Crska
Republic of Crska Република Црска | |
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 Flag
 Coat of arms
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| Motto: TBA TBA | |
 Location of Crska in Europe | |
| Capital and largest city | Solun |
| Ethnic groups (2023) |
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| Demonym(s) | Crskan |
| Legislature | TBA |
| Area | |
• Total | 68,124.5 km2 (26,303.0 sq mi) |
| Date format | mm-dd-yyyy |
Crska (Crskan: Црска), officially the Republic of Crska is a country in the Balkans region of Southeast Europe. It shares land borders with Kosovo to the northwest, Serbia to the north, Bulgaria to the northeast, the disputed territory of Western Thrace to the east, Greece} to the south, and Albania to the west. Crska also shares a small maritime border with Turkey in the Aegan Sea. Solun is the country's capital and largest city, and is home to roughly a fifth of Crska's 5.2 million citizens. Other major urban areas include Skopje, Kožani, Bitola, Serez, Prilep, and Voden. The significant majority of the country's citizens are ethnic Crskans, who are part of the South Slavic people. Crska's official language is Crskan, an Eastern South Slavic dialect which is closely related to the Bulgarian and Serbo-Croatian languages.
The country's modern history as a state begins with the Principality of Crska, an early South Slavic state which affirmed its independence after the Great Rebellion of 901-12 against the First Bulgarian Empire. Faced with constant invasions by the Bulgarians, Crska would align itself with the Byzantine Empire during the Byzantine–Bulgarian Wars and with the Ottoman Empire during the Bulgarian–Ottoman Wars. As the Bulgarians and Byzantines buckled under the weight of the Ottoman Empire, the Principality became an Ottoman vassal state and launched several invasions of the Serbian Empire with the support of the Ottoman Empire, vastly expanding its territorial borders and forming Kingdom of Great Crska. As an overture the warfighting capability of the Crskan legions under Ottoman command, the Kingdom was granted a degree of autonomy and special privileges which other occupied territories in the Balkans were not, which in turn allowed for the survival of an unique Crskan identity and a sense of statehood under the Ottoman's suzerainty.
The turn of the 19th century brought about a radical change in the region, with the Ottoman Empire struggling to contain the outbreak of ethnic nationalism across the Balkans. Inspired by the success of the Serbian Revolution, an secret society of Crskan patriots known as the Internal Crskan Revolutionary Organization launched the Crskan Revolution in 1819. The Revolutionary Crska would become the first nation to assist Greece during the Hellenic Revolution and in turn would be assisted by the British Empire, Kingdom of France, and the Russian Empire. With the exception of Pirin Crska, the First Republic of Crska would achieve its territorial goals after the conclusion of the First Balkan War, however Bulgaria – eager to enforce its irredentist claims on Crska – invaded Crska almost immediately, triggering the Second Balkan War. With the victory of Crska and its Balkan League allies, the country gained its modern territorial borders after the League supported the annexation of Pirin, ushering in the era of the Second Republic of Crska.
During the First World War Crksa was again invaded by Bulgaria in 1914, supported by the Ottoman Empire. Severely fatigued from the Balkan Wars, the Central Powers were able to occupy Crska by mid 1915, with the remnants of the Crskan Army retreating to Serbia and Greece. In 1917 a government-in-exile was formed in Crete and a year later the situation had changed drastically, with Entente forces landing in Solun and liberating Northern Crska during the Vardar Offensive. The 1919 Treaty of Neuilly-sur-Seine would affirm the territorial integrity of Crska including its control over the disputed Pirin region.