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Slaughter of the Knezes

January 21, 2023

The Slaughter of the Knezes (Serbian: Сеча кнезова, romanized: Seča knezova) was the organized assassinations and assaults of noble Serbs in the Sanjak of Smederevo in January 1804 by the rebellious Dahije. Fearing that the Sultan would make use of the Serbs to oust them, they decided to execute leading Serbs throughout the Sanjak. A total of 72 noble Serbs were assassinated, and their heads were put on public display. Notable victims were Aleksa Nenadović and Ilija Birčanin. The event triggered the Serbian revolution, aimed at putting an end to the centuries of occupation.

Slaughter of the Knezes
Tablet at Belgrade Military Museum
LocationSanjak of Smederevo (now Central Serbia)
Date23–29 January 1804
TargetNotable Serbs
Attack type
Assassinations and assaults
Deaths72+
PerpetratorsDahije (renegade Janissaries)

Background

In 1788, Koča's frontier rebellion saw most of Šumadija occupied by the Serbian Free Corps, a volunteer militia loyal to the Austrians. Belgrade was besieged by Austrian forces in late 1789, occupied until 1791 when it was handed back to the Caliphate after concluding peace. In 1793 and 1796 Sultan Selim III proclaimed firmans (decrees) which gave more rights to Serbs. Among other things, taxes were to be collected by the obor-knez; freedom of trade and religion were granted and there was peace. Each village had a knez and 10 villages had an obor-knez.[1] Selim III also decreed that some unpopular Janissaries were to leave the Sanjak of Smederevo (also known as the "Belgrade Pashaluk") as he saw them as a threat to the central authority of Hadži Mustafa Pasha, the governor. Many of those Janissaries were employed by or found refuge with Osman Pazvantoğlu, a renegade opponent of Selim III in the Sanjak of Vidin. Fearing the dissolution of the Janissary command in the Sanjak of Smederevo, Osman Pazvantoğlu launched a series of raids against Serbians without the permission of Selim III, causing much volatility and fear in the region.[2] Pazvantoğlu was defeated in 1793 by a Serbian contingent at the Battle of Kolari.[3] In the summer of 1797 the sultan appointed Mustafa Pasha on position of beglerbeg of Rumelia Eyalet and he left Serbia for Plovdiv to fight against Pazvantoğlu and his rebels.[4] During the absence of Mustafa Pasha, the forces of Pazvantoğlu captured Požarevac and besieged the Belgrade fortress.[5] Mustafa Pasha planned to raise taxes in order to pay for the operations against the Janissary rebels, however, he was persuaded by the Serbian knezes to rely on them on mustering a force of the local population.[6] The Serbians were able to collect 10,000 fighters.[1] At the end of November 1797 obor-knezes Aleksa Nenadović, Ilija Birčanin and Nikola Grbović from Valjevo brought their forces to Belgrade and forced the besieging Janissary forces to retreat to Smederevo.[7][8] By 1799 the Janissary corps had returned, as they were pardoned by the Sultan's decree, and they immediately suspended the Serbian autonomy and drastically increased taxes, enforcing martial law in Serbia. On 15 December 1801 Mustafa Pasha was assassinated by Kuchuk Alija, one of four Dahije (the renegade Jannissary leaders in the Sanjak of Smederevo).[9] The Dahije henceforth ruled the Sanjak independently of, and in defiance to the sultan.[10]

 
Hadži-Ðera and Hadži-Ruvim with conspirators.

The tyranny endured by the Serbs caused them to send a petition to the Sultan, which the Dahije learnt of.[11] According to Leopold von Ranke, the Dahije started to fear that the Sultan would make use of the Serbs to oust them; to forestall this they decided to execute leading Serbs throughout the sanjak.[10] In fact, the Dahije learnt of a conspiracy between the Serbians and Mustafa Pasha's associates (who wanted revenge) to rise against the Dahije, forged in 1803.[12] A letter to an Austrian officer inviting for conflict, most likely written by Hadži-Ruvim, was intercepted.[13]

History

 
Serb knez beheaded.

