| Karađorđe Карађорђе | |
|---|---|
 Karađorđe, byVladimir Borovikovsky, 1816 | |
| Grand Vožd of Serbia | |
| Reign | 14 February 1804 – 3 October 1813 |
| Predecessor | Title created |
| Successor | Miloš Obrenović I |
| President of the Governing Council | |
| Reign | 22 January 1811 – 3 October 1813 |
| Predecessor | Jakov Nenadović |
| Successor | Petar Nikolajević Moler (1815) |
| Born | 14 November [O.S. 3 November] 1768 Viševac,Sanjak of Smederevo,Rumelia Eyalet,Ottoman Empire |
| Died | 25 July [O.S. 13 July] 1817 (aged 48) Radovanje Grove, Sanjak of Smederevo, Rumelia Eyalet, Ottoman Empire |
| Burial | |
| Spouse | |
| Issue | Sima, Sava, Sara, Poleksija, Stamenka, Aleksa,Alexander |
| House | Karađorđević |
| Father | Petar Jovanović |
| Mother | Marica (née Živković) |
| Religion | Serbian Orthodox |
| Signature |  |
| Personal details | |
| Awards |  Order of Saint Anna Order of Saint Vladimir |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance |  Revolutionary Serbia |
| Years of service | 1787—1791 1804–1813 |
| Rank | Grand Vožd of Serbia |
| Commands | Serbian Free Corps Revolutionary Army |
| Battles/wars | |
Đorđe PetrovićOSAOSV (pronounced[dʑôːrdʑepětrovitɕ];Serbian:Ђорђе Петровић; 14 November [O.S. 3 November] 1768 – 25 July [O.S. 13 July] 1817), known by thesobriquetKarađorđe (pronounced[kâradʑoːrdʑe]; Serbian:Карађорђе,lit. 'Black George'), was a Serbian revolutionary leader who led a struggle against theOttoman Empire during theFirst Serbian Uprising. Karađorđe Petrović held the title ofGrand Vožd of Serbia from 14 February 1804 to 3 October 1813.
Born into an impoverished family in theŠumadija region ofOttoman Serbia, Karađorđe distinguished himself during theAustro-Turkish War of 1788–1791 as a member of theSerbian Free Corps, a militia ofHabsburg and OttomanSerbs, armed and trained by theAustrians. Fearing retribution following the Austrians' and Serb rebels' defeat in 1791, he and his family fled to theAustrian Empire, where they lived until 1794, when a general amnesty was declared. Karađorđe subsequently returned to Šumadija and became a livestock merchant. In 1796, the rogue governor of theSanjak of Vidin,Osman Pazvantoğlu, invaded thePashalik of Belgrade, and Karađorđe fought alongside the Ottomans to quash the incursion.
In early 1804, following amassacre of Serb chieftains by renegade Ottomanjanissaries known asDahis, the Serbs of the Pashalik rebelled. Karađorđe was unanimously elected to lead the uprising against the Dahis at an assembly of surviving chiefs in February 1804. Within six months, most of the Dahi leaders had been captured and executed by Karađorđe's forces, and by 1805, the final remnants of Dahi resistance had been crushed. Karađorđe and his followers demanded far-reaching autonomy, whichSultanSelim III interpreted as but the first step towards complete independence. Selim promptly declaredjihad against the rebels and ordered an army to march into the Pashalik. The Ottomans suffered a string of defeats at the hands of Karađorđe's forces. By 1806, the rebels had captured all the major towns in the Pashalik, includingBelgrade andSmederevo, and expelled theirMuslim inhabitants. Burdened by the demands of theRusso-Turkish War of 1806–1812, Selim offered the Serbs extensive autonomy. However, Karađorđe refused in light of Russia's avowal to aid the rebels should they continue fighting.
Frequent infighting, together withNapoleon'sinvasion of Russia in 1812, weakened the rebels, and the Ottomans were able to reverse many of their gains. Karađorđe was forced to flee Serbia in October 1813 and Belgrade fell later that month, bringing the First Serbian Uprising to a close. He and his followers sought refuge in the Austrian Empire, but were arrested and detained. Despite Ottoman requests for extradition, the Austrians handed Karađorđe over to theRussians, who offered him refuge inBessarabia. There, he joined the Greeksecret society known asFiliki Eteria, which planned to launch a pan-Balkan uprising against the Ottomans. Karađorđe returned to Serbia in secret in July 1817, but was killed shortly thereafter by agents ofMiloš Obrenović, a rival rebel leader, who was concerned that Karađorđe's reappearance would cause the Ottomans to renege on the concessions they had agreed to following theSecond Serbian Uprising of 1815. Karađorđe is considered the founder of thehouse of Karađorđević, which ruled Serbia in several intervals during the 19th and 20th centuries. His murder resulted in a violent, decades-long feud between his descendants and those ofObrenović, with theSerbian throne changing hands several times.
