Serbia had long been under Ottoman rule, and Belgrade became one of the largest Cities in the

Empire.

But the Serbians maintained their Christian beliefs and traditions, and often joined the Austrians in wars against
the Ottomans.

Like in 1718 when they even formed their own Kingdom, but ultimately it fell back under Ottoman Control.

Then another Austrian-Ottoman war erupted in 1788 and the Serbian Free Corps, helped the Austrians in
occupying Belgrade for a couple years.

However, the Ottomans won it back and, Sultan Selim III appointed Hadji Mustafa Pasha to govern Belgrade.

Mustafa Pasha worked alongside a Serbian, Peter Ichko, hoping to maintain the peace, and more freedoms
were granted.

Plus, the Janissaries who helped retake the City, were ordered to leave, as they brutally repressed the
population while in positions of power.

But these Janissaries found sanctuary in the lands of Osman Pazvantoglu, who had collected a large army of
mercenaries and rebelled against the Sultan.

And, by the 1790s, he controlled land around Vidin, fought back numerous Ottoman attempts to remove him
from power.

Meanwhile in Montenegro, Petar I had defeated the Ottomans in battle and, although not internationally
recognised, established Montenegrin independence and weakened the Ottomans power in the Balkans.

But, in 1797, Osman Pazvantoglu besieged Belgrade, and he was only stopped because the Serbians helped
raise their own forces to drive him back.

However, by 1799, it became clear that the he could not be subdued, so he, along with the Janissaries, were
pardoned and many returned to Belgrade.

Hadji Mustafa Pasha had some returning Janissaries arrested, but this lead to his assassination in 1801, at the
hands of Kucuk Alija.

Kucuk-Alija, and 3 other renegade Janissaries took over and, acting in defiance of the Sultan, introduced high
taxes, forced labour and brutal punishments.

The Serbs tried to petition the Sultan for aid in ousting the Janissaries, however when this was discovered and
72 Serbian noblemen were killed in early 1804.

So, near Arandelovac, the Serbians rose up under Djordie Petrovic.

Selim banned anyone from aiding the Janissaries, allowing the rebels to quickly take Sabac.

But, the Sultan also sent Bekir Pasha, the Vizier of Bosnia, to aid the rebels and to make sure that they
remained under Ottoman control. And he captured Belgrade.

The Janissaries fled to Ada Kale, but were followed by the Serbians who killed most of them in August 1804.

Meanwhile, the Napoleonic wars were raging in Europe, and the rebels looked to gain protection from the
Austrians or Russians.

But the Ottomans refused to allow a foreign power having influence in Serbia, and the Serbians refused to lay
down their arms, so negotiations over autonomy broke down.

Then the Ottomans made Hafiz Pasha the new governor of Belgrade and ordered him to confront the armed
rebels.

However, this far larger Turkish force was defeated at Ivankovac in August 1805, and again in 1806 at Misar.
The victorious Serbians sent Petar Icko to Constantinople to negotiate a favorable peace, granting them
autonomy.

But, late in 1806 the Serbians won again at Deligrad and, then the Russo-Turkish war erupted.

This began because Napoleon pressured the Ottomans into removing the pro-Russian leaders from their client
states of Moldavia and Wallachia.

So now the Serbians believed they could achieve full independence, captured Belgrade in December 1806, and
formed an alliance with the Russians shortly afterwards.

Meanwhile, in the wake of defeats to the Russians, Selim tried to reform the army, but this angered the
Janissaries who ousted him in a coup.

He was replaced by Mustafa IV, but by 1808 he in turn was ousted in another coup by Mahmud II – leaving the
Ottomans in a state of political turmoil and unable to deal with the Serbians.

So the Serbians were able to create a new ruling council and Petrovic was made the new hereditary ruler of the
nation.
And, when the Russians marched South in 1809, the Serbians tried to advance but were defeated at near Nis in
that May.

And the Ottoman commander, Hurshid Pasha, constructed a tower of skulls out of the Serbian dead.

Many fled Belgrade while the Ottomans advanced on the new capital, but Russian troops and weapons began
to arrive to bolster the defenses.

And, for a couple years, the Serbians held out, but Napoleons plans to invade Russia changed the situation, as
Russia quickly signed the Treaty of Bucharest with the Ottomans and retreated to defend their homeland.

As part of the treaty, Russia were able to take Bessarabia, while Serbia was promised a degree of autonomy.

So, the Ottomans were free to march on Belgrade in 1813, killing many in reprisal attacks on the way.

And, once in Belgrade in October, the Ottomans killed even more while cementing their control, but this just
encouraged even more rebellions in 1814, and the Second Serbian uprising began in 1815.