ACADEMIE SERBE DES SCIENCES ET DES ARTS

COMITE DE L’ACADEMIE POUR L’ETUDE

DU KOSOVO ET METOHIJA

RECUEIL DU KOSOVO
ET METOHIJA

REDACTEUR DRAGAN VOJVODIĆ

BELGRADE 2022
СРПСКА АКАДЕМИЈА НАУКА И УМЕТНОСТИ
АКАДЕМИЈСКИ ОДБОР ЗА ПРОУЧАВАЊЕ
КОСОВА И МЕТОХИЈЕ

КОСОВСКО-МЕТОХИЈСКИ
ЗБОРНИК

УРЕДНИК ДРАГАН ВОЈВОДИЋ

БЕОГРАД 2022
ЧЛАНОВИ РЕДАКЦИЈСКОГ ОДБОРА

ГОЈКО СУБОТИЋ
МИХАИЛО ВОЈВОДИЋ
ДРАГАН ВОЈВОДИЋ, уредник
РАДА СТИЈОВИЋ, секретар
КОСТА ЧАВОШКИ
СЛОБОДАН РЕМЕТИЋ
РАДИВОЈЕ МЛАДЕНОВИЋ
МИЛОМИР СТЕПИЋ

Примљено на I електронском скупу Одељења историјских наука

18–21. јула 2023. године

НА ПРЕДЊОЈ СТРАНИ КОРИЦА: ЛЕКТОР И КОРЕКТОР: ЈОВАНА ШЋЕПОВИЋ

АМБЛЕМ – ГРАЧАНИЧКА ЦРКВА У РУЦИ
КТИТОРА КРАЉА МИЛУТИНА СА ФРЕСКЕ У ПРЕВОД НА ЕНГЛЕСКИ ЈЕЗИК: МИЉАНА ПРОТИЋ
ГРАЧАНИЦИ, 1321. ГОДИНА – НИКОЛА ДУДИЋ
ТЕКСТ – ДРАГОМИР ТОДОРОВИЋ ТЕХНИЧКИ УРЕДНИК: НИКОЛА СТЕВАНОВИЋ

КОМПЈУТЕРСКА ПРИПРЕМА ЗА ШТАМПУ: ДАВОР ПАЛЧИЋ

ИЗДАЈЕ:
СРПСКА АКАДЕМИЈА НАУКА И УМЕТНОСТИ ШТАМПА: ПЛАНЕТА ПРИНТ, БЕОГРАД

ТИРАЖ: 300 ПРИМЕРАКА

ISSN 0354-284X ШТАМПАЊЕ ЗАВРШЕНО 2023. ГОДИНЕ
САДРЖАЈ – TABLE DES MATIERES

Татјана Стародубцев Призори Преображења Христовог у Призренском јеванђељу . . .. 1

Tatjana Starodubcev Transfiguration Scenes in the Prizren Gospel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31

Зоран Ранковић О неким фонолошко-фонетским и морфолошким особинама ру-

кописног минеја РС 5 Народне библиотеке Србије . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
Zoran Ranković Some Phonological-phonetic and Morphological Characteristics of
the Menaion MS RS 5 from the National Library of Serbia . . . . . . . . . . 46

Марка Томић Неколико до сада неидентификованих сцена грачаничког мено-

лога . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47
Marka Tomić A Few Heretofore Unidentified Scenes in the Gračanica Menologion . . . 77

Tatjana Katić On the Origin of Konstantin Mihailović, Author of the Turkish Chro-
nicle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81
Татјана Катић О пореклу Константина Михаиловића, аутора Турске хронике . . . 94

Лазар Љубић Српски патријарси светитељи XVII столећа 97

Lazar Ljubić Serbian Patriarchs Saints of the Seventeenth Century . . . . . . . . . . . 125

Урош Шешум „О свештенству призренском варошком и сеоском“ свештеника

Милоша Велимировића . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 127
Uroš Šešum On the Urban and Rural Clergy of Prizren by Miloš Velimirović . . . 135

Драган Војводић Живопис Пећке патријаршије из 1875. године . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 137

Ивана Женарју Рајовић
Dragan Vojvodić The Paintings of the Patriarchate of Peć Monastery from 1875 . . . . . . . 163
Ivana Ženarju Rajović

Милун Стијовић Прилог односима у Призренској богословији уочи ослобођења

Старе Србије . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 167
Milun Stijović The Relations in the Prizren Seminary on the Eve of the Liberation
of Old Serbia: a Contribution . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 195
Радивоје Младеновић Говор Призренског Подгора у метохијско-северношарплaнин-
ском микроконтинууму . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 197
Radivoje Mladenović The Vernacular of the Prizren Podgor within the Metohija-north Šara
Microcontinuum . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 230

Тања Милосављевић Лингвокултурне специфичности тематске групе ’тканине’ у 231

српском призренском говору . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Tanja Milosavljević The Linguacultural Specificities of the Thematic Group of ‘Cloth’ in
the Serbian Vernacular of Prizren . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 249

Татјана Трајковић Вокалски систем говора косовскокаменичког краја . . . . . . . . . . . 251

Tatjana Trajković Vocal System of the Vernacular of the Kosovska Kamenica Region . . . 275

Марија Јефтимијевић Повест о клобучком диздару Асану Бегенишићу (Данак у крви

Михајловић као књижевни мотив у роману Клобук Петра Сарића) . . . . . . . . . 277
Marija Jeftimijević The Story of Klobuk Dizdar Asan Begenišić. Blood Tax as a Literary
Mihajlović Motif in the Novel Klobuk by Petar Sarić . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 289

Јово Медојевић Антропогеографски процеси на територији Сиринићке жупе . . . . 291

Саша Милосављевић
Jovo Medojević Anthropogeographic Processes in the Territory of the Sirinić Župa . . . 311
Saša Milosavljević

ПРИКАЗИ КЊИГА

Резултати досадашњих и правци будућих истраживања срп-

ских народних говора Косова и Метохије, главни уредник З.
Кнежевић, уредници Р. Младеновић, П. Пипер, Београд – Косов-
ска Митровица, 2021 (Недељко Богдановић) 315

Пола века Универзитета у Приштини: сложеност трајања, уред-

ник Ј. Базић, Косовска Митровица 2021 (Јелена Павличић Шарић) 321
 ON THE ORIGIN OF KONSTANTIN MIHAILOVIĆ,
AUTHOR OF THE TURKISH CHRONICLE*

TATJANA KATIĆ**

УДК 821.163.41:929 Mihailović K.

