Kučuk-Alija ( sr-cyr, Кучук-Алија, ; 1801 – 5 August 1804) was a

Janissary A janissary (, , ) was a member of the elite infantry units that formed the Ottoman sultan's household troops. They were the first modern standing army, and perhaps the first infantry force in the world to be equipped with firearms, adopted dur ...

, '' mutesellim'' of

Kragujevac Kragujevac ( sr-Cyrl, Крагујевац, ) is the List of cities in Serbia, fourth largest city in Serbia and the administrative centre of the Šumadija District. It is the historical centre of the geographical region of Šumadija in central Se ...

and one of four Dahiyas (leaders of rebel Janissaries) who controlled the

Sanjak of Smederevo The Sanjak of Smederevo (, ), also known in historiography as the Pashalik of Belgrade (, ), was an Ottoman Empire, Ottoman administrative unit (sanjak) centered on Smederevo, that existed between the 15th and the outset of the 19th centuries. It ...

(aka "Belgrade Pashalik") in the period between 15 December 1801 (when he killed Belgrade's vizier

Hadži Mustafa Pasha Hadji Mustafa Pasha (, Хаџи Мустафа-паша, ; 1733 – 27 December 1801) was an Ottoman commander and politician of Greek Muslim origin who lived in Sanjak of Smederevo (in modern-day Serbia). He fought in the Austro-Turkish War (178 ...

) and the beginning of the

First Serbian Uprising The First Serbian Uprising (; sr-Cyrl, Први српски устанак; ) was an uprising of Serbs in Orašac (Aranđelovac), Orašac against the Ottoman Empire from 14 February 1804 to 7 October 1813. The uprising began as a local revolt ...

in Spring 1804. He was a brother of Sali Aga, a mutesellim of Rudnik Ottoman

nahiyah A nāḥiyah ( , plural ''nawāḥī'' ), also nahiyeh, nahiya or nahia, is a regional or local type of administrative division that usually consists of a number of villages or sometimes smaller towns. In Tajikistan, it is a second-level divisi ...

at the beginning of 19th century.

Biography

Alija was born in the Rudnik nahiyah and belonged to the Đevrlić family. He advanced in Ottoman service from regular Janissary to the position of mutesellim of Kragujevac. Recruited from the local Muslim population, he was a Yamak. Together with other renegade Janissaries, Alija captured

, the Vizier of Belgrade, in October 1801 and killed him on 15 December 1801 in the

Belgrade Fortress The Belgrade Fortress ( sr-Cyrl, Београдска тврђава, Beogradska tvrđava, Hungarian: Nándorfehérvár), consists of the old citadel (Upper and Lower Town) and Kalemegdan Park (Large and Little Kalemegdan) on the confluence of th ...

. After the murder, Alija became one of four leaders, known as ''dahije'', who ruled the

(also known as the Belgrade Pashalik), alongside

Aganlija Aganlija ( sr-cyr, Аганлија; 1801–1804) was an Ottoman janissary leader who defected and along with three other janissary leaders took control over the Sanjak of Smederevo in 1801. These renegade janissaries were known as the Dahije. Th ...

, Mula Jusuf and Mehmed-aga Fočić. His wife was the sister of one of his military commanders. In early March 1804, at the beginning of the First Serbian Uprising, rebels besieged Rudnik which was under the control of Sali Aga, Kuchuk's brother. When four dahiyahs were informed about the rebellion they agreed that Kuchuk Ali should go from Belgrade to Rudnik with 600 Janissaries to release Rudnik from siege and to advance with his forces to

Šabac Šabac ( sr-Cyrl, Шабац, ) is a List of cities in Serbia, 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 ...

through

Valjevo Valjevo (Serbian Cyrillic: Ваљево, ) is a List of cities in Serbia, city and the administrative center of the Kolubara District in western Serbia. According to the 2022 census, the city itself has a population of 56,145 while the city admini ...

