Editing Subotica (section)

==History==
{{Quote box
| width = 26em
| align = right
| bgcolor = #B0C4DE
| title = Historical affiliations
| fontsize = 90%
| quote = {{flagicon image|Flag_of_Hungary_(15th_century%2C_rectangular).svg}} [[Kingdom of Hungary (1301–1526)|Kingdom of Hungary]] c. 1301–1526<br />
{{flag|Ottoman Empire}} 1542–1686<br />
{{flagicon image|Flag_of_the_Habsburg_Monarchy.svg}} [[Habsburg monarchy]] 1686–1804<br />
{{flag|Austrian Empire}} 1804–1867<br />
{{flagicon image|Flag of Austria-Hungary (1867-1918).svg}} [[Austro-Hungarian Empire]] 1867–1918<br />
{{flagicon image|Flag_of_Serbia_(1882-1918).svg}} [[Kingdom of Serbia]] 1918<br />
{{flagicon image|Flag_of_the_Kingdom_of_Yugoslavia.svg}} [[Kingdom of Yugoslavia]]{{refn|Officially known  as the ''Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes'' until 1929}} 1918–1941<br />
{{flagicon image|Flag_of_Hungary_(1920–1946).svg}} [[Hungarian occupation of Yugoslav territories|Hungarian occupation of Yugoslavia]] 1941–1944<br />
{{flag|SFR Yugoslavia}}{{refn|Known as ''Democratic Federal Yugoslavia'' until 1945}} 1944–1992<br />
{{flag|Federal Republic of Yugoslavia}} 1992−2003<br />
{{flag|Serbia and Montenegro}} 2003–2006<br />
{{flag|Serbia|name=Republic of Serbia}} 2006–present
}}

===Prehistory and antiquity===
In the [[Neolithic]] and [[Eneolithic]] periods, several important archaeological cultures flourished in this area, including the [[Starčevo culture]],<ref>[https://archive.today/20130215124222/http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~hjohnson/New%20Index/Family%20Groups/Group%20Leaders%20Pages/Pin%20Oak%20Reports/inthebeginningupdated2009_files/image010.jpg Starčevo culture]</ref> the [[Vinča culture]],<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.catyline.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/Vincanska_civilizacija_5300-3500_g.p.n.jpg |title= Map |website= catyline.com}}</ref> and the [[Tiszapolgár culture]].<ref>{{cite web|url= http://www.rastko.rs/arheologija/ntasic-eneolit.html |title= [Projekat Rastko] Nikola Tasic: Eneolitske kulture centralnog i zapadnog Balkana|website= www.rastko.rs}}</ref> Early [[Proto-Indo-Europeans|Indo-European]] peoples settled in the territory of present-day Subotica in 3200 BC.<ref>[https://www.thearchaeologist.org/blog/category/Eurasian+Steppe The first Indo-Europeans in the Balkans] Retrieved 8 September 2022.</ref> During the [[Eneolithic]] period, the [[Bronze Age]] and the [[Iron Age]], several Indo-European archaeological cultures included areas around Subotica - the [[Baden culture]], the [[Vučedol culture]],<ref>{{cite web |url= http://files.myopera.com/edwardpiercy/blog/Area-Culture-Map-1.JPG |title= Area Culture Map 1 |access-date= 2011-02-12 |url-status = dead|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20110714143416/http://files.myopera.com/edwardpiercy/blog/Area-Culture-Map-1.JPG |archive-date=2011-07-14 }},</ref> the [[Urnfield culture]]<ref>{{cite web|url= http://www.eliznik.org.uk/EastEurope/History/balkans-map/middle-bronze.htm|title=South East Europe history - 1,800 BC map|last=eliznik|website=www.eliznik.org.uk|access-date=2013-01-14|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20130325033312/http://www.eliznik.org.uk/EastEurope/History/balkans-map/middle-bronze.htm|archive-date= 2013-03-25|url-status = dead}}</ref> and some others. Before the [[Iazyges|Iazyge]] conquest in the 1st century BC, Indo-European peoples of [[Illyrians|Illyrian]], [[Celts|Celtic]] and [[Dacians|Dacian]] descent inhabited this area. In the 3rd century BC, this area was controlled by the Celtic [[Boii]] and [[Eravisci]], while in the 1st century BC, it became part of the [[Dacian kingdom]]. From the 1st century BC, the area came under the control of the [[Sarmatian]] [[Iazyges]], who were sometimes allies and sometimes enemies of the [[Roman Empire|Romans]]. Iazyge rule lasted until the 4th century AD, after which the region came into the possession of various other peoples and states.{{sfn|Bârcă|2013|p=104}}

