A brief, dated history of Montenegro.
Antiquity — Doclea
Inhabited by Illyrian tribes and later Romanised, the region was home to the ancient town of Doclea near modern Podgorica. South Slavs settled from the 6th–7th centuries.
Medieval Duklja and Zeta (9th–15th c.)
The early medieval principality of Duklja rose around the 9th–11th centuries, later known as Zeta. From 1496 the Crnojević dynasty ruled, founding a printing press at Cetinje in 1493 — one of the oldest in southeastern Europe.
The Prince-Bishops and resistance to the Ottomans (1516–1852)
While the Ottomans dominated the Balkans, the mountains of Montenegro remained defiantly independent under prince-bishops (vladike) of the Petrović-Njegoš dynasty from 1516. The poet-ruler Petar II Petrović Njegoš (reigned 1830–1851) became a national icon.
Independence and kingdom (1878–1918)
Montenegro long independence was formally recognised by the Great Powers at the Congress of Berlin in 1878. In 1910 Prince Nikola I proclaimed the Kingdom of Montenegro.
Yugoslavia and renewed independence (1918–2006)
After the First World War Montenegro joined the new Yugoslav state in 1918, becoming a republic within socialist Yugoslavia after 1945. Following the break-up of Yugoslavia, Montenegro voted for independence in a referendum on 21 May 2006, becoming Europe newest sovereign nation.
Modern Montenegro
Montenegro adopted the euro, joined NATO in 2017 and is a candidate for the European Union — a small Adriatic country of dramatic mountains, fjord-like bays and a proud history of independence.
Informational summary. Dates follow widely accepted historical consensus.