Bajo Pivljanin

Bajo Pivljanin

Bajo Pivljanin kills a Turk, by Aksentije Marodić (1878)
Birth name Nikolić
Nickname(s)
  • Bajo Pivljanin
  • Soko Bajo
Born c. 1630
Piva, Sanjak of Herzegovina
Died May 1685 (aged c. 55)
Vrtijeljka, near Cetinje, Old Montenegro
Allegiance  Republic of Venice
Years of service 1655–85
Rank
Battles/wars

Bajo Pivljanin (Serbian Cyrillic: Бајо Пивљанин; fl. 1669 – died May 1685) was a Serb hajduk (brigand and rebel) commander mostly active in the Ottoman territories of Herzegovina and southern Dalmatia. He was in the service of the Republic of Venice against the Ottoman Empire since the Cretan War (1645–69). The most distinguished hajduk in his time, he is enumerated in Serbian epic poetry.

Early life

Bajo Pivljanin was born in c. 1630 in Piva (modern northwestern Montenegro), at that time part of the Ottoman Sanjak of Herzegovina. According to folklore, he was born in the village of Rudinice in Piva to father Nikola and mother Ruža, of the Ruđić brotherhood.[1] His godfather, monk Ivanović, named him Dragojlo, while the nickname Bajo (a common nickname in Piva, protecting children from evil derived from baja, "snake"[2]) was given to him by his grandfather Simo.[1] In the Ivanoviće hamlet of Donje Rudinice, there was a kula (tower house) belonging to Pivljanin; this tower house, and the village church, were later destroyed by the Ottomans after his operations were heard of.[1] According to T. P. Lješević, Bajo was born the son of Jovan Ivanović and a mother of the Tadić brotherhood.[1] Pivljanin was an agriculturalist. He traded oxes, which was very common in the 17th and 18th centuries.[3]

According to a poem, Sa šta Pivljanin Bajo ode u uskoke,[4] Pivljanin left Piva and became a hajduk after violence of Asan-aga Kopčić.[5] With Limun (called Limun-trgovac and Limun-harambaša), another trader, he led a band of 30 hajduks.[3]

Cretan War

Bajo Pivljanin was first mentioned in 1654. He operated in the southern parts of Dalmatia and Herzegovina.[6] Bajo Pivljanin began organizing bands in c. 1655. According to an epic poem, Pivljanin, Cvjetko Vlastelinović and Đurko Kapetanović established a unit and went for Herzegovina.[7] The hajduks in Herzegovina had in March 1655 carried out one of their greatest operations, raiding Trebinje, taking many slaves and carrying with them out much loot.[8] They were commanded by Terzić from Nikšić, and left Herzegovina through Cavtat.[8] The raids led to conflict between the Republic of Ragusa and Beys of Novi led by Omer-beg Begzadić whose villages had suffered the most.[8] In February 1656 hajduks broke through Rijeka Dubrovačka into Herzegovina and returned with rich loot.[8] The most distinguished of the hajduks were Pivljanin and Stevo Popović.[8] Pivljanin and his hajduks were also present in Popovo and Romanija.[8]

View of the Bay of Kotor from Perast.

During the Cretan War, the population of the areas where Pivljanin operated were predominantly anti-Ottoman.[9] After the defeat at Morača in 1649, and building of the Kolašin fortress (1647–51), there was a reversal in the war, the Venetians having stopped their offensive operations.[9] In 1655 to 1657, the Ottomans made several attacks to Grbalj and its surroundings.[9] Pivljanin entered Venetian service in 1656.[10] The main hajduk centre became Perast in the Bay of Kotor, from where they entered Ottoman areas.[10] Bajo Pivljanin killed Amza-kapetan from Trebinje in order to save a girl of the Joković family, after an agreement with Aćim Lješević.[11] Lješević was then accused of the plot and forced to Istanbul; he however returned with a ferman that Piva was not to pay their local Ottoman tormentor.[11]

Pivljanin quickly rose in the hajduk hierarchy; in 1664 and 1665 he was mentioned simply as "Bajo hajduk" in Ragusan documents; in 1666 as "buljubaša"; in 1668 as "viši (higher) harambaša".[12] Pivljanin's operations used shock tactics (quick raids), and part of his strategy was also to destroy bridges upon retreating.[11] The stone bridge on the Tara in Šiplje was destroyed after his band had raided Kolašin.[11] In the beginning of May 1666, he raided a Ragusan ship off the coast of Koločep that was bound for Venice with merchandise, unloading 8 wagons of wax, and freeing the merchants, among whom were four Turks, in return for a high payment and a written statement that the wax and money was given to them voluntarily.[12] The Ragusans claimed that Bajo had at that moment shouted that the provveditore of Venetian Dalmatia had given him the order to take all that he came across, both on the sea and the land.[12] Five days later, Bajo raided a big and unusually precious caravan in Ottoman territory with Venetian merchandise.[12] In September 1666, Pivljanin and Mato Njegošević attacked an Ottoman caravan in Mosko and retreated to Banjani.[13] Pivljanin suffered a great defeat by the Ottomans at the village of Grdijevići, losing most of his band, and was forced to leave his birth region.[11] He never avenged this loss, though some 150 years later rebels on the Tara used the event, among others, for beginning their revolt.[11] There were stories that he burnt down a mosque in Nevesinje, and another one in Počitelj.[14]

