Ivan Knežević ( sr-Cyrl, Иван Кнежевић) ( Popovi,

Bijeljina Bijeljina ( sr-cyrl, Бијељина) is a city and municipality in Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is the provincial center of Semberija, a geographic region in the country's northeast. Administratively, Bijeljina is part of the Republika Srpska e ...

, 1760 -

Šabac Šabac (Serbian Cyrillic: Шабац, ) is a city and the administrative centre of the Mačva District in western Serbia. The traditional centre of the fertile Mačva region, Šabac is located on the right banks of the river Sava. , the city p ...

, 29 June 1840) better known to the people as Knez Ivo of Semberija was a

Serb The Serbs ( sr-Cyr, Срби, Srbi, ) are the most numerous South Slavic ethnic group native to the Balkans in Southeastern Europe, who share a common Serbian ancestry, culture, history and language. The majority of Serbs live in their na ...

voivode Voivode (, also spelled ''voievod'', ''voevod'', ''voivoda'', ''vojvoda'' or ''wojewoda'') is a title denoting a military leader or warlord in Central, Southeastern and Eastern Europe since the Early Middle Ages. It primarily referred to the me ...

and duke over all the villages of the then Bijeljina Nahia, who most notably participated in the

First Serbian Uprising The First Serbian Uprising ( sr, Prvi srpski ustanak, italics=yes, sr-Cyrl, Први српски устанак; tr, Birinci Sırp Ayaklanması) was an uprising of Serbs in the Sanjak of Smederevo against the Ottoman Empire from 14 February 18 ...

. Knyaz Ivo was born in Popovi near Bijeljina. Besides

Filip Višnjić Filip Višnjić ( sr-cyr, Филип Вишњић, ; 1767–1834) was a Serbian epic poet and ''guslar''. His repertoire included 13 original epic poems chronicling the First Serbian Uprising against the Ottoman Empire and four reinterpreted e ...

, he is one of the most important Serbian historical figures born in

Semberija Semberija ( sr-Cyrl, Семберија, ) is a geographical region in north-eastern Bosnia and Herzegovina. The main city in the region is Bijeljina. Semberija is located between the Drina and Sava rivers and Majevica mountain. Most of the region ...

and as such his likeness appears on the coat of arms of the municipality of Bijeljina.Objektiv Media

Life in Semberija

Knez Ivo, a

over all 12 villages of the Bijeljina '' nahia'', in 1806, during the

helped in freeing Serbs from the Ottoman rule. In 1809, he led the insurgents in Semberija in the "offensive plan" in which

Karađorđe Đorđe Petrović ( sr-Cyrl, Ђорђе Петровић, ), better known by the sobriquet Karađorđe ( sr-Cyrl, Карађорђе, lit=Black George, ; – ), was a Serbian revolutionary who led the struggle for his country's independ ...

attempted to liberate the whole of

Bosnia and Herzegovina Bosnia and Herzegovina ( sh, / , ), abbreviated BiH () or B&H, sometimes called Bosnia–Herzegovina and often known informally as Bosnia, is a country at the crossroads of south and southeast Europe, located in the Balkans. Bosnia and H ...

and all Serbian lands in the

Balkans The Balkans ( ), also known as the Balkan Peninsula, is a geographical area in southeastern Europe with various geographical and historical definitions. The region takes its name from the Balkan Mountains that stretch throughout the who ...

. However, due to the unexpected incursion of the Turks into Pomoravlje, the insurgent armies withdrew from Bosnia to Serbia, fearing retaliation from the Turks, and Knyaz Ivo left with them.

Refugee

In 1809, Knyaz Ivo settled with his insurgents in

Mačva Mačva ( sr-Cyrl, Мачва, ; hu, Macsó) is a geographical and historical region in the northwest of Central Serbia, on a fertile plain between the Sava and Drina rivers. The chief town is Šabac. The modern Mačva District of Serbia is name ...

and the villages along the

Sava The Sava (; , ; sr-cyr, Сава, hu, Száva) is a river in Central and Southeast Europe, a right-bank and the longest tributary of the Danube. It flows through Slovenia, Croatia and along its border with Bosnia and Herzegovina, and finally th ...