Đorđe Petrović was born into an impoverished family in the village ofViševac, in theŠumadija region ofOttoman Serbia, on 14 November [O.S. 3 November] 1768.[1][a] He was the oldest of his parents' five children. His father, Petar Jovanović, was ahighwayman (orhajduk) in his youth, but had since become a peasant farmer. His mother, Marica (née Živković), was a homemaker.[3] Petrović's surname wasderived from his father's given name, in line with contemporarySerbian naming conventions.[4] Like most of his contemporaries, Petrović was illiterate.[5][6] His family celebrated thefeast day ofSaint Clement.[7] They are said to have been descended from theVasojevići tribe of Montenegro'sLim river valley.[8] His ancestors are thought to have migrated from Montenegro to Šumadija in the late 1730s or early 1740s.[9] Petrović's childhood was strenuous and difficult.[3] His parents were forced to move around often in search of a livelihood.[10] His father worked as a day labourer and servant for asipahi, an Ottomancavalryman. Petrović himself spent his adolescence working as a shepherd.[9] In 1785, he married Jelena Jovanović, the daughter of Nikola Jovanović,obor-knez ofJasenica,[11] whose family hailed from the village ofMasloševo.[9] The couple had seven children, six of whom reached adulthood.[1]
Petrović worked for several landlords across Šumadija until 1787, when he and his family left the region and settled in theHabsburg monarchy ("Austria"), fearing persecution at the hands of the Ottomanjanissaries.[10] It is said that as they were preparing to cross theDanube into Austria, Petrović's father began to have second thoughts about leaving Šumadija. Knowing that the entire family would be put in jeopardy if his father stayed behind, Petrović either took his father's life or arranged for someone to kill him instead.[12][b]
Following the outbreak of theAustro-Turkish War of 1788–1791, Petrović joined theSerbian Free Corps (German:Serbische Freikorps), and took part in fighting the Ottomans in western Serbia.[10][15] The Free Corps was a volunteermilitia made up of both Ottoman and Habsburg Serbs that was armed and trained by the Austrians. It was led by a Habsburg Serb officer, MajorMihailo Mihaljević.[16] Petrović's participation in the war brought him invaluable military experience, as well as insight into the Austrians' military techniques.[10] He distinguished himself in combat and was decorated for bravery, reaching the rank ofsergeant (German:Wachtmeister).[17][18] In this capacity, he was given command over a squad of 25 men.[19]
The Austrians and Serb rebels briefly succeeded in liberating a strip of land east and south ofBelgrade, which inSerbian historiography came to be known asKoča's Frontier (Serbian:Kočina Krajina), after one of the senior rebel leaders,Koča Anđelković. In 1791, the Austrians and Ottomans signed theTreaty of Sistova. The Austrians agreed to return all the territory that they and the Serbs had captured south of the Danube in exchange for minor territorial concessions in northern Bosnia, effectively abandoning the Serbs and leaving them to resist the Ottomans on their own. The rebels were crushed by 1792 and most of their leaders executed.[20] Unwilling to surrender, Petrović became ahajduk and briefly fought the Ottomans as an outlaw.[21] He and his family once again sought refuge in the Austrian Empire, this time finding sanctuary in theKrušedol Monastery, at the foot ofFruška Gora, where Petrović worked as a forester.[14][22]
In 1793,Hadji Mustafa Pasha was appointed governor of thePashalik of Belgrade. He declared a generalamnesty for former rebels and announced that Muslims would no longer serve as tax-collectors in areas where Christians formed a majority of the population. These changes were part of a plan devised by SultanSelim aimed at improving relations with the Pashalik's Christian population.[23] Sensing that it was safe, Petrović returned to Šumadija in 1794, together with his family.[24] He settled inTopola, where he became a livestock merchant and traded with the Austrians. His business dealings led him to establish connections with many Habsburg Serbs.[10] In 1796,Osman Pazvantoğlu, the renegade governor of theSanjak of Vidin, who had rejected the authority of theSublime Porte, launched an invasion of the Pashalik of Belgrade. Overwhelmed, Mustafa Pasha formed a Serbian national militia to help stop the incursion.[20] Petrović joined the militia and became aboluk-bashi (Serbian:Buljukbaša),[c] leading acompany of 100 men.[10]
