Priest Jovica's Rebellion ( sr-cyr, поп-Јовичина буна) was a Christian peasant rebellion that broke out in the

Derventa Derventa ( sr-cyrl, Дервента) is a city located in Republika Srpska, an entity of Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is situated in the Posavina region, northwest of the city of Doboj. As of 2013, the town has a total of 11,631 inhabitants, while ...

and Gradačac ''nahiye'', in

Bosnian Posavina Posavina ( sr-cyr, Посавина) is a geographical region that stretches along the Sava river, encompassing only the inner areas of the Sava river basin, that are adjacent or near to the Sava river itself, namely catch region spanning from t ...

, in 10–13 March 1834, organized by Orthodox priest Jovica Ilić from

Banja Luka Banja Luka ( sr-Cyrl, Бања Лука, ) or Banjaluka ( sr-Cyrl, Бањалука, ) is the second largest city in Bosnia and Herzegovina and the largest city of Republika Srpska. Banja Luka is also the ''de facto'' capital of this entity. I ...

, stationed in Derventa at the time. The rebels were predominantly Orthodox (

Serbs The Serbs ( sr-Cyr, Срби, Srbi, ) are the most numerous South Slavic ethnic group native to the Balkans in Southeastern Europe, who share a common Serbian ancestry, culture, history and language. The majority of Serbs live in their na ...

), but some Catholics (

Croats The Croats (; hr, Hrvati ) are a South Slavic ethnic group who share a common Croatian ancestry, culture, history and language. They are also a recognized minority in a number of neighboring countries, namely Austria, the Czech Republic, G ...

) also joined. Jovica Ilić corresponded with other

Serbian Orthodox The Serbian Orthodox Church ( sr-Cyrl, Српска православна црква, Srpska pravoslavna crkva) is one of the autocephalous (ecclesiastically independent) Eastern Orthodox Christian churches. The majority of the population in ...

leaders and also sent letters to Serbian Prince

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 ...

. He rallied other priests (such as

Pavle Tvrtković Pavle Tvrtković ( sr-cyr, Павле Твртковић; 1834–51) was a Serbian Orthodox priest from Bosnia who participated in the rebellion organized by priest Jovica Ilić in northeastern Ottoman Bosnia in March 1834, published a collection ...

Milo Vitković Milo may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Milo'' (magazine), a strength sports magazine *'' Milo: Sticky Notes and Brain Freeze'', a 2011 children's novel by Alan Silberberg * ''Milo'' (video game), a first-person adventure-puzzle computer ga ...

and Stevan Avramović of Orašje) and the population around Podnovlje. Notable priests Tvrtković and Vitković who had fled to Serbia prior to the outbreak of the rebellion, had met in

Požarevac Požarevac ( sr-cyr, Пожаревац, ) is a city and the administrative centre of the Braničevo District in eastern Serbia. It is located between three rivers: Danube, Great Morava and Mlava and below the hill Čačalica (208m). As of 2011, ...

with Prince Miloš whom they asked to take up the side of the Christians in Bosnia at the

Porte Porte may refer to: *Sublime Porte, the central government of the Ottoman empire *Porte, Piedmont, a municipality in the Piedmont region of Italy *John Cyril Porte, British/Irish aviator *Richie Porte, Australian professional cyclist who competes ...

. Those who stayed in Serbia prepared from

Šabac Šabac (Serbian Cyrillic: Шабац, ) is a city and the administrative centre of the Mačva District in western Serbia. The traditional centre of the fertile Mačva region, Šabac is located on the right banks of the river Sava. , the city p ...

a rebellion in the ''nahiye'' of Banja Luka, Bijeljina, Tuzla and Derventa. Tvrtković, who was Jovica's closest associate, organized people in Serbia, and at first had the support of Prince Miloš. The rebellion broke out in the ''nahiye'' of

and Gradačac in

Odžak Odžak ( sr-cyrl, Оџак) is a town and municipality located in Posavina Canton of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, an entity of Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is situated in the northern part of Bosnia and Herzegovina, near the river Sav ...

was set on fire by the rebels. 300 ''bey'' soldiers were killed. It was quickly suppressed by the Ottoman government. Some 600 Serbs in Derventa were killed in the aftermath. Some of the population migrated to

Slavonia Slavonia (; hr, Slavonija) is, with Dalmatia, Croatia proper, and Istria, one of the four historical regions of Croatia. Taking up the east of the country, it roughly corresponds with five Croatian counties: Brod-Posavina, Osijek-Baranja ...

, part of the

Habsburg monarchy The Habsburg monarchy (german: Habsburgermonarchie, ), also known as the Danubian monarchy (german: Donaumonarchie, ), or Habsburg Empire (german: Habsburgerreich, ), was the collection of empires, kingdoms, duchies, counties and other polities ...

. The Austrian government registered 326 immigrants to Austria, of whom 66 did not return to Bosnia. Jovica was wounded and fled across the Sava to the

. Decapitated rebel heads were put on display at the Gradačac fort walls. The Ottomans accused Jovica that he wanted to "make Serbia out of Bosnia" with the rebellion. After the collapse of the rebellion, Prince Miloš secretly received, hid and protected some of the rebel leaders and protested at the Porte due to the atrocities and penalties which had caused the uprising, and unrest not only in Bosnia but in Serbia also. Several thousand peasants were received in Serbia, especially from Bosanska Krajina, who sought refuge from feudal terror; these were settled in

Podrinje Podrinje (Serbian Cyrillic: Подриње) is the Slavic name of the Drina river basin, known in English as the Drina Valley. The Drina basin is shared between Bosnia and Herzegovina and Serbia, with majority of its territory being located in ...

and

Šumadija Šumadija (, sr-Cyrl, Шумадија) is a geographical region in the central part of Serbia. The area used to be heavily covered with forests, hence the name (from ''šuma'' 'forest'). The city of Kragujevac is the administrative center of the ...

. The rebellion echoed to Bosanska Krajina, where the

Second Mašići Rebellion The second (symbol: s) is the unit of time in the International System of Units (SI), historically defined as of a day – this factor derived from the division of the day first into 24 hours, then to 60 minutes and finally to 60 seconds ...

broke out. A similar peasant rebellion broke out in Niš. In Majevac, near

Doboj Doboj ( sr-cyrl, Добој, ) is a city located in Republika Srpska, an entity of Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is situated on the banks of Bosna river, in the northern region of the Republika Srpska. As of 2013, it has a population of 71,441 ...

, a Serbian Orthodox convocation was held which marked 170 years since the rebellion.

References

Sources

;Books * * * * * * * ;Journals * * * * {{Wars and battles involving Serbs Rebellions against the Ottoman Empire Ottoman period in the history of Bosnia and Herzegovina History of the Serbs of Bosnia and Herzegovina 1834 in Europe Conflicts in 1834 Ottoman–Serbian Wars Serb rebellions 1834 in the Ottoman Empire Rebellions in Bosnia and Herzegovina 19th-century rebellions March 1834 events Religion in Bosnia and Herzegovina during Ottoman period

See also

References

Sources