Grahovo (

Montenegrin Cyrillic The Montenegrin alphabet is the collective name given to "''Abeceda''" (#Latin alphabet, Montenegrin Latin alphabet) and "''Азбука''" (#Cyrillic alphabet, Montenegrin Cyrillic alphabet), the writing systems used to Writing, write the Montene ...

: Грахово, ) is a historical settlement in the

Nikšić Municipality Nikšić Municipality ( Montenegrin and Serbian: Opština Nikšić / Општина Никшић) is one of the municipalities of Montenegro. The municipality is located in central and northwestern region of Montenegro. The administrative centre o ...

of northwestern

Montenegro ) , image_map = Europe-Montenegro.svg , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Podgorica , coordinates = , largest_city = capital , official_languages = M ...

. It is located in the historical region of Grahovo.

History

In 1614,

Mariano Bolizza Mariano Bolizza or Marin Bolica (1603 – 27 November 1643) was a nobleman and writer from Cattaro. Biography Bolizza was born in Kotor, at the time part of the Republic of Venice (now Montenegro). He studied at the University of Padua and, ha ...

wrote that Grahovo was situated in a beautiful plain, and commanded by Mile Perin. The settlement had 90 houses, out of which 70 were Orthodox Christian, and 20 were Turkish (Muslim). The town had 200 men in arms. On the 26th of August, 1836, After the rise of

Petar II Petrović-Njegoš Petar II Petrović-Njegoš ( sr-cyrl, Петар II Петровић-Његош, ; – ), commonly referred to simply as Njegoš (), was a Prince-Bishop (''vladika'') of Montenegro, poet and philosopher whose works are widely considered ...

to power in the

Prince-Bishopric of Montenegro The Prince-Bishopric of Montenegro ( sr, Митрополство Црногорско, Mitropolstvo Crnogorsko) was an ecclesiastical principality that existed from 1516 until 1852. The principality was located around modern-day Montenegro. It ...

, members of Grahovo tribe, led by vojvoda Jakov Daković refused to pay

haraç Haraç ( hy, խարջ, kharj, mk, арач, arač, gr, χαράτσι, charatsi, sh-Cyrl-Latn, харач, harač) was a land tax levied on non-Muslims in the Ottoman Empire. ''Haraç'' was developed from an earlier form of land taxation, '' ...

to the Ottoman authorities and joined the rest of

Montenegrins Montenegrins ( cnr, Црногорци, Crnogorci, or ; lit. "Black Mountain People") are a South Slavic ethnic group that share a common Montenegrin culture, history, and language, identified with the country of Montenegro. Genetics Accordin ...

in guerrilla warfare in Ottoman-controlled

Herzegovina Herzegovina ( or ; sh-Latn-Cyrl, Hercegovina, separator=" / ", Херцеговина, ) is the southern and smaller of two main geographical region of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the other being Bosnia. It has never had strictly defined geogra ...

, expressing the desire to unite with Montenegro. In response, Ali-paša Rizvanbegović, vizier of Herzegovina, attacked Grahovo in 1836 and occupied the town. Four years after the Montenegrin defeat at Grahovo, seeking revenge for the death of his brother, Njegoš plotted the assassination of Smail-aga with the assistance of the local Christians from Herzegovina who lived on the territory under Smail-aga's control. Njegoš ordered a Montenegrin tribal leader,

Novica Cerović Novica Cerović ( sr-Cyrl, Новица Цepoвић; 1805–1895) was a Montenegrin '' vojvoda'' (duke) of the Drobnjak clan, who is noted as having defeated and killed a local Ottoman tyrant, Smail-aga Čengić, on the auspices of Petar II Petr ...

, to ambush Smail-aga Čengić, the Ottoman commander who was responsible for killing Njegoš's brother Joko. In late September 1840, Montenegrins attracted Čengić and his army deep into their territory, organized an ambush and murdered them by attacking their camp during the night. The assault occurred in the village of Mljetičak, north of

Nikšić Nikšić ( cnr, Никшић, italic=no, sr-cyrl, Никшић, italic=no; ), is the second largest city in Montenegro, with a total population of 56,970 located in the west of the country, in the centre of the spacious Nikšić field at the foot ...

. In the ensuing clash, Smail-aga was shot and killed, after which his severed head was brought to

Cetinje Cetinje (, ) is a town in Montenegro. It is the former royal capital (''prijestonica'' / приjестоница) of Montenegro and is the location of several national institutions, including the official residence of the president of Montenegro ...

. As a sign of his gratitude, Njegoš made Cerović a senator. The town of Grahovo, although fairly small received many high positions in the Montenegrin Government, For example, Most Montenegrin Kings were titled as the "Grand Prince of Grahovo".

Population

Grand Duke of Grahovo

The title "Grand Duke of Grahovo", which refers to this settlement, is an honorary title held by the titular rulers of Montenegro, currently held by

Boris, Hereditary Prince of Montenegro Boris Petrović-Njegoš (born 21 January 1980), known professionally as Boris Petrovitch Njegosh, is a French-born designer, a member of the House of Petrović-Njegoš, and the only son and heir apparent to Nicholas, Prince of Montenegro. Educa ...

. The holders of the title included: * Grand Duke Mirko Petrović-Njegoš * Prince/King Nikola I of Montenegro * Prince Mirko Dimitri of Montenegro * Prince Mihailo of Montenegro * Prince Nikola of Montenegro * Anto Daković

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Grahovo, Niksic Principality of Montenegro Kingdom of Montenegro Populated places in Nikšić Municipality

History

Population

Grand Duke of Grahovo

See also

References