Husein Gradaščević
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Husein Gradaščević | |
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Battle of Kosovo (1831)
Herzegovina campaign | |
Children | Muhamed-beg Gradaščević Šefika Gradaščević |
Husein Gradaščević (Husein-kapetan).
By 1830, Gradaščević became the spokesman of all Ottoman captains in Bosnia and coordinated the defence in light of a possible Serbian invasion. Sparked by Ottoman Sultan
Gradaščević received the honorific "the Dragon of Bosnia" (Zmaj od Bosne), and is considered a Bosniak national hero.
Early and personal life
Gradaščević's family originates from Buda in present-day Hungary, who came to Bosnia in the late 17th century.[1]
Husein was born in the town of Gradačac (in northern Bosnia),[2] to Osman and his wife Touley-hanuma in 1802, at the Gradaščević family house. Outside of family tradition and folklore invented much later, little is known of his childhood. It is said that he spent much time around the family fort while it was undergoing renovations. He grew up during turbulent times and taking into account his father's military experience and brother Osman's services during the 1813 war against Serbia, young Husein surely heard many first-hand accounts that shaped his personality.
Osman senior died in 1812 when Husein was merely ten years old. Certain scholars have argued that his mother was also dead by then, although some family traditions claim otherwise. By all accounts, his mother had a strong influence on Husein's upbringing. Upon his father's death, Husein deferred to his eldest brother Murat because of his age and status as successor to the Gradačac captaincy Husein Gradaščević rose to the head of the Gradačac military captaincy only after his brother Murat was poisoned in the 1821 by rival aristocrats attempting to gain the favour of the desperate
Husein married Hanifa, sister of Captain Mahmud of Derventa, at an early age. Although the exact date is unknown, his son Muhamed-beg Gradaščević was probably born no later than 1822 when Husein himself was twenty years old. The pair would also have a daughter, Šefika, born in 1833. Neither Muhamed nor Šefika were known to have had children themselves.
Gradačac captaincy
When Husein took over the Gradačac captaincy, he focused most of his attention on the administration of internal affairs. Notably, all of Husein's construction projects were related to the city of Gradačac and its immediate area. During his rule, Gradačac further expanded its status as one of the most prosperous captaincies in Bosnia.
The first and most notable construction was that of the Gradačac Castle. The fort had existed for decades and was subject to extensive renovations since the time of Captain Mehmed in 1765. Husein's father Osman and brother Murat had done some work as well, in 1808 and 1818–19 respectively. However, the exact nature of Husein's contribution is unknown. The castle's tower has long been associated with Husein but architectural evidence points to the tower existing alongside the rest of the complex from earlier times. It seems likely that Husein was merely responsible for a significant renovation of the tower that lingered in the people's memory.
Husein did have a new castle built, in a large project which included the construction of an artificial island surrounded by a moat up to 100 meters wide and of great depth. The castle was named Čardak and the surrounding village quickly derived its name from it. The walls were oval, the entire structure being seventeen meters long and eight meters wide. The complex and area also included a mosque, wells, a fishery, and hunting grounds.
Within the Gradačac city walls, Husein's most significant contribution to the city was the clock tower (Bosnian: sahat-kula) which was built in 1824. The object's base is 5.5 by 5.5 meters, while the height is 21.50 meters. It was the last object of this type to be built in Bosnia.
Some 40 to 50 meters outside the city walls lies Husein's greatest architectural contribution to Gradačac: the
Husein's rule in Gradačac was also notable because of his tolerance towards the Christian populace under his jurisdiction; both Catholic and
. During Husein's captaincy, the Christians in Gradačac were known to be the most satisfied in Bosnia.Husein entered the higher political scene in Bosnia in 1827, largely due to the impending Russo-Turkish War (1828–1829) and his role in preparing the defence of the boundaries of Bosnia. Upon receiving orders from the Bosnian vizier Abdurahim Pasha, Husein mobilized the Gradačac populace and strengthened his defences. During talks held in Sarajevo between the vizier and the Bosnian captains, it is said that Husein stayed the longest to discuss strategy. He was appointed commander of an army that he was to mobilize from the lands between the Drina to the Vrbas. By all accounts, he did a satisfactory job. However, in mid-June 1828, Husein had to rush to Sarajevo with a small accompanying force to get the vizier to safety following a revolt among the troops.
