Pavle Popović (c. 1750 – 8 December 1816) was a Serbian warrior, diplomat, and politician. He was a representative in the cabinets of

Matija Nenadović Matija Nenadović ( sr-cyrl, Матија Ненадовић, or Mateja Nenadović sr-cyr, Матеја Ненадовић; 26 February 1777 – 11 December 1854), also known as Prota Mateja, was a Serbian archpriest, writer, and politician wh ...

Mladen Milovanović Mladen Milovanović ( sr-cyrl, Младен Миловановић; – 1823) was a Serbian merchant and politician who served as the prime minister of Serbia from 1807 to 1810. A notable voivode during the First Serbian Uprising, he briefly se ...

, and

Jakov Nenadović Jakov Nenadović ( sr-cyr, Јаков Ненадовић; 1765–1836) was a Serbian voivode and politician who served as the Prime Minister of Serbia, prime minister of Serbia from 31 December 1810 to 22 January 1811. He was the first Serbian in ...

. He participated in the

First First most commonly refers to: * First, the ordinal form of the number 1 First or 1st may also refer to: Acronyms * Faint Images of the Radio Sky at Twenty-Centimeters, an astronomical survey carried out by the Very Large Array * Far Infrared a ...

and

Second Serbian Uprising The Second Serbian Uprising ( / ''Drugi srpski ustanak'', ) was the second phase of the Serbian Revolution against the Ottoman Empire, which erupted shortly after the re-annexation of the country to the Ottoman Empire in 1813. The occupation was ...

and was a member of the People's Office in

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 ...

. He was born in

Vranić Vranić may refer to: * Vranić, Serbia, a settlement near Belgrade * Vranić (surname), a South Slavic surname * Vranić, Croatia, a former settlement near Brestovac, Croatia * Vranić, Gjakova, a village in Kosovo * Vranić, Suva Reka, a village ...

, where he was a village prince (''kmet'') and he participated in the fighting against the

janissaries 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 du ...

of the Ottoman Empire administration in the Belgrade ''pashaluk'' around 1800. In 1804 he took part in the fighting, and from 1805 was a member of the Governing State Council for the Belgrade ''Nahiya'' and a member of the Grand Provincial Court (Supreme Court) from 1811. Popović and other members of the Governing State Council became recipients of the coveted Order of St. Anna, 2nd degree, from Russian Tsar Aleksandar I in 1811. The decoration also included a title of the Russian hereditary court and free schooling for children in Russian military cadet schools for all the recipients of the honour. Pavle Popović, together with his cousin Lazar Popović, moved a short distance to an Austrian-occupied territory of

Srem Syrmia ( Ekavian sh-Latn-Cyrl, Srem, Срем, separator=" / " or Ijekavian sh-Latn-Cyrl, Srijem, Сријем, label=none, separator=" / ") is a region of the southern Pannonian Plain, which lies between the Danube and Sava rivers. It is ...

in 1813, to

Železnik Železnik ( sr-cyr, Железник, ) is an List of Belgrade neighborhoods, urban neighborhood of Belgrade, Serbia. It is located in Belgrade's municipality of Čukarica. Location Železnik is located in the central part of the Čukarica mun ...

, where he stayed until 1815, then he moved back to Belgrade and joined Prince

Miloš Obrenović Miloš Obrenović (; ; 18 March 1780 or 1783 – 26 September 1860) born Miloš Teodorović (; ), also known as Miloš the Great () was the Prince of Serbia twice, from 1815 to 1839, and from 1858 to 1860. He was an eminent figure of the Firs ...

, who in the same year, after signing a truce with the Turks, appointed him one of the two rotating representatives at the Turkish headquarters at

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 ...

Popović family

Most of the Popović families belonged to the Serbian clergy, even in the ancient past. In the old days, they hailed from

Montenegro , image_flag = Flag of Montenegro.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Montenegro.svg , coa_size = 80 , national_motto = , national_anthem = () , image_map = Europe-Mont ...

