Grdan
|
vojvoda Grdan |
|
|---|---|
| Born | ca. 1570 Nikšić, Sanjak of Herzegovina, Bosnia Eyalet, Ottoman Empire (now Montenegro) |
| Died | 1612 |
| Allegiance | Jovan Kantul, Patriarch of Peć |
| Years of service | fl. 1596–1612 |
| Rank | vojvoda (duke) |
| Commands held | Rebel army |
Grdan (Serbian Cyrillic: Грдан; fl. 1596–d. 1612) was the vojvoda (duke) of the Nikšić nahija, part of the Sanjak of Herzegovina (Ottoman Empire), who led several uprisings against the Ottomans in between 1596 and 1612, alongside Serbian Patriarch Jovan Kantul (s. 1592–1614).
Grdan was part of the Nikšić tribe. The tribe had originated from Nikša, who was the son of ban Ilijon of Grbalj and maternally a Nemanjić. Nikša had moved to what is now Župa Nikšićka directly after the death of Serbian Emperor Stefan Dušan (1355), his relative. From Nikša sprung a powerful tribe, which gave its name to the old župa (county) of Onogošt. Nikšić was conquered by the Ottomans and was organized into the Ottoman Sanjak of Herzegovina in the late 15th century. Grdan was the vojvoda (duke) of the Nikšić nahija. The "vojvoda"-title had been established after conflicts within the tribe as a compromise.
The Orthodox Christians in the Balkans sought the right moment to revolt against the Ottomans. Serbian, Greek, Bulgarian and Albanian monks visited European courts for help. The crushed Banat Uprising (1594) had been aided by Serbian Orthodox metropolitans Rufim Njeguš of Cetinje and Visarion of Trebinje (s. 1590–1602). In 1596 revolts would spread into Ottoman Montenegro and the neighbouring tribes in Herzegovina, especially under influence of Metropolitan Visarion. Visarion and the chieftains in Herzegovina asked the Pope for help. A Ragusan document from the beginning of 1596 claims that many Herzegovinian chieftains with the metropolitan gathered in the Trebinje Monastery where they swore oath "to give up and donate 20,000 heroes to the emperors' light." Grdan and the rebels were defeated on the Gacko Field sometime in 1597. The rebels then made peace with the Ottomans; Grdan accepted the Ottoman proposal of peace, in talks with Ahmed Pasha Khadum (Ahmet-paša Kadum), who forgave him. The Beylerbey of Bosnia did nothing to him, not even stripping him of his voivodeship in Nikšić nahija. However, he and Patriarch Jovan would continue to plan revolts against the Ottomans in the coming years.
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