===Early Middle Ages and Slavic settlement===
In the Early Middle Ages various [[Indo-European languages|Indo-European]] and [[Turkic peoples]] and states ruled in the area of Subotica. These peoples included [[Huns]], [[Gepids]], [[Pannonian Avars|Avars]], [[Slavs]] and [[Bulgarians]]. [[Slavs]] settled today's Subotica in the 6th and 7th centuries, before some of them crossed the rivers Sava and Danube and settled in the [[Balkans]].

The Slavic tribe living in the territory of present-day Subotica were the [[Obotrites]], a subgroup of the [[Serbs]]. In the 9th century, after the fall of the Avar state, the first forms of Slavic statehood emerged in this area. The first Slavic states that ruled over this region included the [[Pannonian Slavs#Principality|Principality of Lower Pannonia]] (846-875), [[Great Moravia]] (833–{{circa}} 907) and the [[First Bulgarian Empire|Bulgarian Empire]].{{sfn|Barford|2001}}

===Late Middle Ages===
[[File:Wiki.Vojvodina VII Subotica 4896 01.jpg|[[Emperor Jovan Nenad]] monument in the downtown|thumb|left]]
Subotica probably first became a settlement of note when people poured into it from nearby villages destroyed during the [[Tatar invasions]] of 1241–42. When ''Zabadka''/''Zabatka'' was first recorded in 1391, it was a tiny town in the medieval [[Kingdom of Hungary]]. Later, the city belonged to the [[Hunyadi family|Hunyadis]], one of the most influential aristocratic families in the whole of [[Central Europe]].

King [[Matthias Corvinus of Hungary]] gave the town to one of his relatives, [[János Pongrác Dengelegi]], who, fearing an invasion by the [[Ottoman Empire]], fortified the castle of Subotica, erecting a fortress in 1470. Some decades later, after the [[Battle of Mohács]] in 1526, Subotica became part of the [[Ottoman Empire]]. The majority of the Hungarian population fled northward to [[Royal Hungary]].<ref>[http://suboticadiversity.weebly.com/regional-history.html Subotica after the Battle of Mohács] Retrieved 8 September 2022.</ref> [[Bálint Török]], a local noble who had ruled over Subotica, also escaped from the city. During the military and political havoc following the defeat at [[Mohács]], Subotica came under the control of Serbian [[mercenaries]] recruited in [[Banat]]. These soldiers were in the service of the [[Transylvania]]n general [[John Zápolya|John I Zápolya]], a later Hungarian king.<ref>Balint Török, in: Géza Gárdonyi, Eger Stars, 2019, {{ISBN|978-1794777330}}.</ref>

The leader of these mercenaries, [[Jovan Nenad]], established in 1526–27 his rule in [[Bačka]], northern [[Banat]] and a small part of [[Syrmia]] and created an independent entity, with Subotica as its administrative centre. At the peak of his power, Jovan Nenad proclaimed himself as Serbian [[tsar]] in Subotica. He named [[Radoslav Čelnik]] as the general commander of his army, while his treasurer and [[palatine]] was Subota Vrlić, a Serbian noble from [[Jagodina]]. When Bálint Török returned and recaptured Subotica from the Serbs, Jovan Nenad moved the administrative centre to [[Szeged]].<ref>Borovszky Samu: Magyarország vármegyéi és városai, Bács-Bodrog vármegye I-II. kötet, Apolló Irodalmi és Nyomdai Részvénytársaság, 1909.</ref>

Some months later, in the summer of 1527, Jovan Nenad was [[assassinated]] and his entity collapsed. However, after Jovan Nenad's death, Radoslav Čelnik led a part of the army to Ottoman [[Syrmia]], where he briefly ruled as an Ottoman vassal.{{Citation needed|date=March 2018}}

