Archeological sites in town and its surroundings confirm that there used to be settlements in this area even in the earlier Stone Age, and the Romans were there from the beginning of new era. During the Nemanjics’ Serbia, in 13th and 14th century, Sabac was a part of it and belonged to regional unit of Macva. The remains of king Dragutin’s villa are based in Debrc, near the Sava, around 30km far from Sabac towards Obrenovac.

During the Middle Age, in Sabac location today, there used to be a Slavic settlement named Zaslon.
Having conquered Serbia in the second half of 15th century, the Turkish started ruling over that area. In 1470, they began building a fortress in a suitable place not far from the Kamicak and Sava confluence. Although it was not large in dimensions, the fortress was very important for securing the north border of Turkish Empire towards Hungarian and later Austro-Hungarian Empire.  

A town settlement appears in the fortress background about 1km far from it, since there was wetland around the fortress. That part of the town is called ‘Bair’ (a hill, high ground). The Serbs and the Turkish were living there facing each other.

The name of the town-Sabac, most probably, originates from the word Sava: Sava-Savac-Sabac although that has never been scientifically confirmed.
Sabac got larger historical significance for the Serbs when the First Serbian uprising broke out in 1804 under the leadership of Karadjordje Petrovic. In Sabac surroundings, one of the most important battles of this uprising took place – the glorious Battle of Misar. The battle took place on 1st August (13th August according to new calendar) in 1806. Misar, a village 6km far from Sabac in direction towards Belgrade, was the centre of the famous battle where the Serbs, under the leadership of Karadjordje, completely defeated much stronger Turkish Army.

Sabac experienced its first swing after the Second Serbian uprising. This period matches with the period when enlightened Jevrem Obrenovic, duke Milos’s brother, ruled. Jevrem was the only literate of all brothers and a man of wide and proficient attitudes. He ruled Sabac for 15 years and during that time, he changed many things completely and advanced the whole life of former Turkish provincial town. That prominent man fought against regressive and outdated, nearly oriental life perception of the Serbs. He brought the spirit of European civilization and the town began to look like ‘precanske’ small towns.

In Jevrem’s time, Sabac became ‘the first town in Serbia’ and went ahead in many things. The first piano of Serbia arrived precisely in Sabac as well as the first hackney-carriage, the first glass window, iron bed and many other things. At that time, Sabac, first or among the first in Serbia, got a hospital and pharmacy, elementary school and then high school, musical society, barracks, inns, first theatrical performances.

The last Turkish soldier left the fortress of Sabac in 1867. At that time, Sabac had already developed and used all advantages of a border-town through which a big part of Serbian goods export and import took place.
So dynamic development of Sabac continued up to the First World War. Due to its rapid development, adopting of European novelties as well as its noisy inn life, Sabac got an epithet ‘little Paris’.  

Unfortunately, the First World War broke out and Sabac and its surroundings suffered terrible destructions. The number of citizens before the war amounting to 14,000 was literally halved due to their sufferings and exceptional valour as well. After the war, Sabac got three unique medals: the French war cross with palm branch (1920), Czechoslovakian war cross (1925) and Karadjordje’s star.

After its great sufferings, Sabac was called ‘Serbian Verdun’ following the example of the glorious French city.
In the near vicinity of Sabac, on the slopes of Cer Mountain, the famous Cerska battle took place in August 1914. The Serbian army, under the leadership of General Stepa Stepanovic, defeated the Austro-Hungarian army, which was the first federal victory in the First World War. General Stepanovic was elevated to the title of duke.  The Memory Charnel-house in Tekeris on legendary Cer testifies about this great victory.

Hardly did Sabac recover from the consequences of terrible sufferings in the First World War and again started to be built and developed, when a new war broke out. The Second World War also fiercely befell that area. Already in the first war year, in September 1941, the Germans brutally banished about 5000 Sabac citizens to a village called Jarak in Srem where they were situated in an improvised concentration camp without food and water. Many people did not return alive to their town from that ‘bloody march’. During the Second World War, there was a concentration camp in Sabac. About 25,000 citizens came through it for four war years. The overall number of casualties from this town amounts to 7000. Sabac was liberated from the Germans on 23rd October in 1944.