Sanjak of Smederevo

Sanjak of Smederevo
sanjak of the Ottoman Empire
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1459–1817 →
 
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Sanjak of Smederevo (Pashaluk of Belgrade) in 1791
Capital Smederevo (1459–1521)
Belgrade (1521–1817)
SanjakbeyAli Beg Mihaloglu (first)
History
 • Fall of the Serbian Despotate 1459
 • Autonomy of the Principality of Serbia 1817
Today part of Serbia

The Sanjak of Smederevo (Turkish: Semendire Sancağı; Serbian: Смедеревски санџак/Smederevski sandžak), also known in historiography as the Pashalik of Belgrade (Turkish: Belgrad Paşalığı; Serbian: Београдски пашалук/Beogradski pašaluk), was an Ottoman administrative unit (sanjak), that existed between the 15th and the outset of the 19th centuries. It was located in the territory of present-day Central Serbia, Serbia.

Administration

Eyalet belonging

The sanjak belonged to Rumelia Eyalet between 1459 and 1541, and again between 1716 and 1717 and again 1739 and 1817 (nominally to 1830), to Budin Eyalet between 1541 and 1686, and to Temeșvar Eyalet between 1686 and 1688 and again between 1690 and 1716.

Borders

During the governorship of Hadji Mustafa Pasha (1793–1801), the administration was expanded eastwards to include the Kladovo area, until then part of the Sanjak of Vidin.[1]

History

15th century

The Sanjak of Smederevo was formed after the fall of the Serbian Despotate in 1459, and its administrative seat was Smederevo. Ottoman sources note a migration of "Vlachs" (pastoralists) to the Sanjak of Smederevo and parts of the Sanjak of Kruševac and Sanjak of Vidin; in 1476 there were 7,600 Vlach households and 15,000 peasant households.[2]

16th century

After the Ottoman Empire conquered Belgrade in 1521, the administrative seat of the Sanjak was moved to this city. In period when Battle of Mohács took place the sanjakbey of Smederevo was Kučuk Bali-beg.[3]

18th century

The Sanjak was occupied by the Habsburg Monarchy as the Kingdom of Serbia (1718–39), however, with the Treaty of Belgrade, the area was ceded to the Ottoman Empire. Belgrade, the center of the region while under Austrian rule, was neglected under the Ottomans and Smederevo (Semendire) was the administrative center. Nevertheless, Belgrade eventually became the seat of a pasha with the title of vizier and the Sanjak began to be referred to as the Pashaluk of Belgrade, although it was still called the Sanjak of Smederevo in official documents.

In 1788, Koča's frontier rebellion saw eastern Šumadija occupied by Austrian Serbian freikorps and hajduks. From 1788–91, Belgrade was again under Austrian rule after Koča's rebellion. The Siege of Belgrade from 15 September to 8 October 1789, a Habsburg Austrian force besieged the fortress of Belgrade. The Austrians held the city until 1791 when it handed Belgrade back to the Ottomans according to the terms of the Treaty of Sistova.

In 1793 and 1796 Sultan Selim III proclaimed firmans which gave more rights to Serbs. Among other things, taxes were to be collected by the obor-knez (dukes); freedom of trade and religion were granted and there was peace. Selim III also decreed that some unpopular janissaries were to leave the Belgrade Pashaluk as he saw them as a threat to the central authority of Hadži Mustafa Pasha. Many of those janissaries were employed by or found refuge with Osman Pazvantoğlu, a renegade opponent of Sultan Selim III in the Sanjak of Vidin. Fearing the dissolution of the Janissary command in the Sanjak of Smederevo, Osman Pazvantoğlu launched a series of raids against Serbians without the permission of Sultan Selim III, causing much volatility and fear in the region.[4] Pazvantoğlu was defeated in 1793 by the Serbs at the Battle of Kolari.[5] In the summer of 1797 the sultan appointed Mustafa Pasha on position of beglerbeg of Rumelia Eyalet and he left Serbia for Plovdiv to fight against the Vidin rebels of Pazvantoğlu.[6] During the absence of Mustafa Pasha, the forces of Pazvantoğlu captured Požarevac and besieged the Belgrade fortress.[7] At the end of November 1797 obor-knezes Aleksa Nenadović, Ilija Birčanin and Nikola Grbović from Valjevo brought their forces to Belgrade and forced the besieging janissary forces to retreat to Smederevo.[8][9] By 1799 the janissary corps had returned, as they were pardoned by Sultan's decree, and they immediately suspended the Serbian autonomy and drastically increased taxes, enforcing martial law in Serbia. On 15 December 1801 Vizier Hadži Mustafa Pasha of Belgrade was killed by Kučuk Alija, one of the four leading Dahijas (Janissary officers who revolted against the Sultan).[10] This resulted in the Sanjak of Smederevo being ruled by these renegade janissaries independently from the Ottoman government. Several district chiefs were murdered in the Slaughter of the Knezes on February 4, 1804, by the renegade janissaries. This sparked the First Serbian Uprising (1804–13), the first phase of the Serbian Revolution. Despite suppression of the uprising in 1813 and Hadži Prodan's Revolt in 1814, the Second Serbian Uprising led by Duke Miloš Obrenović succeeded with creation of semi-independent Principality of Serbia in 1817 (confirmed with Ferman from Mahmud II in 1830), gained independence in 1878 by Treaty of San Stefano and evolved to Kingdom of Serbia in 1882. This marked the end of the Sanjak.