In return for their service, the Serbs of the Pashalik were granted a number of privileges. They were allowed to bear arms and raise autonomous military units. After the Serb militias joined the war on Mustafa Pasha's side, Pazvantoğlu suffered a string of defeats. He retreated toVidin, which was subsequently besieged.[23] The war against Pazvantoğlu marked the first time that Petrović distinguished himself in the eyes of the Ottomans, who bestowed him with thesobriquet "Black George" (Serbian:Karađorđe;Turkish:Kara Yorgi), partly because of his dark hair and partly because of his sinister reputation.[22][25] Karađorđe's service in the Serbian militia resulted in him becoming well acquainted with Ottoman military doctrine.[26]
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In 1798,NapoleoninvadedEgypt, forcing the Porte to redeploy thousands of regulars from the Balkans in order to resist the French. The janissaries in the Pashalik of Belgrade, known asDahis (Serbian:Dahije), who had been expelled from the region on Selim's orders nearly a decade earlier, were pardoned and allowed to return to Belgrade on the condition that they obey Mustafa Pasha. The détente between the aging governor and the Dahis did not last long. In 1801, Mustafa Pasha was killed by a Dahi assassin.[23]
The power vacuum caused by Mustafa Pasha's murder resulted in a period of infighting between the Dahis that would last until 1802. By this time, four senior Dahi commanders emerged triumphant and agreed to share power within the Pashalik. The Serbs were stripped of the privileges that they had been granted under Mustafa Pasha. Dahi bands roamed the countryside, killing peasants, looting property and setting homes on fire. Thousands of villagers were displaced and forced to flee into the mountains, where over the next several years, the able-bodied men formedad hoc guerrilla bands.[10]
In mid-July 1803, Karađorđe obtained arms and munitions from Habsburg Serb merchants inZemun. Later that month, he dispatched couriers through Šumadija calling for a meeting of Serbian notables to devise a strategy for resisting the Dahis.[27] The flow of arms from the Austrian Empire into the Pashalik, combined with their inability to crush the guerrillas in the countryside, made the Dahi leadership increasingly uneasy.[20] In January and February 1804, the Dahis launched a pre-emptive assault against the Pashalik's Serbian chieftains (known asknezovi, or "princes"), killing between 70 and 150 of them.[26] The killings outraged the Serbianrayah, the Pashalik's tax-paying lower class.[21] By this time, Karađorđe was a well known and well respected figure in Šumadija.[26] He narrowly escaped being killed in the two-month massacre, which came to be known as theSlaughter of the Knezes (Serbian:Seča knezova). Upon killing the chieftains, the Dahis impaled their severed heads on wooden stakes and put them on public display.[5]
OnCandlemas, 14 February [O.S. 2 February] 1804, the surviving chieftainsassembled in the village ofOrašac, nearAranđelovac, to decide on a course of action.[24] They agreed to launch a rebellion against the Dahis and Karađorđe was elected without opposition to lead it.[28] It is said that he twice refused to lead the uprising, arguing that his violent temper would make him unsuitable for the role. Karađorđe's initial refusal only reinforced the chieftains' convictions that he was the only suitable candidate, and eventually, he agreed to lead the rebels.[4][21] This event marked the beginning of theFirst Serbian Uprising, the opening phase of what would come to be known as theSerbian Revolution.[25]
By the start of the revolt, the Pashalik of Belgrade had a population of about 400,000, 10 percent of which was Muslim.[29] Its Serb population was roughly 250,000.[30] At first, the rebels numbered around 30,000 men.[31] In this initial stage, they were joined by a significant amount of the Pashalik's Muslim population, whom the rebels dubbed the "Good Turks".[32][d] Karađorđe and his followers appealed to Sultan Selim for assistance against the Dahis, who had since rejected the authority of the Porte. Austria sent weapons and supplies to the rebels, while Russia lobbied on their behalf, encouraging the Porte to grant the Serbs further autonomy following the Dahis' removal. In May, Selim ordered a 7,000-strong army under of the command ofBekir Pasha, the governor ofBosnia, to march into the Pashalik. The Serbs welcomed Bekir Pasha and his men as liberators, and the Dahis were soon defeated through the joint efforts of Bekir Pasha's army and the rebels. By late August, the most prominent Dahi leaders had been captured by Karađorđe's men, beheaded, and their severed heads sent to the Sultan as trophies.[21]
