is a limited monarchy, vested in a hereditary prince of the Obrenovitch dynasty, who appoints responsible ministers. The ori- ginal charter dates from 1838. The latest re- vised constitution, that of 1869, converts the senate, consisting of 17 life members appointed by the government, into a permanent coun- cil of state, and vests legislative power solely in the slcupshtina or assembly (the origin of which is traced back to the earliest period of Servian history), and provides for its annual meetings at Kraguyevatz. In 1874 the skup- shtina consisted of 134 members, 101 elected by the people for three years, and 33 appointed by the government. A so-called great skup- shtina, with about 500 members, assembles in the event of a vacancy on the throne, or in other extraordinary emergencies. Suffrage is universal for all Christian Servians 21 years old and over, who pay direct taxes ; only me- nials and gypsies are disfranchised. All elec- tors are eligible to the skupshtina excepting members of the government and of the clergy. The prefects of the 17 circles and the 54 dis- tricts are appointed by the government, and the presidents of the communes, who are at the same time justices of the peace, are elected by the people. There are superior courts of law in each circle, besides a court of appeal at Bel- grade. The courts are all public, and the in- dependence of the judges is guaranteed by the constitution. The military forces comprise a standing army and a national army (militia). The second forms the nucleus of the military organization; the standing army is only em- ployed on ordinary garrison duty and in train- ing the national army for war. All able-bod- ied men must serve between the ages of 20 and 50 ; the period of service in the standing army is three years, and in the national army 27. The officers of the national army are trained at a central military college, and the non-commis- sioned officers and men in district schools and shooting grounds. The strength of the stand- ing army is about 12,000 men (divided into garrison troops and reserve), and of the na- tional army (first and second levies) 150,000. The original inhabitants of Servia were chief- ly Thracians. Conquered by the Romans du- ring the early period of the empire, Servia formed part of Illyricum under the name of Moesia Superior. During the great migration of nations it was overrun by the Huns, Ostro- goths, and other barbarians, and subsequently was under Byzantine rule from the middle of the 6th till early in the 7th century, when it was devastated by the Avars. The latter were driven out by the Serbs, a Slavic people, who had been living N. of the Carpathians, and whose aid the emperor Heraclius (died 641) had invoked. He allotted to them the depop- ulated regions, and introduced Christianity. Servia remained a vassal state of the emperors of the East ; but a spirit of liberty was fos- tered by powerful and well organized local governments, whose chiefs (zhupans) repeat- edly attempted to make themselves altogeth- er independent. But the imperial authority was fully restored in the latter part of the 9th century by Basil I., surnamed the Macedonian. Subsequently the Bulgarians held the ascen- dancy in Servia for a long period, but their power was broken by John Zimisces, and finally destroyed by Basil II. in 1018. Ste- phen Bogislas was the first Serb to found an independent principality, about 1043; his son Michael (1050-'80) styled himself king (Jcral), and was recognized by the Roman see. Ste- phen's grandson Bodin (1080-'90) extended his dominions, but was captured by the By- zantines, with whom his successor Vulkan or Vuk made peace in 1094. Urosh I. joined (1127-'9) the Hungarians against the Greek emperors, laying the foundation of repeated alliances with Hungary; and the contests with Constantinople continued under his succes- sors. Stephen Nemania, grandson of Urosh II., founded a new dynasty in 1165. He con- quered Bosnia and other territories, and made Rassa (now Novibazar) his capital, from which his realm was called the Rascian, but could not cope with the emperors of Constantinople. His son Stephen I. was crowned in 1217 as king of Servia, and his successors acquired much additional territory. The most illus- trious of them was Stephen Dushan (1336- '56), who had himself crowned czar. He con- quered nearly all Macedonia, Albania, Thessa- ly, northern Greece, and Bulgaria, and greatly improved the laws, learning, and trade. But conflicts among the governors of his provinces undid his work, and most of his conquests