Memoirs of a Janissary or Turkish Chronicle penned by the Serbian soldier Kon-
stantin Mihailović is a well-known fifteenth-century historical source that has
raised many questions and debates. One of them concerns the author’s origin, social
background and level of education. This paper will show that he was born in the
village of Ostrovica, whose approximate location has been established here. The
settlement was the centre of the medieval county of the same name renowned for its
silver mine and lively financial and commercial activities. There was an Orthodox
monastery where Mihailović most likely received his schooling before entering Ot-
toman service.
Keywords: Memoirs of a Janissary, fifteenth-century Ottoman Empire, Novo Brdo,
Ottoman cadastral surveys, Ostrovica, Serbian nobility

Turkish Chronicle by Konstantin, son of Mihailo Konstantinović of Ostrovica,

at least its earliest known redaction, originated towards the end of the fifteenth
century. From the very beginning, it gained wide popularity in early modern
Europe, due to which it was extensively rewritten and a couple of times re-
printed.1 Since the nineteenth century, it has become the subject of philological
and historical studies that remain current even today.2 Many of them have been
focused on elucidating the interdependence of the preserved manuscripts and

* This paper arose out of the research project
“History and the Cultural Heritage of the Ser-
bian People in Kosovo and Metohija” funded
by the Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts
under Strategic Projects programme – grant
agreement No 02-2021.
**
The Institute of History in Belgrade,
tatjanakatich@gmail.com.
1
There are seventeen preserved manuscripts
composed between the 16th and 18th centu-
ries. Three manuscripts are in Old Czech and
fourteen in Old Polish (these entitled Mem-
81 oirs of a janissary). The first printed com-
plete edition of the Turkish Chronicle is from
1565. For more details, see Г. Јовановић,
Константин Михаиловић из Островице,
Јаничарове успомене или Турска хроника.
Пример пољско-чешко-српских веза, in:
Од Мораве до Мораве II. Из историје
чешко-српских односа, ed. В. Копривица,
A. Корда-Петровић, В. Штјепанек, Нови
Сад 2011, 243–252.
2
For the reception of Konstantin’s work
and for a review of the early research see Ђ.
Живановић, Живот и дело Константина
Михаиловића из Островице, Београд
2006, 8–36.
their relation to the missing autograph. It has been determined that the core TATJANA KATIĆ

text of the Turkish Chronicle was modified and enlarged by different editors/
translators/copyists, but to what extent is yet to be ascertained.3
However, whatever the scope of these modifications is, one can say that they
do not compromise the general content and flavour of Konstantin Mihailović’s
work.4 Turkish Chronicle reflects his own knowledge and experience, particu-
larly in the chapters describing events he personally witnessed, for example,
the military campaigns from 1456 to 1463. Many parts of Mihailović’s report
have been considered authentic historical testimonies because they correspond
closely with the accounts of his contemporaries. Konstantin writes about the
assassination attempt on grand vizier Mahmud Pasha at ‘Petnoz Alan’ (Ch. 32)
while the Ottoman chronicler Rûhî records that the grand vizier was wounded
by an arrow at Bitinus Alanı (the same event is mentioned by the Greek his-
torian Michael Kritoboulos).5 Konstantin, like the chroniclers Oruç Bey and
Ibn Kemal, writes about Mihaloğlu Ali Bey’s victory against Hungarian com-
mander Michael Szilágyi but adds another detail, reporting that sultan Mehmed
II received good news while staying in Niksar on return from his Trabzon
campaign (Ch. 31).6 Konstantin transmits oral lore on how the Serbian despot
3
For example, in the first printed complete из Островицы, Москва 1978), Italian (A.
edition from 1565, the editor added a small Danti, Konstantin Mihailović di Ostrovica,
paragraph about Skanderbeg (Georg Kastrio- Cronaca turca ovvero Memorie di un gian-
ti) at the end of Chapter 33, which was taken nizzero, Palermo 2001), French (Ch. Zarem-
from the then-popular De obsidione Scod- ba, Mémoires d’un janissaire: Chronique
rensi by Marin Barleti. He also added some turque, Toulouse 2012) and Turkish (K. Bey-
parts from the work of Mikulas Claudian. dilli, Yeniçeriler ve Bir Yeniçerinin Hatıratı,
Живановић, Живот и дело Константина İstanbul 2013.
Михаиловића, 11–13. 5
Although Konstantin, probably due to his
4
So far, it has been translated into eight confused recollection of the events, mistak-
modern languages: Serbian (J. Шафарик, enly put the attentat in Chapter 32 instead
Мијаила Константиновића, Србина из of at the beginning of Chapter 31, where it
Островице, Историја или љетописи chronologically belongs, its authenticity is
турски, списани око године 1490, Гласник beyond any doubt. See Victor Louis Ménage’s
Србског ученог друштва књ. 1 св. 18 (1865) review of B. Stolz and R. Lachmann transla-
25–188; Ђ. Живановић, Константин tions (Konstantin Mihailović, Memoirs of a
Михаиловић из Островице, Јаничарове Janissary and Memoiren eines Janitscharen
успомене или Турска хроника, Споменик oder Türkische Chronik) in Bulletin of the
107, одељење друштвеник наука САН, School of Oriental and African Studies, 40/1
1959), Polish (J. Łoś, Pamiętniki Janczara (1977), 157.
czyli Kronika Turecka Konstantego z Os- 6
That the sultan encamped with his army
trowicy napisana między r. 1496 a 1501, in Niksar at the end of August beginning of
Kraków 1912), English (B. Stolz, Konstan- September 1461 is corroborated by the en-
tin Mihailović, Memoirs of a Janissary, his- tries in Ottoman cadastral defters. For more
torical commentary and notes by S. Soucek, details, see А.Јаковљевић, Турска хроника
Ann Arbor MI 1975), German (R. Lahmann, Константина Михаиловића и османски
Memoiren eines Janitscharen oder Türkis- наративни извори, in Средњи век у
che Chronik, commentary by C.-P. Haase, српској науци, историји, књижевности и
R. Lachmann and G. Prinzig, Graz 1975), уметности: 7 научни скуп, Деспотовац-
Russian (А. И. Рогов, Записки Яничара, Манасија, 22–23. август 2015, ур. Г.
написаны Константином Михайловичем Јовановић, Деспотовац 2016, 147. 82
ON THE ORIGIN OF George Branković obtained sultan Murad II’s permit to build Smederevo for-
KONSTANTIN MIHAILOVIĆ,
AUTHOR OF THE TURKISH tress by pretending that he wanted to build a monastery (Ch. 20), while Oruç
CHRONICLE
Bey writes almost the same, that the despot asked to erect a church.7 The au-
thenticity of certain events is also attested by the small details. For instance,
writing about the conspiracy against Mehmed II, Konstantin mentions an emp-
ty church in Istanbul called ‘Does not see the sun’ (Ch. 27), which actually
existed under this name.8 Even when incorrectly writing down some Turkish
terms, he shows solid knowledge of the Ottoman military organisation.9 He is
the only one who mentions čilik (Ch. 39), the term designating ‘one in forty’
(from Persian chihal-yek) and referring to the Christian boys, the sultan’s sub-
jects, who were taken for the Ottoman army.10
The opening part of Konstantin’s work devoted to the early history of Islam
and its practices is also informed by his first-hand experiences and the cultural
influences he was exposed to. Konstantin introduces us to the ‘Ali-centric’ ver-
sion of Ottoman Islam (Ch. 2), widely spread in the janissary corps.11 He shares
with us some of the Islamic lore circulating among janissaries, such as the story
about Karavida (Černavida) and the founder of the Ottoman dynasty.12 We meet
Mihailović in person in the public kitchen – imaret (‘gimarat’, ‘Giemarach’,
‘Gemarak’ in Ch. 4)13 listening to the Muslim preachers whose teachings on
Christ were designed for converts from Christianity to Islam like him.14 We see
him attending a fiery religious debate whose content was also tailored to suit
the ears of renegades at the sultan’s court.15 According to his own testimony,
7 13
Ménage, Review, 159. For other Turkish loanwords in Mihailović’s
8
The church ‘Gün-görmez’ was situated Turkish Chronicle, see S. Petrović, Turkish
on the Hippodrome near the site of the Sul- Loanwords in the Czech Manuscript of Kon-
tan Ahmed mosque. It was converted into stantin Mihailović’s “Memoirs of a Janis-
a mosque by Mehmed II but later used as a sary” in Etymological Research into Czech.
gunpowder magazine. It was destroyed due to Proceedings of the Etymological Symposium
a lightning strike in 1489. Ibid., 158. Brno 2017, 12–14 September 2017, Brno, eds.
9 I. Janyšková, H. Karlíková, V. Boček, Praha
For instance, the name of the earliest Otto-
2017, 339–349.
man infantry units – enük yaya (as recorded
in chronicles by Aşık Paşazade and Ibn Ke- 14
Veinstein, On the Ottoman janissaries, 126.
mal) has been recorded by Konstantin in the Konstantin’s conversion is not mentioned
corrupted form of yeni kahya (Ch. 11). For any where in his Report, although it must have
more details, see Ibid., 159. happened because he was a high-ranking of-
10
D. Bojanić-Lukač, Povodom izraza čilik ficer in the sultan’s service, kahya, that is, the
(Prilog izučavanju danka u krvi), Vesnik Vo- second-in-command of a fortress garrison. G.
jnog muzeja JNA 6–7 (1962) 237–239. Veinstein, ‘Konstantin Mihailović’, in Chris-
11
T. Krstić, Contested Conversions to Islam: tian-Muslim Relations. A Bibliographical
Narratives of Religious Change in the Early History, vol. 5: 1350–1500, eds. D Thomas,
Modern Ottoman Empire, Stanford CA 2011, A. Mallett, Leiden-Boston 2013, 603, asserts
59; G. Veinstein, On the Ottoman janissaries that Konstantin’s Muslim name was Ishaq
(fourteenth-nineteenth centuries) in Fighting Kahya but without citing any sources for this
for a Living: A Comparative History of Mili- claim.
tary Labour 1500–2000, ed. E. J. Zürcher, 15
The audience could hear the story about
Amsterdam 2013, 126. 800 ghost camels that transport the bodies of
12
For more details, see Krstić, Contested bad Muslims to Christian graves and the bod-
83 Conversions, 59. ies of good Christians to the empty Muslim
he participated many times in such gatherings in order to understand Muslim TATJANA KATIĆ