The Dahis resisted for another year before they were completely defeated.[33] Karađorđe and his followers then demanded that Serbia be granted autonomous status similar to that enjoyed by neighbouringWallachia. Selim suspected that Karađorđe's demands for autonomy were but the first step towards complete independence.[34] He responded by declaring ajihad against the rebels.[35] Hafiz Pasha, the Ottoman governor ofNiš, was then ordered to march into Šumadija and destroy Karađorđe's army.[34]
The rebels first clashed with Ottoman regulars at theBattle of Ivankovac in August 1805, scoring adecisive victory.[36][37] Belgrade was soon besieged by about 16,000 rebel fighters.[38] The rebel leaders used anti-Muslim rhetoric to mobilize the peasantry, calling upon them to rise up and drive the Ottomans "across the blue sea". In order to further galvanize the population, Karađorđe appealed to memories of theBattle of Kosovo of June 1389, which paved the way for the Ottoman conquest of Serbia and the rest of the western Balkans, declaring that Serbia's defeat in the battle needed to be avenged.[39] He sought to further cement his authority by harkening back to symbols ofMedieval Serbia, such as the relics ofStefan the First-Crowned, and placing oldheraldic symbols on flags and seals to establish continuity between theSerbian Empire and himself.[40][e] Portraits ofDušan the Mighty, the founder of the Serbian Empire, are said to have hung from the walls of the rebels' headquarters.[42]
Karađorđe was feared by enemies and allies alike because of his volatile temper.[43] He considered executions to be the only way in which military infractions could be rectified, and according to the military historian Brendon A. Rehm, personally killed 125 people.[22] In 1806, he ordered that his brother Marinko be hanged. According to one account, Marinko had been accused of raping a peasant girl.[12] Another suggests that he had been attempting to seduce young women whose husbands were away at the front.[44] Whatever the case, Karađorđe entertained senior rebel leaders in his home while his brother's lifeless body dangled from the front gate—a warning to others to refrain from the behaviour in which Marinko had been engaging.[12] Muslims, combatants and non-combatants alike, were killed unremittingly, as illustrated in this contemporary account describing the capture of the village ofČučuge, nearUb, in April 1806:
In their flight the Turks threw away their arms and clothing in order to run the better, but to no purpose. The Serbs caught up with them and killed them, some with swords, some with knives and some with daggers, while others had their brains beaten out withcudgels and staves. They say that over 2,800 Turks perished and only those got away who had good horses. When our army mustered again at the camp at Ub, I saw that many of our soldiers had blood-stained swords ... and their gun-butts also were smashed and broken; they were laden with every sort of spoil.[45]
Serbs who neglected to join the uprising were brutalized in equal measure. Males who could not produce an adequate excuse for why they were not fighting were killed and their houses torched.[5][46] While most of the rebels were Serbs, the Pashalik'sRomani (Gypsy) residents, the majority of whom were Muslim, also fought on the rebel side.[47] Some Albanians also pledged allegiance to Karađorđe and fought on his behalf.[48]
In 1806, the rebels twice dispatched the diplomatPetar Ičko toConstantinople to negotiate with the Porte. The two parties eventually reached an understanding, which came to be known asIčko's Peace, in which the Ottomans agreed to grant the rebels extensive autonomy. Due to the Balkans' poor communications and transport infrastructure, it took several months for news of the Porte's offer to reach the rebels.[49] In August 1806, the rebels defeated the Ottomans at theBattle of Mišar.[50] Later that month, they scored another victory at theBattle of Deligrad.[51] Smederevo was captured in November and made the capital of Karađorđe's revolutionary state.[52] Belgrade, with the exception of its imposingfortress,fell in early December. The outbreak of theRusso-Ottoman War that month, compounded by Russia's avowal to provide extensive materiel and financial support to the rebels should they continue fighting, convinced Karađorđe not to accept anything short of complete independence. He promptly refused to accept the terms of the agreement negotiated by Ičko.[49]
