Raka Levajac (1777–1833

Serbian Cyrillic The Serbian Cyrillic alphabet ( sr, / , ) is a variation of the Cyrillic script used to write the Serbian language, updated in 1818 by Serbian linguist Vuk Karadžić. It is one of the two alphabets used to write standard modern Serbian, th ...

: Рако Левајац) was a Serbian '' Vojvoda'', a military commander of

Serbian Revolution The Serbian Revolution ( sr, Српска револуција / ''Srpska revolucija'') was a national uprising and constitutional change in Serbia that took place between 1804 and 1835, during which this territory evolved from an Ottoman prov ...

ary forces during both

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 ...

and

Second Serbian Uprising The Second Serbian Uprising ( sr, Други српски устанак / ''Drugi srpski ustanak'', tr, İkinci Sırp Ayaklanması) was the second phase of the Serbian Revolution against the Ottoman Empire, which erupted shortly after the re ...

, the armed insurrections of the Serbian population against the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University) ...

. Raka Levajac was remarkably close to both uprising leaders, Obrenović and Karadjordje, before falling out of grace with each of them. A celebrated leader at a time he died in poverty after losing status and fortune.

Early life

Raka Levajac was born in 1777 in

Leva Leva may refer to: * Bulgarian lev, Bulgarian currency * ''Leva'' (grasshopper), a genus of insects * Levice Levice (; hu, Léva, Hungarian pronunciation: ; german: Lewenz, literally lionesses) is a town in western Slovakia. The town lies o ...

, he had two brothers Panta and Radosav, little is known of his father who dies when he was young; his mother Jelenka remarried and Raka and his two brothers followed her to the village of Gornje Gorevnica at the beginning of 1800. Raka started working with

Nikola Lunjevica Nikola Milićević ( sr-cyr, Никола Милићевић, 1776 – 11 May 1842), known by his demonym as Nikola Lunjevica (Луњевица), was a Serbian Revolutionary and close comrade of Miloš Obrenović I, Prince of Serbia, Prince Miloš ...

a merchant and cattle trader. Lunjevica played a significant role in the life of Raka Levajac, thanks to his financial assistance Levajac began to trade cattle on his own dealing with

Zemun Zemun ( sr-cyrl, Земун, ; hu, Zimony) is a municipality in the city of Belgrade. Zemun was a separate town that was absorbed into Belgrade in 1934. It lies on the right bank of the Danube river, upstream from downtown Belgrade. The developme ...

merchants, supplying food and livestock to the

Austrian army The Austrian Armed Forces (german: Bundesheer, lit=Federal Army) are the combined military forces of the Republic of Austria. The military consists of 22,050 active-duty personnel and 125,600 reservists. The military budget is 0.74% of natio ...

, thus increasing his reputation and wealth; through his trade, he also met fellow livestock merchant

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 ...

and the brothers

Milan Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city h ...

and

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 ...

First Serbian Uprising

In 1804 Raka Levajac responded to Karadjordje's call for an uprising and participated in the Ostružnica Assembly, the first national assembly of Serbia taking place from May 6 to May 15, 1804. The Assembly discussed the development of the uprising, the organization of the uprising government and the acquisition of weapons. Raka Levajac was part of Karadjordje's delegation at the negotiations with the Turks in

in 1804. The negotiations were held under the auspices of Austria, from April 28 to May 10, 1804. Karadjordje appeared with sixteen selected Serbian envoys including Raka Levajac as the representative of Western Pomoravlje. He participated in the battles on Mišar (1806) and Ljubić. After the rebel victory near Sjenica and Suvodol in the spring of 1809, Raka Levajac crossed over

Kolašin Kolašin (Montenegrin Cyrillic: Колашин, ) is a town in northern Montenegro. It has a population of 2,989 (2003 census). Kolašin is the centre of Kolašin Municipality (population 9,949) and an unofficial centre of Morača region, named af ...

with Milan Obrenović and 3500 rebels heading towards the Montenegrin border.

appealed to the fraternity of the

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 ...

