The Morava (Bugar-Morava) District of Aleksinac County in the First Serbian–Ottoman War of 1876

Abstract

Following the liberation from Ottoman rule and the annexation of six detached nahiyas to Serbia in 1833, part of the former Ottoman Kruševac nahiya became the Morava Captaincy. As early as the following year, it was renamed the Bugar-Morava Captaincy and comprised 57 villages. The area extended between the left bank of the South Morava River, Mount Mali Jastrebac, and the basin of the Ribarska River. Bordering the Ottoman Empire, this territory formed part of Kruševac County as a srez (district) until 1859. At the end of that year, significant administrative and territorial changes were introduced, whereby the Bugar-Morava District, in a somewhat reduced form, was transferred from Kruševac County to Aleksinac County. According to the 1874 census, on the eve of the war with the Ottoman Empire, the district consisted of 41 villages with a total population of 15,459 (8,124 men and 7,335 women). At the outbreak of the war in 1876, the main body of the Morava Army, under the command of General Mikhail Chernyaev, was concentrated near the village of Supovac and tasked with advancing toward Niš in two columns, while its right wing, stationed near the village of Vukanja, was to advance via Grebač toward Prokuplje. Th e fi rst cannon shot marking the beginning of the war was fi red toward Niš from Serbian positions above the village of Supovac on 2 July 1876. In early August 1876, the Ottoman army launched a major offensive on both sides of the South Morava River, aiming to advance through Aleksinac and Deligrad into the interior of Serbia. Consequently, the Morava District became the scene of intense fi ghting, stretching from Supovac through Tešica to Mrsoje (Moravac). Aft er their defeat at Šumatovac on 23 August 1876, Ottoman forces redeployed to the left bank of the Morava River—into the Morava District—assuming that this direction was less fortifi ed and would allow for easier progress by bypassing the strong defensive positions around Aleksinac and Deligrad. Th e decisive battles of the war were then fought on the heights of Prćilovac, Gornji Adrovac, Krevet, Gredetin, Veliki Šiljegovac, and Đunis, aft er which Serbia, having suffered defeat, was forced to request a truce and subsequently conclude peace with the Ottoman Empire. By the time the truce was declared, the Ottoman army had occupied the entire Morava District, which remained under occupation until the conclusion of the peace treaty in March 1877. During this period, all villages were plundered and burned, while those who failed to fl ee were killed at the thresholds of their homes. Before the war, the 41 villages contained a total of 2,415 houses; 2,199 of them (91%) were burned or destroyed. In 26 out of 41 villages (63.41%), all houses were completely destroyed. Th e displaced population spent the winter of 1876/77 in the Temnić District of Jagodina County, where more than 70 people died, over 50 of them children under the age of 15. In the war of 1876, 183 soldiers from the Morava District were killed or permanently disabled due to wounds. Th e war had devastating consequences for the demographic development of the district, as evidenced by the fact that between 1863 and 1874 the population increased by 27.17%, whereas in the following decade (1874–1884) it grew by only 5.98%.