teachings.
So, who was renegade Konstantin Mihailović, who, after being captured by
King Matthias Corvinus in 1463 and becoming Christian again, wrote Report
or Turkish Chronicle (so-called Memoirs of a Janissary)? Konstantin himself
gave sparse details on his life, some of which were controversial and difficult
to reconcile. He tells us he was one of the 1500 cavalrymen sent by the Serbian
despot George Branković to fight in the sultan’s army in 1453 (Ch. 26). But, in
1455, this mature and experienced soldier, as we can conclude from his first-
person statement, suddenly became a boy who was too young and weak to
resist his captors and kill them (Ch. 27).16 He was allegedly enslaved in Novo
Brdo in June 1455 with his two young brothers and other boys selected for the
janissary corps and sent to Anatolia for regular pre-military training. But only
a year later, he was allegedly a participant in the siege of Belgrade (Ch. 29),
which seems rather implausible in light of his claimed age and the fact that
he had not been trained yet. Seven years after that, he was appointed to a re-
sponsible position in an area exposed to Hungarian attacks. He became deputy
(kethüda/kahya) of the commander of the Zvečaj fortress, where he was soon
captured or ‘liberated’, as he euphemistically said (Ch. 34).
The aforesaid contradictory data convey the impression that Konstantin
Mihailović attempted to hide some parts of his biography or reinvent it. His
main motive for doing so was, no doubt, to prove loyalty to the Christian cause
and exculpate himself for having been a trustworthy servant of Mehmed the
Conqueror for eleven years.17 In all likelihood, Konstantin was not ‘enslaved’
as a juvenile boy in Novo Brdo in 1455.18 He was a Serbian cavalryman who
fought as the despot’s soldier in the siege of Constantinople in 145319 and de-
fected, that is, entered Mehmed II’s service, either then or shortly afterwards,
as hypothesized by V. L. Ménage. Or, he might have changed sides at the time
of the conquest of Novo Brdo, which seems more acceptable considering how
he describes in detail, mainly from the Serbian point of view, the battle in
17
graves. On Judgment Day, all good people Ménage, Review, 158; Krstić, Contested
will stand together and be led by Muhammad Conversions, 57–58.
to Heaven, while the bad ones will be taken to 18
Konstantin’s account of the fall of Novo
Hell by Jesus. It seems this story aims to com-
Brdo is somewhat obscure and lacking in
fort renegades by giving them hope that they
details, which made some researchers sus-
will end up on the right side of God with their
picious about its authenticity, for instance
Christian relatives and former neighbours.
Г. Јовановић, Константин Михаиловић
See P. Buc, One among many renegades: the
из новобрдске Островице и његов спис
Serb janissary Konstantin Mihailović and the
Турска хроника или тзв. Јаничарове
Ottoman conquest of the Balkans, Journal of
успомене (крај XV века), Косовско-
Medieval History 46/2 (2020) 220–221.
метохијски зборник 6 (2015) 136, 146–147.
16
This discrepancy has been underlined by 19
Konstantin tried to minimize the role of the
several researchers, among others S. Soucek
Serbian contingent in this battle, see Ch. 26.
(in Stolz, Memoirs of a Janissary, 91–93), V.
L. Ménage (Review, 157) and P. Buc (One
among many renegades, 225). 84
ON THE ORIGIN OF Dubočica in 1454 (Ch. 27). What is almost beyond doubt is that “he never went
KONSTANTIN MIHAILOVIĆ,
AUTHOR OF THE TURKISH ‘across the sea’ for training because, as a trained soldier, he did not need it but
CHRONICLE
was already competent to serve in some capacity near the sultan in 1456”.20
It is arguable whether Mihailović was a janissary or not. He himself never
claimed explicitly to have been one, but he implied that he had some function in
the janissary corps.21 Considering that he had been a cavalryman before enter-
ing the sultan’s service, one can assume that he continued to perform military
duty as a mounted soldier, not as an infantryman. Hence, it seems more reason-
able, to me at least, that he was not a janissary. Most likely, he was a member
of the sultan’s household (kapıhalkı) and served as a light cavalryman in his
entourage.22
Konstantin was not a member of a pasha’s retinue because, if he had been, he
would certainly have mentioned it. He spent some time in the vicinity of the
then grand vizier Mahmud Pasha Angelović,23 his countryman, though not a
fellow citizen from Novo Brdo24, about whom he writes in several chapters.
Nevertheless, Konstantin did not belong to his retinue, which is apparent
from the fact that he did not take part in his campaign in Serbia in spring-
summer 1458. At that time, he was deployed in the sultan’s campaign in
Morea (Ch. 30).25
When not on the battlefield, Konstantin spent much of his time at the palace,
according to his Report. He ate in the palace kitchen and attended religious
debates to sate his curiosity. Judging by the attention he paid to the custom of
diplomatic gift-giving (Ch. 8), he witnessed the audiences of foreign envoys
more often than not. His Memoirs reveal a person who walked with innate
confidence through the saray, entered the rooms of the Bosnian envoys and
spoke with them as if they were his equals (Ch. 34). Therefore, it is hard to
believe that he was an ordinary janissary, a ‘little man’ of low birth, an illiter-
20 23
Ménage, Review, 157. For example, during the religious de-
21 bate in the palace (Ch. 6) or in the Otto-
S. Soucek, the editor of Stolz’s translation
man treasury while hiding and eavesdrop-
of Memoirs of a Janissary (p. xix) and A.
ping on Mahmud Pasha’s conversation with
Danti (Ani janczar, ani autor Kroniki tureck-
Ishak Pasha (Ch. 34).
iej? (W sprawie Konstantego Michaiłovicia z
24
Ostrowicy), Pamiętnik Slowiański 19 (1969) Buc, One among many renegades, 221, 228.
101–113) question if Mihailović entered the Konstantin was born in the village of Ostro-
janissary corps or served as a soldier in some vica, north of Novo Brdo, while Mahmud
other regiment, while Đ. Živanović (Живот Pasha originated from the village of Angeli,
и дело Константина Михаиловића, 71, 79) southeast of the same place (More on this
and recently P. Buc (One among many ren- subject in my forthcoming article on the ori-
egades, 224–225) argue that his janissary af- gin and family network of grand vizier Mah-
filiation is beyond any doubt. mud Pasha Angelović)
22 25
In support of this claim, one might refer to After ending their campaigns, Mahmud
chapters 31 and 40, from which it is evident Pasha and the sultan’s troops met in Skopje
that Konstantin was in the vicinity of the sul- in the late summer of 1458. T. Stavrides,
tan during a march or battle, behind the janis- The Sultan of Vezirs. The Life and Times of
saries and pack animals (camels). the Ottoman Grand Vezir Mahmud Pasha
85 Angelović (1453–1474), Brill 2001, 122, 127.
ate miner who received his first schooling in Ottoman captivity, as argued by TATJANA KATIĆ

