First Serbian Uprising The First Serbian Uprising ( ) was the first stage of the Serbian Revolution ( Српска револуција ) , the successful wars of independence that lasted for 9 years and approximately 9 months ( 1804 – 1813 ) , during which Serbia perceived itself as an independent state for the first time after more than three centuries of Ottoman rule and short - lasting Austrian occupations . After Serbia had fallen to the Ottoman Empire in 1459 , several uprisings were organized by the Serbs ; the Banat uprising , Kočina Krajina uprising etc . but greater political independence of Serbs was established briefly by Jovan Nenad and Voivode Radoslav 1526 - 1530 , and in Montenegro a unique autonomy was established as the mountainous regions were governed by voivodes . After the " Slaughter of the knezes " , the Serbs responded by establishing its separate government ( Правитељствујушчи Совјет , " Praviteljstvujušči Sovjet " ) , Parliament ( Збор , " Zbor " ) and the oldest and largest Serbian University of Belgrade , with Grand Vožd Karađorđe as leader . Even though it was crushed by the Ottomans in 1813 , this revolution sparked the Second Serbian Uprising in 1815 , which resulted with the creation of the Principality of Serbia , as it gained semi - independence from Ottoman Empire in 1817 ( formally in 1829 ) . Background . When the Austro - Turkish War ( 1787 – 1791 ) ended with the return of the Belgrade Pashaluk to the Ottoman Empire the Serbs expected reprisals from the Turks due to their support for the Austrians . Sultan Selim III had given complete command of the Sanjak of Smederevo and Belgrade to battle - hardened Janissaries that had fought Christian forces during the previous Austro - Turkish War ( 1787 – 1791 ) and many other conflicts . Although Sultan Selim III granted authority to the peaceful Hadži Mustafa Pasha , however tensions between the Serbs and the Janissary command did not subside . Selim III proclaimed ferman s in 1793 and 1796 which gave more rights to Serbs . Among other things , taxes were to be collected by local Serbian rulers called " knezes " ( " local dukes " ) , freedom of trade and religion were granted . Selim also decreed that some unpopular Janissaries were to leave the Belgrade Pashaluk as he saw them as a threat to central authority of Hadži Mustafa Pasha . Many of those Janissaries were employed by or found refuge with Osman Pazvantoğlu , a renegade opponent of the Sultan in Bulgaria . Fearing the dissolution of the Janissary command in Sanjak of Smederevo , Osman Pazvantoğlu launched a series of raids against Serbian brigands without the permission of Sultan Selim III causing much volatility and fear in the region . However , on January 30 , 1799 , the Sultan Selim III court allowed the Janissaries to return , referring to them as local Muslims from the Sanjak of Smederevo . Initially the Janisaries accepted the authority of the Belgrade Pasha under Hadži Mustafa Pasha . Until a Janissary in Šabac , named Bego Novljanin , demanded from a Serb a surcharge and murdered the Serb when he refused to pay . Fearing the worst Hadži Mustafa Pasha , marched on Šabac with a force of 600 to ensure that the Janissary was brought to justice and order was restored . Not only did the other Janisaries decided to support Bego Novljanin but Osman Pazvantoğlu attacked the Belgrade Pasahaluk in support of the Janisaries . After killing Vizier Hadži - Mustafa Pasha ( nicknamed " Serbian Mother " due to his tolerant stance towards Serbs ) of Belgrade in 1801 , they started to rule Serbia on their own . Recently - granted rights were suspended , and four Dahias ( leaders of Janisaries ) : Aganli , Kuchuk Ali , Mula Yusuf and Mehmet - Ağa Fotcić exerted unlimited rule over Belgrade Pashaluk . Taxes were drastically increased , land was seized , forced labour ( " čitlučenje " ) was introduced , and many Serbs fled the Janissaries in fear . Uprising against the Dahias . Serb leaders began to conspire about starting an uprising against the dahias . When the dahias found out about this , they captured and killed many of the Serbian leaders on February 4 , 1804 in an event known today as the Slaughter of the knezes . This action by the Janissaries incited the uprising , as it angered the people and the leaders had nothing to lose . On February 14 , 1804 , in the small Šumadija village of Orašac , nearby modern Aranđelovac , in Marićevića jaruga , the Serbs gathered and decided to undertake an uprising . Karađorđe Petrović was elected as the leader of the uprising , which started immediately . That afternoon , a Turkish inn ( caravanserai ) in Orašac was burned and its residents fled or were killed . Similar actions were undertaken in surrounding villages and then spread further . On 11 March rebels captured Rudnik , which was under control of Sali Aga , and then Valjevo , Požarevac , and started the siege of Belgrade . At this stage the Serbs were acting in the name of the Sultan and on the 12 March the Sultan issued a fermans ordering all to support the uprising against the Dahias . The Dahias fled from Belgrade , abandoning their followers , but they were captured on Ada Kaleh island on the Danube by 40 uprisers led by Milenko Stojković with knowledge and approval of the Ottoman authorities and executed . With the success of the uprising , Selim III started to negotiate with the rebels . Breakdown in Relations between the Serbs and the Sultan . Eventually , the negotiations failed , and the Sultan organised a military campaign against the uprising . The first major battle of the uprising was the Battle of Ivankovac in 1805 , where Karađorđe defeated the Turkish army and forced it to retreat toward Niš . The second major battle of the uprising was Battle of Mišar in 1806 , in which the rebels defeated an Ottoman army from the Eyalet of Bosnia led by the Turkish Sipahi Suleiman - Pasa . At the same time , the rebels led by Petar Dobrnjac defeated Osman Pazvantoğlu and another Ottoman army sent from the south - east in the Battle of Deligrad . The Ottomans continuously faced defeat despite their continuous efforts and support by Ottoman commanders led by Ibrahim Bushati and Ali Pasha ' s two sons Muktar Pasha and Veil Pasha . . In December 1806 , the Serbian rebels besieged Belgrade and the Ottomans dispatched kapetan Mehmed - beg Kulenović of Zvornik to relieve the siege but this attempt ended in a devastating defeat and Belgrade was taken in the spring of the year 1807 . Mehmed - beg Kulenović of Zvornik later made efforts to drive the Serbian rebels out of the western districts but was killed in battle . In 1806 the insurgents sent the Belgrade merchant Petar Ičko as their envoy to Ottoman government in Constantinople . He managed to obtain for them a favourable " Ičko ' s Peace " . However , the Serbian leaders preferred to reject the treaty and possibly poisoned Petar Ičko due to his acquaintance with the Ottomans . The Serbian rebels then joined the Russians as their allies in Russo - Turkish War ( 1806 – 1812 ) . Outcome . In 1805 the Serbian rebels organized a basic government for administering Serbia during the combat . Rule was divided between the Narodna Skupština ( People ' s Assembly ) , the " Praviteljstvujušči Sovjet " ( Ruling Council ) , and Karađorđe himself . Land was returned , forced labour was abolished , and taxes were reduced . The young state was modernised and by 1808 the Belgrade Higher School was founded , regarded as the foundation of the University of Belgrade . Some of the leaders of the uprising later abused their privileges for personal gain , such as the reintroduction of forced labour in some places . There was dissent between Karađorđe and other leaders ; Karađorđe wanted absolute power , while his voivod s wanted to limit it . After the Russo - Turkish War of 1806 - 12 ended , the Ottoman Empire exploited these circumstances and reconquered Serbia in 1813 . The then Grand Vizier Hurşid Paşa and a substantially large and well organized Ottoman army successfully swept through the territories held by the Serbian rebels . The diverse Ottoman force included vast numbers of soldiers from many nearby Pashalik s including servicemen such as Samson Cerfberr of Medelsheim , Osman Gradaščević and Reshiti Bushati . By the end of the year 1813 the Serbian rebels were ultimately defeated and Belgrade was retaken by the forces loyal to Sultan Selim III . The majority of troops who participated in devastation of Serbia were from the territory of Albania and Bosnia . They burned down villages along main invading routes while their inhabitants were massacred or made refugee with many women and children being enslaved . Though ultimately unsuccessful , the First Serbian Uprising paved the way for the Second Serbian Uprising of 1815 , which eventually succeeded in securing Serbian autonomy .