Illyria

Illyria
Kingdom of Illyria
Králjevina Illirija
Location of Illyria
Established	1885
Capital	Podgorica Belgrade (1885-1938)
Government Type	Constitutional monarchy
Languages	Illyrian (official) Slovene Bosnian
Currency	Illyrian dinar (ILD)

Illyria, officially the Kingdom of Illyria (Illyrian: Králjevina Illrija) is a monarchy in southeastern Europe. It borders the nations of Venice, Hungary, Bulgaria, Romania, Austria, and Albania. Part of the Ottoman Empire for centuries, Illyria gained independence in 1885 and expanded greatly during the Great War.

History

For centuries, the region had been under the direct control of the Ottoman Empire. However, the increasing centralization alienated the southern Slavs, who were pining for independence. The country became independent after the Russo-Ottoman War, when Russia supported the Illyrian uprising. The leader of the Illyrian uprising, Sima the Great, was crowned as Tsar of Illyria, and is the progenitor of the Illyrian Cmiljanić dynasty.

Tsarist period (1885-1940)

After gaining independence, Illyria had very close ties with Russia. The new tsardom was in a precarious location, nestled in between the two largest empires in Europe: the Austrian and Ottoman Empires. Throughout the 1910s, Illyria's capital, Belgrade, became one of the centers of intellectualism and culture in southeeastern Europe.

Illyrianism

By the 1900s, the political thought of Illyrianism started to take root in southeastern Europe. Illyrianism is an ideology that advocated the unity of southern slavs into one identity. It denied the notion of multiple separate south Slavic nations, and instead promoted a single south slavic identity. This movement was heavily promoted by prominent intellectuals both in and outside of the tsardom, such as Radoš Čolić and Mirjana Strahinjić, both based in Austria. The Tsars of Illyria, however, was indifferent towards the political thought.

During the Great War

During the Great War, Illyria was initially neutral. The Austria and Ottoman Empires recognized Illyria's usefulness as a buffer state between them, and as such, tried to prevent Illyria from sliding towards the influence of the Cordial League. Britain, on the other hand, tried to coerce Illyria into joining, promising a vast territory should they win. However, the tsar remained steadfastly neutral.

The Tsar began to harbor distrust towards the Tripartite Coalition when neutral Moldavia was attacked by the Ottomans. Furthermore, in the later years of the war, Moldavia annexed the principality of Wallachia. This proved the fragility of the sovereignty of the Balkan states. As a result, Illyria took up Britain's offer to join the Cordial League, in order to protect their sovereignty and to be recognized and seen as equals in the alliance. Podgorica was made the capital of Illyria during the Great War, and remained that way after the war.

Illyria cooperated and fought alongside the British during the war. After the war, they gained vast amounts of territory from the former Austrian and Ottoman Empires.

Illyrian kingdom (1940-)

In 1940, Illyria switched the country's official title to the Kingdom of Illyria (Illyrian: Kraljevina Ilirija), to align themselves with western conventions. The new kingdom formally adopted Illyrianism as one of their key founding principles.

Culture

Language

Illyrian language

The Illyrian langauge is a pluricentric language existing in a continuum. It has many dialects spoken within and outside of Illyria. The Illyrian language was originally primarily written in two scripts: Cyrillic (in the south), and Latin (in the north, mostly in regions formerly part of the Austrian Empire. When Illyrianism took root in the early 20th century, intellectuals started pushing for the standardization of Illyrian. There were also movements advocating the switch to a Latin orthography. However, it was not until 1940 that the Kingdom of Illyria officially switched to the Latin alphabet. This was done in order to pander the newly acquired territories of Illyria, which used the Latin script.

List of leaders

Cmiljanić dynasty

Since 1885, Illyria had been led by the Cmiljanić dynasty, a house of Montenegrin origin founded by Sima the Great. The Cmiljanić hail from the Montenegrin tribe of Bratonožići, from the region of Brda.

• Sima the Great (1885-1903)
• Sima II Cmiljanić (1903-1907)
• Andro I Cmiljanić (1907-1928)
• Toma I Cmiljanić (1928-1951)