Živanović.26 It is more plausible that he was from a better family, as Šafarik

concluded earlier, bearing in mind Konstantin’s position in Ottoman service
and his brother’s office in the Imperial Treasury.27
Konstantin was probably a member of the mid-level or higher nobility who,
following the example of many Balkan Christian nobles, decided at the right
moment (during the siege of Novo Brdo or immediately after its fall) to switch
allegiance and become part of the sultan’s entourage.28 Being from a better
family, he knew to read and write at the very least. In addition, he might have
received some elementary education, like most children from privileged back-
grounds. What also leads to this conclusion is a recently noticed sentence in
the Czech manuscript M used by Konstantin while describing the death of
King Stefan Dečanski. The phrase is identical to a formulation in the Serbian
Genealogies that speak of the same subject. This fact indicates that Konstantin
was familiar with the history of the Nemanjić dynasty through medieval writ-
ten sources. One can suggest that this had to do with the schooling that he had
received before becoming an Ottoman soldier.29
Konstantin was from Ostrovica, as all preserved manuscripts of the Turkish
Chronicle report. At first, it was assumed that this place referred to Ostrovica
on Rudnik Mountain. However, the hypothesis was soon dismissed due to the
distance separating Rudnik Mountain and Novo Brdo. Later, Ostrovica, near
the modern town of Preševo, was suggested as Mihailović’s birthplace and
then, Ostrovica, close to the village of Nerodimlje.30 Afterwards, it was con-
cluded, based on the Book of Debts of Mihailo Lukarević (Michel Luchari)
from the fifteenth century31, that Konstantin’s Ostrovica must have been in
26
Константин Михаиловић из Островице, Tocco: seigneurs, vassaux, otages, renegats,
Јаничарове успомене, XXXV–XXXVI; Güneydoğu Avrupa Çalışmaları Uygulama
Idem, Живот и дело Константина Михаи- ve Araştırma Merkezi (GAMER), 1 (2012)
ловића, 67, 70–71. If Mihailović were a miner, 11–22. In the Balkan provinces of the em-
his skills would have been used in the Otto- pire, a significant part of the Christian high
man army, and he would have written about it. and mid-level nobility was incorporated
into the Ottoman military system as timar-
27
Шафарик, Историја или љетописи holders. On average, Christians in the Bal-
турски, 29. kans accounted for 20% of all timar-holders
28
The existing secondary literature has al- in the fifteenth century. H. İnalcık, Stefan
ready shown that numerous members of the Duşan’dan Osmanlı İmparatorluğuna: XV.
Byzantine and Balkan aristocracy held im- Asırda Rumeli’de Hıristiyan Sipahiler ve
portant positions at the sultan’s court and in Menşeleri, in Fuad Köprülü Armağanı (pp.
the provinces, including the highest ones. 208–248). Istanbul 1953.
For instance, Stavrides, The Sultan of Vezirs, 29
For more details, see Јовановић, Констан-
73–93; H. Lowry, A Note on Three Palaiol- тин Михаиловић из новобрдске Острови-
ogon Princes as Members of the Ottoman це и његов спис Турска хроника, 147.
Ruling Elite, in E. Kolovos, Ph. Kotzageor-
gis, S. Laiou, M. Sariyannis (eds), The Otto-
30
For more details, see Живановић, Кон-
стантин Михаиловић из Островице,
man Empire, the Balkans, the Greek Lands:
Јаничарове успомене, xxx–xxxiii.
Toward a Social and Economic History.
Studies in Honor of John C. Alexander (pp. М. Динић, Из Дубровачког архива, књ. I,
31

279–288), Istanbul 2007; E. Zachariadou, Les Београд 1957, 35–90. 86

ON THE ORIGIN OF the vicinity of Novo Brdo. The precise location is unknown since the village
KONSTANTIN MIHAILOVIĆ,
AUTHOR OF THE TURKISH vanished a long time ago.32
CHRONICLE
Recently A. Jakovljević proved that Ostrovica was the name of a village but
also of a small region north of Novo Brdo, between Goljak Mountain and the
confluence of the Rivers Tularska and Jablanica. He has not dealt with this
subject in detail but has suggested in a footnote that the old village of Ostro-
vica might be today’s locality of Gradina, between Medevce and Gubavce vil-
lages.33 However, if one delves deeper into the topic, a more plausible location
of the village site emerges, and so does the potential place where Konstantin
was educated.
The pre-Ottoman district of Ostrovica, mentioned in Lukarević’s Book of
Debts34, continued to exist as a distinct area and a low-level Ottoman adminis-
trative unit (nahiye). The conquerors retained the inherited territorial organisa-
tion and the local toponyms. According to the oldest preserved Ottoman ca-
dastral survey from 149835, the nahiye of Ostrovica encompassed 21 villages:
Arbanaš (Albanian) Petrila, Boško’s Petrila, Velika (Big) Petrila36, Bogunovce,
Dojić, Gonce37, Gubavac, Hri(je)kovce38, Jarkovica, Kalugerci39, Lipojevci40,
Medojevce41, Oporoštica, Ostrovica42, Ozrikovce43, Raka, Retko Cerje, Rupl-
jani44, Stanci45, Tulari46 and Vojnugovce (Vojnegovce)47. It belonged to the large

