Battle of Ivankovac

Date	18 August [O.S. 7 August] 1805
Location	Ivankovac, Sanjak of Smederevo, Ottoman Empire
Result	Decisive Serbian victory

Belligerents

Serbian revolutionaries

Ottoman Empire

Commanders and leaders

Karađorđe Petrović

Milenko Stojković

Hafiz Pasha

Strength

initially 2,500 men, later reinforced with 5,000 more

20,000 men

Casualties and losses

less than 1000 dead

approximately 15.000 dead

The Battle of Ivankovac (Serbian: Бој на Иванковцу/Boj na Ivankovcu) was the first full-scale confrontation between Serbian revolutionaries and the regular forces of the Ottoman Empire during the First Serbian Uprising. The battle ended with a Serbian victory and prompted Ottoman Sultan Selim III to declare jihad (holy war) against the Serbs.

In the 1790s, the Ottoman Sultan Selim III granted the Serbs in the Sanjak of Smederevo (central Serbia) the right to run their own affairs in exchange for their cooperation with the governor of Belgrade, Hadži Mustafa Pasha. Following the Slaughter of the Knezes in February 1804, a revolt led by Karađorđe Petrović erupted against the Ottoman janissary junta (the "Dahije") in Serbia. The Serbs initially received the support of Selim and managed to defeat the corrupt janissaries by the end of the year. Facing great pressure not to cooperate extensively with his Christian subjects, Selim began to view the Serbs as rebels by the spring of 1805. He appointed the Ottoman governor of Niš, Hafiz Pasha, as the new governor of Belgrade and ordered him to confront the Serbian insurgents. The Ottoman Turkish forces were highly trained.

The village of Ivankovac is located near the town of Ćuprija. On 18 August [O.S. 7 August] 1805, the Ottomans attacked the Serbian revolutionaries, commanded by Karađorđe and Milenko Stojković, at Ivankovac. Hafiz Pasha was seriously wounded during the battle and died as a result. The Ottomans were defeated.

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