The siege of Belgrade ( sr, Опсада Београда/Opsada Beograda) was carried out by the Serbian rebels led by

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 ...

, seeking to overthrow the Ottoman government 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 ...

, which was seated in the

Belgrade Fortress The Belgrade Fortress ( sr-Cyrl, Београдска тврђава, Beogradska tvrđava), consists of the old citadel (Upper and Lower Town) and Kalemegdan Park (Large and Little Kalemegdan) on the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers, in a ...

. Following the decisive victories at Mišar (12–15 August) and Deligrad (September), the Serbian rebels marched towards Belgrade.

The battle

The plan of penetrating the town of Belgrade, through taking over the Sava, Varoš, Stambol and Vidin gates (see

Gates of Belgrade This article describes 23 gates of Belgrade. Roman gates Remains of southeastern gate of the Singidunum's castrum were found when adapting the building of the Belgrade Library, with one of its towers now being in the library depot and the other a ...

), was presented by

Konda Bimbaša Konda Bimbaša ( sr-cyr, Конда Бимбаша, March 1804–d. May/June 1807) was a mercenary in Alija Gušanac's Dahije detachment in the Sanjak of Smederevo who switched sides to the Serb rebels during the First Serbian Uprising, proclaimed ...

to Karađorđe. Konda, well aware of the operating procedures of the Ottoman guard, took the leadership over volunteers to take over the Sava gate, accompanied by

Uzun-Mirko Mirko Apostolović, known as Uzun-Mirko ( sr, Узун-Мирко Апостоловић; 1782 – 1868) was a Serbian (military commander), with the rank of ''bimbaša'' during the Serbian revolution; he took part in both the First and Second Se ...

. Karađorđe decided with the commanders that the attack be carried out on St. Andrew Day, during

Eid al-Fitr , nickname = Festival of Breaking the Fast, Lesser Eid, Sweet Eid, Sugar Feast , observedby = Muslims , type = Islamic , longtype = Islamic , significance = Commemoration to mark the end of fasting in Ramadan , dat ...

, when the attention of the guards was lower. Rebel columns were set on each gate, to storm after the gate was taken, commanded by Miloje Petrović,

Sima Marković Sima Marković (8 November 1888 in Kragujevac, Kingdom of Serbia – 19 April 1939 in Moscow, USSR) was a Serbian mathematician, communist and socialist politician and philosopher, known as one of the founders and first leaders of the Communist ...

Vasa Čarapić Vasilije "Vasa" Čarapić, known as the Dragon from Avala ( sr-Cyrl, Василије Васа Чарапић, Змај од Авале; 1768–1806) and Vasso Tscharapitsch was a Serbian ''voivode'' (military commander) that participated in the F ...

, Stanoje Glavaš and

Vule Ilić Vule Ilić ( sr-cyr, Вуле Илић; c. 1766 –1834), known as Vule Ilić Kolarac, was a Serbian military commander ( vojvoda) who fought the Ottomans during the First Serbian Uprising. Vule Ilić Kolarac fought alongside Hajduk Stanoje Glav ...

. At the estimated time, Konda, Uzun-Mirko, Petar Sremac, Nikola Stambolija, Karlovalija, Dragić, and Mladen headed out, followed by a detachment of volunteers, and then the main column of Miloje Petrović. Since they arrived unnoticed at the gate, Konda and Uzun-Mirko first climbed the rampart and jumped over the palisade, and headed towards the guards on a bypassing road. Met by an Ottoman patrol, they presented themselves as krdžalije, then proceeded to the town gates and guards where they divided into two groups. Uzun-Mirko and Konda attacked the guards, and the rest broke into the gate locks with axes. In the fight, Uzun-Mirko received two wounds, and Konda five, but they kept on. Even though shots were fired, the Turks in the town and at the rest of the gates did not suspect that a Serbian attack was in question, but that shots were fired for the holiday. After taking over the first gates, commandos went toward the Varoš Gate, at which time the Turks were alarmed. Most of the Turks tried to reach the Upper Fortress (

Kalemegdan The Kalemegdan Park ( sr, / ), or simply Kalemegdan ( sr-Cyrl, Калемегдан) is the largest park and the most important historical monument in Belgrade. It is located on a cliff, at the junction of the River Sava and the Danube. Kal ...

), while the resistance was provided by the so-called krdžalije. Uzun-Mirko and Konda also fought on the Varoš Gate, while Vasa Čarapić died taking over the Stambol Gate, and Stanoje Glavaš and

penetrated through the Vidin Gate, after which the rebels easily took over the town towards Kalemegdan.

Aftermath

In January 1807, the Ottomans accepted "

Ičko's Peace Ičko's Peace ( sr, Ичков мир / Ičkov mir) is the name given to a peace treaty negotiated in between July and October 1806 by Petar Ičko, an Ottoman ''dragoman'' (translator-diplomat) and representative of the Serbian revolutionaries, du ...

", however, the rebels rejected it and sought Russian aid to their independence, signing a Russian-Serbian military alliance in June.

Gallery

File:Beograd 1806.png, Attack plan File:Osvajanje Beograda.jpg, '' The Conquest of Belgrade'' by

Katarina Ivanović Katarina Ivanović (1811–1882) was a Serbian painter from the Austrian Empire (later Hungary in Austria-Hungary). She is regarded as the first Serbian female painter in modern art history. Biography Ivanović was born in Veszprém in the Austr ...

File:Споменик кнезу Александру Карађорђевићу.JPG, Monument and the Cemetery to the Liberators of Belgrade 1806

References

Sources

* *

External links

* {{Wars and battles involving Serbs Belgrade (1806)

Belgrade Belgrade ( , ;, ; Names of European cities in different languages: B, names in other languages) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Serbia, largest city in Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers a ...