Čakr-paša

Mladen Stojanović
Nickname(s) Čakr-paša[a]
Born mid-19th century
Gornji Stajevac, Ottoman Empire (now Serbia)
Died Autumn 1885
Stari Glog, Ottoman Empire (Serbia)
Allegiance
Years of service 1876–78
Unit
  • Volunteer detachment (1876–78)
  • Pčinja bands (1878–85)
Battles/wars

Mladen Stojanović (Serbian Cyrillic: Младен Стојановић; died 1885), known as Čakr-paša (Чакр-паша), was a Serb hajduk (brigand and rebel) leader mostly active in Ottoman territories in Pčinja (on Kozjak and German) and in the Kumanovo kaza.[1]

Stojanović was born in Gornji Stajevac near Vranje (modern Serbia).[1] He was an active hajduk in the region prior to 1876.[2] He was captured by the Ottomans in 1876 and imprisoned in the Niš Fortress, from where the Serbian army freed him; he joined the army as a volunteer in the Serbian–Ottoman War (1876–78).[2] While a volunteer, he befriended Veljan Strnovski and Jaćim Čelopečki.[3] After 1878, he was active in the frontier regions.[2] He killed the seymens of Jusen Ferov near Prohor Pčinjski.[2] He participated in the Kumanovo Uprising (1878).[4] After the suppression of the Kumanovo Uprising, the rebels that had fled to Vranje soon again began to cross Kozjak and German into the villages of Pčinja, where they would await Turks and Albanians in the dark.[5] Among notable leaders that did this were Jaćim Jovanović, Čakr-paša, Vukadin Milkinski, Kuzman Petković, and others from the Poreče and Kičevo regions.[5] He attacked nizami, border guards, taksidari, customs officers, aghas and beys.[1] He would cross into Serbia and move in the spring part of the Banjska reka.[1] He was among the 65 signatories of the 1880 appeal to Serbia to aid in a rebellion in Macedonia.[6] He participated in the Brsjak Revolt (1880–81).[3]

In springtime 1881, in the Devet Jugovića-inn in Vranje, Micko Krstić assembled a band of 13 fighters, friends, blood-brothers and followers, and left Serbia.[7] One of the members were Čakr-paša.[3] Their first teacher and leader was Čerkez Ilija.[7] In April 1881, the bands of Čerkez Ilija and Micko were surrounded near Kriva Palanka.[3] The bands were devastated by a force of Ottoman soldiers and Albanians, with Čerkez Ilija and his band all dead, Micko and the survivors fled for safety.[3] In the fight, half of Micko's band fell.[7] Micko and the survivors crossed the mountains heading to Poreče,[7] while Čakr-paša stayed on the Kozjak.[3]

As the Ottoman government and nizami became impatient, the Porte protested in Belgrade.[2] On the Porte's request,[1] the Serbian government under Milan Piroćanac proclaimed him an outlaw in 1882.[2] "For three years, Čakr-paša [lived off of] brigandage in Serbia, Bulgaria and the Ottoman Empire, receiving threats and blackmail from Sofia, Constantinople and Belgrade."[1] In autumn 1885, he was killed by his comrade, Toma Stanković from Stari Glog, while shaving in a forest above Vranjska Banja.[2][1] Toma took the severed head to Vranje for evidence.[2][1] Čakr-paša is noted as having been one of the most notable hajduks in the second half of the 19th century.[2]

Čakr-paša mostly kept in the wilds east from Vranjska Banja, in the villages of Crni Vrh and Stari Glog (in the place of Samarci), for example.[2] He crossed the border and led cattle in both directions.[2] According to the villagers, and also his friends, he acted quite rough:[2] in Stari Glog, he abducted a woman, Jelena, the wife of a pečalbar (seasonal worker) in Austria-Hungary.[2]

Annotations

  1. ^ Krakov uses Stojković (Стојковић).[3] His nickname is also spelled Čakar-paša (Чакар-паша).[8]

See also

References

Sources

  • Društvo sv. Save. Brastvo 11. Društvo sv. Save. 
  • Hadži-Vasiljević, Jovan (1928). Četnička akcija u Staroj Srbiji i Maćedoniji (in Serbian). Belgrade: Sv. Sava. 
  • Narodni muzej u Leskovcu (1973). Leskovački zbornik. 13-14. Narodni muzej u Leskovcu. pp. 266–. 
  • Narodni muzej u Vranju (1992). Vranjski glasnik. 24-28. Narodni muzej u Vranju. pp. 174–. 
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