Pirot District in the context of Southern Serbia (Geographical Region)

The Kingdom of Serbia was a country located in the Balkans which was created when the ruler of the Principality of Serbia, Milan I, was proclaimed king in 1882. Since 1817, the Principality was ruled by the Obrenović dynasty (replaced by the Karađorđević dynasty for a short time). The Principality of Serbia, under the suzerainty of the Turkish Empire, de facto achieved full independence when the very last Ottoman troops left Belgrade in 1867. The Congress of Berlin in 1878 recognized the formal independence of the Principality of Serbia, and in its composition Nišava, Pirot, Toplica and Vranje districts entered the South part of Serbia.

In 1882, Serbia was elevated to the status of a kingdom, initially maintaining a foreign policy friendly to Austria-Hungary before turning to the Russian Empire and France following a coup d'état in 1903. Between 1912 and 1913, Serbia greatly enlarged its territory through engagement in the First and Second Balkan Wars – Sandžak-Raška, Kosovo Vilayet and Vardar Macedonia were annexed. At the end of World War I in 1918 it united with Vojvodina and the Kingdom of Montenegro, and in December 1918 it merged with the newly created State of Slovenes, Croats and Serbs to form the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes (later known as Kingdom of Yugoslavia) under the continued rule of the Karađorđević dynasty.

Southern Serbia (Serbian: Јужна Србија, romanized: Južna Srbija) or sometimes referred to as South Serbia, Southeastern Serbia, Southern Pomoravlje, South of Central Serbia, historically known as New Territories, is a historical and geographical region in Republic of Serbia which most often refers to the territories of Nišava, Toplica, Jablanica, Pčinja and Pirot Districts. This region occupies about 14,000 square kilometers and is home to about 877.000 people. More than a quarter of the population in the region lives in the city of Niš. People from Southern Serbia are commonly known as Southerners.

Southern Serbia is not an official subdivision of Serbia, nor are its borders precisely defined. The region is characterized by the South Morava river, which flows almost entirely through Southern Serbia and which has historically connected the peoples who lived in its basin. The region is defined by a common history and culture.

Pirot (Serbian Cyrillic: Пирот) is a city and the administrative center of the Pirot District in southeastern Serbia. According to 2022 census, the urban area of the city has a population of 34,942, while the population of the city administrative area has 49,601 inhabitants.

The city has rich geographical features, including the mountains of Stara Planina, Vlaška Planina, Belava, Suva Planina; rivers which flow through the town, including Nišava, Jerma, Rasnička Reka, Temštica and the Visočica; and four lakes, the Zavoj Lake, Berovacko Lake, Krupac Lake and Sukovo Lake.

Dimitrovgrad (Serbian: Димитровград) alternatively Caribrod (Bulgarian: Цариброд, romanized: Caribrod) is a town and municipality located in the Pirot District of southeastern Serbia. According to 2022 census, the municipality has a population of 8,043 and the town has 5,188 inhabitants.