Milos

Miloš, prince of Serbia

Miloš or Milosh (Miloš Obrenović) (both: mĭ`lôsh ōbrĕ`nəvĭch), 1780–1860, prince of Serbia (1817–39, 1858–60), founder of the Obrenović dynasty and of modern Serbia. An illiterate swineherd, he was a revolutionary chieftain fighting the Ottomans under Karageorge. After Karageorge's defeat he temporarily submitted to the Ottomans, but in 1815 he began a new and successful rebellion. In 1817, having probably killed his rival, Karageorge, he was named prince of Serbia, a title confirmed by the national assembly (1827) and by the sultan (1830), who remained his suzerain. In 1838 the sultan, backed by Russia, forced the appointment of a council of senators hostile to Miloš, who abdicated in favor of his son Milan in 1839. When Milan died in the same year, Miloš's younger son, Michael (Michael Obrenović), became prince. He was deposed in turn in 1842 and was succeeded by Alexander Karadjordjević. In 1858 the Serbian parliament recalled Miloš, but he died two years later.