<h2>Who Was Miloš Obrenović</h2> <p><strong>Miloš Obrenović</strong> was a Serbian prince, military leader, and statesman who rose from a poor peasant childhood to become the founder of one of Serbia's two 19th-century ruling dynasties. He was born in 1780 in the village of Gornja Dobrinja near Požega and died in 1860 in Belgrade, after a turbulent and contradictory life filled with warfare, diplomacy, and violence. Miloš Obrenović led the Second Serbian Uprising in 1815, secured autonomy for the Principality of Serbia from the Ottoman Empire, and ruled the country twice — from 1815 to 1839, and again from 1858 to 1860. His name is also remembered in Serbian history as the man who ordered the killing of Karađorđe, leader of the First Serbian Uprising, which is why his legacy remains a subject of historical debate to this day.</p> <h2>Origins and Youth</h2> <p>Miloš was born <strong>Miloš Teodorović</strong>, the son of Teodor (Todor) Mihailović and Višnja Urošević, poor peasants from the Crna Gora district of the Užice nahija. The family lived in great poverty, and his father died while Miloš was still a child, leaving him to grow up with his mother and two younger brothers, Jovan and Jevrem. After being widowed, his mother remarried Obren Martinović of Brusnica, from whom the surname Obrenović, later adopted by Miloš, originated.</p> <p>Around 1800, Miloš went to work for Aksentije Ječmenica, a wealthy cattle trader from Zlatibor. At the time, cattle merchants would buy livestock in one part of Serbia and sell it at a higher price elsewhere, so the young Miloš, driving oxen and pigs as far as the Adriatic coast, gained not only his first earnings but also valuable knowledge of people, roads, and trading conditions that would later serve him well in politics.</p> <h2>The First Serbian Uprising</h2> <p>When the First Serbian Uprising against the Ottomans broke out in 1804, Miloš joined the rebels led by Karađorđe Petrović. Thanks to the bravery he showed in numerous battles, he was granted the rank of voivode as early as 1805. Karađorđe entrusted him with the defense and administration of the Užice nahija, where Miloš further established himself as a capable military and political figure.</p> <p>After the collapse of the uprising in 1813 and the re-establishment of Ottoman rule, Miloš Obrenović was one of the few prominent Serbian voivodes who did not leave the country. That decision proved decisive for his later career: he received amnesty from the Turks and became <strong>chief knez of the Rudnik nahija</strong>, and after the suppression of Hadži-Prodan's Revolt in 1814, chief knez of the Kragujevac and Požega nahijas as well. This made him the most influential Serb in the country under Ottoman rule.</p> <h2>The Takovo Uprising and the Path to Power</h2> <p>Ottoman reprisals against the Serbian population following Hadži-Prodan's Revolt led to renewed discontent. On Palm Sunday, 11 April by the old calendar, or 23 April 1815 by the new calendar, Miloš Obrenović raised the <strong>Second Serbian Uprising</strong>, also known as the Takovo Uprising, addressing the assembled people with words that have since entered Serbian history and the tradition of resistance. Unlike the First Uprising, Miloš pursued limited goals from the outset — rather than seeking full liberation, he aimed for autonomy within the Ottoman Empire, well aware of the actual balance of power.</p> <p>Under his leadership, Serbian forces won a series of battles, notably at Ljubić, Palež, Čačak, and Požarevac. Thanks to these successes, as well as skillfully conducted negotiations with Ottoman representatives, by the end of 1815 Miloš had secured a verbal agreement with the Belgrade vizier Marashli Ali Pasha, granting Serbia limited internal self-government — the Turks retained authority over the towns and fortresses, while Miloš gained authority over the Serbian population and the right to collect taxes.</p> <h2>The Killing of Karađorđe</h2> <p>One of the most controversial and tragic events in Serbian history is directly tied to Miloš Obrenović. In July 1817, <strong>Karađorđe Petrović</strong>, leader of the First Serbian Uprising, secretly returned to Serbia from exile, intending to organize a broader Balkan uprising against the Ottoman Empire in cooperation with the Greek Filiki Eteria and Bulgarian representatives. His return posed a serious threat to Miloš — not only as a rival for power, but also because it threatened to jeopardize Serbia's newly won, fragile autonomy and its peace with Turkey.