Janko Katić

Janko Katić (Serbian Cyrillic: Јанко Катић; fl. 1795–1806†) was a Serbian voivode and one of the organizers of the First Serbian Uprising (1804–1813). He participated in the uprising since day one, and was an important oborknez of the Šabac district, and was one of the most courageous commanders, so influential as a military and political leader that he was held by many as the second only to Karađorđe Petrović, the leader, in Šumadija.[1]

Janko Katić
Јанко Катић
Born?
Rogača, Sanjak of Smederevo, Ottoman Empire (modern Serbia)
Died1806
Krnić, Revolutionary Serbia (modern Serbia)
Allegiance
Years of service1804–1806
Rankbuljubaša (tr. Bölükbaşı, en. "division captain")
UnitBelgrade nahija (1805–1806)
Battles/wars

Life

Janko was born in Rogača, beneath the Kosmaj. In his youth he mostly lived in Belgrade with his sister, who was married to a Turk. In this time he learnt Turkish, which would benefit him later on. He however, came into bad terms with his sister's husband, and was forced to leave and return to Rogača. In the region the Uprising was planned and he joined the uprising and was appointed as the knez of one of the former Ottoman nahiyah, and as he was known for being just, prudent and heroic, he quickly became the head commander of the Belgrade nahija. He had a good appearance, and in the assemblies he was a good speaker, and in the battles he was very adaptive, adroit and heroic chief. He was popular with the people, and his contemporaries called him "prude and heroic Janko". He was one of the most important figures of the First Uprising.

He participated in all battles since the beginning: Belgrade, Rudnik, Vrbica, etc. He, Vasa Čarapić and Sima Marković commanded 4,000 soldiers that besieged Belgrade.[2] Karđorđe sent him to the fighting in Mačva, in 1806, as help. He showed great skills, and after the burning of the Sovljak village, he killed 65 Turks and took what they had confiscated earlier. He died while fighting the Ottomans around Šabac, in the village of Krnić, just before the Battle of Mišar.

His death was a huge loss for the Serbian revolutionaries. Although he was a close friend of Karađorđe, he was part of the political group that sought to tackle the Vožd's autocracy. Several more revolutionaries came from his family.

See also

References
  1. Petrovich, p. 47
  2. Суботић, p. 103

Sources
  • Nenadović, Konstantin N. (1903) [1883]. Život i dela velikog Đorđa Petrovića Kara-Đorđa Vrhovnog Vožda, oslobodioca i Vladara Srbije i život njegovi Vojvoda i junaka: Kao gradivo za Srbsku Istoriju od godine 1804 do 1813 i na dalje (in Serbian). Sloboda. pp. 582–586.
  • Nenadović, Matija (1893). Kovačević, Ljubomir (ed.). Мемоари Матије Ненадовића [Memoirs of Matija Nenadović] (in Serbian). Srpska književna zadruga. pp. ?.
  • Damnjanović, Nebojša; Merenik, Vladimir (2004). The first Serbian uprising and the restoration of the Serbian state. Historical Museum of Serbia, Gallery of the Serbian Academy of Science and Arts.
  • Vojvoda Janko Katić
  • Michael Boro Petrovich, A history of modern Serbia, 1804-1918: Volume 1; Volume 1, Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1976
  • Војислав Суботић, Memorijali oslobodilačkih ratova Srbije, Book 1, Volume 1, Vlada Republike Srbije, Ministarstvo rada, zapošljavanja i socijalne politike, 2006
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