First Serbian Uprising
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Flag of the First Serbian Uprising |
The
First Serbian Uprising was an
uprising from
1804-
1813 in which
Serbs living in
Belgrade Pashaluk in the
Ottoman Empire managed, under the leadership of
Karadjordje, to liberate the Pashaluk for a significant time. This uprising inspired the
Second Serbian Uprising of
1815, which eventually led to the creation of modern
Serbia.
After the defeat of the Ottoman Empire in the Turkish-Austrian war of
1791, Serbs living under Turkish rule began to realise that an uprising against the Ottomans might be successful.
Seeing the growing displeasure, the
Sultan Selim III proclaimed
fermans in
1793 and
1796 which gave more rights to Serbs. Among other things, taxes were now collected by local Serbian rulers called
knezes ("local dukes"), freedom of trade and religion was granted, and, most important of all, the
Janissary corps had to leave Belgrade Pashaluk.
However, on
January 30,
1799, the Turkish court allowed the Janissaries to return. They and their leaders, the
dahias, showed little or no respect to any authority, even the central Turkish government. After they killed
Vizier Hadzi-Mustafa of
Belgrade in
1801, they started to rule Serbia on their own. Recently-granted rights were suspended, and dahias exerted unlimited rule over Belgrade Pashaluk.
Taxes were drastically increased, land was taken away, forced labour (
čitlučenje) was introduced, and many citizens fled the Janissaries in fear.
Serb leaders began to conspire about starting an uprising against the dahias. When the dahias found out about this, they captured and killed many of the Serbian leaders on
February 4,
1804 in an event known today as
Seča knezova ("beheading of
knezes"). This mistake by the Janissaries incited the uprising, as it angered the people and the leaders had nothing to lose.
On
February 14,
1804, in the small
Šumadija village of
Orašac, the Serbs gathered and decided to undertake an uprising. Karađorđe Petrović (
Karadjordje) was elected as the leader of the uprising, which started immediately. That afternoon, a Turkish inn (
caravansarai) in Orašac was burned and its residents fled or were killed. Similar actions were undertaken in surrounding villages and then spread further. Soon the cities
Valjevo and
Požarevac were liberated, and the
siege of
Belgrade started.
When he was informed about the uprising, Selim III started to negotiate with the rebels. Dahias escaped from Belgrade, but they were captured and killed on the island of
Ada Kale in the
Danube.
Eventually, the negotiations failed, and the Sultan organised a military campaign against the uprising.
The first major battle of the uprising was the
Battle of Ivankovac in
1805, where Karadjordje defeated the Turkish army and forced it to retreat toward
Niš. The second major battle of the uprising was
Battle of Misar in
1806, in which the rebels defeated an Ottoman army from
Bosnia led by
Kulin Captain. At the same time, the rebels led by
Petar Dobrnjac defeated another army sent from the southeast in the
Battle of Deligrad. In December 1806, the rebels besieged Belgrade, which was liberated in the beginning of
1807.
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Serbia in 1809, during the First Serbian Uprising |
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Serbia in 1813, during the First Serbian Uprising |
In 1805 the Serbian rebels organized a basic government for administering Serbia during the combat.Rule was divided between the
Narodna Skupstina (People's assembly), the
Praviteljstvujusci Sovjet (Ruling Council), and
Karadjordje himself. Land was returned, forced labour was abolished, and
taxes were reduced. The young state was modernised and by
1808 the
Great School was founded, regarded as the foundation of the
University of Belgrade.
Some of the leaders of the uprising later abused their privileges for personal gain, such as the reintroduction of forced labour in some places. There was dissent between Karadjordje and other leaders; Karadjordje wanted absolute power, while his
voivods wanted to limit it. After the
Russo-Turkish War of 1806-12 ended, the Ottoman Empire exploited these circumstances and reconquered Serbia in
1813.
Though ultimately unsuccessful, the First Serbian Uprising paved the way for the
Second Serbian Uprising of
1815, which eventually succeeded in securing Serbian autonomy.
*
Battle of Ivankovac*
Battle of Misar*
Battle of Deligrad*
Siege of Belgrade*
Battle of Cegar*
Karađorđe*
Tanasko Rajić*
Ilija Birčanin*
Jakov Nenadović*
Mateja Nenadović*
Milenko Stojković*
Hajduk Veljko Petrović*
Petar Dobrnjac*
Stanoje Glavaš*
Tanasko Rajić*
Vuk Stefanović Karadžić*
Dahias:
**
Aganlija**
Kucuk-Alija**
Mula Jusuf**
Mehmed-Aga**
Mus-Aga*
Program of celebration of 200th anniversary of the uprising