The Dahije sent secret orders to their muteselims to kill each of their knez on the given day.[14] It seems that Mehmed-aga Fočić was tasked with overseeing the operation.[15] The victims were obor-knezes, knezes, buljubašas and other chosen people.[16] Most of the knezes were killed on 23 January, while Hadži-Ruvim was killed on 29 January.[17] By 25 January, the Dahije decided that noble Serbs were to be beaten, so that what was left would become real "rayah, to serve well".[16] Other warlords then began to attack chosen nobles in their districts.[16] Karađorđe survived attempts.[18] According to contemporary accounts, heads were put on public display at the Valjevo town square to serve as an example to those who might plot against the rule of the Dahije.[10] By 4 February, 72 decapitated heads were brought to Belgrade.[15]

List of victims

 
Memorial in Valjevo.
  • Stevan Andrejević Palalija, knez of Begaljica in the Grocka nahiya. Lured and killed.[19]
  • Marko Čarapić, knez of Beli Potok in the Grocka nahiya. Killed during a wedding.[20]
  • Janko Gagić, kmet and buljubaša, from Boleč in the Grocka nahiya. Killed after giving himself up to save his kidnapped son.[21]
  • Stanoje Mihailović, knez of Zeoke in the Belgrade nahiya. Killed in his home,[21] on 24–25 January.
  • Aleksa Nenadović, knez of Tamnava in the Valjevo nahiya. Killed on 23 January.[22]
  • Ilija Birčanin, knez of Podgor in the Valjevo nahiya. Killed on 23 January.[22]
  • Hadži-Ruvim, archimandrite of Bogovađa in the Valjevo nahiya. Tortured to death at the hands of Kučuk-Alija on 28 January.[23]
  • Three priests from the Šabac nahiya, Živko, Maksim, and an unnamed protosynkellos of the Bishop of Šabac, were killed in Šabac in the later phase. The former two were pierced in the legs with knives and taken to the fortress and killed there. The latter was cut into pieces in the town center (čaršija).[24]
  • Radosav Kalabić, knez of Jadar in the Zvornik nahiya, and his friend priest Vilip.[25]
  • Hadži-Ðera, hegumen of the Moravci Monastery [sr] in the Rudnik nahiya. Killed in the monastery.[26]
  • Gavrilo Buđevac, buljubaša, from the Rudnik nahiya.[27]
  • Mata, buljubaša, from Lipovac in the Kragujevac nahiya. Cut down by the Kragujevac mutesellim or Kučuk-Husejin.[27]
  • Jovica from Knić in the Kragujevac nahiya. Cut down by the Kragujevac mutesellim.[27]
  • Nikola Ćirjanić from Orašje in the Kragujevac nahiya. Beaten to death by the Kragujevac mutesellim.[27]

See also

 
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Slaughter of the Knezes.

References

  1. ^ a b Pantelić 1949, p. 123.
  2. ^ von Ranke 1847.
  3. ^ Roger Viers Paxton (1968). Russia and the First Serbian Revolution: A Diplomatic and Political Study. The Initial Phase, 1804-1807. - (Stanford) 1968. VII, 255 S. 8°. Department of History, Stanford University. p. 13.
  4. ^ Ćorović 1997

    U leto 1797. sultan ga je imenovao za rumeliskog begler-bega i Mustafa je otišao u Plovdiv, da rukovodi akcijom protiv buntovnika iz Vidina i u Rumeliji.
  5. ^ Ćorović 1997

    Za vreme njegova otsutstva vidinski gospodar sa janičarima naredio je brz napad i potukao je srpsku i pašinu vojsku kod Požarevca, pa je prodro sve do Beograda i zauzeo samu varoš.

  6. ^ Pantelić 1949, p. 122.
  7. ^ Filipović, Stanoje R. (1982). Podrinsko-kolubarski region. RNIRO "Glas Podrinja". p. 60. Ваљевски кнезови Алекса Ненадовић, Илија Бирчанин и Никола Грбовић довели су своју војску у Београд и учествовали у оштрој борби са јаничарима који су се побеђени повукли.
  8. ^ Ćorović 1997

