Resistance of the residents of the Bihor kadiluk to reforms of the sublime Porte from the adoption of the Hatt-i Sheriff from Gülhana to the reform of Omer Lutfi paša
Authors:   Faculty of Philosophy Nikšić, Šabotić Sait Š. 
Published: June 2022

With the French Revolution of 1789, a new spirit of nationalism flowed through Europe, in which the era of the national principle began, which will last until the end of the First World War. This principle also won in developed societies, as a result of which it inevitably had to be reflected in the Ottoman Empire, which was a heterogeneous community of peoples and religions. The wars waged by the Ottoman Empire at the end of the 18th century showed that the organization and armament of their army lagged behind the organization and armament of the armies of Christian European countries, which made it necessary to take certain reform steps to prevent the Empire's decline. Almost all structures were interested in the organization that dominated the social life of the Ottoman Empire, due to different interests. Due to the preservation of certain privileges, which the reform could violate, the most significant opponents of the creation of a new order were the Janissaries. The reform action had to first influence them as the bearers of the old military system, which is why it encountered a strong dam of supporters. Along with the janissaries, members of the Bektashi tariqat (order), who were their ideologues, were also attacked. The great social upheaval that arose as a result of the reforms that had begun was difficult and long. That is why it took about three and a half decades for the obstacles to be overcome and for the reforms to begin with the abolition of the mentioned military order, after which the Hatt-i Sheriff was proclaimed, proclaiming the requested freedoms, which was officially announced on November 3, 1839. This paper deals with this process at the local level and covers the period up to 1850, when the great action of the central government on a more organized implementation of the reforms proclaimed by the Hatt-i Sheriff of Gülhane took place, ie until the reaction of the central government against various types of resistance. In the indicated period, the implementation of reforms met with sharp and strong resistance from a part of the Muslim population in the Balkan kadiluks, and thus in the kadiluk Bihor, whose main city center was the town of Akova (Bijelo Polje). The other part of the population fully supported the start of the reform course. The division into supporters and opponents of the reforms was the source of numerous conflicts on personal and other grounds. Members of the ulema class had a great influence on encouraging the population to resist. In the conditions of pronounced ignorance of the rural population, which made up the largest part of the total population of the kadiluk of Bihor, the ulema were, to a significant extent, facilitated in influencing the direction of the process in the desired direction. In this sense, the population was often provided with inaccurate information regarding the demands and expectations of both local and central authorities, which misled them, which, at the same time, influenced the emergence of resistance among them. Forms of resistance ranged from individual rebellions and disobedience to local authorities, through tax refusals to open riots that required regular military forces to quell. Although the implementation of the planned reforms was aimed at overcoming numerous social negativities, such phenomena could not be avoided, which is why this period in the kadiluk area of Bihor remained recognizable by the numerous murders that took place then. The commander-in-chief of the Ottoman forces in the Bosnian eyalet, tasked with pacifying the rebel Muslim population and carrying out the reform to the end, was Omer Lutfi Pasha.