In December 1669, Antonio Priuli brought hajduk leaders from Perast to Venice, including Pivljanin, Grujica Žeravica, Vukosav Puhalović and buljubaša Milošević.[15] Earlier, in June, the Venetian provedditore issued the termination of the "chiefs that protect the Kotor area", the first three mentioned.[15]

Inter-war period

In 1670, the Venetians decided Risan as the settlement of the hajduks, along some villages,[16][17] but the Porte firmly requested from the Venetian official in Constantinople to remove them from Risan.[18] In the beginning of June 1671, all hajduks from Risan were put on Venetian boats and brought to Istria.[18] The hajduks were enraged, and could not cope with the misery and dreadful Istrian climate.[18] They revolted,[17] and many of them escaped to Senj, where the Uskoks were still active.[18] After the personal request of Pivljanin, they settled in Zadar in 1674.[17] When new fighting began with the Ottomans, Pivljanin withdrew from Zadar on 4 November 1683 and led a new band together with Ilija Janković, the brother of Stojan Janković.[17][16] In 1684, at the eve of the Morean War, he was again in Venetian service, in the Bay of Kotor.[17][16]


Battle of Vrtijeljka

Main article: Battle of Vrtijeljka

The bands of Bajo Pivljanin were made up of Herzegovinians (of the Sanjak of Herzegovina) and also Bokelji (of the Bay of Kotor).[19] Bajo Pivljanin was the harambaša (bandit leader) of hajduks in Venetian service who protected the Kotor krajina (frontier) against the Ottomans.[20] The Ottoman forces under Süleyman Pasha of Scutari approached Cetinje,[20] and the two met at the hill of Vrtijeljka. The hajduks were annihilated by the Ottomans.[19] It is claimed that Süleyman managed to penetrate into Cetinje only with the help of the Brđani, who were in feud with the Montenegrin tribes.[21]

The victorious Ottomans paraded with 500 severed heads through Cetinje after the battle.[22] They also attacked the Cetinje monastery and the palace of Ivan Crnojević.[23] Süleyman had Bajo's head sent to the Sultan as a trophy.[24] According to some legends Bajo Pivljanin and his wife are buried under one of two stećci in front of the Vlah Church in Cetinje.[25]

“ Three serdars brave and two voivodes bold, with three hundred falcon-heroes of theirs – falcon Bajo with his thirty dragons – they all will live as long as time endures. They lay in wait for Šenćer the Vizier on the top of Mount Vrtijeljka and fought till noon on a hot summer day. No Serb wanted to betray another, so that people would not blame him later and point at his descendants as they do at the traitor house of Branković. So they all fell, one beside the other, while still singing and striking at the Turks. Only three Serbs came forth from there alive, from under the piles of dead Turks' bodies – the Turks had run horses over the wounded. Beautiful death, glory to their mothers! Unto these brave men God will amply grant fame to their souls and incense on their graves. Three thousand youths, one brave as the other, struck suddenly at Šenćer the Vizier before daybreak on the field of Krstac. God gives power to those who always strive! They broke the might of Šenćer the Vizier! Lucky the man who happened to be there! The Kosovo wounds pain him no longer, he blames the Turks for nothing any more. Serb heroes of Mount Vrtijeljka! A shining light will always be seen there burning atop your consecrated tombs! — From the Mountain Wreath by Petar II Petrović-Njegoš.[26] ”

Legacy

There are many epic poems and stories about his life.[17] Serbian Orthodox priest Ilarion Ruvarac called him "glorious knight".[27]

In his birth village of Rudinice, his descendants are surnamed Bajović. Field research by Svetozar Tomić after World War II registered two families of Bajović in Rudinice, and six families in Bezuj, another Piva village, called Čepuri.[28] The settlement of Bajovo Polje ("Bajo's field") was named after the fact that Bajo killed his first Ottoman on that field.[28] Other families claiming descent from his nephews are spread through Stara Raška and Šumadija in Serbia.[28] There was a tale that Bajo put a curse on his family after seven of his brothers and cousins declined to join him in the hajduks.[28] The Marković brotherhood in Ljuljaci claim descent from him.[28] The Bajić brotherhood in Takovo, with the slava of St. George, numbering 30 households in 1960, claim descent from him.[29] Bajo himself did not have children, due to his commitment to his hajduk lifestyle; he had 12 nephews, from whom these families claim descent.[28]

Vukašin Gagović used the alias Bajo Pivljanin.[30] A Yugoslav Partisan battalion was named after him.[31] There are several placenames, schools, companies and sport clubs named after him.

