Janko Popović ( sr-cyr, Јанко Поповић; 1779–1833), nicknamed Cincar Janko (Цинцар-Јанко), was a Serbian vojvoda, one of the most prominent leaders of the

First Serbian Uprising The First Serbian Uprising (; sr-Cyrl, Први српски устанак; ) was an uprising of Serbs in Orašac (Aranđelovac), Orašac against the Ottoman Empire from 14 February 1804 to 7 October 1813. The uprising began as a local revolt ...

Early life

Janko was born in 1779 in

Ohrid Ohrid ( ) is a city in North Macedonia and is the seat of the Ohrid Municipality. It is the largest city on Lake Ohrid and the eighth-largest city in the country, with the municipality recording a population of over 42,000 inhabitants as of ...

, in a family of priests. His father came from the Aromanian village of

Dolna Belica Dolna Belica (; ) is a village in the Municipalities of North Macedonia, municipality of Struga Municipality, Struga, North Macedonia. Name The village is known as or in Aromanian language, Aromanian. History The village appears in the 146 ...

, "According to local traditions, the exoduses from Niçë and Llëngë led to the establishment of two new Vlach villages north-west of Lake Ohrid, on Mount Jablanica. First Gorna Belica (Biala di ni sus) was established, high on the unseen slopes of Jablanica, and shortly afterwards Dolna Belica (Biala di n gios/Kimpu), down in the foothills.... The close relations between Gorna and Dolna Belica and the older Vlach villages of Niçë and Llëngë (a relationship akin perhaps to that between a metropolis and its colonies) is probably attested by the intermarriage and family connections which developed among them."; pp. 468-469. where his cousin

Cincar Marko Kostić Cincar Marko Kostić (1777 in Dolna Belica – 22 February 1822, in Šabac) was a Serbian aristocrat and diplomat. He served as vojvoda of Soko nahiye and duke of Šabac, and was one of the leaders of the First Serbian Insurrection. Early life ...

, another leader in the Serbian Uprising was born. After he had murdered a certain Turk, Janko fled northwards and around the year 1800 and settled in

Valjevo Valjevo (Serbian Cyrillic: Ваљево, ) is a List of cities in Serbia, city and the administrative center of the Kolubara District in western Serbia. According to the 2022 census, the city itself has a population of 56,145 while the city admini ...

where he lived as a tradesman. His nickname was ''Cincar'' ("Aromanian"), because of his roots. "Во струшкиот Дримкол имало две впашки населби - Горна и Долна Белица."

Serbian Uprising (1804-1813)

When the outlawed

janissaries A janissary (, , ) was a member of the elite infantry units that formed the Ottoman sultan's household troops. They were the first modern standing army, and perhaps the first infantry force in the world to be equipped with firearms, adopted du ...

from

Belgrade Belgrade is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Serbia, largest city of Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers and at the crossroads of the Pannonian Basin, Pannonian Plain and the Balkan Peninsula. T ...

decided to preemptively murder all the important Serbs in the district they controlled, Popović was also imprisoned, but was in the end released due to the pleading of many citizens of

. Having lived through this ordeal, Popović joined the insurrection immediately. From 1804 until 1811 he fought against the Turks mostly on

Drina River The Drina ( sr-Cyrl, Дрина, ) is a long river in the Balkans, which forms a large portion of the border between Bosnia and Herzegovina and Serbia. It is the longest tributary of the Sava River and the longest karst river in the Dinaric Al ...

. He took part in the taking of Karanovac (nowadays

Kraljevo Kraljevo ( sr-Cyrl, Краљево, ) is a List of cities in Serbia, city and the administrative center of the Raška District in central Serbia. It is situated on the confluence of West Morava and Ibar River, Ibar, in the geographical region of ...

) in 1805, battle of Lješnica (1806) and the battle of Čučuge (1806). He was appointed to be the commander of bećari, unmarried men or Serbs from out of Serbia, who – unlike the rest of the peasant army which was not too keen of leaving their villages for too long – were the most mobile part of the insurrectionist army. Cincar Janko distinguished himself in the battle of Mišar (1806) and in the consequent pursuing of the defeated Bosnian army during which he even crossed into the

Habsburg Empire The Habsburg monarchy, also known as Habsburg Empire, or Habsburg Realm (), was the collection of empires, kingdoms, duchies, counties and other polities (composite monarchy) that were ruled by the House of Habsburg. From the 18th century it is ...

to attack those who sought refuge there. Because of this incident, the Austrians will continue pressing for his trial. In late 1806 he took part in the liberation of

. In 1807 he was at the head of the

Šabac Šabac ( sr-Cyrl, Шабац, ) is a List of cities in Serbia, city and the administrative centre of the Mačva District in western Serbia. The traditional centre of the fertile Mačva region, Šabac is located on the right banks of the river ...

garrison and fought in the skirmished on River

Drina The Drina ( sr-Cyrl, Дрина, ) is a long river in the Balkans, which forms a large portion of the border between Bosnia and Herzegovina and Serbia. It is the longest tributary of the Sava River and the longest karst river in the Dinaric Al ...

