| Slaughter of the Knezes Seča Knezova |
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Tablet at Belgrade Military history museum |
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| Location | Valjevo, Serbia |
| Date | January 1804 |
| Target | Serbian nobility |
| Attack type | Massacre |
| Deaths | 70 Serb nobles[1] |
| Perpetrator(s) | Pashaluk Jannisary[1] (Ottoman Turks) |
The Slaughter of the Knezes, (Serbian: Сеча кнезова or Seča knezova), was an event which occurred in January 1804, on the central square of Valjevo, Serbia, when the most prominent Serbian nobles, titled knezes ("local dukes"), of Belgrade Pashaluk, were executed by the order of the Dahias, the Jannisary junta that ruled Serbia at the time.[1]
The Dahias had taken power in the Pashaluk of Serbia in defiance of the Sultan and they feared that the Sultan would make use of the Serbs to oust them. To forestall this they decided to execute all noble Serbs thorughout Serbia. Among the victims were Aleksa Nenadović and Ilija Birčanin. The event triggered a widespread revolt and eventually evolved into First Serbian uprising, aimed at putting an end to the 300 years of Ottoman occupation of Serbia. The execution included many more high ranked Serb citizens (dozens of them). According to historical sources of the city of Valjevo, heads of the murdered men (following their decapitation) were put on some sort of a public display in the central square to serve as an example to those who might plot against the rule of the Dahia.[1]
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