Epic poetry

There is a large number of folk poems and stories about his life.[16] The poems fall into the hajduk epic cycle.[32]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Istorijsko društvo SR Crne Gore 2007, p. 248
  2. ↑ Radović-Tešić, M. (2006), "On the nickname or name Bajo", Srpski jezik – studije srpske i slovenske 11 (1-2): 167–172
  3. 1 2 Istorijsko društvo SR Crne Gore 2007, p. 249.
  4. ↑ "Sa šta Pivljanin Bajo ode u uskoke". Epska poezija Crne Gore. Rastko.
  5. ↑ Suvajdžić 2008.
  6. ↑ Владимир Ћоровић; Драгољуб С Петровић (2006). Историја Срба. Дом и школа. p. 455. У јужним крајевима Далмације и Херцеговине оперисао је Бајо Пивљанин , који се јавља први пут 1654 . године са ... Обори се на тле Рист Кад вам оде Кандија Извесна обнова турске снаге настала је 1656 . године , откад је ...
  7. ↑ Istorijsko društvo SR Crne Gore 2007, p. 249
  8. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Mihić 1975, p. 181.
  9. 1 2 3 Istorijsko društvo SR Crne Gore 2007, p. 250.
  10. 1 2 Prilozi za književnost, jezik, istoriju i folklor. 22-23. Državna štamparija Kraljevine Srba, Hrvata i Slovenaca. 1956. Међу свим хајдуцима, својим подвизима истиче се Бајо Пивљанин. По досада познатим подацима Бајо се први пут помиње у дубровачким ... Из једне Бајове молбе од 1668 знамо да је ступио у млетачку службу 1656 године.
  11. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Istorijsko društvo SR Crne Gore 2007, p. 253.
  12. 1 2 3 4 Samardžić et al. 1993, p. 410.
  13. ↑ Mihić 1975, p. 188.
  14. ↑ Iskra 1. 1898. p. 260. Осим овога да поменем још једно предање да је Пивљанин Бајо запалио и једну џамију близу Невесиња, а неки веле да је једну џамију запалио негде у близини Почитеља. За остала дела овога чувеног херцеговачког хајдука ко ...
  15. 1 2 Samardžić et al. 1993, p. 423.
  16. 1 2 3 4 Kostić, Lazo M. (1970). Stogodišnjica I [i.e. prvog] Krivošijskog ustanka, 1869-1969: istorijska i pravna rasprava. Iskra. p. 79. Ево шта о томе пише Владимир Ћоровић (и): «1670. одредили су Млечани за становање хајдука град Рисан, са неколико села, а- ли су их наскоро, по захтеву Порте, раселили одатле и превез- ли у Истру. . . (после у Задар. . .). Када су почеле нове борбе са Турцима, Пивљанин је умакао из Задра и повео нову чету са И- лијом Јанковићем. Од 1684. понова је он у млетачкој служби, у Боки. О његовом четовању има велики број народних песама и предања ...
  17. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Stanojević 1928, p. 478.
  18. 1 2 3 4 Samardžić et al. 1993, p. 424.
  19. 1 2 Enciklopedija Jugoslavije: Bje-Crn. Jugoslavenski Leksikografski Zavod. 1980. p. 49.
  20. 1 2 Zbornik za narodni život i običaje južnih slavena. 1930. p. 109.
  21. ↑ Karadžić 2–4. Štamparija Mate Jovanovnića Beograd. 1900. p. 74.
  22. ↑ The South Slav Journal. Dositey Obradovich Circle. 1983. p. 93.
  23. ↑ Peter II (Prince-Bishop of Montenegro) (1905). Gorski vijenac, vladike crnogorskoga. Hrvatska knjižarnica. p. 61.
  24. ↑ Istorijsko društvo SR Crne Gore 2007, p. 255.
  25. ↑ Draško Šćekić (1987). Putujući Crnom Gorom. NIO "UR". p. 102. Retrieved 26 April 2013.
  26. ↑ Petar II Petrovic Njegos, "The Mountain Wreath" (1847), Unabridged Internet Edition, Translated into English by Vasa D. Mihailovich, Professor of Slavic Languages, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill (USA);
  27. ↑ Ilarion Ruvarac (1899). Prilošci istoriji crne gore. Štamparija Jovana Iuljo. славни витез Бајо Пивљанин
  28. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Mile Nedeljković (2001-05-07). "Ko su Šumadinci (51): Potomci Baje Pivljanina". Glas Javnosti.
  29. ↑ Миленко С Филиповић (1960). Таково. Научно дело. p. 171.
  30. ↑ Bibliografski vjesnik. Obod. 1992. p. 179.
  31. ↑ Vojno-istoriski glasnik 12. 1961. p. 29.
  32. ↑ Suvajdžić 2008, p. 137.

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