First Serbian Uprising

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Image:Zastava 1ustanak.jpg 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.

1 Background
2 The Uprising begins
3 The Outcome
4 Battles
5 People
6 External link

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Background

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.

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The Uprising begins

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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The Outcome

Image:Serbia1809.png Image:Serbia1813.png

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.

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