Jovan Dimitrijević Dobrača () (1765–1839) was a merchant who helped the insurgents and revolutionaries financially during both 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 ...

and the

Second Serbian Uprising The Second Serbian Uprising ( / ''Drugi srpski ustanak'', ) was the second phase of the Serbian Revolution against the Ottoman Empire, which erupted shortly after the re-annexation of the country to the Ottoman Empire in 1813. The occupation was ...

as well as a troop commander in the latter.

Life

Jovan Dimitrijević was born in 1765 in

Dobrača Dobrača () is a village located in the city of Kragujevac Kragujevac ( sr-Cyrl, Крагујевац, ) is the List of cities in Serbia, fourth largest city in Serbia and the administrative centre of the Šumadija District. It is the historical ...

, a village he was nicknamed after. He was a prosperous merchant of great repute who volunteered to help Karadjordje when he was contemplating the first insurrection. Later, Dobrača prepared funds to build schools in Belgrade, modelled on the contemporary architecture of Pest and

Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...

. He was also in favour of building a bookstore. But he's best remembered as a revolutionary and financier of the freedom-fighters of the time.

Another Serbian uprising

He is recorded in history as a

voivode Voivode ( ), also spelled voivod, voievod or voevod and also known as vaivode ( ), voivoda, vojvoda, vaivada or wojewoda, is a title denoting a military leader or warlord in Central, Southeastern and Eastern Europe in use since the Early Mid ...

in the

. He was one of the commanders of the Serbian army in the

Battle of Ljubić The Battle of Ljubić () was a pitched battle between the Serbian revolutionary forces under Miloš Obrenović and the Ottoman troops commanded by Ćaja-paša, on the Ljubić hill near Čačak. It was the largest and most significant armed en ...

in 1815. Immediately following the liberation of Rudnik, Serbian Revolutionaries commanded by Lazar Mutap-Čačanin began attacking Ottoman positions near Čačak. On 6 May 1815 the Ottomans responded to Serbian incursions by sending a force of 7,000-strong under Imšir Ćaja-paša to attack the rebels from the rear. The rebels quickly retreated to Ljubić hill, where they regrouped and were reinforced with detachments commanded by

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 ...

and Jovan Dimitrijević Dobrača. The initial Serbian forces were 1,500

infantry Infantry, or infantryman are a type of soldier who specialize in ground combat, typically fighting dismounted. Historically the term was used to describe foot soldiers, i.e. those who march and fight on foot. In modern usage, the term broadl ...

and 200

cavalry Historically, cavalry (from the French word ''cavalerie'', itself derived from ''cheval'' meaning "horse") are groups of soldiers or warriors who Horses in warfare, fight mounted on horseback. Until the 20th century, cavalry were the most mob ...

, with additional reinforcements of 3,000 men. The battle ended with 6,700 Turks killed including their leader (Išmir Ćaja-paša and his immediate subordinate Kara-Mustafa) while the Serbs had 1,500 killed, including voivodes Lazar Mutap-Čačanin and

Tanasko Rajić Atanasije Rajić ( sr-cyr, Атанасије Рајић; 31 January 1754 – 6 June 1815), known by his nickname Tanasko (Танаско), was a Serbian ''vojvoda'' (commander) and revolutionary, the ''barjaktar'' (flag-bearer) in the First Serbi ...

. The City of Čačak was liberated and so too other cities (

Kragujevac Kragujevac ( sr-Cyrl, Крагујевац, ) is the List of cities in Serbia, fourth largest city in Serbia and the administrative centre of the Šumadija District. It is the historical centre of the geographical region of Šumadija in central Se ...

Jagodina Jagodina ( sr-cyrl, Јагодина, ) is a List of cities in Serbia, city and the administrative center of the Pomoravlje District in central Serbia. It is situated on the banks of the Belica (river), Belica River, in the geographical region of � ...

, Karanovac,

Batočina Batočina (, ) is a town and municipality located in the Šumadija District of central Serbia. According to 2022 census, the population of the town is 5,105, while population of the municipality is 10,162. Settlements Aside from the town of Bato� ...

, and

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 ...

) would followed suit . Before the battle, Jovan Dimitrijević Dobrača personally made sure that his men had everything they needed. The

Knyaz A , also , ''knjaz'' or (), is a historical Slavs, Slavic title, used both as a royal and noble title in different times. It is usually translated into English language, English as 'prince', 'king' or 'duke', depending on specific historical c ...

of Gruža as Jovan Dobrača was officially called, equipped his

battalion A battalion is a military unit, typically consisting of up to one thousand soldiers. A battalion is commanded by a lieutenant colonel and subdivided into several Company (military unit), companies, each typically commanded by a Major (rank), ...

of 500 fighters with weapons and food before arriving at the battle site with Milić Drinčić who brought a company of 200 men from Montenegro. Next to them was

Raka Levajac Raka Levajac (1777–1833 Serbian Cyrillic alphabet, Serbian Cyrillic: Рако Левајац) was a Serbian ''Vojvoda'', a military commander of Serbian Revolutionary forces during both First Serbian Uprising and Second Serbian Uprising, the ar ...

and his men. Dobrača spent his entire earned wealth in wars, and Prince Miloš Obrenović gave him a small pension just before the end of his life. Jovan Dobrača before he died became blind and completely forgotten.name="светлана дорћол" He was buried in

Drača Drača () is a village in the municipality of Stanovo, Serbia , image_flag = Flag of Serbia.svg , national_motto = , image_coat = Coat of arms of Serbia.svg , national_anthem = () , image_map ...

, nine kilometres from

, more precisely in front of the church gate of the Drača monastery.

Legacy

Streets in

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 ...

Čačak Čačak ( sr-Cyrl, Чачак, ) is a List of cities in Serbia, city and the administrative center of the Moravica District in central Serbia. It is located in the West Morava Valley. According to the 2022 census, the city itself has a population ...

, Kragujevac and

bear his name.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dimitrijevic Dobraca, Jovan 1765 births 1839 deaths Merchants from the Holy Roman Empire

Life

Another Serbian uprising

Legacy

See also

References