Jovan Hadži-Vasiljević ( sr-cyr, Јован Хаџи-Васиљевић, 18 October 1866 – 29 March 1948) was a Serbian historian, ethnographer, journalist and writer.

Biography

Hadži-Vasiljević was born in

Vranje Vranje ( sr-Cyrl, Врање, ) is a city in Southern Serbia and the administrative center of the Pčinja District. According to the 2022 census, the city itself has a population of 55,214 while the city administrative area has 74,381 inhabitan ...

, at the time part of the

Sanjak of Niš The Sanjak of Niš ( Turkish: Niş Sancağı; Serbian: Нишки санџак, romanized: ''Niški Sandžak''; Albanian: Sanxhaku i Nishit; Bulgarian: Нишки санджак, romanized: ''Nishki sandzhak'') was one of the sanjaks of the O ...

of the

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 ...

until it was captured by the Serbian Army in 1878. His father was Hadži Vasilije of the Pogačarević family, and his mother Katerina was the daughter of the churchwarden (''ikonom'') of

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 ...

, Dimitrije Mladenović (1794–1880). The Pogačarević family (also known as ''Pogačarci'') hailed from Rakovac, having settled in Vranje at the end of the 18th century. He finished primary school in Vranje, gymnasium in Vranje and

Niš Niš (; sr-Cyrl, Ниш, ; names of European cities in different languages (M–P)#N, names in other languages), less often spelled in English as Nish, is the list of cities in Serbia, third largest city in Serbia and the administrative cente ...

, and the Great School in Belgrade at the History and Philology faculties. He received his Philosophy doctorate at the

University of Vienna The University of Vienna (, ) is a public university, public research university in Vienna, Austria. Founded by Rudolf IV, Duke of Austria, Duke Rudolph IV in 1365, it is the oldest university in the German-speaking world and among the largest ...

in 1898. As an official of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs he served from 1898 to 1904 in Bitola, Skopje and Belgrade. After he left the civil service in 1904, he was the secretary of the Society of Saint Sava until 1940. Throughout his life he worked for the national enlightenment of Serbs in the Ottoman Empire. He participated in the

Balkan Wars The Balkan Wars were two conflicts that took place in the Balkans, Balkan states in 1912 and 1913. In the First Balkan War, the four Balkan states of Kingdom of Greece (Glücksburg), Greece, Kingdom of Serbia, Serbia, Kingdom of Montenegro, M ...

and the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

. He retreated with the Second Morava Division through Albania, which he described. Hadži-Vasiljević wrote extensively on history, geography and ethnology. The high value of his work is due to the basis on field research, especially in the areas of

Old Serbia Old Serbia () is a Serbian historiographical term that is used to describe the territory that according to the dominant school of Serbian historiography in the late 19th century formed the core of the Serbian Empire in 1346–71. The term does ...

and

Macedonia Macedonia (, , , ), most commonly refers to: * North Macedonia, a country in southeastern Europe, known until 2019 as the Republic of Macedonia * Macedonia (ancient kingdom), a kingdom in Greek antiquity * Macedonia (Greece), a former administr ...

(South Serbia). He wrote over 200 historical and ethnographical works about those regions. He was the editor of the ''Brastvo'' journal of the Society of Saint Sava.

Work

Among his most notable works are: *Prilep i njegova okolina, Beograd, 1902; *Južna Stara Srbija, istorijska, etnografska i politička istraživanja I–II, Beograd, 1909, 1913; *Bugarska zverstva u Vranju i okolini 1915–1918, Novi Sad, 1922; *Četnička akcija u Staroj Srbiji i Maćedoniji, Beograd, 1928; *Skoplje i njegova okolina, Beograd, 1930; *Autobiografija, Vranje

Legacy

A street is named after him in Vranje. A bust was erected in the City Park of Vranje on 1 October 2012, at the 100th anniversary of the liberation of southern Serbia.

References

Sources

External links