By 1830, Husein had risen to new political heights as he was able to speak on behalf of all (or at least most of) the captains of Bosnia. At that time, he was coordinating the defence of Bosnia against a possible invasion by Serbia, as well as taking it upon himself to address Austrian authorities and warn them against any incursion across the Sava. The authority he wielded in the later years of his captaincy in Gradačac explains the great role he was to have in the years to follow.
Rumelian instability and Bosnian uprising
This section should include a summary of Bosnian uprising (1831–32). for information on how to incorporate it into this article's main text. (January 2018) |
In the late 1820s, Sultan Mahmud II reintroduced a set of reforms that called for further expansion of the centrally controlled army (nizam), new taxes and more Ottoman bureaucracy. These reforms weakened the special status and privileges of the Bosnian Muslim nobility. Many Bosnian leaders had also been disappointed by Ottoman negligence to the plight of the Muslim refugees arriving from the Principality of Serbia. Contrary to popular belief, however, Husein Gradaščević was not greatly opposed to these reforms.[citation needed]
In 1826, during the
The turning point for Gradaščević came with the end of the Russo-Ottoman War and the
Between 20 and 31 December 1830, Gradaščević hosted a gathering of Bosniak aristocrats in Gradačac. A month later, from 20 January to 5 February, another meeting was held in Tuzla to prepare for a revolt. From there, a call was issued to the Bosnian Muslim populace asking them to rise to the defence of Bosnia. It was then that the popular Gradaščević was unofficially chosen to head the rebellion. Further details of this meeting are murky and disputable. According to certain contemporary sources, their demands from Constantinople were:[citation needed]
- Repeal the privileges granted to Serbia and, in particular, return the six districts to Bosnia.
- Cease the implementation of the nizam military reforms.
- End the governorship of the Bosnia Eyalet and accept the implementation of an autonomous Bosnian government headed by a local leader. In return, Bosnia would pay a yearly tribute.
Another outcome of the Tuzla meeting was an agreement that another general meeting should be held in Travnik. Since Travnik was the seat of the Bosnia Eyalet and of the vizier, the planned meeting was in effect a confrontation with Ottoman authority. Gradaščević thus asked all involved to help assemble an army beforehand. On 29 March 1831, Gradaščević set out towards Travnik with some 4,000 men.
Upon hearing the word of the oncoming force, Namık Pasha is said to have gone to the Travnik fort and called the
The encounter with Grand Vizier Reşid Mehmed Pasha happened on 18 July near Štimlje. Although both armies were of roughly equal size, the Grand Vizier's troops had superior arms. Gradaščević sent a part of his army under the command of Ali Pasha Fidahić, the captain (kapetan) and sanjak-bey of Zvornik, ahead to meet Reşid Pasha's forces. Following a small skirmish, Fihadić feigned a retreat. Thinking that victory was within reach, the Grand Vizier sent his cavalry and artillery into forested terrain. Gradaščević immediately took advantage of this tactical error and executed a punishing counterattack with the bulk of his forces, almost annihilating the Ottoman forces. Reşid Pasha himself was injured and barely escaped with his life.
Following claims from the Grand Vizier that the Sultan would meet all Bosnian demands if the rebel army would return home, Gradaščević and his army turned back. On 10 August the leadership of the rebellion met at Priština and decided that Gradaščević be declared Vizier of Bosnia. Gradaščević refused at first but eventually accepted. This was made official at an assembly held in
At this point, Gradaščević was not only the supreme military commander but Bosnia's leading civilian authority as well. He established a court around him, and after initially making himself at home in Sarajevo, he moved the centre of Bosnian politics to Travnik, making it the de facto capital of the rebel state. In Travnik, he established a divan, a Bosnian congress, which together with him made up the Bosnian government. Gradaščević also collected taxes at this time and executed various local opponents of the autonomy movement. He gained a reputation as a hero and a strong, brave, and decisive ruler. One anecdote that illustrates this is Captain Husein's alleged response to whether he was scared of waging war against the Ottoman Empire.
During this lull in armed conflict with the Ottomans, attention was turned to the autonomy movement's strong opposition in Herzegovina. A small campaign was launched against the region from three different directions:
- An army from Sarajevo was ordered to attack Stolac for a final encounter with Namik-paša, who had fled there following Gradaščević's capture of Travnik.