, while

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 ...

was left under the protection of the three remaining dahiyahs. According to some sources Kuchuk Ali had intention to first go to

to gather more forces then to

Jagodina Jagodina ( sr-cyrl, Јагодина, ) is a List of cities in Serbia, city and the administrative center of the Pomoravlje District in central Serbia. It is situated on the banks of the Belica (river), Belica River, in the geographical region of � ...

to hire

Halil Gušanac Halil is a common Turkish, Albanian and Bosnian male given name. It is equivalent to the Arabic given name and surname Khalil or its variant Khaleel. Notable persons with the name include: * Halil Akbunar (born 1993), Turkish footballer * Halil ...

and his

Arnauts Arnaut () is a Turkish language, Turkish ethnonym used to denote Albanians. ''Arvanid'' (), ''Arnavud'' (), plural: ''Arnavudlar'' (): modern Turkish language, Turkish: ''Arnavut'', plural: ''Arnavutlar''; are ethnonyms used mainly by Ottoman ...

and then to attack the rebels. Gušanac with 1,600 Arnauts and Krdžalijas were sent by

Osman Pazvantoğlu Osman Pazvantoğlu (; 1758 – January 27, 1807 in Vidin) was an Ottoman Bosnian soldier, governor of Vidin after 1794, and a rebel against Ottoman rule. He is also remembered as the friend of Rigas Feraios, a Greek revolutionary poet, whom he ...

to help dahiyah in suppressing the rebellion. When Kuchuk Ali advanced toward south he did not have information that the rebels had already captured Rudnik on 11 March. He attacked Karađorđe who was with

Janko Katić Janko Katić ( sr-cyr, Јанко Катић; fl. 1795–1806†) was a Serbian voivode and one of the organizers of the First Serbian Uprising (1804–1813). He participated in the uprising since day one, and was an important ''oborknez'' of the ...

and around 100 rebels in Vrbica, waiting for other rebels to join them. Kuchuk Ali was informed about Karađorđe's position by knez Maksim from

Guberevac Guberevac ( sr-cyrl, Губеревац) is a village in the municipality of Sopot, Serbia , image_flag = Flag of Serbia.svg , national_motto = , image_coat = Coat of arms of Serbia.svg , national_anthem ...

who was later killed by the rebels because of his treason. Karađorđe and his forces fled from the battle. After battle in Vrbica Kuchuk Ali and his horsemen continued their journey through

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 t ...

and reached

Ćuprija Ćuprija (Serbian Cyrillic: Ћуприја, ) is a town and municipality located in the Pomoravlje District of central Serbia. The population of the town is 16,522, while the municipality has 25,325 inhabitants (2022 census). History The Romans ...

and Jagodina via

on 15 March 1804. The rebels followed him and captured Kragujevac on 4 April 1804 after Kuchuk Ali had already left it, taking 200 Janissaries from Kragujevac with him. The rebels attacked Kuchuk's forces near

Avala Avala ( sr-cyr, Авала, ) is a List of mountains in Serbia, mountain in Serbia, overlooking Belgrade. It is situated in the south-eastern corner of the city and provides a great panoramic view of Belgrade, Vojvodina and Šumadija, as the sur ...

and inflicted significant casualties on them. Kučuk Alija and other dahiyas fled from Belgrade abandoning their followers and went by boats to

Ada Kaleh Ada Kaleh (; from , meaning "Island Fortress"; or ; Serbian and Bulgarian: Адакале, ''Adakale'') was a small island on the Danube, located in Romania, that was submerged during the construction of the Iron Gates hydroelectric plant i ...

island on the

Danube The Danube ( ; see also #Names and etymology, other names) is the List of rivers of Europe#Longest rivers, second-longest river in Europe, after the Volga in Russia. It flows through Central and Southeastern Europe, from the Black Forest sou ...

. The rebel forces led by

Milenko Stojković Milenko Stojković ( sr-cyr, Миленко Стојковић; 1769, Kličevac, Požarevac – 1831, Bakhchysarai, Crimea) was a Serbian revolutionary and '' bimbaša'' in the First Serbian Uprising early in the 19th century. He is mos ...

soon captured and executed them, with full knowledge and approval of the Ottoman authorities. Their bodies were decapitated and their heads (without head of Aganlija which was mistakenly dropped into Danube) were taken to the rebel camp on

Vračar Vračar ( sr-Cyrl, Врачар, ) is an affluent urban area and Subdivisions of Belgrade, municipality of the city of Belgrade known as the location of many embassies and museums. According to the 2022 census results, the municipality has a popul ...

in Belgrade.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kuchuk, Ali 19th-century civil servants from the Ottoman Empire Military personnel of the Ottoman Empire 1804 deaths People from the Ottoman Empire of Serbian descent Year of birth missing Ottoman military personnel of the Serbian Revolution Leaders who took power by coup Janissaries Rebels from the Ottoman Empire People from Gornji Milanovac