SERVIA. 



SERVIA. 



~ 



of the Slavonic race, and their language is one of the moat polished 

 dialect* of the Slavonian. 



The principal towns of Servia are Semtndria, situated at the con- 

 fluence of the Jeaaava with the Danube, a fortified town, with about 

 inhabitant* : BELGRADE : Poterovatz, or Pauerotilz, a regularly 

 built town of 4000 inhabitant*, in the lower part of the valley of 

 the Morava, ia celebrated for the treaty signed here by Prince Eugene 

 in 1718, which deprived the Turk* of Hungary, Little Wallachia, and 

 part of Servia: Zabatz, or Sckabacz, a fortified town with 12,000 

 inhabitant*, near the mouth of the Dubrava in the Save : t'jitza, near 

 the borders of Bosnia, a town of 6000 inhabitant*, carrying on a con- 

 siderable trade : VtUlievo, a neat little town, with 1500 inhabitant*, on 

 the Koluinbara, at the foot of the Hedvedniak Mountains, nearly due 

 oath of Zabatz : Kragojftcatz, a small town in the south of Servia, 

 near the junction of the two Moravas, where a diet of the representa- 

 tive* of Servia proclaimed, in 1830, Milosch and hi* heirs prince* of 

 Serria : Madura, or Kladova, on the Danube, in the east of the 

 principality : population, 3000. The citadel of Oladova, called Feth 

 Islam, u garrisoned by the Turk*. 



The soil in general i* very fertile, but a large part of the country 

 ia in a state of nature, still unreclaimed, and covered with magnifi- 

 cent forest* of oak and other timber-tree*. The plain* of the interior 

 are in part* well cultivated, and yield fine crop* of wheat, barley, 

 maiae, oat*, rice, hemp, flax, tobacco, to. The cleared part* of the 

 valley of the Morava are especially productive of fine maiae, and in 

 proof of the natural fertility of the soil, it i* enough to say that wild 

 sainfoin grow* luxuriantly along the road that asoeod* the valley. 

 Cotton is grown in some of the valleys, and vineyard* are planted in 

 favourable situation*. The best wines are those grown in the valley 

 of the Morava, and those of Semendria, in the valley of the Jesaava. 



The face of the country is described as generally beautiful in the 

 extreme ; " Hill* and wood*, glade* and stream*, succeed in an endless 

 chain, each link a perfect landscape," say* the author of ' Frontier 

 Land* of the Christian and Turk.' The population i* for the most 

 part scattered over the country in hamlet* and village* ; and substantial 

 farmhouse*, with ex'eniive office*, an sometime* Men apart from the 

 villages. The country abound* with game. Horse* and horned cattle 

 are bred in great numbers. Swine are counties*. They feed wild in 

 the oak-forest*, and are exported in immense number* to Hungary and 

 Slavonia, where they are fatted and not to Vienna and other town* 

 of Germany. The field* in part*) of the country an inclosed by hurdle* 

 to keep out the swine, which rove about half wild. Snake* and 

 lizard* are in part* very numerous. Mo*quitoe* and manh fever 

 reader the low grounds, which in part* skirt the Save, uninhabitable. 



The country i* said to be rich in mineral*, but of this source of 

 wealth, as of the more readily worked wealth of the oak forest*, little 

 or no advantage i* taken. Iron-ore i* found at several point* ; very 

 rich copper-on i* found at Madenbek in an offset of the Balkan near 

 the eaitern frontier. Silver i* *Uo found hen. Salt i* procured at 

 several point*. Agriculture and cattle and swine breeding seem the 

 chief occupation*. Too people 1MB generally to enjoy a kind of 

 rough prosperity, and to be ia a state of material progress. The 

 Servian prince* have opened some good road*, the principal of which 

 an thoa* that crow the lower part of the principality from the 

 frontier of Wallachia to Belgrade, and the road up the valley of the 

 Morava from Belgrade and Semendria to Niasa. These line* an 

 ulilsil mamilsmiisd, in part* mad* with travel. 



