Editing First Serbian Uprising (section)

== Background ==
Serbia had been under Ottoman rule since the [[Battle of Kosovo]] in 1389. Over the centuries, the Serbs experienced oppression, heavy taxation, and cultural assimilation under the [[Ottoman Empire]]. By the 18th century, the conditions for Serbs living under Ottoman rule had become increasingly harsh. In addition to high taxes, they faced discrimination and the imposition of the [[Devshirme]] system, which required Christian families to provide sons for the Ottoman military.{{sfn|Jelavich|1983|p=41}} The Serbs lived in wide areas in the western Balkans; a high percentage of them, experienced fighters, had fought under their own officers in the [[Serbian Free Corps|Serbian Freicorps]] of the Austrian army. They came from the [[Sanjak of Smederevo]] (also known in historiography as the Pashalik of Belgrade), a border district containing a population of around 368,000 prior to 1804.{{sfn|Jelavich|1983|p=193}}  

[[Belgrade]], which was the seat of the eponymous pashalik became the second largest Ottoman city in Europe, with over 100,000 inhabitants, surpassed only by [[Constantinople]].<ref name="belgradenet-middleages">{{cite web |url=http://www.belgradenet.com/belgrade_history_middle_ages.html |title=The History of Belgrade |publisher=Belgradenet.com |access-date=7 July 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081230032249/http://www.belgradenet.com/belgrade_history_middle_ages.html |archive-date=30 December 2008 |url-status=dead }}</ref> During the [[Austro-Turkish War (1788–1791)|Austro-Turkish War]] of 1788, the eastern [[Šumadija]] region was occupied by the Austrian-Serbian Free Corps and [[Serbian hajduks|Hajduks]], which led to the [[Habsburg-occupied Serbia (1788–1791)|occupation of most of the Sanjak of Smederevo]] by the Habsburg Monarchy (1788–1791). From 15 September to 8 October 1789, an [[Siege of Belgrade (1789)|Austrian force besieged the fortress of Belgrade]]. The Austrians held the city until 1791, when they returned it to the Ottomans under the terms of the [[Treaty of Sistova]]. The withdrawal was a disappointment for the Serbs, according to historian Theodor N. Trâpcea.{{sfn|Trâpcea|1942|p=264}}

After the return of the sanjak to the Ottoman Empire, the Serbs expected reprisals from the Turks for their support of the Austrians. Sultan [[Selim III]] had entrusted the sanjaks of Smederevo and Belgrade to battle-hardened [[Janissaries]] who had fought against Christian forces during the Austro-Turkish War and other conflicts. Although Selim granted authority to the peaceful [[Hadži Mustafa Pasha]] in 1793, tensions between the Serbs and the Janissary command did not subside.<ref>''The Ottoman Empire and the Serb Uprising'', S J Shaw in The First Serbian Uprising 1804–1813 Ed W Vucinich, p. 72</ref> In 1793 and 1796, Selim issued [[firman]]s that gave the Serbs more rights. These included the collection of taxes by the ''[[obor-knez]]'' (dukes), freedom of trade and religion, and the establishment of peace. Selim also ordered the removal of some unpopular Janissaries from the Belgrade Pashalik, as he saw them as a threat to the central authority of Hadži Mustafa Pasha. Many of the Janissaries were employed by or took refuge with [[Osman Pazvantoğlu]], a renegade opponent of Selim in the [[Sanjak of Vidin]]. Pazvantoğlu launched a series of raids against the Serbs without the Sultan's permission, causing much instability and fear in the region.{{sfn|Ranke|1847}} In 1793, the Serbs defeated Pazvantoğlu at the Battle of Kolari.{{sfn | Paxton | 1968 | p=13}} In the summer of 1797, Mustafa Pasha was appointed by the Sultan as the [[Beglerbegi|beglerbeg]] of [[Rumelia Eyalet]]. He left Serbia for [[Plovdiv]] to fight against the Vidin rebels of Pazvantoğlu. During Mustafa Pasha's absence, Pazvantoğlu's troops captured [[Požarevac]] and besieged the [[Belgrade Fortress]].{{sfn|Ćorović|2001}}{{sfn|Trâpcea|1942|pp=267–268}} In November 1797, the Obor knez [[Aleksa Nenadović]], [[Ilija Birčanin]] and [[Nikola Grbović]] arrived in Belgrade with their troops. They successfully forced the besieging Janissary troops to retreat to [[Smederevo]].<ref>{{cite book|title=Podrinsko-kolubarski region|publisher=RNIRO "Glas Podrinja"|author=Filipović, Stanoje R.|year=1982|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=UqAMAAAAIAAJ|page=60|quote=Ваљевски кнезови Алекса Ненадовић, Илија Бирчанин и Никола Грбовић довели су своју војску у Београд и учествовали у оштрој борби са јаничарима који су се побеђени повукли.}}</ref>{{sfn|Ćorović|2001}}

On 30 January 1799, Selim III allowed the Janissaries to return, calling them local Muslims from the Sanjak of Smederevo. At first, the Janissaries accepted the authority of Hadži Mustafa Pasha. However, in [[Šabac]], a Janissary named Bego Novljanin demanded a surcharge from a Serb and murdered him when he refused to pay. Fearing the worst, Hadži Mustafa Pasha marched to Šabac with a force of 600 men to ensure that the Janissary was brought to justice and that order was restored. The Janissaries not only decided to support Bego Novljanin, but Pazvantoğlu also attacked the Belgrade Pashalik in support of the Janissaries.{{sfn|Ranke|1847|p=115}}