Живановић, Живот и дело Константина

32
Михаиловића, 62–63.
33
Јаковљевић, Турска хроника Констан-
тина Михаиловића и османски наративни
извори, 140.
34
Динић, Из Дубровачког архива, 67, 75.
35
T. C. Cumhurbaşkanlığı Devlet Arşivleri
Başkanlığı, Osmanlı Arşivi, Istanbul [hereaf-
ter BOA], Tapu Tahrir Defteri [hereafter TT]
nu. 28, pp. 156–175.
36
Today’s dispersed village of Petrilje previ-
ously consisted of three separate settlements.
Mihailo Lukarević’s Book of Debts mentions
these villages under the names: Upper Petrila
(Petrila Sopra, Petrila Gorna), [Lower?]
Petrila and Middle Petrila that is, Petrila
of Middle kolo (Petrila de Mezo; Petrila
de Mezo cholo). Динић, Из Дубровачког
архива, 38, 41, 43, 44, 48, 49, 53-55, 73, 74,
78, 79, 83, 84, 86–88. Kolo is a Slavic world
meaning ‘wheel’ but also ‘smeltery’, ‘smelt-
ing furnace’.
37
Gonze/Gonzi/ Gonzj in Lukarević’s Book.
Ibid., 38, 41, 53, 54, 74, 76, 81, 85, 87.
38
Lukarević registers Chrechouzi/Hrechouzj.
87 Ibid., 45, 82.
39
Chalugerize in Mihailo Lukarević’s Book
of Debts. Ibid., 44, 77.
40
The village Lipoeuzi also bore another
name: Lipoieuzi cholo (Ibid., 40, 47, 48, 81,
87), which suggests that a smeltery operated
there.
41
Lukarević stresses that this village is situ-
ated in the district of Ostrovica, Medoieuzj in
Hostruuza (Ibid., 67), Medoieuzi (Ibid., 81).
42
For the village of Ostrovica (Ostruviza, Os-
truuza) see Ibid., 88.
43
Under the same name Hosruchouzi, Osru-
chouzi in Ibid., 44, 75.
44
The same Ruplani in Ibid., 83.
45
Lukarević registers this village as Stanche
and Stanche cholo (smeltery). Ibid., 41, 48,
54, 87, 89, 90.
46
Also mentioned by Lukarević many times,
see Tulari in Ibid., 37–39, 40, 41, 43, 44, 48,
49, 51–53, 62, 72, 74, 75 (on this page Tulari
in Hostur[uuza]), 77, 79, 81, 84, 85.
47
Voinegouzi in Ibid., 49, 85, 90. It should
not be confused with Voinegouzj in Chatun
(Ibid., 79) in the district of Vranje (Chatun
de Vragne, Ibid., 73), which belonged to the
nahiye of Vranje in the sancak of Köstendil.
mining area of Novo Brdo, which was in its entirety part of the sultan’s do- TATJANA KATIĆ

mains in the territory of the Vučitrn sancak.48 Near one of the villages – Jarko-
vica (Jarkovac), long before the Ottoman conquest, operated a silver mine of
the same name, which contributed substantially to the economic development
of Ostrovica county and the wealth of its inhabitants.49 In the Ottoman era and
maybe earlier, all the above-mentioned Ostrovica’s villages were part of the
Jarkovac mine’s domain. They performed auxiliary services such as: supplying
charcoal, transporting ore and the like or were involved in metalworking.50 The
silver ore from Jarkovac was sent to the village of Ozrikovce, where there was
an ore washing plant – plakaonica.51 From there, it was transported to several
smelting furnaces in the villages of Lipojevci, Stanci and Petrila.52 Afterwards,
instead of Novo Brdo, the smelted ore was sent back to Jarkovac to the local
silver refinery – kalhane.53 The Jarkovac mine opened probably in the four-
teenth century during the growth of mining around Novo Brdo but operated
only until the 1530s or 1540s when it was completely abandoned.54 At the same
time, the mining settlements of Rupljani, Boško’s Petrila and Arbanaš Petrila
vanished for a time or forever55, while the rest of the 18 villages continued to
exist.56 Most of the settlements survived during the seventeenth century57, but
in the Great Turkish War (1683–1699) some of them were abandoned.58 To-
48 53
The nahiye of Ostrovica consisted of the Beldiceanu, Les Actes des premiers sultans
same villages in 1525. BOA, TT 133, pp. II,269, 327.ö
93–103 54
In the cadastral survey from 1544/45, Jark-
49
As usual, members of the nobility con- ovac was registered with only three house-
trolled the most lucrative mining activities holds (BOA, TT 234, p. 100), while in 1571,
(in fifteenth-century Serbia, the most promi- it was listed as long abandoned. Tapu ve Ka-
nent one was the great čelnik Radič). Accord- dastro Genel Müdürlüğü Tapu Arşivi, An-
ing to Lukarević’s Book of Debts, there were kara [hereafter TKGM], Tapu Tahrir Defteri
also village priests who invested in the min- [hereafter TTD] 124, p. 41b.
ing business (from Gonce, Stance and Petrila) 55
TKGM, TTD 124, p. 38b, 41b. Ruplani is
and those from humble backgrounds, for in- mentioned again in 1650, in a cizye survey
stance, a shoemaker from Tulari and a black- (BOA, Mâliyeden Müdevver Defteri [hereaf-
smith from Petrila. Динић, Из Дубровачког ter MAD] 1045, p. 6) as a village with seven
архива, 53, 54, 74, 77, 79. households.
56
50
For more details, see the regulation act Besides the previously recorded 17 vil-
(kanunname) of the Jarkovac mine in N. lages, the hamlet of Prevetnica, with two
Beldiceanu, Les Actes des premiers sultans Christian households, was added to the Os-
conservés dans les manuscrits turcs de la trovica district in 1544/45. BOA, TT 234, p.
Bibliothèque Nationale a Paris, II, Règle- 101. The hamlet was situated in the vicinity
ments miniers 1390–1512, Paris 1964, pp. of Medveđa (TKGM, TTD 124, p. 41a).
268–270, 326–328. 57
In 1650, in the cizye census of the district
51
of Novo Brdo, the following villages were
Ibid., 269 [Uzur]qufče, 327. recorded: Ostrovica, Tulari, Ruplani, Vojnu-
52
Динић, Из Дубровачког архива, 54, 86, 87. govce and Retko Cerje. BOA, MAD 1045, pp.
6–7.
It is possible that smelting furnaces existed in
some other villages, for instance, in Tulari, 58
The last preserved register of the nahiye
where residues of mining and metallurgical of Ostrovica from 1700 does not reflect the
activities were found. V. Simić, Istorijski raz- contemporary situation (BOA, TT 1081/2, pp.
voj našeg rudarstva, Beograd 1951, 239. 133–136) because all data were copied from 88
ON THE ORIGIN OF day there are: Bogunovac, Gubavce, Medevce (Medojevce), Petrilje, Poroštica
KONSTANTIN MIHAILOVIĆ,
AUTHOR OF THE TURKISH (Oporoštica), Tulari and Retkocerje.
CHRONICLE
Although only seven out of twenty-one settlements remain, it is possible to
determine the extent of the medieval county of Ostrovica since all neighbour-
ing villages from surrounding regions still exist. They are registered in the
Ottoman cadastral surveys within different counties – medieval župas, that is,
Ottoman nahiyes of the Vučitrn and Alacahisar (Kruševac) sancaks. Knowing
their borders, one can define the borders of the Ostrovica nahiye (see Map 1).59
However, what is of particular concern here is to determine the precise location
of Konstantin’s birthplace – the village of Ostrovica, the main settlement after
which the whole area was named.
The toponym of Ostrovica, relatively common in the Balkans, is derived from
the adjective ‘ostro’ (Old Slavonic ostrъ), meaning ‘sharp’, and relates to a
pointed and naked rocky mountain peak. It also serves to designate a fortified
place atop a rocky hill or mountain.60 The Gradina hill between Medevce and
Gubavce villages, which is assumed to be former Ostrovica, does not respond
to the described landform, so it is hard to believe that it previously bore the
name Ostrovica, Oštri Vrh, that is, the Sharp Peak. Although there are well-
preserved remains of a late Roman–early Byzantine fortress at Gradina61, the
land area between the two villages mentioned above appears to be quite limited
and not sufficiently large to establish the most important settlement of a medi-
eval county. Below the hill, at a site named Luke, a large amount of slag was
found62, which led to the speculation that this might have been the location of a
smaller mining settlement with a smeltery (Lipojevce or Stance, for example).