. In 1809 he is given the title of vojvoda (“duke”) and is commanding troops that crossed into Bosnia. In 1810 Popović was wounded in the battle of Tičar, near

Loznica Loznica ( sr-cyrl, Лозница, ) is a List of cities in Serbia, city located in the Mačva District of western Serbia, on the right bank of the Drina river. In 2022 the city had a total population of 19,515, while the administrative area had a ...

. He was famous for taking part in duels that took place before the battle would start. During the Uprising Cincar Janko continued, as much as he could, with trade. He also bought himself a house in

. In the conflict between the supreme commander Karadjordje and some of the leaders of the Insurrection, Cincar Janko took Karadjordje’s side. Cincar Janko became vojvode of the County of

Požarevac Požarevac ( sr-cyr, Пожаревац, ) is a list of cities in Serbia, city and the administrative centre of the Braničevo District in eastern Serbia. It is located between three rivers: Danube, Great Morava and Mlava and below the hill Čač ...

. He remained on this position until the end of the Uprising. During the 1813 Ottoman offensive Cincar Janko was defending Deligrad on the southern front but had to retreat, first to

and then to

, where from he crossed to the Habsburg Empire.

Life in Russia (1813-1830)

Because of the 1809 border incident Cincar Janko was now put to trial and imprisoned in Arad. Upon the insisting of the Russian Emperor he was released and joined the other leaders of the Insurrection in

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

. Like many of them, Cincar Janko lived in Hotin (today in

Ukraine Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the List of European countries by area, second-largest country in Europe after Russia, which Russia–Ukraine border, borders it to the east and northeast. Ukraine also borders Belarus to the nor ...

) until 1830. His sons got educated as officers of the Russian army in which they started their career but later returned to Serbia with their father.

Return to Serbia and Death (1830-1833)

After the Sultan had granted Serbia autonomy, Prince of Serbia

Miloš Obrenović Miloš Obrenović (; ; 18 March 1780 or 1783 – 26 September 1860) born Miloš Teodorović (; ), also known as Miloš the Great () was the Prince of Serbia twice, from 1815 to 1839, and from 1858 to 1860. He was an eminent figure of the Firs ...

, allowed most of the exiled vojvodas to return. Cincar Janko did so and settled in

. In 1833 he got sick; on his way to the

Sokobanja Sokobanja ( sr-cyr, Сокобања, ) is a spa town and municipality located in the Zaječar District of the eastern Serbia. As of 2022, the population of the town is 7,188, while population of the municipality is 13,199. Geography Sokobanja ...

spa he stopped at Ravanica Monastery where he died. Popović was a brave man and an able leader. All of his life he remained a devout Orthodox Christian. He helped several churches in Serbia and in the Habsburg Empire. He is mentioned in many epic folk songs as well as in

Sima Milutinović Sarajlija Simeon "Sima" Milutinović "Sarajlija" ( sr-cyr, Симеон "Сима" Милутиновић "Сарајлија", ; 3 October 1791 – 30 December 1847) was a Serbian poet, hajduk, translator, historian and adventurer. Literary critic Jova ...

’s epic ''Serbijanka''.S. M. Sarajlija, Srbijanka, pp. 26, 35-37, 596-597 His descendants took the surname Cincar-Janković and were an eminent

family.

References

External links

* M. Dj. Milićević, ''Pomenik'', Belgrade 1888, 1979 * ''Mala enciklopedija Prosveta'', Belgrade 1959, 1986, vol. 3, p. 878 * A. Gavrilović, ''Znameniti Srbi 19. veka'', Belgrade-Zagreb 1901 * ''Riznica srpska'' http://www.riznicasrpska.net/ponossrpstva/index.php?topic=211.0 {{DEFAULTSORT:Janko, Cincar 1779 births 1833 deaths People from Ohrid Aromanians from the Ottoman Empire Military personnel from Požarevac People of the First Serbian Uprising 19th-century Serbian people Serbian people of Aromanian descent Aromanian military personnel Burials at Serbian Orthodox monasteries and churches People from the Ottoman Empire