- An army from Krajina was to assist the Sarajevan forces in this endeavour.
- Armies from Smail-aga Čengić.
As it happened, Namık Pasha had already abandoned Stolac, so this attack was put on hold. The attack on Gacko was a failure as the forces from Posavina and south Podrinje were defeated by Čengić's troops. There was one success, however; in October, Husein Gradaščević had deployed an army under the command of Ahmed-beg Resulbegović, who had put his life in danger while attempting to capture Trebinje from Resulbegović's loyalist and heavily armed cousins.
A Bosnian delegation reached the Grand Vizier's camp in Skopje in November and was promised that the Grand Vizier would insist to the Sultan to accept Bosnian demands and appoint Gradaščević as the official Vizier of an autonomous Bosnia. His true intentions, however, were manifested by early December when he attacked Bosnian rebel units stationed on the outskirts of Novi Pazar. Yet again, the rebel army handed a defeat to the imperial forces. Due to a particularly strong winter though, the Bosnian troops were forced to return home.
Meanwhile, in Bosnia, Gradaščević decided to carry on his campaign against the captains in Herzegovina that were loyal to the Sultan, despite the unfavourable climate. The captain of
The Ottoman campaign began in early February. The Grand Vizier sent two armies: one from
By 1832, after a series of smaller clashes, a decisive battle occurred outside Sarajevo; although Husein Gradaščević was initially successful, he was defeated when Serbian rebels arrived and sided with and reinforced the forces of Mahmud II.[4]
The final battle was played out on 4 June at Stup, a small locality on the road between Sarajevo and Ilidža. After a long, intense battle, it seemed Gradaščević had once again defeated the Sultan's army. Near the very end, however, Herzegovinian troops under the command of Ali-paša Rizvanbegović and Smail-aga Čengić broke through defences Gradaščević had set up on his flank and joined the fighting. Overwhelmed by the unexpected attack from behind, the rebel army was forced to retreat into the city of Sarajevo itself. It was decided that further military resistance would be futile. Gradaščević fled to Gradačac as the imperial army entered the city on 5 June and prepared to march on Travnik. Upon realizing the difficulties that his home and family would experience if he stayed there, Gradaščević decided to leave Gradačac and continue on to Austrian lands instead.
Exile and death
If the choice to flee Bosnia was not already clear, the Sultan's furious
Gradaščević and other rebels managed to flee across the Sava to Vinkovci and then Osijek, in Austrian territory. Some 66 men, 12 women, 135 servants and 252 horses accompanied him.[5]
Austrian officials faced constant pressure from the Ottoman government to move Gradaščević as far away from the border as possible. On 4 July he was moved to Osijek where he essentially lived in internment. His communications with the rest of his family and social circle were severely limited and he complained about his treatment to the authorities several times. His conditions would eventually improve, and before he left Osijek he remarked to local officials that he had enjoyed his stay there. Although intensely homesick and only partially in control of his destiny, Gradaščević retained his pride and dignity. He was said to have lived a luxurious life that included jousting competitions with his companions.
In late 1832, he agreed to return to Ottoman territory to receive a ferman of pardon from the Sultan. The terms, read to him in
In Constantinople, Gradaščević lived in an old janissary barracks at atmejdan (Hippodrome square) while his family lived in a separate house nearby. He lived a relatively quiet life for the next two years, the only notable event being an offer from the Sultan for Gradaščević to become a high-ranking pasha in the Nizami army; an offer that Gradaščević indignantly refused.
He died in Constantinople in 1834 at the age of 32.[6]
Legacy
Upon his death, he became something of a martyr for Bosnian pride. There was a well-known saying among Bosniaks that for years after his death not a single man among our people would be able to hear his name and not shed a tear. This positive sentiment was not exclusive to the Muslim population, as Christians from Posavina are thought to have shared a similar view for decades.
Although a majority of the
The first historical literature written about Gradaščević can be found in Safvet-beg Bašagić's work from 1900, A short introduction into the past of Bosnia and Herzegovina. However, due to historical differences between the Bašagić and Gradaščević families, Safvet-beg's view of Husein-kapetan is somewhat opinionated. A year later, Gradaščević was mentioned by Kunibert in his works on the first Serbian Uprising, which painted a positive picture of Gradaščević as a tragic hero.