the survey of 1571 (TKGM, TTD 124, pp.
37a–41b).
59
Nahiyes in general, especially those around
the mine of Novo Brdo, were compact terri-
torial units. Therefore, all unidentified set-
tlements of the Ostrovica district should not
be sought outside its borders even if there
are identical toponyms in relative proxim-
ity; cf. Poroštica southwest of Medveđa,
which belonged to the Ostrovica nahiye in
the sancak of Vučitrn, and Poroštica east of
Medveđa which belonged to the nahiye of
Dubočica in the sancak of Kruševac. (see Т.
Катић, Војнучки дефтер из 1455. године
за санџаке Kрушевац, Вучитрн, Призрен
и вилајете Звечан, Јелеч, Рас, Сенице и
Ходидед, Београд 2020, 41) . Therefore,
for instance, the villages of Kalugerci
(Kaluđerci) and Stanci in the nahiye of Pol-
janica in the Kruševac sancak (BOA, TT 179,
89 pp. 700, 708) should not be identified with the
villages of the same names in the Ostrovica
nahiye.
60
Cf. Old Slavonic ostrogъ, meaning a place
fortified by a palisade. Today, several Ostro-
vicas exist on hilltops with preserved traces
of fortifications: Ostrovica Rudnička, Os-
trovica near Kulen Vakuf, Ostrovica Lička
and Ostrovica Buška. For more details, see I.
Mataija, Lička toponimija, unpublished doc-
toral thesis, Zadar 2019, p. 203 [available on
https://urn.nsk.hr/urn:nbn:hr:162:068861] ac-
cessed 16 November 2021.
61
I am grateful to Toni Čerškov from the In-
stitute for Cultural Heritage Protection Niš,
who conducted field research in this area in
2007, for informing me about the existing
remnants on the Gradina hill in a personal
communication on 15 November 2021.
62
С. Ерцеговић-Павловић, Д. Костић, Ар-
хеолошки споменици и налазишта леско-
вачког краја, Београд–Лесковац 1988. 92.
In the area covered by the old district of Ostrovica, there are remnants of sev- TATJANA KATIĆ

eral hilltop fortifications from the late Roman–early Byzantine period. They
are lined up along the old Roman road leading towards the mines of Priština,
Janjevo and Novo Brdo.63 Among them, there is only one fortress situated on
a mountain that clearly stands out from the surrounding area and whose geo-
graphical features – conical shape and rocky summit – fully correspond to the
name of Ostrovica. It is Mrkonjski Vis, that is, Mrkonjski Peak (1070 m), which
is, like Mount Ostrovica Rudnička, a perfect example of an extinct volcano.
The very summit is narrow and not spacious enough to accommodate more
than ten people. It served previously as a natural watchtower, from where it was
possible to communicate with all other fortifications in the area. The fortress
itself was built on a slope facing Mrkonje village, on a site named Grobnice,
some 250 m from the summit, at a height of approximately 1020 m. In the vi-
cinity, there is a medieval graveyard.64
The name of this dominant peak is of a recent date. It was brought by the colo-
nists from Montenegro in the last two decades of the nineteenth century, the
same as the surrounding toponyms: Mrkonje, Pivljanski Potok, Cucki Brijeg
and Plješivački Brijeg. The former name of the mountain is forgotten, but bear-
ing in mind all of the above, one can conclude that it certainly was Ostrovica.
The fortress of Ostrovica, located less than 20 km by air from Novo Brdo, is not
mentioned in medieval or Ottoman sources, but its suburb, the village of Ostro-
vica, is recorded in Lukarević’s Book of Debts and Ottoman cadastral surveys.
The fortress, on whose ruins there are visible traces of a fire, was probably de-
serted sometime in the thirteenth century, while the open settlement continued
to develop throughout the Middle Ages.65
Ostrovica village, the central place of the eponymous district, must have had a
respectable sacred building. And, indeed, there was a monastery about which
the records have been preserved only in Ottoman surveys.66 They registered it
as “the Monastery of monk Raphail” with its obligation of paying an annual
tax of 50 akçes. This small amount indicates the monastery had no substantial
landed estates at the end of the fifteenth and in the sixteenth century. How-
ever, it does not imply that the monk community was insignificant.67 One must
63
See footnote 61. MAD 37, p. 466; BOA, TT 133, p. 100; BOA,
64
These pieces of valuable information were TT 234, p. 99; TKGM, TTD 124, p. 37b).
also obtained from Toni Čerškov’s unpub- 66
BOA, TT 133, p. 100; BOA, TT 234, p. 99;
lished archaeological findings. TKGM, TTD 124, p. 37b; BOA, TT 1081/2,
65
In 1498, in Ostrovica, there were 56 house- p. 133.
holds (BOA, TT 28, pp. 164–165). In the 67
The same amount of levy was paid by the
sixteenth century, the number of its inhabit-
ants started to diminish but not as much as in Monastery of the Holy Archangels in Priz-
settlements directly involved in mining pro- ren during the sixteenth century. Т. Катић,
duction. Till 1571 the number of Ostrovica’s Опширни попис Призренског санџака из
taxpayers ranged between 33 and 29 (BOA, 1571. године, Београд 2010, 62. 90
ON THE ORIGIN OF not forget that in Ostrovica county existed a settlement named after monks –
KONSTANTIN MIHAILOVIĆ,
AUTHOR OF THE TURKISH Kalugerci.68
CHRONICLE
Of Ostrovica’s monastery or the village of Ostrovica, not a trace is left.69 Today,
a meadow, 1,5 km north of Mrkonjski Peak in the direction of the village of
Tulare, bears the name of Nemanjić’s Monastery. In its vicinity is the Church
of the Holy Trinity, built on the foundations of a former church.70 Whether this
was the location of the Monastery of monk Raphail or it was situated some-
where else in the vicinity of Mrkonjski Peak is impossible to say without fur-
ther archaeological or documentary data.
The Monastery of monk Raphail was the only monastery in Ostrovica county.
It was built before the fifteenth century, but how long before that cannot be
determined. The founder of this convent is not known and neither is the patron
saint to whom it was dedicated. The fact that it was not named after a patron
saint or cult symbol but after its most famous monk leads to the conclusion
that it was an aristocratic monastery established by a local noble ruler to serve
as his mausoleum and a place to retire. Consequently, one can speculate that
monk Raphail was the actual founder whose lay name has been lost to oblivion.
The convent existed until the end of the seventeenth century, but its heyday,
as well as the heydays of Ostrovica village and county, were in the fourteenth
and the first half of the fifteenth century when mining, metallurgy and other
economic activities flourished. Most likely, it served as a school too, where
children of better-off families learned to write and read and also got some el-
ementary knowledge of history, mathematics and geometry; the latter two were
essential for mining and trade business. Besides, in medieval Serbia, education
could be obtained from parish priests and professional teachers.71 In Ostrovica
county, according to Lukarević’s Book of Debts and the Ottoman survey from
1498, there were priests in three villages72 and eight villages73, respectively, but
in Ostrovica village, there was not a single one. In all likelihood, the monastery
church also served as the village church. Therefore, there is little doubt that
the Monastery of monk Raphail was Konstantin’s place of schooling. There
he could have acquired knowledge of the history of the Nemanjić dynasty and
68
Monks are also registered in the villages Ерцеговић-Павловић, Костић, Археоло-
70