, and at the beginning of the 18th century moved to

Gruž Gruž ( - ''Santa Croce'') is a neighborhood in Dubrovnik, Croatia, about 2 km northwest of the Old City. It has a population of approximately 15,000 people. The main port for Dubrovnik is in Gruž as well as its largest market and the main b ...

. In Gruž, they joined the political action of Austria preparing the Serbs for the uprising against the Turks. When the Turks discovered that a rebellion was in the offing, the Popovići who were the organizers had to flee from possible revenge. They went to the priest Nikola Radmanović with some other families where they found refuge. In the middle of the 18th century, Todor and Milica Popović came to

with their four sons and nephew. Their sons Dimitrija and Atanasija were priests, and Jovan, who was called "Joka", was the head of the Popović cooperative. Pavle was "born" for public affairs, as Petar Jokić told historian Milan Milićević: "Soldier and advisor as it should be."

Life as revolutionary and politician

After Kočina Krajina, Pavle was elected

Knyaz A , also , ''knjaz'' or (), is a historical Slavs, Slavic title, used both as a royal and noble title in different times. It is usually translated into English language, English as 'prince', 'king' or 'duke', depending on specific historical c ...

in Vranić. Until the First Serbian Uprising, he fought against the Turks, although he was friends with

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 ...

. He escaped the

Slaughter of the Knezes The Slaughter of the Knezes () was the organized assassinations and assaults of Knyaz, noble Serbs in the Sanjak of Smederevo in January 1804 by the rebellious Dahije, renegade janissary officers who had seized power in a coup against the Ottom ...

in 1804, thanks to that friendship, and on that occasion, he saved his friends

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 ...

, Sima Marković,

Milisav Čamdžija Milisav Čamdžija, better known as Milisav the Boatman (Čamdžija), (1785 – 1815) was born in the village of Veliki Borak in the Belgrade nahija in 1785. He got the nickname because as a boatman he regularly transported people across the Sava R ...

, Nikola Nikolajević and others. In 1805, at the Assembly in

Veliki Borak Veliki Borak () is a suburban settlement of Belgrade, the capital of Serbia. It is located in the municipality of Barajevo. Location Veliki Borak is located in the western part of the municipality, southwest of the municipal seat of Baraje ...

, he was elected a member of the Synod, as a representative of the

Nahiya 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 ...

. As a well-educated Serb at that time, he was distinguished by diplomatic abilities. During

Karađorđe Đorđe Petrović (; ; – ), known by the sobriquet Karađorđe (; ), was a Serbian revolutionary leader who led a struggle against the Ottoman Empire during the First Serbian Uprising. He held the title of Grand Vožd of Serbia from 14 ...

's time, he became a member of the People's Court, and during

's time, he was the head of the People's Office. Towards the end of the uprising, he came into conflict with

, and when he was convinced that he had left Serbia, he moved with his family to

in 1813. When he heard of the Second Serbian Uprising in 1815, he returned to Vranić and continued the fight against the Turks. He was one of the mediators between the Turks and Prince Miloš. Due to the wound under his shoulder, which he could not heal in any way, he returned to Vranić. Before his death, he saved his godfather Sima Marković, with the help of the then Vranje

Pavle Marinković, from the wrath of Prince Miloš.

Death

On 8 December 1816, he died in Vranić where he was buried in front of the church gate, and on his tomb, it is written: "An excellent Serb, a fighter for the liberation of the people and his fatherland during the uprising of Karađorđe and Prince Miloš in 1804 and 1815, decorated member of the First People's Court, Pavle Popović."

References

* Translated and adapted from Serbian Wikipedia: Павле Поповић (совјетник) {{DEFAULTSORT:Popovic 1750s births 1816 deaths Serbs from the Ottoman Empire Rebels from the Ottoman Empire Politicians from Belgrade Serbian diplomats People of the First Serbian Uprising People of the Second Serbian Uprising