Miloje Popović-Đak (, c. 1769–1825) was the leader of an eponymous failed rebellion – ''Đakova buna'' or "Đak's rebellion" – in 1824. Miloje was born in Kusadak, in the Jasenica part of

Smederevska Palanka Smederevska Palanka ( sr-cyr, Смедеревска Паланка, ) is a town and municipality located in the Podunavlje District and the geographical region of Šumadija. According to the 2022 census, the town has 20,345 while the municipality ...

. Originally from

Kosovo Kosovo, officially the Republic of Kosovo, is a landlocked country in Southeast Europe with International recognition of Kosovo, partial diplomatic recognition. It is bordered by Albania to the southwest, Montenegro to the west, Serbia to the ...

, he attended school and thus received the nickname ''Đak'' (student), which eventually was added to his original surname, Popović. He was a priest for a short time, and then worked as a cattle trader. During the

First Serbian Uprising The First Serbian Uprising (; sr-Cyrl, Први српски устанак; ) was an uprising of Serbs in Orašac (Aranđelovac), Orašac against the Ottoman Empire from 14 February 1804 to 7 October 1813. The uprising began as a local revolt ...

, he was the secretary of

voivode Voivode ( ), also spelled voivod, voievod or voevod and also known as vaivode ( ), voivoda, vojvoda, vaivada or wojewoda, is a title denoting a military leader or warlord in Central, Southeastern and Eastern Europe in use since the Early Mid ...

Vujica Vulićević, and after the collapse of the uprising in 1813, he fled to Germany. Two years later, in 1815, he returned home to trade cattle. At the end of January, 1825, the Đakovo revolt broke out in

Azanja Azanja (Serbian Cyrillic: Азања) is a village in Central Serbia, in the municipality of Smederevska Palanka. It lies in the region of Great Morava valley, on rivers of Jezava and Jasenica. Azanja is 160 meters above mean sea level. With ...

, in the Smederevo nahija, in response to the oppression of local authorities and unfair taxes. Requests for change were made at the meeting in Topola on February 3 and sent to Prince

Miloš Obrenović Miloš Obrenović (; ; 18 March 1780 or 1783 – 26 September 1860) born Miloš Teodorović (; ), also known as Miloš the Great () was the Prince of Serbia twice, from 1815 to 1839, and from 1858 to 1860. He was an eminent figure of the Firs ...

. A crowd gathered around Đak, shouting that they were ready to fight. As early as February 5, Miloš's army, led by

Toma Vučić Perišić ''Prince'' Toma Vučić Perišić (Serbian Cyrillic: Тома Вучић Перишић; 1787 – 13 July 1859) was a Serbian politician, military leader during the Serbian Revolution, Freemason and one of the most powerful and influential individ ...

, intercepted the rebels near Topola and easily defeated them. Đak was wounded but he managed to escape. Simultaneously, the revolt began to spread to other

nahiya A nāḥiyah ( , plural ''nawāḥī'' ), also nahiyeh, nahiya or nahia, is a regional or local type of administrative division that usually consists of a number of villages or sometimes smaller towns. In Tajikistan, it is a second-level divisi ...

, leading to Prince Miloš's strong reaction: Đak was captured in

Mali Mokri Lug Mali Mokri Lug ( sr-cyr, Мали Мокри Луг) is an urban neighborhood of Belgrade, Serbia. It is located in the south-eastern section of Belgrade's municipality of Zvezdara. It marks the border with the municipality of Grocka. It mostly ...

and executed on February 9. The riots stopped in the following days. Đak was buried in the

Pinosava Pinosava ( Serbian Cyrillic: Пиносава) is a small town and a suburb of Belgrade, Serbia. It is located in Belgrade's municipality of Voždovac, on the western slope of the Avala mountain, in the valley of the Topčiderka river, over 15 ki ...

Monastery, Kusadak, near the grave of Vujica Vulićević.Карађорђев убица почива у олтару („Вечерње новости“, 22. децембар 2012)
Приступљено. April 13, 2013

References

1825 deaths People from Smederevska Palanka Rebels from the Ottoman Empire 1769 births Serbian rebels {{Serbia-mil-bio-stub