Antonije "Anta" Bogićević (around 1758 in Klupci near Loznica – 1813) was a Serbian voivode during the First Serbian Uprising. Songs of his heroic exploits were sung by the famous guslar Filip Višnjić in the song "Battle of Loznica". Today one of the primary schools in Loznica bears his name.
Antonije Bogićević, though born in Serbia, his ancestors came from Bosnia. [1] [2] During the First Serbian Uprising, he joined the insurgents and worked in organizing the government and supplying the army. He was appointed duke in 1807 of Jadar defending this troubled area from Turkish incursions from Bosnia and Herzegovina. He fought the Turks in Krupanj, Rozaje, Rađevo Polje, and most often in Loznica, where several bloody battles were fought with the Bosnian Turkish army. He was wounded in one of those fights.
The most significant was the battle for Loznica, fought on the 5 and 6 October 1810, according to the old calendar. Under Ali Pasha Vidajić, 30,000 Turks descended along the Drina in riverboats called šajka [3] to the Tičar field near Loznica. The fortified city wall was defended by 1,200 Serbs, led by the Duke of Loznica, Antonije "Anta" Bogićević. The siege lasted twelve days. Assessing that he could not resist the Turkish attacks, Duke Anta turned to Luka Lazarević for help. According to the report on the siege of Loznica, and after Karađorđe dislodged Hurshid Pasha from Morava, he hurried to help with almost the entire army from Šumadija and 200 Cossacks.
It seems that Karađorđe estimated that the most decisive battle in 1810 would ultimately take place right there. The importance of Karađorđe attached to the battle is also shown by the letter sent to Petar Dobrnjac asking him for reinforcements:
"Don't hesitate for a minute. Every minute is worth it, I really care if the army arrives on the Drina a minute earlier."
Luka Lazarević and Jakov Nenadović came to the rescue with the army of the Šabac and Valjevo districts. The decisive battle began on the morning of 6 October 1810. Karađorđe later informed Miloš Obrenović about this:
"Both the Turks and we went out into the field, and a bloody fight ensued with cannons and rifles ablaze that after eight hours there was no greater than this battle."
This victory of the Serbian army is one of the most significant in the First Serbian Uprising. When Duke Anta Bogićević died in 1813, his son Bogosav Bogićević was appointed duke. He was buried in Loznica on the trench, but the Turks took out his body, cut off his head and threw his body into the river Štira. However, patriots later secretly removed his bones and buried him next to the church in Loznica. His daughter Tomanija married Jevrem Obrenović, and his son Miloš was killed by Toma Vučić Perišić when he quelled the Katan rebellion in 1844. The grandson of Tomanija and Jevrem Obrenović became the first king of modern Serbia, Milan Obrenović IV.
There is a public school in Serbia named after him. [4]
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 February 1804 to 3 October 1813.
Ottoman Serbia refers to the Ottoman period in the history of Serbia. Various regions of medieval Serbia came under Ottoman rule already at the end of the 14th century, while the Serbian Despotate fell in 1459. Northern regions of what is now the Republic of Serbia were incorporated into the Ottoman Empire during later conquests, from 1521 to 1552. Since the Habsburg expansion towards those northern regions, in 1699 and 1716, Ottoman rule was gradually reduced to Serbian territories south of the Sava and Danube rivers (1739). From 1804 to 1830, the Principality of Serbia was restored, as a vassal state of the Ottoman Empire. It gained independence in 1878, and expanded into southern regions, thus reducing Ottoman control to the historical region of the Old Serbia, that was liberated in 1912, thus ending Ottoman rule in Serbian lands.
Loznica is a city located in the Mačva District of western Serbia, on the right bank of the Drina river. In 2022 the city had a total population of 19,515, while the administrative area had a population of 72,062.
Stojan Čupić was a Serbian revolutionary general (vojvoda), one of the most important commanders of the First Serbian Uprising. He was active in the Mačva region.
The Serbian Revolution was a national uprising and constitutional change in Serbia that took place between 1804 and 1835, during which this territory evolved from an Ottoman province into a rebel territory, a constitutional monarchy, and modern Serbia.