, where he received the title of duke of Serb refugees. During that time, from 1809 to 1813, he was in the military sense under the command of Duke and priest

Luka Lazarević Luka Lazarević ( sr-cyr, Лука Лазаревић; 1774–1852), known as Pop-Luka (), was a Serbian Orthodox priest and ''vojvoda'' (commander) that participated in the First Serbian Uprising (1804–13) of the Serbian Revolution against the O ...

. When

's Serbia collapsed in 1813, Knyaz Ivo of Semberija again decided to become an exile and lived in

Srem Syrmia ( sh, Srem/Срем or sh, Srijem/Сријем, label=none) is a region of the southern Pannonian Plain, which lies between the Danube and Sava rivers. It is divided between Serbia and Croatia. Most of the region is flat, with the exce ...

, in the

Austrian Empire The Austrian Empire (german: link=no, Kaiserthum Oesterreich, modern spelling , ) was a Central-Eastern European multinational great power from 1804 to 1867, created by proclamation out of the realms of the Habsburgs. During its existence, ...

, until after 1820. The new master of Serbia, Prince

Miloš Obrenović Miloš, Milos, Miłosz or spelling variations thereof is a masculine given name and a surname. It may refer to: Given name Sportsmen * Miłosz Bernatajtys, Polish rower * Miloš Bogunović, Serbian footballer * Miloš Budaković, Serbian f ...

, allowed Knyaz Ivo to settle again in Šabac in 1820, where he appointed him a member of the Municipal Court. He could not perform this service, so in the last years of his life he was a janitor at the Šabac high school for a short time, and at the end of his life, he was also a protégé of Bishop Maksim at the episcopal residence in Šabac. He died on 29 June (according to the Old Style calendar) in 1840. His portrait was painted by

Georgije Bakalović Georgije Bakalović (1786 - April 13, 1843) was a Serbian painter. Biography Bakalović was born in Sremski Karlovci, and studied there with the painter Stefan Gavrilović. He worked mostly iconostasis, murals and portraits. One of the iconostas ...

and is today kept in the

National Museum in Belgrade The National Museum of Serbia ( sr, / ) is the largest and oldest museum in Belgrade, Serbia. It is located in the central zone of Belgrade on a square plot between the Republic Square (Belgrade), Republic Square, formerly Theatre Square, and th ...

Works about Prince Ivo of Semberije

Knyaz Ivo of Semberija was sung of in

's song "Knez Ivan Knežević", which also received a historical introduction written by

Vuk Karadžić Vuk Stefanović Karadžić ( sr-Cyrl, Вук Стефановић Караџић, ; 6 November 1787 (26 October OS)7 February 1864) was a Serbian philologist, anthropologist and linguist. He was one of the most important reformers of the mode ...

. Also,

Branislav Nušić Branislav Nušić ( sr-cyr, Бранислав Нушић, ; – 19 January 1938) was a Serbian playwright, satirist, essayist, novelist and founder of modern rhetoric in Serbia. He also worked as a journalist and a civil servant. Life Bra ...

wrote the tragedy "Prince Ivo of Semberia", on the basis of which an opera by

Isidor Bajić Isidor Bajic ( sr-cyr, Исидор Бајић) (16 August 1878 – 15 September 1915) was a Serbian composer, teacher, and publisher. Biography He was born in Kula, Austro-Hungarian Empire. A pupil of Hans von Koessler in Budapest, he taught ...

of the same title was also composed.

Legacy

A school in

is named after him.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Knežević, Ivan 1760 births 1840 deaths People from Bijeljina Serbs from the Ottoman Empire Dukes in Serbia Rebels from the Ottoman Empire People of the First Serbian Uprising People of the Second Serbian Uprising