The Battle of Ivankovac ( sr, Бој на Иванковцу/Boj na Ivankovcu) was the first full-scale confrontation between Serbian revolutionaries and the regular forces of the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University) ...

during the

First Serbian Uprising The First Serbian Uprising ( sr, Prvi srpski ustanak, italics=yes, sr-Cyrl, Први српски устанак; tr, Birinci Sırp Ayaklanması) was an uprising of Serbs in the Sanjak of Smederevo against the Ottoman Empire from 14 February 1 ...

. In the Summer of 1805, Hafiz the Ottoman

pasha Pasha, Pacha or Paşa ( ota, پاشا; tr, paşa; sq, Pashë; ar, باشا), in older works sometimes anglicized as bashaw, was a higher rank in the Ottoman political and military system, typically granted to governors, generals, dignitar ...

Niš Niš (; sr-Cyrl, Ниш, ; names in other languages) is the third largest city in Serbia and the administrative center of the Nišava District. It is located in southern part of Serbia. , the city proper has a population of 183,164, while ...

, gathered an army to crush the Serbian rebels led by

Milenko Stojković Milenko Stojković ( sr-cyr, Миленко Стојковић; 1769, Kličevac, Požarevac – 1831, Bakhchysarai, Crimea) was a Serbian revolutionary and ''bimbaša'' in the First Serbian Uprising early in the 19th century. He is most fa ...

near the village of Ivankovac. The battle ended with a Serbian victory and the death of the pasha, prompting Ottoman Sultan Selim III to declare '' jihad'' (holy war) against the Serbs.

Background

In the 1790s, the Ottoman Sultan Selim III granted the

Serbs The Serbs ( sr-Cyr, Срби, Srbi, ) are the most numerous South Slavic ethnic group native to the Balkans in Southeastern Europe, who share a common Serbian ancestry, culture, history and language. The majority of Serbs live in their na ...

in the

Sanjak of Smederevo The Sanjak of Smederevo ( tr, Semendire Sancağı; sr, / ), also known in historiography as the Pashalik of Belgrade ( tr, Belgrad Paşalığı; sr, / ), was an Ottoman administrative unit (sanjak), that existed between the 15th and the out ...

(central Serbia) the right to run their own affairs in exchange for their cooperation with the governor of Belgrade,

Hadži Mustafa Pasha Hadji Mustafa Pasha ( sh, Hadži Mustafa-paša, Хаџи Мустафа-паша, tr, Hacı Mustafa Şinikoğlu Paşa; 1733—27 December 1801) was an Ottoman commander and politician of Greek Muslim origin who lived in Sanjak of Smederevo (in mo ...

. Following the

Slaughter of the Knezes The Slaughter of the Knezes ( sr, Сеча кнезова, Seča knezova) was the organized assassinations and assaults of noble Serbs in the Sanjak of Smederevo in January 1804 by the rebellious Dahije. Fearing that the Sultan would make use ...

in February 1804, a revolt led by

Karađorđe Petrović Đorđe Petrović ( sr-Cyrl, Ђорђе Петровић, ), better known by the sobriquet Karađorđe ( sr-Cyrl, Карађорђе, lit=Black George, ; – ), was a Serbian revolutionary who led the struggle for his country's independ ...

erupted against the Ottoman

janissary A Janissary ( ota, یڭیچری, yeŋiçeri, , ) was a member of the elite infantry units that formed the Ottoman Sultan's household troops and the first modern standing army in Europe. The corps was most likely established under sultan Orhan ...

junta (the "

Dahije The Dahije ( sr-cyr, Дахије) or Dahijas were the renegade Janissary officers who took power in the Sanjak of Smederevo (also known as the Belgrade Pashaluk), after murdering the Vizier Hadži Mustafa Pasha of Belgrade on 15 December 1801. Th ...

") in Serbia. The Serbs initially received the support of Selim and managed to defeat the corrupt janissaries by the end of the year. In the negotiations that followed the Serbs demanded the restoration of their autonomy while making contact with other Serbs in other parts of the Ottoman Empire. Alarmed by the Serbs demands and actions, Selim appointed the Ottoman governor of

, Hafiz Pasha, as the new governor of Belgrade and ordered him to destroy the Serbian insurgents. For the first time a regular Ottoman force was sent to crush the rebels.

Battle

During the Summer the Ottoman force arriving from Niš and led by Hafiz Pasha was ambushed by a much smaller Serbian force commanded by

at the village of Ivankovac near

Ćuprija Ćuprija (Serbian Cyrillic: Ћуприја, ) is a town and municipality located in the Pomoravlje District of central Serbia. The population of the town is 19,380, while the municipality has 30,645 inhabitants. History The Romans founded the ...

. On . Serbian leader Karađorđe arrived with guns and reinforcements defeating and driving the Turks back to Niš, where Hafiz Pasha, seriously wounded during the battle, died as a result.

Aftermath

The battle was a major victory for the Serbian rebels. It marked the first time that a regular Ottoman Turkish unit was defeated by Serbian revolutionaries during the

. The victory meant that the Serbian forces had taken full control of the Belgrade Pashaluk. Smederevo was captured in November and became the first capital of the Serbian revolutionary government, while Belgrade was taken the following year. Defeat in the battle prompted Selim to declare '' jihad'' (holy war) against the Serbian revolutionaries fighting to expel the Turks from Serbia.

Gallery

File:Boj ivankovac spomenik.jpg, Monument in Ivankovac. File:The remains of sconce of battle of Ivankovac.jpg, Remains of sconces of the battle of Ivankovac. File:Remains of redoubts of battle of Ivankovac.jpg, Remains of redoubt of the battle of Ivankovac

Notes

References