Yugoslavia was under control of the Ottoman Empire for an extremely long period of time - from the 1400s until the early 1900s, when the major nations of Serbia Montenegro gained independence. They then fought in a series of Balkan Wars which further freed the Balkans, the future home of Yugoslavia, from Ottoman control. The King of Serbia became the King of Yugoslavia. King Peter I of Serbia was crowned King of Yugoslavia in 1918, and ruled until his death in 1921. Since 1921, King Alexander I of Yugoslavia has ruled as King of Yugoslavia.