===Ottoman Empire===
[[File:Szabadka-Szent-István-tér 1900.jpg|thumb|Subotica 1900.]]
The [[Ottoman Empire]] ruled the city from 1542 to 1686. At the end of this almost 150-year-long period, not much remained of the old town of ''Zabadka''/''Zabatka''. As much of the population had fled, the Ottomans encouraged the settlement of the area by different colonists from the [[Balkans]]. The settlers were mostly [[Serbian Orthodox|Orthodox]] [[Serbs]]. They cultivated the extremely fertile land around Subotica. In 1570, the population of Subotica numbered 49 houses, and in 1590, 63 houses. In 1687, the region was settled by [[Roman Catholic|Catholic]] ''[[Dalmatia|Dalmatas]]'' (called [[Bunjevci]] today). It was called ''Sobotka'' under Ottoman rule and was a kaza centre in [[Sanjak of Segedin|Segedin]] sanjak at first in [[Budin Province, Ottoman Empire|Budin Eyaleti]] until 1596, and after that in [[Egir Province, Ottoman Empire|Eğri Eyaleti]] between 1596 and 1686.<ref>[[Sanjak of Segedin]]</ref>

===Habsburg Monarchy===
[[File:Razglednica Subotice.jpg|thumb|Subotica in Serbian early 20th-century postcard]]
In 1687, about 5,000 [[Bunjevci]] settled in Bačka (including Subotica). After the decisive battle against the Ottomans at [[Senta]] led by [[Prince Eugene of Savoy]] on 11 September 1697, Subotica became part of the [[Military Frontier|military border]] zone [[Potisje|Theiss]]-[[Pomorišje|Mieresch]] established by the [[Habsburg monarchy]]. In the meantime the uprising of [[Francis II Rákóczi]] broke out, which is also known as the [[Kuruc War]].

In the region of Subotica, Rákóczi joined battle against the ''Rac National Militia''. ''[[Rác (ethnonym)|Rác]]'' was a designation for the South Slavic people (mostly Serbs and Bunjevci) and they often were referred to as ''rácok'' in the Kingdom of Hungary. In a later period ''rácok'' came to mean, above all, Serbs of Orthodox religion.{{sfn|Varga|2013|p=264}}

The Serbian military families enjoyed several privileges thanks to their service for the Habsburg Monarchy. Subotica gradually, however, developed from being a mere garrison town to becoming a market town with its own civil charter in 1743. When this happened, many Serbs complained about the loss of their privileges. The majority left the town in protest and some of them founded a new settlement just outside 18th century Subotica in [[Aleksandrovo, Subotica|Aleksandrovo]], while others emigrated to [[Russia]]. In [[New Serbia (historical province)|New Serbia]], a new Russian province established for them, those Serbs founded a new settlement and also named it ''Subotica''. In 1775, a Jewish community in Subotica was established.

It was perhaps to emphasise the new civic serenity of Subotica that the pious name "Saint Mary" came to be used for it at this time. Some decades later, in 1779, Empress [[Maria Theresa of Austria]] advanced the town's status further by proclaiming it a Free Royal Town. The enthusiastic inhabitants of the city renamed Subotica once more as ''Maria-Theresiopolis''.<ref>[https://www.heritage-su.org.rs/en/town-house-2/ History of Subotica] Retrieved 8 September 2022.</ref>

This Free Royal Town status gave a great impetus to the development of the city. During the 19th century, its population doubled twice, attracting many people from all over the [[Habsburg monarchy]]. This led eventually to a considerable demographic change. In the first half of the 19th century, the Bunjevci had still been in the majority, but there was an increasing number of Hungarians and Jews settling in Subotica. This process was not stopped even by the outbreak of the [[Revolutions of 1848|Revolutions in the Habsburg monarchy (1848–49)]].

===Revolution of 1848–49===
[[File:Szabadka_1.jpg|thumb|left|Subotica in 1914 Hungarian postcard]]
During the 1848–49 Revolution, the proclaimed borders of autonomous [[Serbian Vojvodina]] included Subotica, but Serb troops could not establish control in the region. On 5 March 1849, at the locality named Kaponja (between Tavankut and Bajmok), there was a battle between the Serb and Hungarian armies, which was won by the Hungarians.

The first newspaper in the town was also published during the 1848–49 revolution—it was called ''Honunk állapota'' ("State of Our Homeland") and was published in Hungarian by Károly Bitterman's local printing company. Unlike most Serbs and Croats who confronted the Hungarians, part of the local Bunjevci people supported the Hungarian revolution.