In March 1807, Karađorđe issued a promise to Suleiman Pasha, the Governor of Belgrade, that he and his garrison would be granted safe passage if they vacated the city's besieged fortress. When Suleiman and his garrison emerged from the fortress, they were ambushed.[53] Adult men were killed on the spot, women and girls were forcibly converted to Orthodox Christianity and made to marry their captors, and young children were placed in the care of Orthodox Christian families.[54][55] One contemporary account suggests that as many as 3,000 non-Christians – mostly Muslims, but alsoJews – were forced to convert to Orthodox Christianity.[54] Jews that resisted conversion were either killed or expelled.[56] Belgrade'smosques were either destroyed or turned into churches.[57]
As the revolution progressed, rebel strength peaked at around 50,000 fighters.[38] Despite their initial successes, the rebel leaders were seldom on good terms, and constant infighting plagued their camp. In the western part of the country,Jakov Nenadović was the principal figure. In the east,Milenko Stojković andPetar Dobrnjac held sway. The latter two opposed Karađorđe's attempts to create a centralized state, fearing that this would result in their own power being diminished.[26] Others, such as Nenadović, complained that Karađorđe was becoming tooauthoritarian. Nenadović suggested that the rebels establish a central council to rein in Karađorđe's power and write a constitution based on the rule of law.[58] Karađorđe balked at the possibility. "It's easy for this sovereign law of yours to rule in a warm room, behind this table", he responded, "but let us see tomorrow, when the Turks strike, who will meet them and beat them."[59][60]
In May 1809, the rebels capturedSjenica. They repulsed an Ottoman attack on the village ofSuvodol in early June, and seizedNovi Pazar later that month, but failed to take its fortress.[61] Minor clashes also took place in the north of Kosovo.[48] Lacking numbers and adequate military training, the rebels failed to establish a corridor to Montenegro and gain access to theAdriatic Sea, which Karađorđe had described as one of his key aims.[61] The rebels experienced further setbacks in Niš, where 3,000 weresurrounded atČegar Hill in May–June 1809. Knowing that he and his men would beimpaled if captured, rebel commanderStevan Sinđelić fired at his entrenchment'sgun powder magazine, setting off a massive explosion that killed him and everyone else in the vicinity. On the site of the battle, the Ottoman commanderHurshid Pasha built astone tower with the skulls of Sinđelić and his fighters embedded in its walls as a warning to others who wished to rebel.[61][62]
The fall of Čegar allowed the Ottomans to establish a land corridor extending along the Morava River valley from Niš to the Danube. Their advance was brought to a halt after the Russians crossed the Danube in September 1809 and attacked the Ottomans in northern Bulgaria, offering the rebels temporary respite. The rebels soon recaptured all the land they had lost but were exhausted by the fighting.[63] Henceforth, they were continuously on the defensive.[64] The rebel leaders quarrelled amongst themselves, blaming each other for the recent defeats. Karađorđe blamed the Russians for not intervening earlier on the rebels' behalf.[61] He subsequently wrote Napoleon seeking military assistance, and in 1810, dispatched an emissary to France.[65] Nothing came of these requests, as the French did not believe that the rebels had the military capacity to dislodge the Ottomans from the Balkans.[66] As his battlefield setbacks mounted, Karađorđe's behaviour became more volatile. In late 1809, he shot and wounded one of his commanders,Petar Jokić, for making a poor military decision in the vicinity ofĆuprija.[12][44]
In 1810, Dobrnjac mutinied against Karađorđe and nearly succeeded in dislodging him. He was joined in his revolt by Milenko Stojković.[67] In June 1810, Russian troops entered Serbia for a second time, distributing weapons and supplies to Karađorđe and his followers.Field MarshalMikhail Kutuzov took part in planning joint actions against both the Ottomans and the mutineers.[64] By the following year, Dobrnjac and Stojković were defeated.[67] Karađorđe attempted to placate the mutineers. In January 1811, he established thePeople's Governing Council (Serbian:Praviteljstvujušči Sovjet), a cabinet consisting of members who supported Karađorđe as well as those who opposed him.[68] It consisted of twelve members, one for each of thenahije (districts) of rebel Serbia.[58] Karađorđe appointed Stojković as the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Nenadović as the Minister of the Interior, and Dobrnjac as the Minister of Justice. Also inducted into Karađorđe's cabinet were Mladen Milovanović, as the Minister of War;Dositej Obradović, as the Minister of Education; andSima Marković, as the Minister of Finance. Dobrnjac and Stojković refused to accept the posts that were offered to them, fearing that their acceptance would legitimize Karađorđe and undermine their own position. Karađorđe accused them of insubordination and exiled them toWallachia, replacing them with loyalists.[68] The Governing Council soon recognized Karađorđe as Serbia's hereditary leader and pledged allegiance to his "lawful heirs".[58]