of Retko Cerje and Medojevce. BOA, TT 28,
pp. 160, 174.
69
Both places were mentioned for the last
time in the Ottoman census of 1700 (BOA,
TT 1081/2, p. 133) but, it is uncertain whether
they actually existed then. As I stressed pre-
viously, the census TT 1081/2 contains only
old data from the census of 1571. The village
of Ostrovica and the monastery were likely
abandoned by the end of the Great Turkish
91 war (1683–1699).
шки споменици, 82, 96.
71
For more details see С. Ћирковић, Ра-
ботници, војници, духовници: друштва
средњовековног Балкана, Београд, 1997,
411–414.
72
In Gonce, Stanci and Petrilja, see Динић,
Из Дубровачког архива, 53, 54, 74.
73
BOA, TT 28, pp. 157, 159, 163, 166, 167,
170, 172. In the villages of Rupljani, Hrije-
kovci, Oporoštica, Kalugerci, Dojić, Tulari,
Gubavac and Velika Petrilja.
got acquainted with different medieval literary works.74 Later, he incorporated TATJANA KATIĆ

some of this knowledge in his Turkish Chronicle.

All in all, the lively social milieu from which Konstantin Mihailović emerged,
his noble origin and schooling contributed to his relatively successful career in
the service of the Ottoman sultan. Based on this experience, he tried to develop
his later ‘career’ as an expert on Turkish matters by writing Report, which at-
tracted ample attention in early modern Europe.

ЛИСТА РЕФЕРЕНЦИ – REFERENCE LIST

UNPUBLISHED ARCHIVAL SOURCES

T. C. Cumhurbaşkanlığı Devlet Arşivleri Başkanlığı, Osmanlı Arşivi, Istanbul (BOA):
Mâliyeden Müdevver Defteri (MAD) 37, 1045.
Tapu Tahrir defterleri (TT): 28, 133, 179, 234, 1081/2.
Tapu ve Kadastro Genel Müdürlüğü Tapu Arşivi, Ankara (TKGM):
Tapu Tahrir defteri (TTD) 124

PUBLİSHED PRİMARY SOURCES

Beldiceanu N., Les Actes des premiers sultans conservés dans les manuscrits turcs de la
Bibliothèque Nationale à Paris, II, Règlements miniers 1390–1512, Paris 1964.
Beydilli K., Yeniçeriler ve Bir Yeniçerinin Hatıratı, Istanbul 2013.
Danti A., Konstantin Mihailović di Ostrovica, Cronaca turca ovvero Memorie di un
giannizzero, Palermo 2001.
Lahmann R., Memoiren eines Janitscharen oder Türkische Chronik, commentary by C.-P.
Haase, R. Lachmann and G. Prinzig, Graz 1975.
Łoś J., Pamiętniki Janczara czyli Kronika Turecka Konstantego z Ostrowicy napisana
między r. 1496 a 1501, Kraków 1912.
Stolz B., Konstantin Mihailović, Memoirs of a Janissary, historical commentary and
notes by S. Soucek, Ann Arbor MI 1975
Zaremba, Ch. Mémoires d’un janissaire: Chronique turque, Toulouse 2012.

Динић М., Из Дубровачког архива, књ. I, Београд 1957.

Живановић Ђ., Константин Михаиловић из Островице, Јаничарове успомене или
Турска хроника, Споменик 107, одељење друштвеник наука САН, (1959).
Катић Т., Војнучки дефтер из 1455. године за санџаке Kрушевац, Вучитрн, Призрен
и вилајете Звечан, Јелеч, Рас, Сенице и Ходидед, Београд 2020.
Катић Т., Опширни попис Призренског санџака из 1571. године, Београд 2010.
Рогов А. И., Записки Яничара, написаны Константином Михайловичем из Остро-
вицы, Москва 1978.
Шафарик J., Мијаила Константиновића, Србина из Островице, Историја или
љетописи турски, списани око године 1490, Гласник Србског ученог друштва
књ. 1 св. 18 (1865) 25–188.

74
G. Jovanović (Константин Михаиловић из have been conversant with the Vita of Stefan
новобрдске Островице и његов спис Турска Dečanski by Gregory Tsamblak.
хроника, 147) supposes that Mihailović might 92
ON THE ORIGIN OF SECONDARY LITERATURE
KONSTANTIN MIHAILOVIĆ,
AUTHOR OF THE TURKISH Bojanić-Lukač D., Povodom izraza čilik (Prilog izučavanju danka u krvi), Vesnik Vojnog
CHRONICLE
muzeja JNA 6–7 (1962) 237–239.
Buc P., One among many renegades: the Serb janissary Konstantin Mihailović and the
Ottoman conquest of the Balkans, Journal of Medieval History 46/2 (2020) 217–230.
DOI: 10.1080/03044181.2020.1719188
Danti A., Ani janczar, ani autor Kroniki tureckiej? (W sprawie Konstantego Michaiłovicia
z Ostrowicy), Pamiętnik Slowiański 19 (1969) 101–113.
İnalcık H., Stefan Duşan’dan Osmanlı İmparatorluğuna: XV. Asırda Rumeli’de Hıristiyan
Sipahiler ve Menşeleri, in Fuad Köprülü Armağanı (pp. 208–248), Istanbul 1953.
Krstić T., Contested Conversions to Islam: Narratives of Religious Change in the Early
Modern Ottoman Empire, Stanford CA 2011.
Lowry H., A Note on Three Palaiologon Princes as Members of the Ottoman Ruling Elite,
in E. Kolovos, PH Kotzageorgis, S. Laiou, M. Sariyannis (eds), The Ottoman Empire,
the Balkans, the Greek Lands: Toward a Social and Economic History. Studies in
Honor of John C. Alexander (pp. 279–288), Istanbul 2007.
Mataija I., Lička toponimija, unpublished doctoral thesis, Zadar 2019, p. 203 [available on
https://urn.nsk.hr/urn:nbn:hr:162:068861] accessed 16 November 2021.
Ménage V. L, Review. Reviewed works: Memoirs of a Janissary by Konstantin Mihailović,
Benjamin Stolz and Svat Soucek; Memoiren eines Janitscharen oder Türkische
Chronik by Renate Lachmann, Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies,
40/1 (1977) 155–160.
Petrović S., Turkish Loanwords in the Czech Manuscript of Konstantin Mihailović’s
“Memoirs of a Janissary” in Etymological Research into Czech. Proceedings of the
Etymological Symposium Brno 2017, 12–14 September 2017, Brno, eds. I. Janyšková,
H. Karlíková, V. Boček, Praha 2017, 339–349.
Simić V., Istorijski razvoj našeg rudarstva, Beograd 1951.
Stavrides T., The Sultan of Vezirs. The Life and Times of the Ottoman Grand Vezir Mahmud
Pasha Angelović (1453–1474), Brill 2001.
Veinstein G., ‘Konstantin Mihailović’, in Christian-Muslim Relations. A Bibliographical
History, vol. 5: 1350–1500, eds. D Thomas, A. Mallett, Leiden 2013, 603–608.
Veinstein G., On the Ottoman janissaries (fourteenth-nineteenth centuries) in Fighting
for a Living: A Comparative History of Military Labour 1500-2000, ed. E. J. Zürcher,
Amsterdam 2013, 115–134.
Zachariadou E., Les Tocco: seigneurs, vassaux, otages, renegats, Güneydoğu Avrupa
Çalışmaları Uygulama ve Araştırma Merkezi (GAMER) 1 (2012) 11–22.

