Karageorge

Karageorge (kăr`əjôrj`, kä'räjôr`jā), 1768?–1817, Serbian patriot. Born George Petrović, he was known as Karageorge, or Black George. He led the Serbs in their insurrection (1804) against the Ottomans, took (1806) Belgrade, where the Ottoman population was massacred, and was proclaimed (1808) hereditary chief of the Serbs. He fought with Russia against the Ottoman Empire (1809–12). Abandoned by the Russians when peace was signed, he fled to Austria. On his return to Serbia he was murdered, probably at the instigation of Miloš Obrenović (see Miloš). Although an illiterate peasant, Karageorge showed great military ability. In Serbo-Croatian his name is Karadjordje, and the dynasty descended from him is known as Karadjordjević.

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Karageorge 

(Karadjordje Petrović). Born Nov. 14, 1768, in the village of Viševac, Šumadija region; died July 25, 1817, in Radovanje, near Smederevo. Leader of the First Serbian Uprising (1804—13) against the Ottoman yoke.

Karageorge was the son of poor peasants. During the Austro-Turkish War of 1788–90 he headed a Serbian volunteer detachment that fought on the side of Austria. At a gathering of insurgents in February 1804, he was proposed as leader of the uprising. He proved to be a talented military commander and won a number of victories over the Turks. In the area of domestic policy, he fought the influential voivodas, who opposed the centralization of power. In 1808 the State Council and, in 1811, the skupština (assembly) of the insurgents acknowledged Karageorge as the supreme Serbian leader. His position was confirmed again in 1811 at a gathering of the insurgents.

Karageorge was the founder of the Karageorgevich (Karadjordjević) dynasty (1808). His foreign policy was directed toward seeking Russian help. After the uprising was put down, he fled to Austria, where he was interned. In 1814 he went to Russia and lived in Bessarabia. He secretly arrived in Serbia in 1817 and was killed on orders from Milos Obrenovic.

REFERENCES

Nenadović, K. život i dela velikoga Djordja Petrovića Kara-Djordja, vol. 1. Vienna, 1883.
Jovanović, S. Kara-Djordje i njegove vojvode. Belgrade, 1938.

V. V. ZELENIN