- The Serbs," says the author of ' Frontier Land*,' before quoted, 

 " are in figure the finest race I ever saw " a fair people, of good, in 

 many instances, of colossal stature, with bio* eye*, light hair, and 

 open countenances. The house* in the town* an in general well 

 built, but in the village* and hamlet* they an constructed in some 

 i with wattle* plastered with mud, more generally of rough 

 xler the Turkish rule they enjoyed almost unlimited liberty 

 a* long a* they payed their text* ; but under the rule of their princes 

 thia liberty ha* been vastly curtailed, by the introduction of the pass- 

 port and quarantine systems, and of intricate custom-house regula- 

 tion*, which would be simply ridiculous M childiah imitation* of some 

 of the great neighbouring states if they were not so detrimental to 

 the progress of an otherwise promising country. 



The principality ia in spiritual matter* subject to the archbishop of 

 Belgrade, or Semendria, and to the bishop* of ZabaU, Timok, and 

 UjiUa, who are paid by the government, the archbishop receiving 

 (000 dollar-, and each of hi* sutTragaua 2500 dollar* a year. The 

 number of priest* i* about SS2, who an paid by the parishioners. 

 The number of monk* i* small. In 1840 then were 80 elementary 

 schools, with about 1000 scholars ; in 1850 there were 200, which with 

 the college of Belgrade, had an aggregate of 80UO pupil*. About 20 

 tadenU an sent to Kieff, in Russia, to study theology, and about 

 double that number are educated in the universities of Western 

 Europe, chiefly in France. There is only one printing-press in the 

 whole country, snd that belongs to the government. 



The revenue* of the principality an estimated at a million dollars 



a year. The militia eonsitts of two battallions of infantry of 1000 



. squadron of cavalry 200 strong, and 300 artillerymen. But 



a* the Serbs are eminently a martial people, it is estimated that the 



country could equip 150,000 foot and 10,000 hone. 



The country of Servia under the Roman empire formed the province 



of Moosia Superior. It was invaded by the Goths under the emperor 

 Volens, and some centuries later by the Servi, a tribe of Slavonians, 

 to whom were allotted some grounds south of the Danube by the 

 emperor Leo VI., in order to oppose them to the Bulgarians, who 

 threatened the very exUtt-u.ee of the empire in the 10th century. 

 By degrees the Servians encroached also upon the territories of 

 the empire, and in the 12th century the emperor Manuel Comuenus 

 was obliged to fight again.-t them in order to check their incursions. 