    Pred sam Božić stigoše u pomoć valjevski Srbi i sa njihovom pomoću turska gradska posada odbi napadače i očisti grad. Ilija Birčanin gonio je "Vidinlije" sve do Smedereva.
  9. ^ Ćorović 1997, "janjičari ga 15. decembra 1801. ubiše u beogradskom gradu. Potom uzeše vlast u svoje ruke, spremni da je brane svima sredstvima. Kao glavne njihove vođe istakoše se četiri dahije: Kučuk Alija, pašin ubica, Aganlija, Mula Jusuf i Mehmed-aga Fočić.".
  10. ^ a b c von Ranke 1847, pp. 119–120.
  11. ^ Morison 2012, p. xvii.
  12. ^ Novaković 1904, pp. 43–48.
  13. ^ Novaković 1904, pp. 43, 46.
  14. ^ Novaković 1904, p. 53.
  15. ^ a b Novaković 1904, p. 54.
  16. ^ a b c Novaković 1904, p. 55.
  17. ^ Novaković 1904, pp. 53–55.
  18. ^ Novaković 1904, p. 57.
  19. ^ Gavrilović 1904, p. 22.
  20. ^ Gavrilović 1904, pp. 22–23.
  21. ^ a b Gavrilović 1904, p. 23.
  22. ^ a b Gavrilović 1904, pp. 23–24.
  23. ^ Gavrilović 1904, p. 24.
  24. ^ Gavrilović 1904, p. 25.
  25. ^ Gavrilović 1904, pp. 25–26.
  26. ^ Gavrilović 1904, p. 26.
  27. ^ a b c d Gavrilović 1904, p. 27.

Sources

  • Gavrilović, Andra (1904). "Crte iz istorije oslobođenja Srbije". pp. 7–42. (Public Domain)
  • Morison, W. A. (2012) [1942]. The Revolt of the Serbs Against the Turks: (1804-1813). Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-1-107-67606-0.
  • Novaković, Stojan (1904). Ustanak na dahije 1804. U Beogradu tampano u dravnoj tampariji. (Public Domain)
  • Pantelić, Dušan (1949). Prilike u Beogradskom Pašaluku pred prvi Srpski ustanak 1794–1804. SANU.
  • von Ranke, Leopold (1847). History of Servia, and the Servian Revolution. J. Murray.
  • Višnjić, Filip (1815). Početak bune protiv dahija.