</p> <p>According to historical sources, Miloš Obrenović, in agreement with the Pasha of Belgrade, ordered Karađorđe's killing. On the night between 13 and 14 July 1817, in the Radovanje grove near Velika Plana, Karađorđe was killed on orders relayed by his godfather Vujica Vulićević and carried out by Nikola Novaković. Karađorđe's head was cut off and, according to some accounts, first sent to the Pasha of Belgrade, Marashli, before being forwarded to the Sultan in Constantinople as proof of loyalty to the Ottoman Empire. This act, carried out against his own godfather and former comrade-in-arms, remained a lasting stain on Miloš's rule and marked the beginning of a long-standing rivalry between the House of Obrenović and the House of Karađorđević, which would shape Serbian history well into the 20th century.</p> <h2>Rule and the Struggle for Serbia's Autonomy</h2> <p>After Karađorđe's removal, Miloš Obrenović was the undisputed leader of the Serbs under Ottoman rule. In 1817, the National Assembly proclaimed him hereditary supreme prince, although formal recognition from the Porte still had to be secured. Over the following years, through patient and often compromise-based diplomacy, and with Russian support stemming from the Treaty of Bucharest and the Ichko Peace, Miloš gradually expanded Serbian self-government and pushed Ottoman presence out of the country's interior.</p> <p>He governed autocratically, rarely sharing decisions with his associates and dealing harshly with any form of resistance. Nevertheless, it was precisely thanks to his persistence and pragmatism that Serbia, throughout the 1820s, gradually acquired institutions — its first schools, hospitals, and printing houses — and visibly moved away from direct Ottoman administration.</p> <h2>The Hatt-i Sharifs and the Hereditary Princely Title</h2> <p>A turning point in Miloš's rule was the <strong>Hatt-i Sharif of 1830</strong>, solemnly proclaimed on 28 November at Tašmajdan in Belgrade, in the presence of the prince and the Pasha of Belgrade. Through this document, Sultan Mahmud II recognized Serbia's status as an autonomous principality within the Ottoman Empire, and a separate imperial decree (berat) recognized Miloš's hereditary right to the princely title within the House of Obrenović. Serbia gained the right to its own internal administration, freedom of religion and trade, and the ability to establish schools, hospitals, and printing houses.</p> <p>The process of achieving full autonomy was completed with the <strong>Hatt-i Sharif of 1833</strong>, also known as the "explanatory" decree, which formally abolished the feudal (spahi) system and annexed to Serbia six nahijas that Karađorđe had liberated during the First Serbian Uprising. Although the Porte was slow to implement these provisions, Miloš, through a skillful combination of diplomacy, bribery, and Russian support, gradually secured the withdrawal of the Turkish population from Serbia's interior, while maintaining formal vassalage to the Sultan.</p> <h2>The Sretenje Constitution and Conflict with the Constitutionalists</h2> <p>Although officially granted hereditary princely status, Miloš Obrenović continued to rule autocratically, avoiding the formation of a Council (Sovjet) as required by the 1830 Hatt-i Sharif. His insistence on unlimited personal power, along with his retention of certain feudal obligations on the peasantry despite the formal abolition of the spahi system, provoked discontent among part of the Serbian ruling elite.</p> <p>Under pressure from this group, known as the <strong>Constitutionalists</strong> (ustavobranitelji), Miloš was forced in 1835 to proclaim Serbia's first written constitution on the feast of Sretenje, 15 February by the new calendar — the <strong>Sretenje Constitution</strong>. The constitution provided for a separation of powers and limits on the prince's authority, but it was soon abolished under pressure from the great powers — Russia, Austria, and the Ottoman Empire — which considered it excessively liberal. In its place, in 1838, the so-called "Turkish Constitution" was introduced, limiting Miloš's power through a permanent Council whose members the prince could not arbitrarily dismiss.