Serbian Revolution

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
For the articles examining each major uprising individually, see First Serbian Uprising and Second Serbian Uprising.
Serbian Revolution
Bosnia
)
Result

First Serbian Uprising

Hadži-Prodan's rebellion

Second Serbian Uprising

Territorial
changes		 The Ottoman Empire loses direct control of the Sanjak of Smederevo
Belligerents

First Serbian Uprising (1804–1813)
 Revolutionary Serbia
Supported by:
 Russian Empire (1807–12)

 Wallachia First Serbian Uprising (1804–1813)
Dahijas (1804)
Ottoman Empire Ottoman Empire
(from 1805) Supported by:
 France[1] Hadži-Prodan's rebellion (1814)
Revolutionary Serbia Serbian rebels Hadži-Prodan's rebellion (1814)
Ottoman Empire Ottoman Empire

Second Serbian Uprising (1815–1817)
Serbian rebels

 Wallachia Second Serbian Uprising (1815–1817)
Ottoman Empire Ottoman EmpireCommanders and leaders
Rise of nationalism in the Balkans
Nationalism under the Ottoman Empire
Part of a series on
Political revolution
French Revolution
By class
By other characteristic
Methods
Examples
icon Politics portal

The Serbian Revolution (Serbian: Српска револуција / Srpska revolucija) was a national uprising and constitutional change in Serbia that took place between 1804 and 1835, during which this territory evolved from an Ottoman province into a rebel territory, a constitutional monarchy, and modern Serbia.[2]

In 1804, the Ottoman Janissary decided to execute all prominent nobles throughout Central Serbia, a move known as the Slaughter of the Knezes. The heads of the murdered Serbian nobles were put on public display in the central square to serve as an example to those who might plot against Ottoman rule. The event triggered the start of the Serbian Revolution aimed at putting an end to the 370 years of Ottoman occupation. The first part of the period, from 1804 to 1817, was marked by a violent struggle for independence from the Ottoman Empire with two armed uprisings taking place, ending with a ceasefire. The later period (1817–1835) witnessed a peaceful consolidation of political power of the increasingly autonomous Serbia, culminating in the recognition of the right to hereditary rule by Serbian princes in 1830 and 1833 and the territorial expansion of the young monarchy.[3]

The adoption of the first written Constitution in 1835 abolished feudalism and serfdom,[4] and made the country suzerain.[3] The term Serbian Revolution was coined by a German academic historiographer, Leopold von Ranke, in his book Die Serbische Revolution, published in 1829.[5] These events marked the foundation of modern Serbia.[6]

The period is further divided as follows:

  • Karađorđe Petrović
  • Hadži-Prodan's rebellion
    (1814)
  • Miloš Obrenović
  • Official recognition of the Serbian state (1815–1833)
  • Official Serbian Constitution (1835)

The Proclamation (1809) by

Porte, deemed unfair as based on religious affiliation. Apart from dispensing with poll tax on non-Muslims (jizya), the revolutionaries also abolished all feudal obligations in 1806, only 15 years after the French Revolution
, peasant and serf emancipation thus representing a major social break with the past.

The rule of

Porte. Finally, de facto independence came in 1867, with the withdrawal of Ottoman garrisons from the principality; de jure independence was formally recognized at the Congress of Berlin
in 1878.

Background

See also:
Habsburg-occupied Serbia (1788–92)

New circumstances, such as the

Illyrian provinces and elsewhere, while the Ottoman Serbs were still subjects to a religion-based tax that treated them as second class citizens.[2]

During the

Austrian occupation of Serbia (1788–91), many Serbs served as soldiers and officers in Habsburg armies, where they acquired knowledge about military tactics, organization and weapons. Others were employed in administrative offices in Hungary or in the occupied zone. They began to travel in search of trade and education, and were exposed to European ideas about secular society, politics, law and philosophy, including both rationalism and Romanticism. They met with the values of the French Revolution, which would affect many Serbian merchants and educated people. There was an active Serbian community in the southern Habsburg Empire, from where ideas made their way southwards (across the Danube). Another role model was the Russian Empire, the only independent Slavic and Orthodox country, which had recently reformed itself and was now a serious menace to the Turks. The Russian experience implied hope for Serbia.[2]

Other Serbian thinkers found strengths in the Serbian nation itself. Two top Serbian scholars were influenced by Western learning to turn their attention to Serbia's own language and literature. One was

Minister of Education of modern Serbia
(1805).

The second figure was Vuk Karadžić (1787). Vuk was less influenced by Enlightenment rationalism like Dositej Obradović and more by Romanticism, which romanticized rural and peasant communities. Vuk collected and published Serbian epic poetry, work that helped to build Serbian awareness of a common identity based in shared customs and shared history. This kind of linguistic and cultural self-awareness was a central feature of German nationalism in this period, and Serbian intellectuals now applied the same ideas to the Balkans.

In 1804, the Janissary that ruled Serbia at the time, having taken power in the Sanjak of Smederevo in defiance of the Sultan, feared that the Sultan would make use of the Serbs to oust them. To forestall this they decided to execute all prominent nobles throughout Central Serbia, a move known as the Slaughter of the Knezes. According to historical sources of the city of Valjevo, the heads of the murdered men were put on public display in the central square to serve as an example to those who might plot against the rule of the Janissaries. The event triggered the start of the Serbian Revolution with the First Serbian Uprising aimed at putting an end to the 370 years of Ottoman occupation of modern Serbia.[7]

First Serbian Uprising (1804–1813)

See also: First Serbian Uprising
Karađorđe Petrović (Black George) leader of the First Serbian Uprising

During the

Karađorđe Petrović, proclaimed Belgrade the capital of Serbia
.

