Novica M. Cerović (born 1805, Šavnik

Šavnik

Šavnik is a small town in northern Montenegro. It has a population of 570 .Šavnik is the centre of the municipality and unofficial centre of Drobnjaci region, home of the Drobnjaci tribe....

, Herzegovina

Herzegovina

Herzegovina is the southern region of Bosnia and Herzegovina. While there is no official border distinguishing it from the Bosnian region, it is generally accepted that the borders of the region are Croatia to the west, Montenegro to the south, the canton boundaries of the Herzegovina-Neretva...

, Ottoman Empire

Ottoman Empire

The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...

, today Montenegro

Montenegro

Montenegro Montenegrin: Crna Gora Црна Гора , meaning "Black Mountain") is a country located in Southeastern Europe. It has a coast on the Adriatic Sea to the south-west and is bordered by Croatia to the west, Bosnia and Herzegovina to the northwest, Serbia to the northeast and Albania to the...

, death 1895) was a Serbian

Serbs

The Serbs are a South Slavic ethnic group of the Balkans and southern Central Europe. Serbs are located mainly in Serbia, Montenegro and Bosnia and Herzegovina, and form a sizable minority in Croatia, the Republic of Macedonia and Slovenia. Likewise, Serbs are an officially recognized minority in...

 warrior, senator and leader of the Drobnjak

Drobnjaci

Drobnjaci is an Old Herzegovinian clan and region in northern Montenegro . Its unofficial centre is in Boan/Šavnik. The Drobnjaci families are predominantly Serb Orthodox, with a majority declaring as Serbs, the rest as Montenegrins...

 clan

Serb clans

Serb clans is a general term referring to what are known as plemena and bratstva , traditional geo-political units of the Western Balkans that now richly attest social anthropology and family history . The descendants of the clans are divided by regional and lately, national affiliation...

 from Old Herzegovina

Old Herzegovina

Old Herzegovina is a historical region in Montenegro and Bosnia and Herzegovina . The largest city in this region in Nikšić, and the second-largest is Herceg Novi. Until the Congress of Berlin in 1878 the Old Hercegovina was part of Bosnian Pashalik, but since then merged into Montenegro....

.

Life

His most noted act was leading a successful assault to kill local Muslim tyrant Smail-aga Čengić under the auspices of Petar II Petrović-Njegoš

Petar II Petrovic-Njegoš

Petar II Petrović-Njegoš , was a Serbian Orthodox Prince-Bishop of Montenegro , who transformed Montenegro from a theocracy into a secular state. However, he is most famous as a poet...

 thereby freeing parts of Herzegovina from the Ottoman Empire

Ottoman Empire

The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...

 and joining them to the Principality of Montenegro

Principality of Montenegro

The Principality of Montenegro was a former realm in Southeastern Europe. It existed from 13 March 1852 to 28 August 1910. It was then proclaimed a kingdom by Knjaz Nikola, who then became king....

. His heroism and the death of Smail-aga Čengić was the theme of Ivan Mažuranić

Ivan Mažuranic

Ivan Mažuranić was a Croatian poet, linguist and politician—probably the most important figure in Croatia's cultural life in the mid-19th century...

's poem Smrt Smail-age Čengića (The Death of Smail-aga Čengić), an epic poem celebrating the struggle for freedom. Sometime after that, some of the Cerović family moved to Serbia

Serbia

Serbia , officially the Republic of Serbia , is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeast Europe, covering the southern part of the Carpathian basin and the central part of the Balkans...

, some going north, near to the city of Pljevlja

Pljevlja

Pljevlja is a town and municipality located in the northern part of Montenegro. The city lies at an altitude of...

 and changed their family name to "Lalović" to disguise from Turks.

There is a tower in Tušina

Tušina

Tušina is one of the five rivers in the municipality of Šavnik, Montenegro. It is made of many streams that meet under Somina and Krnja Jela mountains. It is 10 km long....

named after him (The tower of Duke Novica Cerović).