Petar I Petrović Njegoš (St.
Peter of Cetinje
) (1747-1830)
(Serbian Cyrillic: Петар I Петровић
Његош, Свети Петар Цетињски) was the ruler of Montenegro
, the Cetinje Episcop of the Serbian Orthodox Church (Serbian: Владика or Vladika) and
Exarch (claimholder) of the Serb
Orthodox throne. He was the most popular spiritual and
military leader from the
Petrović
dynasty.
During his long rule, Petar strengthened the
state by uniting the often quarreling tribes, consolidating his
control over Montenegrin lands, introducing the first laws in
Montenegro (Законик Петра I or Zakonik Petra I) and
launching the first program of national liberation and unification
of Serbs.
Battles and wars
Against the Ottoman Empire (1785-96)
He had unquestioned moral authority strengthened by his military
successes. His rule prepared Montenegro for the subsequent
introduction of modern institutions of the state: taxes, schools
and larger commercial enterprises.He was made a bishop in 1784.
During his
trip to Russia
(1785),
Montenegro was attacked by Turkish
forces. When Vladika Petar I returned from Russia, he began
a war of liberation.
At the crucial battle at Krusi (a village in Lješanska nahija) the
Turkish Army of 30,000 led by Mahmut-Paša Bušatlija and
assisted with seven French
officers was
defeated with heavy casualties by a force of 6,000 Montenegrins led
by Vladika Petar I (3 Oct. 1796). In this famous battle
Mahmut-pasha was killed. After the victory Petar enlarged the
territory of Montenegro and became virtually independent of the
Ottoman Empire.
Against the French Empire (1806-07)
In 1806,
the troops of Napoleonic
France advanced toward the
Bay of
Kotor
in Montenegro. The Montenegrin army
led by Vladika Petar I, aided by several Russian battalions and the
fleet of Admiral Senjavin pushed them back to Dubrovnik
. But soon after, Russian Tsar Alexander I
asked Montenegrins to relinquish control of Boka
to Austria
.
However,
after Montenegrins retreated to Herceg Novi
, Alexander changed his mind again, and with a help
of Montenegrins conquered Brač
and Korčula
. In the meantime, France encouraged Turkey to
attack Russia, which withdrew its fleet from the Adriatic
to defend the Ionian islands
. The
Treaty of
Tilsit (1807) between Russia and France granted the control of
the Bay of Kotor to France.
Against the French and Ottoman Empires (1807-12)
In 1807-1812 Turkish forces supported by France attacked
Brda and Montenegro several times, but were defeated.
In 1813,
the Montenegrin army, supported by Russia and Britain
, liberated the Bay of Kotor from the French.
However,
at the Congress of Vienna,
control of the Bay of Kotor was granted to the Austrian
Empire
and Montenegro's independence was not
recognised. Following this disappointment Montenegro entered
very difficult times. Thousands of Montenegrins starved to death.
Hundreds
of Montenegrin families emigrated to Russia and Serbia
.
Against the Ottoman Empire (1820)
In 1820,
in the north of Montenegro, the highlanders from Morača
led by Serdar Mrkoje Mijušković won a major
battle against the Turkish force from Bosnia.
Serbian Empire
Petar was
the conceiver of a plan to form a new Serbian Empire out of Bosnia, Serbia,
Herzegovina and Montenegro with Boka,
with Dubrovnik as its Imperial Capital. In 1807, he sent a
letter to the Russian General of the Danube Army regarding this
subject: "
The Russian Czar would be recognized as the Tsar of
the Serbs and the Metropolitan of Montenegro would be his
assistant. The leading role in the restoration of the
Serbian Empire belongs to Montenegro."
Canonisation
He was canonised as
Saint Peter of Cetinje by his
successor
Petar II
Petrović Njegoš. The
Serbian
Orthodox Church celebrates him on
October
31,
Gregorian calendar, which
is
October 18 in the
Julian calendar.
Works
- The Lore in Verse (Поучење у стиховима)
- The Sons of Ivan-bey (Синови Иванбегови)
- Poem to Karageorge (Пјесма
Карађорђу)
- To Serb Christmas Eve (Српско Бадњи вече)
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