</p> <h2>Fall from Power and Exile</h2> <p>Unwilling to accept the limitation of his authority, Miloš attempted to use the army to overthrow the newly formed Council, but was prevented from doing so by the Constitutionalist leaders. Under this pressure, on 13 June 1839, <strong>Miloš Obrenović abdicated</strong> in favor of his elder son, Milan. Two days later, he left Serbia together with his younger son Mihailo and settled on his estate at Herăști, in Wallachia (present-day Romania).</p> <p>Milan Obrenović II, gravely ill with tuberculosis, died after little more than two weeks on the throne, so power passed to the younger Mihailo. Miloš himself spent the following nineteen years in exile, first in Vienna and later mostly on his estates in Wallachia, from where, despite the distance, he continued to provide political support to his followers in Serbia and closely followed events in the country.</p> <h2>Return to Power and the Second Reign (1858–1860)</h2> <p>After almost two decades of exile, political turmoil in Serbia led to the fall of Prince Alexander Karađorđević. At the <strong>St. Andrew's Assembly</strong> in late 1858, it was decided that the House of Obrenović would return to the throne, and the aged Miloš, then in his 78th year, was once again proclaimed Prince of Serbia on 23 December 1858, although he did not return to the country until April 1859.</p> <p>His second reign was short-lived and marked by the suppression of political opponents he held responsible for his abdication two decades earlier, as well as by dealing with certain revolts, such as the one near Požarevac, which he quickly quelled. Although he had grown old, Miloš retained the same authoritarian character trait as in his youth, but physical frailty and advanced age did not allow him to carry out major reforms. His second reign lasted just under two years.</p> <h2>Private Life</h2> <p>In 1805, Miloš Obrenović married <strong>Ljubica Vukomanović</strong> (1788–1843), with whom he had eight children: Petrija, Savka, Gabrijela, Marija, Todor, Petar, and two sons who continued the dynasty — <strong>Milan</strong>, who briefly ruled in 1839, and <strong>Mihailo</strong>, who ruled twice and was tragically assassinated in 1868. Besides his legitimate children, historical sources also mention several of Miloš's illegitimate children, in keeping with his turbulent private life and the immense wealth that afforded him numerous relationships.</p> <p>Thanks to the trade monopolies and power he held for decades, Miloš became one of the wealthiest men in Serbia, and by some estimates, in the Balkans as a whole. He owned estates both in Serbia and in Wallachia, where he lived during his exile. His wife Ljubica died in 1843 in Vienna, while Miloš was still in exile, which was a heavy personal blow to him during his years away from his homeland.</p> <h2>Final Years and Death</h2> <p>After returning to the throne in 1858, Miloš Obrenović ruled Serbia until his death. He died on <strong>26 September 1860</strong> (14 September by the old calendar), at the age of 80, at the Topčider residence in Belgrade, where he spent his final years resting from state affairs. He was the only ruler of the House of Obrenović to live to such an advanced age.</p> <p>Miloš Obrenović was buried in the crypt of the <strong>Cathedral of Saint Archangel Michael in Belgrade</strong>, where his sons Milan and Mihailo are also interred. He was succeeded by his younger son Mihailo, who thus came to the throne of Serbia for a second time.</p> <h2>Interesting Facts</h2> <ul> <li>Miloš Obrenović was born Miloš Teodorović; he adopted the surname Obrenović after his mother's second husband, Obren Martinović, and, according to more recent research, first signed with that name as early as 1808.</li> <li>Although, according to many sources, he remained illiterate for much of his life, he managed to build one of the most complex diplomatic games in Europe at the time, balancing between the Ottoman Empire, Russia, and Austria.</li> <li>Despite his humble origins, he became one of the wealthiest men in the Balkans of his era, thanks to trade monopolies and his princely position.</li> <li>Until 1945, he was also known by the epithet "Miloš the Great," a title later phased out of use due to changed historical circumstances.</li> <li>His order for the killing of Karađorđe in 1817 sparked a long-lasting rivalry between the two Serbian dynasties that lasted into the 20th century.