In 1849, after the [[Hungarian revolution of 1848]] was defeated by the Russian and Habsburg armies, the town was separated from the Kingdom of Hungary together with most of the Bačka region, and became part of a separate Habsburg province, called [[Voivodeship of Serbia and Banat of Temeschwar]]. The administrative centre of this new province was [[Timișoara]]. The province existed until 1860. During the existence of the voivodeship, in 1853, Subotica acquired its impressive theatre.<ref>Vladan Gavrilović, The Serbian Vojvodina and Montenegro 1848-1849, University of Novi Sad, Faculty of Philosophy, 2021.</ref>

===Austria-Hungary===
After the establishment of the [[Ausgleich|Dual-Monarchy]] in 1867, there followed what is often called the "golden age" of city development of Subotica. Many schools were opened after 1867 and in 1869 the railway connected the city to the world. In 1896 an electrical power plant was built, further enhancing the development of the city and the whole region. Subotica now adorned itself with its remarkable Central European, [[fin de siècle]] architecture. In 1902 a Jewish synagogue was built in the Art Nouveau style.

Between 1849 and 1860 it was part of the [[Voivodeship of Serbia and Banat of Temeschwar]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.enciklopedija.hr/clanak/subotica|title=Subotica|website=www.enciklopedija.hr|access-date=2019-05-04}}</ref>

===Yugoslavia and Serbia===
[[File:Leševi na Senćanskom putu.jpg|thumb|right|Massacred bodies of [[Serbia]]n and [[Jews|Jewish]] civilians killed by Hungarian troops during the World War II]]
Subotica had been part of [[Austria-Hungary]] until the end of [[World War I]]. In 1918, the city became part of the [[Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes]]. As a result, Subotica became a border-town in [[Yugoslavia]] and did not, for a time, experience again the same dynamic prosperity it had enjoyed prior to World War I. However, during that time, Subotica was the third-largest city in Yugoslavia by population, following [[Belgrade]] and [[Zagreb]].
[[File:Serbia, Subotica, Monument to the Victims of Fascism, 20120921.jpg|thumb|left|Monument to the Victims of Fascism]]
In 1941, Yugoslavia was invaded and partitioned by the [[Axis Powers]], and its northern parts, including Subotica, were annexed by Hungary. The annexation was not considered legitimate by the international community and the city was de jure still part of Yugoslavia. The [[Yugoslav government in exile]] received formal recognition of legitimacy as the representative of the country. On 11 April 1941, the Hungarian troops arrived in Subotica on the grounds that the majority of the people living in the city were ethnic Hungarians, which had been part of the Kingdom of Hungary for over 600 years. During [[World War II]], the city lost approximately 7,000 of its citizens, mostly Serbs, Hungarians and Jews. Before the war about 6,000 [[Jews]] had lived in Subotica; many of these were deported from the city during the [[Holocaust]], mostly to [[Auschwitz]]. In April 1944, under German administration, a ghetto was set up.<ref>[http://holocaust.rs/en/subotica/ Subotica in WWII] Retrieved 8 September 2022.</ref> In addition, many [[communists]] were executed during Axis rule. In 1944, the Axis forces left the city, and Subotica became part of the new [[Yugoslavia]]. During the 1944–45 period, about 8,000 citizens {{Failed verification|date=September 2020}} (mainly Hungarians) were killed by [[Yugoslav partisans|Partisans]] while re-taking the city as a retribution for supporting Axis Hungary.<ref>Mészáros Sándor: Holttá nyilvánítva - Délvidéki magyar fátum 1944–45, I-II, Hatodik Síp Alapítvány, Budapest 1995.</ref><ref>Cseres Tibor: Vérbosszú Bácskában, [[Magvető|Magvető kiadó]], Budapest 1991.<!-- ISSN/ISBN needed, if any --></ref>{{Failed verification|date=September 2020}}

In the postwar period, Subotica has gradually been modernised. During the [[Yugoslav wars|Yugoslav]] and [[Kosovo war|Kosovo]] wars of the 1990s, a considerable number of Serb refugees came to the city from [[Croatia]], [[Bosnia and Herzegovina]], and [[Kosovo]], while many ethnic Hungarians and Croats, as well as some local Serbs, left the region.