They came to power through the leadership of their progenitor Miloš Obrenović I in the Serbian Uprising of 1815–1817 against the Ottoman Empire, which led to the formation of the Principality of Serbia in 1817.

The Obrenović dynasty were traditionally allied with Austria-Hungary and opposed the Russian-supported House of Karađorđević.

The family's rule came to an end in a coup d’état by the military conspirators, often known today as the Black Hand,[1] who invaded the royal palace and murdered King Alexander I, who died without an heir.

[3] Unlike other Balkan states such as Greece, Bulgaria, or Romania, Serbia did not import a member of an existing European royal family (mostly German dynasties) to take its throne; the Obrenović dynasty, like its Karađorđević rival, was an indigenous Serbian family.

This practice was discontinued when prince Milan IV proclaimed himself king and declared the principality of Serbia a kingdom (1882).