Jovan Monasterlija
Encyclopedia
Jovan Monasterlija was a 17th-century Serbian vice-voivode (podvojvoda) and Austrian (Holy Roman Empire) imperial officer that led a Serb army against the Ottoman Empire and other enemies of the Austrian Emperor. He was titled "Chief of the Serbian Nation" by Leopold I
Leopold I
Leopold I may refer to:*Leopold I, Margrave of Austria , first Margrave of Austria*Leopold I, Duke of Austria , co-Duke of Austria and Styria with Frederick I...

.

Life

Monasterlija was born to father Petar in Komárom County
Komárom county
Komárom county was a historic administrative county of the Kingdom of Hungary in present-day southern Slovakia and north-western Hungary on both sides of the...

, where his ancestors had settled in 1606 from Srpski Kovin, possibly originally from Bitola
Bitola
Bitola is a city in the southwestern part of the Republic of Macedonia. The city is an administrative, cultural, industrial, commercial, and educational centre. It is located in the southern part of the Pelagonia valley, surrounded by the Baba and Nidže mountains, 14 km north of the...

 (Monastir), hence his epithet "Monasterlija" (Turkish: Monastirli, of Monastir), migrated during the Great Serb Migrations (when Serb noblemen actively joined Western European armies to counter the Ottoman Empire). His family was of noble status, his father had been granted noble status in 1655.

Maximilian II Emanuel, Elector of Bavaria
Maximilian II Emanuel, Elector of Bavaria
Maximilian II , also known as Max Emanuel or Maximilian Emanuel, was a Wittelsbach ruler of Bavaria and an elector of the Holy Roman Empire. He was also the last Governor of the Spanish Netherlands and duke of Luxembourg...

 led the capture of Belgrade in 1688
Siege of Belgrade (1688)
The Siege of Belgrade in 1688 was the fourth siege of that city, taking place during the Great Turkish War.Belgrade was at that time a part of the Ottoman Empire, and had been for 167 years. The Ottoman Empire was at war with the Holy League, the forces of which were led by the elector of Bavaria,...

 from the Turks, with the full support of Serbian insurgents under the command of Monasterlija. Between 1689 and 1692, Central Serbia
Central Serbia
Central Serbia , also referred to as Serbia proper , was the region of Serbia from 1945 to 2009. It included central parts of Serbia outside of the autonomous provinces of Kosovo and Vojvodina. The region of Central Serbia was not an administrative division of Serbia as such; it was under the...

 was a province under the Habsburg crown. In 1689 he was sent to defend Golubac
Golubac
Golubac is a village and municipality in north-eastern Serbia, on the right side of the Danube river. It is bordered by Romania to the east, Veliko Gradište to the west and Kučevo to the south...

. In April 11, 1691, he is appointed the military commander of the Serb Army (called Monasterlijini Raci - Monasterlija's Serbs), after Serbs demanded their own leaders while going to battle. His command was of more than 10,000 volunteer Serb soldiers, and was to be under the direct supervision of the Aulic War Council, the soldiers were highly regarded by Leopold.

He took part in the Battle of Slankamen
Battle of Slankamen
The Battle of Slankamen was fought near Slankamen in the Ottoman Sanjak of Syrmia on August 19, 1691 between the Ottoman Empire, and the forces of Austria and states of the Holy Roman Empire as part of the Great Turkish War.The Ottomans had suffered partial military collapse against the Austrians...

 and Battle of Senta. After the wars he gains overlordship of the Petrovaradin fortress
Petrovaradin fortress
Petrovaradin Fortress is a fortress in Novi Sad, Serbia. It is located in the province of Vojvodina, on the right bank of the Danube river. The cornerstone of the present-day southern part of the fortress was laid on October 18, 1692, by Charles Eugène de Croÿ...

, and is appointed to overlook the building of a pantoon bridge over the Danube. After the Treaty of Karlowitz
Treaty of Karlowitz
The Treaty of Karlowitz was signed on 26 January 1699 in Sremski Karlovci , concluding the Austro-Ottoman War of 1683–1697 in which the Ottoman side had been defeated at the Battle of Zenta...

 in 1699, he retires and is given land by Leopold. He however, in 1703, is sent to fight off the Uprising of Francis II Rákóczi
Francis II Rákóczi
Francis II Rákóczi Hungarian aristocrat, he was the leader of the Hungarian uprising against the Habsburgs in 1703-11 as the prince of the Estates Confederated for Liberty of the Kingdom of Hungary. He was also Prince of Transylvania, an Imperial Prince, and a member of the Order of the Golden...

 against the Habsburgs. He succeeds and is given the title of general. Leopold, just before his death, gives Jovan the task of integrating the Serb units into the regular Austrian army. He dies from wounds sustained during the siege of Oradea
Oradea
Oradea is the capital city of Bihor County, in the Crișana region of north-western Romania. The city has a population of 204,477, according to the 2009 estimates. The wider Oradea metropolitan area has a total population of 245,832.-Geography:...

.

He was married to Ana Rašković, a sister of Knez Jovan Rašković, of the Rašković noble family.

Jovan contributed to the Fruška Gora monasteries. He died in 1706 and was buried in Šišatovac
Šišatovac
Šišatovac a village in Serbia. It is situated in the Sremska Mitrovica municipality, in the Srem District, Vojvodina province. The village has a Serb ethnic majority and its population numbering 218 people...

, where his tomb lays, with the coat of arms of the family.

See also

  • Stojan Janković
    Stojan Jankovic
    Stojan Mitrović Janković, also known as Knight Janko was the commander of the Dalmatian Serb army, in the service of the Republic of Venice, from 1669 until his death in 1687. He participated in the Cretan and Great Turkish War, as the supreme commander of the Venetian Serb troops, of which he is...

     (1636–1687), Serbian military commander in Venetian service
  • Vuk Mandušić
    Vuk Mandušić
    Vuk Mandušić was a Croatian Serb military commander in the Croatian Military Frontier that fought the Ottoman Empire. He was born near Visovac on the Krka, in modern Croatia. His sabre is kept at the Visovac Monastery...

     (fl. 1648), Serbian military commander in Austrian service
  • Vuk Isakovič
    Vuk Isakovič
    Vuk Isakovič was a Serbian military commander in Austrian service during the Austrian-Turkish Wars. He was the inspiration for the main character in the Seobe-roman by Miloš Crnjanski.-Life:...

     (fl. 1696-1759), Serbian military commander in Austrian service


Sources

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
x
OK