In mid-1812, Russia and the Ottoman Empire signed theTreaty of Bucharest, bringing the Russo-Ottoman War to a close. For his efforts, Karađorđe received theOrder of Saint Anna from the Russians. The Governing Council scrambled to take an oath of loyalty to Russia in the hope that this would garner them further protection, to no avail.[69] TheRussian Emperor,Alexander, was aware of Napoleon's plans toinvade Russia and desperately sought to return as many Russian soldiers as possible in order to repel the attack.[64][70] As part of the Treaty of Bucharest, the Russians and Ottomans agreed that Serbian fortifications built after 1804 were to be destroyed, while cities and forts from which the Ottomans had been expelled over the course of the uprising were to be reoccupied and garrisoned by Ottoman troops. In exchange, the Ottomans agreed to declare a general amnesty for former rebels, as well as to grant the Serbs of the Pashalik of Belgrade some degree of autonomy. As part of the agreement, the Russians agreed to withdraw their forces from Serbia, as well as from Wallachia and Moldavia. The Russians encouraged Karađorđe and his followers to negotiate directly with the Porte regarding the minutiae of the handover of cities and fortifications to the Ottomans. Trepidation filled the rebel camp once it became clear that there was nothing to prevent the Ottomans from exacting reprisals against the Pashalik's Serb population after the Russians withdrew. Karađorđe thus refused to abide by the terms of the Treaty of Bucharest and fighting continued.[71]
Deprived of foreign assistance, the rebels were quickly routed by the Ottomans, whose units were manned primarily by Albanians and Bosnian Muslims.[66][72] In early October, Karađorđe fled to the Austrian Empire.[73] He was joined by around 100,000 other Serbs fleeing the Ottoman advance, including 50,000 from Belgrade and its environs alone.[74] Belgrade fell later that month.[66][75] The city's fall marked the end of the First Serbian Uprising.[71] The Ottomans singled out men and boys over the age of 15 for execution, and sold women and children into slavery. Torture was used extensively and executions were particularly brutal.[66] "Men were roasted alive, hanged by their feet over smoking straw until they asphyxiated, castrated, crushed with stones, andbastinadoed," one eyewitness wrote. "Their women and children were raped and sometimes taken by force toharems. Outside Stambul Gate in Belgrade, there were always on view the corpses of impaled Serbs being gnawed by packs of dogs."[76][77] Another account relays how infants and toddlers were boiled alive.[78] In one day alone, 1,800 women and children were sold into slavery at a Belgrade market.[79] Churches across the city were destroyed and mosques that had been converted into churches following the city's capture in 1806 were returned to their original use.[57] Others were deliberately torched by the Ottomans for the purpose of inflicting suffering on the city's inhabitants. In one instance, several dozen Serb refugees seeking shelter in a mosque were burned alive inside.[78]
In late October 1813, Hurshid Pasha declared a general amnesty for the rebels that had survived, though Karađorđe and some senior Orthodox clerics were specifically exempted.[66] Many rebel leaders agreed to lay down their arms, the most notable of these beingMiloš Obrenović, the rebel commander inUžice.[80] A large number of Serb refugees subsequently returned to their homes, as did many of the Muslims that had been displaced in the fighting.[30]
Upon crossing the Danube, Karađorđe and his followers were arrested by the Austrian authorities. They were initially detained at thePetrovaradin Fortress inNovi Sad and later transferred to a prison inGraz. The Ottomans demanded that Karađorđe and the other rebel leaders be extradited to face punishment. The Austrians refused and instead turned them over to the Russians.[81] Karađorđe spent a year in Austrian custody before being allowed to go to Russia.[22] Like many of the other rebel leaders, he settled inBessarabia.[81] He attempted to adjust to civilian life, commissioning a portrait of himself by the painterVladimir Borovikovsky.[82] In April 1815, Obrenović orchestrated another anti-Ottoman rebellion in Serbia, which came to be known as theSecond Serbian Uprising. Unlike Karađorđe's revolt, the Second Serbian Uprising ended relatively quickly and resulted in a rebel victory. In November 1815, the Ottomans accepted Obrenović's demands for wide-ranging autonomy. The terms that they agreed to were identical to those rejected by Karađorđe in 1807.[80]