Serbs responded to

Serbian alphabet. Belgrade was repopulated by local military leaders, merchants and craftsmen, but also by an important group of enlightened Serbs from the Habsburg Empire who gave a new cultural and political framework to the egalitarian peasant society of Serbia. Dositej Obradović, a prominent figure of the Serbian Enlightenment
, the founder of the Great Academy, became the first Minister of Education of Serbia in 1811.

Following the

Pashalik of Belgrade fell back to the Ottoman rule, various acts of violence and confiscation of people's properties took place. Islamized Serbs and Albanians especially took part in such actions.[8] Direct Ottoman rule also meant the abolition of all Serbian institutions
and the return of Ottoman Turks to Serbia.

Hadži-Prodan's Revolt (1814)

See also:
Hadži Prodanova buna

Despite losing the battle, tensions nevertheless persisted. In 1814 an unsuccessful Hadži Prodan's revolt was launched by Hadži Prodan Gligorijević, one of the veterans of the First Serbian Uprising. He knew the Turks would arrest him, so he decided to resist them. Miloš Obrenović, another veteran, felt the time was not right for an uprising and did not provide assistance.

Hadži Prodan's Uprising soon failed and he fled to Austria. After a riot at a Turkish estate in 1814, the Turkish authorities massacred the local population and publicly impaled 200 prisoners at Belgrade.[2] By March 1815, Serbs had held several meetings and decided upon a new revolt.

Second Serbian Uprising (1815–1817)

See also: Second Serbian Uprising
Prince of Serbia

The Second Serbian Uprising (1815–1817) was a second phase of the national revolution of the Serbs against the Ottoman Empire, which erupted shortly after the brutal annexation of the country to the Ottoman Empire and the failed Hadži Prodan's revolt. The revolutionary council proclaimed an uprising in Takovo on April 23, 1815, with Miloš Obrenović chosen as the leader (while Karađorđe was still in exile in Austria). The decision of the Serb leaders was based on two reasons. First, they feared a general massacre of knezes. Secondly, they learned that Karađorđe was planning to return from exile in Russia. The anti-Karađorđe faction, including Miloš Obrenović, was anxious to forestall Karađorđe and keep him out of power.[2]

Principality of Serbia in 1817

Fighting resumed at Easter in 1815, and Miloš became supreme leader of the new revolt. When the Ottomans discovered this they sentenced all of its leaders to death. The Serbs fought in battles at Ljubic, Čačak, Palez, Požarevac and Dublje and managed to reconquer the

Pashaluk of Belgrade
. Miloš advocated a policy of restraint:[2] captured Ottoman soldiers were not killed and civilians were released. His announced goal was not independence but an end to abusive misrule.

Wider

Karađorđe Petrović. The final defeat of Napoleon in 1815 raised Turkish fears that Russia might again intervene in the Balkans. To avoid this the sultan agreed to make Serbia a vassal state
, semi-independent but nominally responsible to the Porte.

Legal status of Serbia (1815–1830)

Constitution of 15 February 1835.

In mid-1815, the first negotiations began between Obrenović and Marashli Ali Pasha, the Ottoman governor. The result was acknowledgment of a

Second Serbian uprising
. The same year, Karađorđe, the leader of the First Uprising (and Obrenović's rival for the throne) returned to Serbia and was assassinated by Obrenović's orders; Obrenović subsequently received the title of Prince of Serbia.

During the intermezzo period ("virtual autonomy" – the negotiation process between Belgrade and Constantinople 1817–1830) Prince

Serbian army, transferred properties to the young Serbian bourgeoisie and passed the "homestead laws" which protected peasants from usurers and bankruptcies.[2]

New school curriculum and the re-establishment of the Serbian Orthodox Church reflected the Serbian national interest. Unlike the Serbian medieval tradition, Prince Miloš separated education from religion, on the grounds that he could oppose the Church through independent education (secularism) more easily. By that time the Great Academy in Belgrade had been in operation for decades (since 1808).[2]

The

Miloš Obrenović I
as its hereditary Prince.

Gallery

  • The remains of sconce of battle of Ivankovac
    The remains of sconce of battle of Ivankovac
  • Deligrad battle sconce remains
    Deligrad battle sconce remains
  • Revolutionary Serbia in 1809
    Revolutionary Serbia in 1809
  • Revolutionary Serbia in 1813
    Revolutionary Serbia in 1813

See also

References

  1. S2CID 222355180
    .
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i "The Serbian Revolution and the Serbian State". staff.lib.msu.edu. Archived from the original on 10 October 2017. Retrieved 7 May 2018.
  3. ^
    ISBN 978-3-643-10611-7. Archived
    from the original on 2023-01-23. Retrieved 2015-10-25.
  4. ^ "Dr". Archived from the original on 2012-03-06. Retrieved 2015-03-29.
  5. ^ English translation: Leopold Ranke, A History of Serbia and the Serbian Revolution. Translated from the German by Mrs Alexander Kerr (London: John Murray, 1847)
  6. ^ L. S. Stavrianos, The Balkans since 1453 (London: Hurst and Co., 2000), pp. 248–250.
  7. ^ Leopold von Ranke. History of Servia and the Servian Revolution. Translated by Louisa Hay Ker. pp. 119–120
  8. ISBN 978-86-6343-163-8
    .

Sources

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Serbian_Revolution&oldid=1218097188"