Great Bosnian uprising

Part of the Rise of nationalism under the Ottoman Empire

Date

29 March 1831 – 1833

Location

Bosnia Eyalet

Result

Ottoman victory, Suppression of the revolt

Herzegovina Eyalet was seceded from Bosnia Eyalet
Ayan system was abolished

Belligerents

Ottoman Empire

Bosnian ayans

Commanders and leaders

Grand Vizier Mehmed Rashid

Ali-paša Rizvanbegović

Smail-aga Čengić

Husein Gradaščević

Strength

Ottoman army 86,000

25,000

Casualties and losses

17,280

16,400

Ottoman victory, Suppression of the revolt

The Bosnian uprising (also known as Great Bosnian Uprising) was a revolt of Bosniak ayans (landlords) against the Ottoman Empire. The casus belli were reforms implemented by the Sultan to abolish the ayan system.

Despite winning several notable victories, the rebels were eventually defeated in a battle near Sarajevo in 1832. Internal discord contributed to the failure of the rebellion, because Gradaščević was not supported by much of the Herzegovinian nobility.

As a result, Ali-paša Rizvanbegović was named pasha of the Herzegovina Eyalet which was seceded in 1833. The Sultan implemented the new muselim system, abolishing the old ayan system. The new muselims were mostly old ayans, but in 1850 Omer Pasha completely eliminated old ayan families.

In the late 1820s, Sultan Mahmud II reintroduced a set of reforms that called for further expansion of the centrally controlled army (nizam), new taxes and more Ottoman bureaucracy. These reforms weakened the special status and privileges Bosnian beys had enjoyed under the Ottoman Empire and coupled with the growing power and position of other European people under Ottoman control caused much anger and alarm. Contrary to popular belief, however, the future leader of the autonomy movement, Husein Gradaščević, then just a local official, was not greatly opposed to these reforms.

In 1826, when the Sultan issued a decree abolishing the janissaries in Bosnia, Gradaščević's immediate reaction was not unlike that of the rest of the Bosnian aristocracy. Gradaščević threatened that he would use military force to subdue anybody opposed to the Sarajevo janissaries. When the janissaries killed nakibul-ešraf Nuruddin Efendi Šerifović, however, his tone shifted and he rapidly distanced himself from their cause.

For the rest of the 1820s, Gradaščević generally maintained good relations with imperial authorities in Bosnia. When Abdurrahim-paša became vizier in 1827, Gradaščević was said to have become one of his more trusted advisors. This culminated in Gradaščević's large role in the Bosnian mobilization for the Russo-Ottoman war. Following a riot in the Sarajevo camp during these preparations, Gradaščević even provided shelter for the ousted Abdurrahim-paša in Gradačac before assisting him in his escape from the country. Gradaščević was also relatively loyal to Abdurrahim's successor, Namik-paša, reinforcing Ottoman garrisons in Šabac upon his orders.

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Wikipedia