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The Russians prohibited Karađorđe from returning to the Balkans to take part in the Second Serbian Uprising. Karađorđe objected and traveled toSaint Petersburg to plead his case, but was arrested and detained.[22] Upon his release, he joined theFiliki Eteria, aGreek nationalistsecret society that intended to launch a pan-Balkan uprising against the Ottomans. TheFiliki Eteria promised Karađorđe a position of military leadership in the planned uprising and offered to smuggle him into the Pashalik of Belgrade. Karađorđe secretly entered the Pashalik on 24 July [O.S. 12 July] 1817, crossing the Danube together with his servant,Naum Krnar. He then contacted hiskum,Vujica Vulićević, who offered him an abode in the oak forest ofRadovanje Grove, nearVelika Plana. Unbeknownst to Karađorđe, Vulićević was on Obrenović's payroll. After escorting Karađorđe and his servant to a tent in the forest, Vulićević informed Obrenović of Karađorđe's whereabouts through a courier. Shortly thereafter, he received a letter from Obrenović telling him that Karađorde was to be killed.[81] Vulićević enlisted one of his close confidantes, Nikola Novaković, to take Karađorđe's life. The following morning, just before sunrise, Novaković snuck into Karađorđe's tent and axed him to death while he slept. He then went to the riverside and shot Krnar with a rifle as he was gathering water. Karađorđe's lifeless body was beheaded.[83] His severed head was taken to Belgrade and presented toMarashli Ali Pasha,[83] who had been appointed the governor of the Pashalik two years prior.[80] Ali Pasha had the head flayed, stuffed and sent to the Sultan himself.[83]
Obrenović feared that Karađorđe's return would prompt the Ottomans to renege on the agreement reached by the Porte and Obrenović's followers in November 1815.[84] By extension, Karađorđe's murder precluded the Serbs of the Pashalik from taking part in the Balkan-wide rebellion that theFiliki Eteria had been planning.[85] In Constantinople, Karađorđe's head was impaled on a stake and left on public display for a week. His body was buried on Serbian soil, but his skull ended up in the hands of a Constantinople museum. It was stolen some years later and buried in Greece.[86]
Karađorđe's descendants adopted the surnameKarađorđević in his honour.[87] His murder resulted in a violent, decades-long feud between his descendants and those of Obrenović, with the Serbian throne changing hands several times.[85][88] The feud came to an abrupt end in June 1903, when rebelliousRoyal Serbian Army officers killed the Obrenović king,Alexander, and his wife, QueenDraga, thereby rendering the Obrenović line extinct. Karađorđe's grandson,Peter Karađorđević, then ascended the throne.[89][90]
In order to tie himself to his grandfather's legacy, Peter commissioned abronze crown cast from a piece of Karađorđe's first cannon.[91] In addition, theOrder of Karađorđe's Star was introduced as Serbia's highest state decoration.[92][93] Thefirst feature-length film to emerge from Serbia and the Balkans, whose plot revolves around Karađorđe and his actions before, during and after the First Serbian Uprising, was released in 1911.[94] Work soon began on the construction of theChurch of Saint George, a Karađorđević dynasty mausoleum at Oplenac, near Topola.[86] In 1913, a monument to Karađorđe was unveiled atKalemegdan Park.[95] During theAustro-Hungarian occupation of Serbia, the monument was torn down by theAustro-Hungarian Army and destroyed.[96]
In November 1918, Peter ascended the throne of the newly established Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes, which was later renamedYugoslavia.[97] Karađorđe's head was repatriated from Greece in 1923 and reunited with the rest of his body. His remains were buried in a whitemarble sarcophagus within the church in 1930.[86] The Karađorđević dynasty ruled Yugoslavia until 1941, when its members were forced into exile byGermany'sinvasion and occupation of the country.[98] The monarchy was abolished byJosip Broz Tito'scommunist government in 1945.[99]
