Denko Krstić ( sr-cyr, Денко Крстић, ; September 1824 – 1882) was a merchant from

Kumanovo Kumanovo ( ; , sq-definite, Kumanova; also known by other #Etymology, alternative names) is the second-largest city in North Macedonia after the capital Skopje and the seat of Kumanovo Municipality, the List of municipalities in the Republic ...

and Ottoman Serb activist. He was one of the most influential in Kumanovo during his time, and a wealthy man.

Life

Krstić was born in either September 1824 or 1826, in the village of

Mlado Nagoričane Mlado Nagoričane () is the largest village in the municipality of Staro Nagoričane, North Macedonia. Demographics According to the 2002 census, the village had a total of 1,292 inhabitants. Ethnic groups in the village include:Macedonian Census ...

at the time part of the

Sanjak of Üsküp The Sanjak of Üsküp was one of the sanjaks in the Ottoman Empire, with Üsküb (modern-day Skopje) as its administrative centre. Origins Starting from the end of the 10th century Skopje experienced a period of wars and political troubles. It ...

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empire, was an empire, imperial realm that controlled much of Southeast Europe, West Asia, and North Africa from the 14th to early 20th centuries; it also controlled parts of southeastern Centr ...

(now

Staro Nagoričane Staro Nagoričane () is a village in North Macedonia and the seat of the Staro Nagoričane municipality. The village is primarily known for its 11th century Church of St. George, first constructed in 1071 during Byzantine Macedonia, and reconstr ...

North Macedonia North Macedonia, officially the Republic of North Macedonia, is a landlocked country in Southeast Europe. It shares land borders with Greece to the south, Albania to the west, Bulgaria to the east, Kosovo to the northwest and Serbia to the n ...

). He was an ethnic

Serb The Serbs ( sr-Cyr, Срби, Srbi, ) are a South Slavic ethnic group native to Southeastern Europe who share a common Serbian ancestry, culture, history, and language. They primarily live in Serbia, Kosovo, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia ...

and Serbian patriot. In 1843 he was briefly a teacher of

Church Slavonic Church Slavonic is the conservative Slavic liturgical language used by the Eastern Orthodox Church in Belarus, Bulgaria, North Macedonia, Montenegro, Poland, Russia, Ukraine, Serbia, the Czech Republic and Slovakia, Slovenia and Croatia. The ...

and Serbian in Kumanovo, using textbooks from

Belgrade Belgrade is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Serbia, largest city of Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers and at the crossroads of the Pannonian Basin, Pannonian Plain and the Balkan Peninsula. T ...

. One of his students was Tasa Civković, a later Ottoman Serb patron. In the period of 1847–51, the Church of St. Nicholas in Kumanovo was built by the

ktitor ''Ktetor'' () or ''ktitor'' (; ka, ქტიტორი ; ), meaning 'founder', is a title given in the Middle Ages to the provider of funds for construction or reconstruction of an Eastern Orthodox church or monastery, for the addition of icon ...

s: ''ikonom'' priest Dimitrije, Krsto Puto and his son Denko Krstić, priest Neša, Hadži-Stojilković, and the families of Rikačovci, Šapkalijanci, Borozani and Stojanćeajini. In 1860 ''ikonom'' Dimitrije and Denko Krstić were called to a hearing in

Skopje Skopje ( , ; ; , sq-definite, Shkupi) is the capital and largest city of North Macedonia. It lies in the northern part of the country, in the Skopje Basin, Skopje Valley along the Vardar River, and is the political, economic, and cultura ...

by the Grand Vizier Mehmed Pasha Kibrizli, to be hanged, but paid for their release. With the establishment of the

Bulgarian Exarchate The Bulgarian Exarchate (; ) was the official name of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church before its autocephaly was recognized by the Ecumenical See in 1945 and the Bulgarian Patriarchate was restored in 1953. The Exarchate (a de facto autocephaly) ...

(1870), the status of the Serbs in Macedonia, who adhered to the

Patriarchate of Constantinople The Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople (, ; ; , "Roman Orthodox Patriarchate, Ecumenical Patriarchate of Istanbul") is one of the fifteen to seventeen autocephalous churches that together compose the Eastern Orthodox Church. It is headed ...

(called ''Patriarchists''), was greatly diminished. The Exarchate took over (seized) church properties of the Patriarchate, and the Serbs paid taxes for 7–8 years without any income, though they subsequently requested to be returned part of the tax from part of the seized properties which then stayed under the Bulgarians (Exarchists). Denko Krstić had built an

ossuary An ossuary is a chest, box, building, well, or site made to serve as the final resting place of human skeletal remains. They are frequently used where burial space is scarce. A body is first buried in a temporary grave, then after some years th ...

, and a "decree confirmed that it belonged to the Serbs" (Patriarchists), thus the local church requested that it "must stay Serb" (Patriarchate). He was instrumental in securing the Kratovo ''nahija'' in continuing adherence to the

, against the pressure of the

; he was the head of a group of Serb-orientated ''čorbadžije'' (rich merchants) which concluded with the head teacher in the nahija to terminate relations with the Exarchate, and reach agreement with Milovanović – which was done by the following year. This was criticized by the Bulgarian herald. During the Serbian–Ottoman War (1876–78) he was claimed to have been a Serbian spy, reporting to the Serbian government about information on the Ottoman Army. He was involved in the Kumanovo Uprising (1878). After the death of priest Dimitrije (1880), Denko succeeded as the ''ikonom'' (manager) of the Kumanovo region. In late 1880, a letter of his was intercepted regarding the Brsjak Revolt, after which he was imprisoned. As a patron of Serbs in the Kumanovo region (and involvement in the uprisings), the military martial court in Pristina sentenced him to

life imprisonment Life imprisonment is any sentence (law), sentence of imprisonment under which the convicted individual is to remain incarcerated for the rest of their natural life (or until pardoned or commuted to a fixed term). Crimes that result in life impr ...

for

high treason Treason is the crime of attacking a state authority to which one owes allegiance. This typically includes acts such as participating in a war against one's native country, attempting to overthrow its government, spying on its military, its d ...

. He died in the Ottoman jail at Pristina on 16 June 1882. After his death, his work was continued by his son-in-law Dimitrije Nikolić. He had a son, Đorđe (born 1868), the father of professor Dragaš Denković (1910–1999).

Annotations

*His given name was Mladen (Младен), ''Denko'' being a

diminutive A diminutive is a word obtained by modifying a root word to convey a slighter degree of its root meaning, either to convey the smallness of the object or quality named, or to convey a sense of intimacy or endearment, and sometimes to belittle s ...

. Although he wrote in his local dialect mixed with Serbian literary language, he constantly signed with -ov, as Krstov (Крстов).

References

Sources

*
e-book
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Denko Krstic 1824 births 1882 deaths People from Staro Nagoričane Municipality Serbs from the Ottoman Empire Serbian educators Serbian merchants Serbs of North Macedonia Rebels from the Ottoman Empire 19th-century Serbian people People from Kumanovo

Life

See also

Annotations

References

Sources