Stevan Sinđelić

Stevan Sinđelić ( Cyrillic Стеван Синђелић , * 1770 in the village of Vojska; † May 31, 1809 in the Battle of Čegar near Niš ) was a Serbian voivod leader in the First Serbian Uprising .

Life

Stevan Sinđelić was born in Vojska in Pomoravlje . Since his father died very early, the young Stevan was sent by his mother Sinđelija to the “Prince” Petar for the purpose of his education. At that time, leaders of villages or village communities were named as princes, who served as mediators between the Ottoman authorities and the Serbian population and were also responsible for their taxes. There he had to u. a. Herding cows, but at the same time met influential people in the area. At 21 he returned to his mother, who had meanwhile married for the second time in the village of Grabovac. Shortly afterwards he married Milunka, with whom he had sons Petar and Milan and daughter Tamanija.

While preparing for the uprising, Karađorđe became aware of Sinđelić and entrusted him with the recruitment of soldiers in Pomoravlje. In Serbia's war of independence against the Ottoman Empire, he stood out with courage, boldness and discipline. He was appointed voivod of Pomoravlje and then received a large number of soldiers under his command.

In the battle of Čegar in 1809, when he saw the hopeless situation of his troops, which had been reduced from 3–4,000 to around 900 men, he seized a pistol and shot it into a powder keg, which triggered a chain reaction. The explosions killed him and almost all of the soldiers who took part in the battle. This was to prevent capture by Ottoman troops who were certain that the insurgents would be tortured to death. The Ottoman Sultan Mahmud II had the Ćele Kula built as a memorial against further uprisings .

Numerous streets, schools, hospitals, barracks and awards are named after Stevan Sinđelić. Unlike other Serbian voivods who fled with their husbands, he held the positions to the very end, which is why many Serbs see him as a symbol of loyalty and the fulfillment of duty. Unlike z. B. the daredevil Veljko Petrović , he was considered calm and thoughtful. Stevan Sinđelić is counted among the three great heroes of the First Serbian Uprising, along with Karađorđe and Veljko Petrović.

literature

• Mirko Bogićevic: Stevan Sinđelic, resavski vojvoda i njegovo doba . Vuk Karadčic, Belgrade 1989, ISBN 86-307-0279-6 .