Battle of Čegar
The Battle of Čegar was a battle between Ottoman forces and Serb insurgents that took place on May 31, 1809. The fighting on the Čegar ridge , a few kilometers northeast of Niš , were decisive for the outcome of the First Serbian Uprising (1804-1813).
course
Since the beginning of the negotiations between Serbs and Ottomans in the context of the First Serbian Uprising, the Serbs have repeatedly requested the surrender of the city of Niš. Konstantin Rodofinikin, who was dispatched from Russia , clearly emphasized on his return trip to Russia in 1808 that Niš must be connected to Serbia. The Russian government at the time followed this line of argument in the negotiations with Napoléon Bonaparte and the Ottoman Empire in 1808 and 1809. Karađorđe , the Serbian leader of the uprising, threatened the Ottomans with further uprisings if an agreement with Russia was not reached.
After no change in the Ottoman positions had emerged in April 1809, the Serbs' military operation in the direction of Niš began. The commander in chief was Miloje Petrović with commanders Veljko Petrović and Petar Dobrnjc . The voivodes Ilija Barjaktarević , Pauljo Matejić and Stevan Sinđelić joined with their soldiers, who together formed a Serbian army. The armies met near the Niš suburbs of Kamenica, Donji Matejevac and Gornji Matejevac. In the course of a month, a base with weapons stores and rest stops was built here. During this long period of preparation, the Ottomans also gathered their troops from the regions around Sofia , Edirne , Pristina , Leskovac and Vranje . At the beginning of the battle there were 16,000 Serb insurgents against 20,000 Ottoman soldiers.
The battle began on May 31, 1809, when the Ottomans raided a remote Serbian camp led by voivod Stevan Sinđelić. The battle lasted a day. The Ottomans attacked in waves. Disputes between the Serbian leaders weakened the Serbian troops. This was also confirmed by a clerk at the time who wrote it on the margin of a church book: "The Serbian army died near Čegar, the leaders fought one another and betrayed the army". Eventually the Ottoman troops defeated the Serbs.
Ćele Kula
From the skulls of 952 Serbs who fell in the battle, the Ottomans built a skull tower Ćele Kula as a memorial , the remains of which are now exhibited in a chapel east of the city center of Niš.
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Coordinates: 43 ° 21 '55.7 " N , 21 ° 56' 33.9" E