Ерцеговић-Павловић С., Костић Д., Археолошки споменици и налазишта лесковач-

ког краја, Београд–Лесковац 1988.
Живановић Ђ., Живот и дело Константина Михаиловића из Островице, Београд
2006.
Јаковљевић А., Турска хроника Константина Михаиловића и османски наративни
извори, у Средњи век у српској науци, историји, књижевности и уметности: 7
научни скуп, Деспотовац–Манасија, 22–23. август 2015, ур. Г. Јовановић, Деспо-
товац 2016, 137–150.
Јовановић Г., Константин Михаиловић из новобрдске Островице и његов спис Тур-
ска хроника или тзв. Јаничарове успомене (крај XV века), Косовско-метохијски
зборник 6 (2015) 135–149.
Јовановић Г., Константин Михаиловић из Островице, Јаничарове успомене или
Турска хроника Пример пољско-чешко-српских веза, in: Од Мораве до Мораве
II. Из историје чешко-српских односа, ed. В. Копривица, A. Корда-Петровић, В.
Штјепанек, Нови Сад 2011, 243–252.
Ћирковић С., Работници, војници, духовници: друштва средњовековног Балкана,
93 Београд, 1997.
О ПОРЕКЛУ КОНСТАНТИНА МИХАИЛОВИЋА, ТАТЈАНА КАТИЋ

АУТОРА ТУРСКЕ ХРОНИКЕ

Јаничарове успомене или Турска хроника настала из пера српског војника

Константина Михаиловића добро је познати историјски извор 15. века, који
и данас побуђује велику пажњу и отвара многа питања. Нека од њих тичу се
ауторовог места рођења, друштвеног порекла и нивоа образовања. У раду
се утврђује оквирни положај Константинове новобрдске Островице, сре-
дишта истоимене средњовековне жупе, познате по руднику сребра и живој
финансијској и трговачкој активности. У непосредној близини Островице на-
лазио се манастир у коме се Михаиловић, за кога сматрамо да је био племићког
порекла, највероватније школовао пре него што је ступио у османску службу.
Кључне речи: Јаничарове успомене, Османско царство у 15. веку, Ново Брдо,
османски катастарски пописи, Островица, српско племство

Константин Михаиловић из Островице био је војник коњаник у служби

деспота Ђурђа Бранковића, који је учествовао у борбама за освајање Ца-
риграда 1453. године на турској страни. Две године касније ступио је у
службу султана Мехмеда Освајача и притом, извесно, прешао на ислам. У
султановој војсци остао је до 1463. године када је, као другокомандујући
тврђаве Звечај, заробљен од стране угарског краља Матије Корвина.
По повратку у хришћанство Константин је написао Извештај или Тур-
ску хронику (тзв. Јаничарове успомене) о времену проведеном у турској
служби, о војном устројству Османског царства, походима султана, жи-
воту на двору и другом. Циљ му је, несумњиво, био да се својим врсним
познавањем турских прилика препоручи неком од европских владара.
О личности самог Константина знамо само онолико колико нам је он
сам рекао у свом делу или колико се из истог да наслутити. Детаљи из
његовог живота на двору, круг људи у коме се кретао и с којима је дола-
зио у контакт, као и дужности које су обављали он и његов рођени брат
показују да је пореклом био из виших кругова српског друштва, веро-
ватно из слоја средњег или вишег племства. Извесно је и да је поседовао
одређен ниво образовања који је стекао још у раној младости, а који је
свакако био виши од елементарне писмености; подаци из Турске хронике
сведоче о томе да је познавао средњовековна књижевна дела.
Островица из које је потицао налазила се у близини Новог Брда. Недавно
је утврђено да је ово место било и центар истоимене средњовековне обла-
сти, касније османске нахије, која је обухватала простор између планине
Гољак и ушћа Туларске реке у Јабланицу. Такође је изнета претпоставка
да би локалитет Градина, између села Медевце и Губавце, могло бити
место на коме се налазила некадашња Островица. Међутим, ако обрати-
мо пажњу на сам назив Островица, „оштри врх“, уобичајено коришћен
за утврђења на истакнутим, голим врховима, као друга, вероватнија
локација намеће нам се Мркоњски вис, који својим купастим обликом 94
О ПОРЕКЛУ КОНСТАНТИНА и стеновитим врхом у потпуности одговара изгледу осталих, до данас
МИХАИЛОВИЋА,
АУТОРА ТУРСКЕ ХРОНИКЕ сачуваних Островица на Балкану. На Мркоњском вису, на падини која
гледа према селу Мркоње, на висини од око 1020 m налазе се остаци
средњовековног утврђења за које се претпоставља да је напуштено у 13.
веку. У његовој близини је и средњовековно гробље. Сматрамо да се отво-
рено насеље Островица налазило не много даље од поменутог утврђења.
Османски катастарски пописи 15. и 16. века бележе у близини Островице
манастир монаха Рафаила, који није оставио трага на терену; индика-
тивно је, међутим, да данас једна ливада, 1,5 km северно од Мркоњског
виса носи име Немањићки манастир. Овде се вероватно ради о власте-
оском манастиру с обзиром да исти носи име свог најистакнутијег мо-
наха, можда и ктитора, а не свеца заштитника. Врло је могуће да се у
овом манастиру, једином у области Островице, школовао Константин
Михаиловић, као и остала деца из бољестојећих породица. Тамо су, по-
ред описмењавања, сигурно стицали и основна знања из аритметике и
геометрије, неопходна за трговачке и рударске послове, којима се знатан
део становништва области бавио. Наиме, у једном од островичких села
– Јарковцу, радио је рудник сребра, који је био довољно велик да има и
сопствено постројење за рафинацију; у селу Озриковце се налазила пла-
каоница док су села Петриље, Станце и Липојевци, а можда и нека дру-
га, имала своје топионице. Рудник Јарковац радио је до 30-их или 40-их
година 16. века после чега почиње замирање многих села. До данас их је
сачувано само седам: Богуновац, Губавце, Медевце, Петриље, Порошти-
ца, Тулари и Реткоцерје. Константинова Островица, као и још четрнаест
села су нестали, а име Островице је пало у заборав.

95
MAP 1: OSTROVICA