The Battle of Mišar was fought between Serbian revolutionaries and an Ottoman army, it took place from 13 to 15 August 1806 during the First Serbian Uprising.
Čolak-Anta Simeonović was a Serbian military commander and revolutionary leader who played a significant role in the First Serbian Uprising (1804–1813), the initial phase of Serbia’s struggle for independence from the Ottoman Empire. A close ally of Karađorđe Petrović, he was known for his military skill, bravery, and leadership, which earned him the rank of vojvoda (duke). Following the collapse of the uprising, he went into exile before returning to Serbia to contribute to its administrative and judicial systems. He is the eponymous founder of the Čolak-Antić family.
Vujica Vulićević also known as Vule Vulićević was a Serbian voivode in the First Serbian Uprising of the Serbian Revolution, led by Grand Leader Karađorđe against the Ottoman Empire. He held the rank of Obor-knez. He was also the kum (godfather) of Karađorđe, but betrayed him on behalf of Miloš Obrenović, the rival prince.
Prince Jevrem Teodorović Obrenović was a Serbian politician and revolutionary. He was the younger brother of Prince Miloš Obrenović I of Serbia, the founder of the Obrenović dynasty.
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Cincar Marko Kostić was a Serbian aristocrat and diplomat. He served as vojvoda of Soko nahiye and duke of Šabac, and was one of the leaders of the First Serbian Insurrection.
The Battle of Loznica also known as the Battle of Tičar was fought on 17–18 October 1810 between Serbian Revolutionaries and Ottoman forces in Loznica, at the time part of the Sanjak of Zvornik, a region of the Ottoman Empire,.
Marko Vasić, known as Kara-Marko (Кара-Марко) was a Serbian Revolutionary
Luka Lazarević, known as Pop-Luka (Поп-Лука), was a Serbian Orthodox priest and vojvoda (commander) that participated in the First Serbian Uprising (1804–13) of the Serbian Revolution against the Ottoman Empire. Ordained as a priest at a relatively young age, Lazarević was described as a lively, gun-wearing horseman who joined the Serbian rebels in their fight against the renegade Janissaries (Dahije) to avenge his cousin. He quickly showed prowess and by the time the uprising against the Ottomans had begun he was chosen as the commander of a unit in western Serbia. Participating in all notable battles in that region, the Ottoman suppression forced him and other leaders to flee the country. He returned to Serbia in 1832 after many years in Russia, and worked for the Serbian government in his late years.
Raka Levajac was a Serbian Vojvoda, a military commander of Serbian Revolutionary forces during both First Serbian Uprising and Second Serbian Uprising, the armed insurrections of the Serbian population against the Ottoman Empire. Raka Levajac was remarkably close to both uprising leaders, Obrenović and Karadjordje, before falling out of grace with each of them. A celebrated leader at a time he died in poverty after losing status and fortune.
Hadži Melentije Stevanović was a restorer and archimandrite of the Rača monastery, one of the leaders of the First Serbian Uprising, Vojvode of Sokolski nahija, bishop-elected of the Eparchy of Šabac-Užice, and Metropolitan of Belgrade from 1810 to 1813.
Živko Dabić was a captain (boluk-bashi) in the First Serbian Uprising under the command of his father-in-law Jakov Nenadović. Also, he was a representative of his district in the first Serbian national assembly held in Ostružnica near Belgrade in April and May 1804.
Ivan Knežević better known to the people as Knez Ivo of Semberija was a Serb voivode and duke over all the villages of the then Bijeljina Nahia, who most notably participated in the First Serbian Uprising.
Antonije "Anta" Protić was a writer and secretary to the Duke of Smederevo, Vujica Vulićević, in 1807 during Serbia's plight for emancipation from the Ottoman yoke. Later, he was an Assembly Deputy of Karađorđe in his Governing State Council with scholar Vuk Karadžić. After the Second Serbian Uprising, he was a trustee of finances for the Government of Prince Miloš Obrenović. His memoir is now considered one of four primary sources for Serbia's first and second war of independence.
Todor Vojinović was a Serbian voivode and a revolutionary during the First Serbian Uprising. He was killed while fighting the Ottoman Turks in Serbia in 1813.