Misha Glenny, a journalist specializing in the Balkans, believes that the First Serbian Uprising "marked the beginning of modern history on the Balkan peninsula."[100] The uprising kindled the flame of ethno-religious nationalism among the Christians of Southeastern Europe and inspired the subsequentGreek War of Independence.[101] Karađorđe's struggle against the Ottomans also had an important influence on the Bosnian Muslim revolutionaryHusein Gradaščević, who instigated theGreat Bosnian Uprising.[102] Karađorđe is viewed in a negative light by some modern Bosniaks. In 2011, the chiefMufti of the Islamic Community of Serbia,Muamer Zukorlić, filed a petition to rename a street in Sjenica named after Karađorđe. Zukorlić alleged that Karađorđe and his followers had indiscriminately targeted the town's residents in 1809, a notion disputed by Serbian historians.[103] The historianIvo Banac surmises that "there would be no Bosnian Muslims today" had Karađorđe extended his uprising west of the Drina.[104]
Karađorđe's exploits were popularized across Europe by the linguist and folkloristVuk Karadžić, who recorded and published theballads of the blindgusle player and epic poetFilip Višnjić, many of which pertained to the First Serbian Uprising.[105] Karađorđe is referenced in a number of works of 19th-century fiction. While he was still alive, the Hungarian dramatistIstván Balog [hu] wrote astage play about him, titledBlack George, which premiered in August 1812.[106] Several years later, the Russian poetAlexander Pushkin penned a ballad about Karađorđe titledThe Song of George the Black.[107] The Irish poetGeorge Croly also wrote a ballad about him. Karađorđe is mentioned inHonoré de Balzac's 1842 novelA Start in Life, as the grandfather of one of the book's main characters.[108] The Montenegrinprince-bishop and poetPetar II Petrović-Njegoš dedicated his 1847 epic poemThe Mountain Wreath to "the ashes of the Father of Serbia", a reference to Karađorđe.[109][110] The surname Karamazov, used in the Russian writerFyodor Dostoyevsky's 1880 novelThe Brothers Karamazov, is believed to have partially been inspired by Karađorđe, whose exploits popularized the use of theprefix "kara" to mean "black" within Russia.[111]
Karađorđe's likeness was featured on theobverse of five-milliondinar banknotes issued by the National Bank of Yugoslavia in 1993 and 1994.[112] The anniversary of the First Serbian Uprising's commencement, 15 February, is celebrated annually in Serbia asStatehood Day.[113] Amonument to Karađorđe stands in front of Belgrade'sChurch of Saint Sava, within the eponymousKarađorđe's Park.[114] The home ground of theNovi Sad football teamFK Vojvodina has been named theKarađorđe Stadium since the venue's opening in 1924.[115]
| Karađorđe b. 1768 – d. 1817 reigned 1804–1813 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Alexis b. 1801 – d. 1830 | Alexander Karađorđević b. 1806 – d. 1885 reigned 1842–1858 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| George b. 1827 – d. 1884 | Peter I b. 1844 – d. 1921 reigned 1903–1921 | Arsen b. 1859 – d. 1938 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Alexis b. 1859 – d. 1920 | Bojidar b. 1862 – d. 1908 | George b. 1887 – d. 1972 | Alexander I b. 1888 – d. 1934 reigned 1921–1934 | Paul Karađorđević b. 1893 – d. 1976 ruled 1934–1941 (asprince regent) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Peter II b. 1923 – d. 1970 reigned 1934–1945 | Tomislav b. 1928 – d. 2000 | Andrew b. 1929 – d. 1990 | Alexander b. 1924 – d. 2016 | Nicholas b. 1928 – d. 1954 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Alexander Karađorđević b. 1945 | Nicholas b. 1958 George b. 1984 Michael b. 1985 | Karl Vladimir b. 1964 Dimitri Mihailo b. 1965 | Dimitri b. 1958 | Michael b. 1958 | Sergius b. 1963 | Dušan b. 1977 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Peter b. 1980 | Philip b. 1982 | Alexander b. 1982 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Stefan b. 2018 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Karađorđe Born: 14 November 1762 Died: 25 July 1817 | ||
| Regnal titles | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Title created | Grand Vožd of Serbia 14 February 1804 – 3 October 1813 | Succeeded byas Prince of Serbia |
| Political offices | ||
| Preceded by | President of the Administering Council 22 January 1811 – 3 October 1813 | Succeeded by |
| Revolutionary Serbia (1804–1813) |  | |
|---|---|---|
 Principality of Serbia(1815–1882) |
| |
 Kingdom of Serbia(1882–1918) | ||
 PR Serbia / SR Serbia(constituent republic ofFPR Yugoslavia / SFR Yugoslavia) (1945–1992) | ||
 Republic of Serbia(constituent republic ofFR Yugoslavia / Serbia and Montenegro) (1992–2006) |
| |
 Republic of Serbia(since 2006) |
| |
Regents or interimpresidents are initalics | ||
| Revolutionary Serbia (1804–1813) | |
|---|---|
| Principality of Serbia (1815–1882) |
|
| Kingdom of Serbia (1882–1918) | |
| PR Serbia/SR Serbia (constituent republic ofFPR Yugoslavia/SFR Yugoslavia) (1945–1992) | |
| Republic of Serbia (constituent republic ofFR Yugoslavia/Serbia and Montenegro) (1992–2006) | |
| Republic of Serbia (since 2006) | |
* acting | |