In the years that followed, Gradaščević was mentioned, either specifically or in the context of the movement he led, by D. Pavlović, Slavko Kaluđerčić, and Hamdija Kreševljaković. The general sentiment was that the autonomy movement was merely a reaction to imperial reforms by the Bosnian upper class. This view would be predominant among historians for decades. Gradaščević had a minor resurgence during World War II when Ustaše launched a propaganda-rooted proposal to bring his remains back to Sarajevo.
During the time of Communist Yugoslavia, Gradaščević and his movement were rarely mentioned. The perceived upper-class resistance to the implementation of modern reforms did not go well with communist ideology. Gradaščević was briefly mentioned in such a light by Avdo Sućeska in his 1964 work on Bosnian captains. It would be another 24 years before Gradaščević was mentioned again. This time it was in Galib Šljiva's 1988 work on Bosnia in the first half of the 19th century. Though several historiographical controversies were resolved, there was no significant shift in the perception of Gradaščević.
Since the Yugoslav Wars and the Bosniak National Awakening, Gradaščević and his movement have experienced a rebirth among historians and the common public alike. Works by Ahmed S. Aličić, Mustafa Imamović, and Husnija Kamberović have all cast Gradaščević in a more positive light. Gradaščević is once again widely considered the greatest Bosniak national hero and is a symbol of national pride and spirit. The main streets in Gradačac and Sarajevo are both named after him, as well as numerous other places in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Annotations
- ^ In Bosnian, he is referred to as Husein-kapetan (Serbian Cyrillic: Хусеин-капетан), which includes his given name and Ottoman rank, captain. He is also known by the nickname "the Dragon of Bosnia" (Zmaj od Bosne). The surname Gradaščević is a byname derived from Gradačac.
References
- ^ Filipović 1951, p. 68.
- ^ Donia 2006, p. 29.
- ISBN 978-1850652120. Retrieved 2017-02-19.
- ISBN 978-1850653394. Retrieved 2017-02-19.
- ^ Đordić 1996, p. 60.
- ISBN 978-0472115570. Retrieved 2017-02-19.
Sources
- ISBN 9958-812-03-7.
- Donia, Robert J. (2006). Sarajevo: A Biography. Ann Arbor, Michigan: University of Michigan Press. ISBN 978-0-472-11557-0.
- Fatma Sel Turhan (2014). The Ottoman Empire and the Bosnian Uprising: Janissaries, Modernisation and Rebellion in the Nineteenth Century. I.B. Tauris. ISBN 978-1-78076-111-4.
- Đordić, Marjan (1996). Bosanska Posavina: povijesno-zemljopisni pregled. Polion. ISBN 978-9536199013.
- Filipović, Milenko (1951). Цинцари у Босни, Зборник радова [Aromanians in Bosnia: a collection of papers] (in Serbian). Belgrade: Etnografski institut.
- Sadik Šehić (1991). Zmaj od Bosne: Husein-kapetan Gradaščević. Front Slobode.
- Teinović, Bratislav (2019). Nacionalno-politički razvoj Bosne i Hercegovine u posljednjem vijeku turske vladavine (1800-1878) [The national-political development of Bosnia and Herzegovina in the last century of the Turkish rule (1800-1878)] (in Serbian). Banja Luka: Faculty of Humanities, University of Banja Luka.
Further reading
- Šehić, S., Bilajac, I., Hebib, A. and Lindemann, F., 1994. Zmaj od Bosne: Husein-kapetan Gradaščević između legende i povijesti. Bosanska riječ.
- Aličić, Ahmed S. (1996). Pokret za autonomiju Bosne od 1831. do 1832. godine. Sarajevo: Orijentalni institut.
- Imamović, Mustafa. (1997). Historija Bošnjaka. Borba za autonomiju Bosne – Husein-kapetan Gradaščević. Sarajevo: BZK Preporod.
- Vrijeme nemira u Bosni u prvoj polovini XIX stoljeca i Husein-beg Gradascevic.
External links
- Short biography on site about Gradačac Archived 2005-11-03 at the Wayback Machine (in Bosnian)
- Short story about Husein Gradaščević's life (in Bosnian)
- Otpori i reforme u Bosni i Hercegovini 1815–1878 (in Bosnian)