Demographics

The majority of Slavic-speaking Muslims (called "Serb-Muslims" in historiography) in the Belgrade Pashalik were immigrants.[11] These were mostly villagers, but also feudals, soldiers, officials, and some were among the highest social class, in the administration.[11]

The proportion of Muslims was notably decreased in the late 17th and first half of the 18th century, after a major influx of Serbs (Christians) from outlying territories, mostly from Dinaric areas.[1]

Economy

The Sanjak of Smederevo was one of six Ottoman sanjaks with most developed shipbuilding (besides sanjaks of Vidin, Nicopolis, Požega, Zvornik and Mohač).[12]

Governors

Citations

  1. 1 2 Radosavljević 2007.
  2. ↑ Balkan Studies. The Institute. 1986. p. 10. Retrieved 10 March 2013. Turkish sources declare that a wave of Vlah herdsmen flowed into Smederevo sandzak and a large part of Krusevac and Vidin sandzak
  3. ↑ Peçevî, İbrahim (2000). Historija: 1520-1576 (in Serbian). El-Kalem. Retrieved 1 August 2011. Brat je Kučuk bali-bega koji je u vreme Mohačke bitke bio beg Smedereva.
  4. ↑ von Ranke, Leopold, ed. (1973), History of Servia and the Servian Revolution (Europe 1815-1945 Series), Da Capo Pr, ISBN 978-0-306-70051-4
  5. ↑ Roger Viers Paxton (1968). Russia and the First Serbian Revolution: A Diplomatic and Political Study. The Initial Phase, 1804-1807. - (Stanford) 1968. VII, 255 S. 8°. Department of History, Stanford University. p. 13.
  6. ↑ Ćorović 1997
    U leto 1797. sultan ga je imenovao za rumeliskog begler-bega i Mustafa je otišao u Plovdiv, da rukovodi akcijom protiv buntovnika iz Vidina i u Rumeliji.
  7. ↑ Ćorović 1997
    Za vreme njegova otsutstva vidinski gospodar sa janičarima naredio je brz napad i potukao je srpsku i pašinu vojsku kod Požarevca, pa je prodro sve do Beograda i zauzeo samu varoš.
  8. ↑ Filipović, Stanoje R. (1982). Podrinsko-kolubarski region. RNIRO "Glas Podrinja". p. 60. Ваљевски кнезови Алекса Ненадовић, Илија Бирчанин и Никола Грбовић довели су своју војску у Београд и учествовали у оштрој борби са јаничарима који су се побеђени повукли.
  9. ↑ Ćorović 1997
    Pred sam Božić stigoše u pomoć valjevski Srbi i sa njihovom pomoću turska gradska posada odbi napadače i očisti grad. Ilija Birčanin gonio je "Vidinlije" sve do Smedereva.
  10. ↑ Ćorović, Vladimir (1997), Istorija srpskog naroda, Ars Libri, retrieved 7 December 2012, janjičari ga 15. decembra 1801. ubiše u beogradskom gradu. Potom uzeše vlast u svoje ruke, spremni da je brane svima sredstvima. Kao glavne njihove vođe istakoše se četiri dahije: Kučuk Alija, pašin ubica, Aganlija, Mula Jusuf i Mehmed-aga Fočić.
  11. 1 2 Konstandinović 1970, p. 55.
  12. ↑ Godis̆njak grada Beograda. Beogradske novine. 1979. p. 35. Retrieved 7 September 2013. Ипак градња бродова се посебно везивала за шест санџака: никопољски, видински, смедеревски, зворнички, пожешки и мохачки.

Sources

Further reading

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