Jovan Mitrović (Serbian: Јован Митровић; 1762–1852), known by his nom de guerre Demir (Демир, "Iron" in Turkish), was a Serbian revolutionary commander active in the First Serbian Uprising (1804–13), mostly around Užice.
Jovan Mitrović-Demir | |
|---|---|
| Native name | Јован Митровић-Демир |
| Nickname | Demir ("Iron") |
| Born | Jovan Mitrović 1762 |
| Died | 1852 (aged 89–90) |
Cause of death | Natural |
| Allegiance | Revolutionary Serbia (1804–13) |
Service years | 1804–13 |
| Unit | Ponikve, Užice |
| Commands | Užice |
Conflicts | First Serbian Uprising (1804–13) |
Mitrović was born in the Sanjak of Herzegovina (hailing from Piva[1]) and moved to the Sanjak of Smederevo, settling down in the village of Dražinovići in the Užice nahiya.[2] He joined the uprising and distinguished himself, becoming the buljubaša of the Ponikve trench.[3]
Upon hearing that an Ottoman Bosnian contingent from Sarajevo was planning to cross the Drina and attack, he gathered a band and went to Novakova pećina near Pale and preemptively attacked, destroying them and capturing some which he ransomed.[3] This led to renown, among Serbs and "Turks" alike.[3] He received the rank of kapetan (captain) in 1811.[3]
With the suppression of the First Serbian Uprising in 1813 and return of Ottoman rule, Demir took to the woods as a hajduk.[3] When Miloš Obrenović called upon him for the Second Serbian Uprising (1815), Demir immediately gathered a band which garrisoned on Tatinac above Užice, protecting the Serb villages from the Užice Turks.[3] Following the uprising, in peacetime, he became a local politician, and is said to have had a feud with serdar Jovan Mićić from Rujan which Prince Miloš stopped.[3] On 23 February 1836 Demir received 100 thalers pension and retired to his home in Dražinovići where he died in 1852.[4]
See also
editReferences
edit- ↑ Српско географско друштво 1977, p. 58.
- ↑ Milićević 1888, p. 135.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Milićević 1888, p. 136.
- ↑ Milićević 1888, p. 137.
Sources
edit- Milićević, Milan Đ. (1888). Поменик знаменитих људи у српског народа новијега доба. Издање Чупићеве задужбине. pp. 135–137 – via Archive.org.
- Nenadović, Konstantin N. (1884). Живот и дела великог Ђорђа Петровића Кара-Ђорђа. Vol. II (1 ed.). Vienna: У Штампарији Јована Н. Вернаја – via Google Books.
- Teinović, Bratislav (2020). "Преглед српско-турског ратовања на Дрини (1804-1815)". Vojnoistorijski glasnik. 2: 9–35.
- Српско географско друштво (1977). "Ježevice Užičke". Glasnik: Bulletin de la Société serbe de geographie. 57. Српско географско друштво: 67.