and

Bosnians Bosnians (Bosnian language: / ; / , / ) are people identified with the country of Bosnia and Herzegovina or with the region of Bosnia. As a common demonym, the term ''Bosnians'' refers to all inhabitants/citizens of the country, regardless ...

to restore the unity of the Serbian nation. Karađorđe sent a diplomatic delegation consisting of

Čolak-Anta Simeonović Antonije "Anta" Simeonović, better known as Čolak-Anta ( sr-cyr, Чолак-Анта Симеоновић; 1777–1853) was a Serbian fighter and military commander ('' Vojvoda''), one of the most important figures of the First Serbian Uprisin ...

and Raka Levajac as advance party to Montenegro. However with the terrible defeat at Kamenica in May 1809 and the fall of Deligrad

hastened back to the rescue of Serbia and withdrew all his troops besieging Novi Pazar, forcing him to abandon plans to extend the uprising to Montenegro. Raka Levajac and

remained in Moraca until September 1809 until then they were able to make their way to Serbia carrying a letter from Bishop Peter I to Karađorđe. Raka Levajac was made Vojvoda of Uzice in 1810 right after the death of Milan Obrenović. He held the title until 1813 when, after a confrontation with Karadjordje when he refused to carry an order to arrest

hajduk A hajduk ( hu, hajdúk, plural of ) is a type of irregular infantry found in Central and parts of Southeast Europe from the late 16th to mid 19th centuries. They have reputations ranging from bandits to freedom fighters depending on time, p ...

s, he was stripped of his title. After the collapse of the uprising, Raka Levajac remained in Serbia returning to his trade.

Second Serbian Uprising

When the

Raka Levajac again joined the rebellion, he notably participated in th
Battle of Dublje.
The Battle of Dublje was a large battle between Serbian rebels and the Ottoman Army, which took place in Dublje a village in the Pomoravlje District on 26 July 1815. Vojvoda Milić Drinčić and

Sima Nenadović Simeon "Sima" Nenadović ( sr-cyr, Сима Ненадовић; 1793 – 1815) was a Serbian ''voivode'' (military commander) in the Second Serbian Uprising of the Serbian revolution. He was part of the Nenadović family, among which was his bro ...

were killed in the battle but the Ottomans suffered great losses as well. The rebels managed to stop the Ottoman troops from Bosnia and more importantly captured the Ottoman commander Ibrahim Pasha. With this battle ended the armed part of the Second Serbian Uprising. After the death of Vojvoda

Milić Drinčić Milić Drinčić ( Teočin, Rudnička Nahiye, 1775 Dublje, 14 July 1815) was a duke and revolutionary who participated in the First Serbian Uprising and Second Serbian Uprising. Biography At the beginning of the first Serbian uprising in 1804, he t ...

the title of Vojvoda of Moravia was offered to Raka Levajac by Miloš Obrenović, making him Vojvoda again with his authority extended to twenty-two villages of the Principality of Moravia.

Later years and death

According to some historians he rebelled against Prince Milos Obrenović in 1824 and in 1825, he was stripped of his title and spent the rest of his life in poverty He died in 1833 and was buried next to the church of Mojsinje. In 1935 a new church was built in Mojsinje and his tombstone disappeared in the process, it was created again in 2009.

Legacy

On May 2, 2009, a memorial plaque was unveiled at the Mojsinje church by Bishop Hrizostom (Stolić).Спомен-плоча војводи Левајцу („Политика“, 5. мај 2009.)
/ref> Milan Đ. Milićević mentioned him in his work: "Monument". A street in

Gornji Milanovac Gornji Milanovac ( sr-Cyrl, Гoрњи Милановац, ) is a town and municipality located in the Moravica District of central Serbia. The population of the town is 24,216, while the population of the municipality is 44,406. The town was foun ...

is named after him. In November 2008, Goran R. Levajac published in the Serbian magazine Novosti: "Morava Duke Raka Levajac" retracing Raka Levajac's story in six chapter

Note

:a.the origin of his name is related to the village of Leva in the Takovo region.