January 21, 2023
slaughter, knezes, serbian, Сеча, кнезова, romanized, seča, knezova, organized, assassinations, assaults, noble, serbs, sanjak, smederevo, january, 1804, rebellious, dahije, fearing, that, sultan, would, make, serbs, oust, them, they, decided, execute, leading. The Slaughter of the Knezes Serbian Secha knezova romanized Seca knezova was the organized assassinations and assaults of noble Serbs in the Sanjak of Smederevo in January 1804 by the rebellious Dahije Fearing that the Sultan would make use of the Serbs to oust them they decided to execute leading Serbs throughout the Sanjak A total of 72 noble Serbs were assassinated and their heads were put on public display Notable victims were Aleksa Nenadovic and Ilija Bircanin The event triggered the Serbian revolution aimed at putting an end to the centuries of occupation Slaughter of the KnezesTablet at Belgrade Military MuseumLocationSanjak of Smederevo now Central Serbia Date23 29 January 1804TargetNotable SerbsAttack typeAssassinations and assaultsDeaths72 PerpetratorsDahije renegade Janissaries Contents 1 Background 2 History 3 List of victims 4 See also 5 References 6 SourcesBackground EditIn 1788 Koca s frontier rebellion saw most of Sumadija occupied by the Serbian Free Corps a volunteer militia loyal to the Austrians Belgrade was besieged by Austrian forces in late 1789 occupied until 1791 when it was handed back to the Caliphate after concluding peace In 1793 and 1796 Sultan Selim III proclaimed firmans decrees which gave more rights to Serbs Among other things taxes were to be collected by the obor knez freedom of trade and religion were granted and there was peace Each village had a knez and 10 villages had an obor knez 1 Selim III also decreed that some unpopular Janissaries were to leave the Sanjak of Smederevo also known as the Belgrade Pashaluk as he saw them as a threat to the central authority of Hadzi Mustafa Pasha the governor Many of those Janissaries were employed by or found refuge with Osman Pazvantoglu a renegade opponent of Selim III in the Sanjak of Vidin Fearing the dissolution of the Janissary command in the Sanjak of Smederevo Osman Pazvantoglu launched a series of raids against Serbians without the permission of Selim III causing much volatility and fear in the region 2 Pazvantoglu was defeated in 1793 by a Serbian contingent at the Battle of Kolari 3 In the summer of 1797 the sultan appointed Mustafa Pasha on position of beglerbeg of Rumelia Eyalet and he left Serbia for Plovdiv to fight against Pazvantoglu and his rebels 4 During the absence of Mustafa Pasha the forces of Pazvantoglu captured Pozarevac and besieged the Belgrade fortress 5 Mustafa Pasha planned to raise taxes in order to pay for the operations against the Janissary rebels however he was persuaded by the Serbian knezes to rely on them on mustering a force of the local population 6 The Serbians were able to collect 10 000 fighters 1 At the end of November 1797 obor knezes Aleksa Nenadovic Ilija Bircanin and Nikola Grbovic from Valjevo brought their forces to Belgrade and forced the besieging Janissary forces to retreat to Smederevo 7 8 By 1799 the Janissary corps had returned as they were pardoned by the Sultan s decree and they immediately suspended the Serbian autonomy and drastically increased taxes enforcing martial law in Serbia On 15 December 1801 Mustafa Pasha was assassinated by Kuchuk Alija one of four Dahije the renegade Jannissary leaders in the Sanjak of Smederevo 9 The Dahije henceforth ruled the Sanjak independently of and in defiance to the sultan 10 Hadzi Dera and Hadzi Ruvim with conspirators The tyranny endured by the Serbs caused them to send a petition to the Sultan which the Dahije learnt of 11 According to Leopold von Ranke the Dahije started to fear that the Sultan would make use of the Serbs to oust them to forestall this they decided to execute leading Serbs throughout the sanjak 10 In fact the Dahije learnt of a conspiracy between the Serbians and Mustafa Pasha s associates who wanted revenge to rise against the Dahije forged in 1803 12 A letter to an Austrian officer inviting for conflict most likely written by Hadzi Ruvim was intercepted 13 History Edit Serb knez beheaded The Dahije sent secret orders to their muteselims to kill each of their knez on the given day 14 It seems that Mehmed aga Focic was tasked with overseeing the operation 15 The victims were obor knezes knezes buljubasas and other chosen people 16 Most of the knezes were killed on 23 January while Hadzi Ruvim was killed on 29 January 17 By 25 January the Dahije decided that noble Serbs were to be beaten so that what was left would become real rayah to serve well 16 Other warlords then began to attack chosen nobles in their districts 16 Karađorđe survived attempts 18 According