The House of Obrenović (Serbian: Обреновићи, Obrenovići, often spelled in English as Obrenovich or Obrenovitch) was a noble Serbian family that ruled Serbia from 1815 to 1842, and again from 1858 to 1903. They came to power through the leadership of their progenitor Miloš Obrenović in the Second Serbian uprising against the Ottoman Empire, which led to the formation of the Principality of Serbia. The regents tended to rule autocratically, their popularity waxing and waning over their decades in power.
The house of Obrenović, except Miloš and son Mihailo Obrenović, descends from the Serbian medieval noble house of Orlović, through the stepfather of Knjaz Miloš and of King Milan's grandfather Jevrem, as he was a member of the cadet branch of house Martinović - Orlović.
The family's rule came to an end when an underground movement Black hand throughout the military, killed the last king Aleksandar Obrenović, proximally because of his unpopular choice of a bride. After the end of their rule, a constitutional monarchy headed by the Karađorđević family took its place.
Unlike other Balkan states such as Greece, Bulgaria or Romania, Serbia did not import a member of an existing European royal family to take its throne; the Obrenović Dynasty, like its Karađorđević rival, was a "home-grown" Serbian family.
The house of Obrenović, except Miloš and son Mihailo Obrenović, descends from the Serbian medieval noble house of Orlović, through the stepfather of Knjaz Miloš and of King Milan's grandfather Jevrem, as he was a member of the cadet branch of house Martinović - Orlović.
The family's rule came to an end when an underground movement Black hand throughout the military, killed the last king Aleksandar Obrenović, proximally because of his unpopular choice of a bride. After the end of their rule, a constitutional monarchy headed by the Karađorđević family took its place.
Unlike other Balkan states such as Greece, Bulgaria or Romania, Serbia did not import a member of an existing European royal family to take its throne; the Obrenović Dynasty, like its Karađorđević rival, was a "home-grown" Serbian family.