 During the subsequent decay of the Eastern Empire, and its conquest 

 and partition by the Latins, the Servians established themselves firmly 

 in the country of Moesia, forming an independent principality under 

 a prince styled Despotes, in the same manner as the neighbouring 

 Slavonian states of Bosnia and Croatia. Murad I., sultan of the Otto- 

 mans, married a daughter of the Despotes of Servia ; but several years 

 after, the Servians, Hungarians, and other Christian nations near the 

 Danube, alarmed at the progress of the Turks in Albania, collected a 

 large force under Lazar, Despotes of Servia, and marched against 

 Murad, who met the Christian army in the plain of Kossova, near the 

 frontiers of Albania, A.D. 1389, and defeated it with dreadful slaughter, 

 but was himself killed by a Servian noble, Milosh Obelovitz, Lazar's 

 son-iii-law. Lazar was taken prisoner and killed by the Turks in 

 revenge for the death of their own sultan. lu the following century 

 Suliau Murad IL, who had married the sister of George, Deapotes of 

 Servia, turned his arm* against his brother-in-law about the year 1440, 

 overran Servia, took the fortress of Semeudria, and obliged George to 

 take refuge at Raguso, from whence he made bis way to Hungary, 

 where he joined the gallant Hunnyades, and through hU assistance 

 recovered part of his territories. At last Mohammed 1 1., after taking 

 Constantinople, finally conquered Servia, which he annexed to his 

 empire, with the exception of Belgrade, which was bravely defended 

 by the Hungarians under Hunuyades, and was only taken (in 1522) by 

 Solymau the Great. Servia continued a province of the Turkish 

 empire till 1717, when Prince Eugene, at the head of an Austrian 

 army, took Belgrade and conquered a part of Servia, which was ceded 

 by the sultan to Austria by the peace of Passarowitz, 1718. But in 

 the subsequent war of 17S9 the Austrian*, being worsted by the Turks, 

 lost Servia, and gave up Belgrade also by treaty. Marshal Laudon 

 retook Belgrade in 1788, but Austria gave it up again to the sultan by 

 the peace of Saistova in 1791. 



About the year 1804 the Servians, availing themselves of the revolt 

 of Passwan Oglu, pasha of Widin, rose in arms throughout the country 

 against the Porte. They chose for their leader George Petrowitsch, 

 surnamed Kara, or the ' black,' a countryman who, having taken a 

 part in a former unsuccessful insurrection iu 1787, had fled into the 

 Austrian territories, and served in the Austrian army iu the campaign 

 of 1788-9. After the peace in 1791 Kara George had returned to his 

 country and resumed his profession of herdsman and grazier. He was 

 stem and taciturn, but courageous and robust In January 1806 two 

 numerous Turkish armies, one from Bosnia under Ikkir Pasha, and 

 the other from Nisss in Rumili under Ibrahim, pasha of Scutari, 

 entered Servia. Kara George had no more than 10,000 men, but they 

 were determined, and knew well the country and the intricacies of iu 

 forest*. He kept in check both armies, and in tbo month of August 

 defeated the pasha of Bosnia, anil drove him back across the Drina 

 with great loan. He then turned rapidly against the pasha of Scutari, 

 who proposed a truce. But the truce not being ratified by the Porte, 

 George surprised and took Belgrade, except the citadel, which sur- 

 rendered in 1807. Servia was now free from the Turks. A sort of 

 military government was formed, consisting of the chief pro- 

 prietor* of the various district*, each of whom was at the head of 

 a body of cavalry formed of his tenants and friends. These officers 

 assembled oooo a year, about Christmas, at Belgrade, to deliberate, 

 under the presidency of Kara George, upon the aflain of the country. 

 A senate of twelve members, one elected by each district of Servia, 

 constituted the permanent executive. Mutual jealousies and dissen- 

 sions soon broke out between the principal governors and Kara George. 

 The latter, in order to strengthen his power, undertook the invasion 

 of Bosnia in 1809, whilaj Russia was at war with the Porte. He 

 proved unsuccessful, and was obliged to retire into Servia, protected 

 by a diversion made by a Russian corp* on the side of the Danube. 

 In 1810 he defeated Kurschid Pasha, who had advanced from Niasa 

 with 30,000 men, and soon after he routed another army from Bosnia, 

 and drove it back across the Drina. He availed himself of these 

 to obtain from the diet of 1811 more ample powers, and a 



sort of ministry, which resided continually near his person. The 

 Porte proposed to acknowledge Kara George as Hospodar of Servia, 

 on condition that the Turks should garrison all the fortresses and keep 

 the arsenals and arms. It was easy for peisons acquainted with Otto- 

 man policy to foresee what would be the result* of such au arrange- 

 ment. The negotiations lasted till 1813, when the news of the success 

 of Napoleon I. in Germany freed the Turks from the fear of Russia, 

 and stimulated them to make a last effort against Servia. Two Turkish 

 armies advanced, drove before them some Servian corps, and carried 

 several strongholds. Kan George, losing on a sudden his firmness, 

 crossed the Uanube and took refuge in Austria, and afterwards in 

 Bessarabia, Universal discouragement followed, and the Turks 

 occupied the whole country and entered Belgrade. Servia became 

 again a pashalik. Milosch Obrenowitsch, originally a swineherd, 



