Korun "Koča" Anđelković ( sr-cyr, Коча Анђелковић, 1755 – 7 September 1788), known as Captain Koča (Kapetan Koča), was a Serbian leader of the

Serbian Free Corps The Serbian Free Corps (german: Serbische Freikorps), known simply as ''frajkori'' ( sr-cyr, фрајкори), was a volunteer militia composed of ethnic Serbs, established by the Habsburg monarchy, to fight the Ottoman Empire during the Austro-T ...

, the

Habsburg The House of Habsburg (), alternatively spelled Hapsburg in Englishgerman: Haus Habsburg, ; es, Casa de Habsburgo; hu, Habsburg család, it, Casa di Asburgo, nl, Huis van Habsburg, pl, dom Habsburgów, pt, Casa de Habsburgo, la, Domus Hab ...

military unit that fought the Ottomans during the

Austro-Turkish War (1787–91) The term Austro-Turkish War may refer to: * Austro-Turkish War (1593–1606) * Austro-Turkish War (1663–1664) * Austro-Turkish War (1683–1699) * Austro-Turkish War (1716–1718) * Austro-Turkish War (1737–1739) * Austro-Turkish War (1788–1 ...

Life

Korun Anđelković was born around 1755 in the Moravian village of Panjevac (today Kočino Selo), where his father, Anđelko Petrović, moved after fleeing Albanian tyranny in the

Pashalik of Scutari The Pashalik of Scutari, Iskodra, or Shkodra (1757–1831), was an autonomous and ''de facto'' independent '' pashalik'' created by the Albanian Bushati family from the previous Sanjak of Scutari, which was situated around the city of Shkod� ...

. At that time, Serbian volunteer detachments were being formed in Austria, the Serbian Free Corps was under the command of Major Mihaljević. Before the beginning of the war, Koča and his brother Petar joined the volunteers in the company of

Radič Petrović Radič Petrović ( sr-cyr, Радич Петровић; 1738–1816), known as Captain Radič (''kapetan Radič''), was a Serbian Revolutionary commander (''vojvoda''), earlier a Military Frontier guard and volunteer in the Austro-Turkish War ( ...

, the three men took part in both Austrian expeditions against Belgrade in 1787 and 1788. In 1788 an uprising was organised in the

Sanjak of Smederevo The Sanjak of Smederevo ( tr, Semendire Sancağı; sr, / ), also known in historiography as the Pashalik of Belgrade ( tr, Belgrad Paşalığı; sr, / ), was an Ottoman Empire, Ottoman administrative unit (sanjak), that existed between the 1 ...

by the Serbs, Kara-George (

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 ...

) was one of them and Captain Koča led the group, the liberated territory became known as Kočina Krajina (Koča's country). The area became part of

Habsburg-occupied Serbia (1788–92) Habsburg Serbia may refer to several periods and territories in the history of Serbia: * Habsburg-occupied Serbia (1686–91), temporary Habsburg occupation of central Serbia (1686–1691) * Kingdom of Serbia (1718–39), crown land of the Habsbu ...

. Koča led more raids in Pomoravlje, and it is known to have carried out three major ambushes on Turkish detachments. For his service, he received the rank of captain from Austrian Emperor

Joseph II Joseph II (German: Josef Benedikt Anton Michael Adam; English: ''Joseph Benedict Anthony Michael Adam''; 13 March 1741 – 20 February 1790) was Holy Roman Emperor from August 1765 and sole ruler of the Habsburg lands from November 29, 1780 unt ...

and was awarded a gold medal for bravery. Koča was captured by the Turks near Brzaska on 7 September 1788, he was taken to Tekija and tortured along with 30 of his men, he was then executed through public

impalement Impalement, as a method of torture and execution, is the penetration of a human by an object such as a stake, pole, spear, or hook, often by the complete or partial perforation of the torso. It was particularly used in response to "crimes aga ...

Legacy

The village where he was born, Panjevac, was renamed Kočino Selo in 1930 in his honor.

Life

Legacy

References

Further reading