</li> </ul> <h2>Honors and Recognition</h2> <p>As a historical figure from a period before the establishment of modern state decorations, Miloš Obrenović did not receive awards in the contemporary sense. His most significant "recognition" came in the form of the Hatt-i Sharifs issued by Sultan Mahmud II in 1830 and 1833, which formally confirmed his hereditary princely title, along with the berat recognizing his status as the chief prince (baş-knez) of the Serbian people. According to some sources, the Sultan also rewarded him with a gilded saber after the killing of Karađorđe, as a sign of imperial favor.</p> <h2>Legacy and Influence</h2> <p>Miloš Obrenović left behind a dual legacy. On one hand, he is regarded as one of the key builders of modern Serbian statehood — through his persistence and diplomatic skill, Serbia grew from an Ottoman province into an autonomous principality with its own administration, laying the foundation for full independence, achieved in 1878. He founded the House of Obrenović, which, with interruptions, ruled Serbia until 1903.</p> <p>On the other hand, his rule remained marked by an autocratic style of governance, harsh conflicts with political opponents, and, above all, the killing of Karađorđe — an act that deeply divided Serbian society and set off a long-lasting rivalry between the two ruling families. Historians today describe Miloš Obrenović as a complex figure: an uneducated but exceptionally capable statesman, whose legacy cannot be reduced to a simple verdict of hero or villain.</p> <h2>Biography – Frequently Asked Questions</h2> <h3>Who was Miloš Obrenović?</h3> <p>Miloš Obrenović was a Serbian prince, leader of the Second Serbian Uprising, and founder of the House of Obrenović, who ruled Serbia from 1815 to 1839 and again from 1858 to 1860.</p> <h3>When and where was Miloš Obrenović born?</h3> <p>He was born on 18 March 1780 in the village of Gornja Dobrinja near Požega, although some sources give 1783 as his year of birth.</p> <h3>Why is Miloš Obrenović famous?</h3> <p>He is known for leading the Second Serbian Uprising, securing autonomy for the Principality of Serbia from the Ottoman Empire, and founding the House of Obrenović, but also for ordering the killing of Karađorđe in 1817.</p> <h3>Did Miloš Obrenović kill Karađorđe?</h3> <p>According to historical sources, Miloš Obrenović ordered the killing of Karađorđe in 1817, while the act was physically carried out by Nikola Novaković on the orders of Vujica Vulićević.</p> <h3>How long did Miloš Obrenović rule Serbia?</h3> <p>He ruled twice — first from 1815 to 1839 (23 years), and again from 1858 to 1860 (just under two years).</p> <h3>Why did Miloš Obrenović abdicate in 1839?</h3> <p>He abdicated under pressure from the Constitutionalists, a faction of the Serbian elite that demanded limits on his unrestricted, autocratic power.</p> <h3>Who was Miloš Obrenović's wife?</h3> <p>His wife was Ljubica Vukomanović, with whom he had eight children, including sons Milan and Mihailo, who later also ruled Serbia.</p> <h3>When and where did Miloš Obrenović die?</h3> <p>He died on 26 September 1860 at the Topčider residence in Belgrade, at the age of 80, and was buried in the Cathedral of Saint Archangel Michael.</p> <h3>Did Miloš Obrenović found the House of Obrenović?</h3> <p>Yes, Miloš Obrenović is the founder of the House of Obrenović, which, with interruptions, ruled Serbia until 1903.</p> <h3>What legacy did Miloš Obrenović leave behind?</h3> <p>He left behind the legacy of an autonomous, modern Serbian state built through diplomacy and persistence, but also the controversial legacy of autocratic rule and the killing of a political rival.</p> <h2>Conclusion</h2> <p>Miloš Obrenović stands as one of the most significant, yet also most contradictory figures in 19th-century Serbian history. From a poor peasant child and cattle trader, he rose to become the leader of the Second Serbian Uprising and a prince who, through diplomatic skill as well as ruthlessness, secured Serbia's autonomy from the Ottoman Empire. He founded the House of Obrenović and laid the foundations of modern Serbian statehood, yet his name remains forever tied to the tragic killing of Karađorđe. Miloš Obrenović died in 1860 as a prince who, despite personal controversies, undeniably shaped the course of Serbian history.</p>