to contemporary accounts heads were put on public display at the Valjevo town square to serve as an example to those who might plot against the rule of the Dahije 10 By 4 February 72 decapitated heads were brought to Belgrade 15 List of victims EditThis list is incomplete you can help by adding missing items September 2014 Memorial in Valjevo Stevan Andrejevic Palalija knez of Begaljica in the Grocka nahiya Lured and killed 19 Marko Carapic knez of Beli Potok in the Grocka nahiya Killed during a wedding 20 Janko Gagic kmet and buljubasa from Bolec in the Grocka nahiya Killed after giving himself up to save his kidnapped son 21 Stanoje Mihailovic knez of Zeoke in the Belgrade nahiya Killed in his home 21 on 24 25 January Aleksa Nenadovic knez of Tamnava in the Valjevo nahiya Killed on 23 January 22 Ilija Bircanin knez of Podgor in the Valjevo nahiya Killed on 23 January 22 Hadzi Ruvim archimandrite of Bogovađa in the Valjevo nahiya Tortured to death at the hands of Kucuk Alija on 28 January 23 Three priests from the Sabac nahiya Zivko Maksim and an unnamed protosynkellos of the Bishop of Sabac were killed in Sabac in the later phase The former two were pierced in the legs with knives and taken to the fortress and killed there The latter was cut into pieces in the town center carsija 24 Radosav Kalabic knez of Jadar in the Zvornik nahiya and his friend priest Vilip 25 Hadzi Dera hegumen of the Moravci Monastery sr in the Rudnik nahiya Killed in the monastery 26 Gavrilo Buđevac buljubasa from the Rudnik nahiya 27 Mata buljubasa from Lipovac in the Kragujevac nahiya Cut down by the Kragujevac mutesellim or Kucuk Husejin 27 Jovica from Knic in the Kragujevac nahiya Cut down by the Kragujevac mutesellim 27 Nikola Cirjanic from Orasje in the Kragujevac nahiya Beaten to death by the Kragujevac mutesellim 27 Teofan knez of Orasje in the Smederevo nahija Petar knez of Resava in the Jagodina nahija Jovan knez Mata buljubasa from Lipovac in the Kragujevac nahija Gavrilo Buđevac buljubasa Nikola Grbovic obor knez of Mratisica knez Tavnavski of Ljutica knez Macvanski of Bogatic knez Pocerski of Metkovic Hadzi Melentije StevanovicSee also Edit Wikimedia Commons has media related to Slaughter of the Knezes Uprising against the DahijeReferences Edit a b Pantelic 1949 p 123 von Ranke 1847 Roger Viers Paxton 1968 Russia and the First Serbian Revolution A Diplomatic and Political Study The Initial Phase 1804 1807 Stanford 1968 VII 255 S 8 Department of History Stanford University p 13 Corovic 1997U leto 1797 sultan ga je imenovao za rumeliskog begler bega i Mustafa je otisao u Plovdiv da rukovodi akcijom protiv buntovnika iz Vidina i u Rumeliji Corovic 1997Za vreme njegova otsutstva vidinski gospodar sa janicarima naredio je brz napad i potukao je srpsku i pasinu vojsku kod Pozarevca pa je prodro sve do Beograda i zauzeo samu varos Pantelic 1949 p 122 Filipovic Stanoje R 1982 Podrinsko kolubarski region RNIRO Glas Podrinja p 60 Vaљevski knezovi Aleksa Nenadoviћ Iliјa Birchanin i Nikola Grboviћ doveli su svoјu voјsku u Beograd i uchestvovali u oshtroј borbi sa јanicharima koјi su se pobeђeni povukli Corovic 1997Pred sam Bozic stigose u pomoc valjevski Srbi i sa njihovom pomocu turska gradska posada odbi napadace i ocisti grad Ilija Bircanin gonio je Vidinlije sve do Smedereva Corovic 1997 janjicari ga 15 decembra 1801 ubise u beogradskom gradu Potom uzese vlast u svoje ruke spremni da je brane svima sredstvima Kao glavne njihove vođe istakose se cetiri dahije Kucuk Alija pasin ubica Aganlija Mula Jusuf i Mehmed aga Focic a b c von Ranke 1847 pp 119 120 Morison 2012 p xvii Novakovic 1904 pp 43 48 Novakovic 1904 pp 43 46 Novakovic 1904 p 53 a b Novakovic 1904 p 54 a b c Novakovic 1904 p 55 Novakovic 1904 pp 53 55 Novakovic 1904 p 57 Gavrilovic 1904 p 22 Gavrilovic 1904 pp 22 23 a b Gavrilovic 1904 p 23 a b Gavrilovic 1904 pp 23 24 Gavrilovic 1904 p 24 Gavrilovic 1904 p 25 Gavrilovic 1904 pp 25 26 Gavrilovic 1904 p 26 a b c d Gavrilovic 1904 p 27 Sources EditCorovic Vladimir 1997 Istorija srpskog naroda Ars Libri Retrieved December 7 2012 Gavrilovic Andra 1904 Crte iz istorije oslobođenja Srbije pp 7 42 Public Domain Morison W A 2012 1942 The Revolt of the Serbs Against the Turks 1804 1813 Cambridge University Press ISBN 978 1 107 67606 0 Novakovic Stojan 1904 Ustanak na dahije 1804 U Beogradu tampano u dravnoj tampariji Public Domain Pantelic Dusan 1949 Prilike u Beogradskom Pasaluku pred prvi Srpski ustanak 1794 1804 SANU von Ranke Leopold 1847 History of Servia and the Servian Revolution J Murray Visnjic Filip 1815 Pocetak bune protiv dahija Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Slaughter of the Knezes amp oldid 1099490363, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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