Crna Reka (Serbian Cyrillic:Црна Река) orCrnorečje (Црноречје), meaning "Black River", is a region in eastern Serbia, comprising the historical Crna Rekanahiya (Црноречка нахија) and Crna Rekaokrug, delineated by the mountains ofSamanjac andKučaj in the west and northwest,Crni Vrh,Veliki Krš,Stol andDeli Jovan in the north,Stara Planina in the east andTupižnica andRtanj in the south.[1] Today, the toponymCrnorečje is more often used for the upper- and mid-course of theCrni Timok river.[1] It includes the cities ofBor,Zaječar, and the municipality ofBoljevac.
In thedefter of 1455, theSanjak of Vidin was made up of four nahiye, those of Vidin, Belogradchik, Svrljig and Banja. The Crna Reka region (made up of Crna Reka, Klivje, Vinišnica) belonged to the Vidin nahiya. The Crna Reka nahiya was formed in 1530 by uniting Crna Reka, Klivje, Vinišnica and removing them from the Vidin nahiya. Klivje and Vinišnica subsequently disappeared from usage. In the 15th-16th centuries the largest settlements in the Crna Reka nahiya were Slatina, Bučje, Ržana, Kobilje, Crkvište, Zlaće, Srmlan, Banjica, Crni Dol, Kuzmino, Drmnik, Oblak, Stopanja, Jablanovik, Porodim, Savinac, Gornja Lubnica, Gornja Grabovnica, Relov Dol, Cerovnica, Snetina, Potpegalce, Zaječar, Grlište and others.[1]
In the 1790s, the area was included in thePashalik of Vidin under the rule ofOsman Pazvantoglu. It is said that Pazvantoglu did not allow atrocities against the population and treated them good.[2] In 1805 Pazvantoglu appointed affluent merchant Milisav Đorđević theobor-knez of the Crna Rekanahiya.[3] Despite Pazvantoglu's good holding towards the Christians in his pashalik, Milisav Đorđević and his friend, priest Radosav fromPlaninica, joined the Serbian uprising, which would be important for the later operations in Crna Reka.[4] The uprising that broke out in Crna Reka after Easter 1805 was paused after fearing Pazvantoglu's power and support from Šumadija never came; Pazvantoglu amnestied the local rebels and Crna Reka was left untouched by Ottoman troops.[5] The Serb rebels however continued, and sent people into Crna Reka that gathered hundreds and worked primarily on fortification of defensive positions.[6] Hajduk bands made incursions into Timočka Krajina.[6] After hearing that Hafiz Mustafa Pasha set out from Niš, an army was mustered, including also Crna Reka rebels under Milisav, that fought and decisively won the Ottoman army at the Ivankovac field (18 August [O.S. 7 August] 1805).[7] On 14 January 1806, Milisav was ordered to support Resavac in taking over Paraćin, Ražanj and Aleksinac, whileMladen Milovanović was sent to accompanyvojvodaJovan Jakovljević ofLevač towards Kruševac.[8] After taking over Aleksinac, Milisav was tasked with defending the area from troops from the Sanjak of Vidin.[9]
The Crna Reka nahija was organized intoRevolutionary Serbia, with a seat at Zaječar and the establishment of amagistrate (court).[10] Eight trenches were built, atVražogrnac,Grljan,Sumrakovac, Kalafat, Kijak, Jame.[10]
Crna Reka remained outside thePrincipality of Serbia following theSecond Serbian Uprising (1815), but was finally transferred by the Ottoman sultan to Serbia in 1833 along with five other Serb nahiyas. In 1834 the administrative reorganization saw Crna Reka established as anokrug (district) part of the Timokserdarstvo (governorship). In 1866, the Crna Rekaokrug had 3srezovi, 45 settlements, and 53,284 inhabitants.[11]
The population of Crna Reka is of several ethnographic group origins, such as the Dinaric, Kosovo-Metohija, Morava-Vardar and Timok-Braničevo migrational routes, that settled in the Ottoman period. There were also immigrants from Wallachia. Only the valley ofGrliška reka include natives predating the migrations (Grlište,Gornja Bela Reka andLeskovac).[12]