Mirko Apostolović, known as Uzun-Mirko ( sr, Узун-Мирко Апостоловић; 1782 – 1868) was a Serbian (military commander), with the rank of ''
bimbaša
A ''binbashi'', alternatively ''bimbashi'', (from tr, Binbaşı, "chief of a thousand", " chiliarch") is a major in the Turkish army, of which term originated in the Ottoman army. The title was also used for a major in the Khedivial Egyptian ...
'' during the
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 ...
; he took part in both the
First
First or 1st is the ordinal form of the number one (#1).
First or 1st may also refer to:
*World record, specifically the first instance of a particular achievement
Arts and media Music
* 1$T, American rapper, singer-songwriter, DJ, and rec ...
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 ...
. He was famed for his many wounds, undetected infiltration into the Ottoman fort at Belgrade, among other operations, which gained him many awards. He is the founder of the Uzun-Mirković family.
Life
Mirko was born in 1782, in
Brajkovac (then Smrdljikovac), near
Lazarevac
Lazarevac ( sr-cyr, Лазаревац, ) is a municipality of the city of Belgrade. , the town has a total population of 25,526 inhabitants, while the municipal area has a total of 58,622 inhabitants.
Its name stems from the name of medieval Ser ...
. His family were of the
Piperi, and settled first in
Rudnik, they then moved to
Belgrade, and during the Austrian-Turkish War they 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 ex ...
. His father Petar Apostolović and grandfather Apostol died in the Austrian-Turkish War in 1792. They fought in
Kočina Krajina, in the Austrian ''
Freikorps
(, "Free Corps" or "Volunteer Corps") were irregular German and other European military volunteer units, or paramilitary, that existed from the 18th to the early 20th centuries. They effectively fought as mercenary or private armies, rega ...
'' against the Ottoman Turks. At the return from Srem, Mirko and his mother lived in Mislođin, then he moved to Belgrade, where he learned to be a tailor. He received his nickname 'Uzun' from his height, the Turkish word for tall.
Uzun-Mirko reached fame when he participated in the Battle of Belgrade that took place from November 29 to December 12, 1806, when he together with his band and
bimbaša Konda, a former mercenary commander serving the Ottomans in Belgrade, entered undetected in the city and from the interior opened the Sava Gate for the Serbian Army. He was seriously wounded during the fighting. He was wounded; in the head in Karanovac (1805, modern
Kraljevo
Kraljevo ( sr-cyr, Краљево, ) is a List of cities in Serbia, city and the administrative center of the Raška District in central Serbia. It is situated on the confluence of West Morava and Ibar River, Ibar, in the geographical region of ...
), in his left side in Paraćin (1805), in the shoulder in Smederevo (1805), in the right hand caused by knife in Sava (1806), in the hip in Užice (1805 or 1807), in the breast in Malajnica (1807), over the thighs caused by saber in Drina (1810). After 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 1 ...
, he rehabilitated in
Wien
en, Viennese
, iso_code = AT-9
, registration_plate = W
, postal_code_type = Postal code
, postal_code =
, timezone = CET
, utc_offset = +1
, timezone_DST ...
. He also participated in the
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 ...
, in the battles of Lipar, Čačak and Dublje. When he sought a pension from the ''Sovjet'' (Serbian government) in 1842, they asked him for documents, upon which he answered "my documents are my 7 wounds!".
Uzun-Mirko was, like other elders, connected to the Church and obeyed the laws; he had a space in his house on the upper floor, where he every morning and evening prayed in front of icons. According to contemporaries, he prayed loudly, "so that it could be heard outside".
On May 21, 1865, for the 50-year-anniversary of the Second Uprising,
Mihailo Obrenović III, Prince of Serbia
Mihailo ( sr-cyr, Михаило) or Mihajlo () is a Serbian masculine given name, a variant of the Hebrew name ''Michael''. Common as a given name among Serbs, it is an uncommon surname. It may refer to:
* Mihailo Vojislavljević ( fl. 1050–d ...
, personally brought the Takovo cross for Uzun-Mirko, and also awarded him with the Montenegrin golden medallion of Obilić (as a Hero). He died in 1868, and was buried in Belgrade, his grave is situated in the
Novo Groblje
The New Cemetery ( sr, Ново гробље, ''Novo groblje'') is a cemetery complex in Belgrade, Serbia, with a distinct history. It is located in Ruzveltova street in Zvezdara municipality. The cemetery was built in 1886 as the third Christia ...
in Belgrade.
Uzun-Mirko is the founder of the Uzun-Mirković family. His son was Infantry colonel Ljubomir Uzun-Mirković (1832–1905), he in turn had a son, Division general Dragoljub Uzun-Mirković (1875–1941),
[Vid. general Dušan P. Trifunović, Smrt jednog hrabrog i odličnog komandanta, Drag. Lj. Uzun-Mirković, Politika, 8. mart 1941, str. 10.] who in turn had a son, Artillery captain Miroslav Uzun-Mirković (1941). His maternal cousin was Division general Dragutin Đ. Okanović, who in 1906 as a member of the
Black Hand
Black Hand or The Black Hand may refer to:
Extortionists and underground groups
* Black Hand (anarchism) (''La Mano Negra''), a presumed secret, anarchist organization based in the Andalusian region of Spain during the early 1880s
* Black Hand (e ...
, founded "Novi pokret".
See also
*
List of Serbian Revolutionaries
This is a list of Serbian Revolutionaries, participants in the Serbian Revolution (1804–1817).
See also
*Serbian revolutionary organizations
References
Sources
*
*
*
*
*
*
{{Serbian revolutionaries
*
Revolutionaries
Revolutionaries
...
References
Sources
p. 60
External links
*
ttp://www.beogradskagroblja.rs/licnosti.php?id=6 Информација о његовом гробу (београдска гробља)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Uzun-Mirko
Serbian military leaders
People of the First Serbian Uprising
People of the Second Serbian Uprising
19th-century Serbian people
1782 births
1868 deaths