Jovan Monasterlija

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Jovan Monasterlija
Born 1660s
Komorn, Habsburg Monarchy (modern Slovakia)
Died 1706
Großwardein, Habsburg Monarchy (modern Romania)
Allegiance Holy Roman Empire (Leopold I)
Years of service fl. 1683–1706
Rank Vice-voivode
General
Unit Serbian Militia (Monasterlija's Serbs)

Jovan Monasterlija (Serbian Cyrillic: Јован Монастерлија;[lower-alpha 1] fl. 1683–1706) was a Serbian vice-voivode[1] (podvojvoda) and Austrian (Holy Roman Empire) imperial officer that led a Serb army against the Ottoman Empire and other enemies of the Austrian Emperor. He was titled "Chief of the Serbian Nation" by Leopold I.

Life

Monasterlija was born to father Petar in Komorn County, where his ancestors had settled in 1606 from Srpski Kovin, possibly originally from Bitola (Monastir), hence his epithet "Monasterlija" (Turkish: Monastirli, of Monastir). His family was of noble status, his father had been granted noble status in 1655.

Maximilian II Emanuel, Elector of Bavaria led the capture of Belgrade in 1688 from the Ottomans, with the full support of Serbian insurgents under the command of Monasterlija. Between 1689 and 1692, central parts of present-day Serbia were controlled by the Habsburg crown. In 1689 Monasterlija was sent to defend Golubac. In April 11, 1691, he is appointed the military commander of the Serb Army (called Monasterlijini Raci – Monasterlija's Serbs), after Serbs demanded their own leaders while going to battle. His command was of more than 10,000 volunteer Serb soldiers, and was to be under the direct supervision of the Aulic War Council,[2] the soldiers were highly regarded by Leopold.

He took part in the Battle of Slankamen and Battle of Senta. After the wars he gains overlordship of the Petrovaradin fortress, and is appointed to overlook the building of a pontoon bridge over the Danube. After the Treaty of Karlowitz in 1699, he retires and is given land by Leopold. He however, in 1703, is sent to fight off the Uprising of Francis II Rákóczi against the Habsburgs. He succeeds and is given the title of general. Leopold, just before his death, gives Jovan the task of integrating the Serb units into the regular Austrian army. He dies from wounds sustained during the siege of Oradea.

He was married to Ana Rašković, a sister of Knez Jovan Rašković, of the Rašković noble family.

Jovan contributed to the Fruška Gora monasteries.[3] He died in 1706 and was buried in Šišatovac,[4] where his tomb lays, with the coat of arms of the family.[5]

See also

Military offices
Preceded by
First		 Vice-Voivode of the Serb Army
of Leopold I (HRE)
1683–1706 		Succeeded by
Dimitrijević

Annotations

  1. ↑ His Serbian name is Jovan Monasterlija, other variations are Manastirlija, while in German; Johann Monasterli. His father was Petar, hence, according to the contemporary naming culture, his name was Jovan Petrović.

References

  1. ↑ Ćirković 2004, p. 144
  2. ↑ Rice University 1978, p. 118
  3. ↑ Kulić; Srećkov 1994, p.
  4. ↑
  5. ↑ Dragomir Acović (2008), "Grb Monasterlija sa razbijene nadgrobne ploče vojvode Jovana Monasterlije u manastiru Šišatovac", Srbi i heraldika, Beograd, pp. 382–383 

Sources

This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike; additional terms may apply for the media files.