Prince Miloš Obrenović | Origin of Street Names

Miloš Obrenović (1780 – 1860) was one of the most significant Serbian rulers and one of the most controversial figures in the political history of Serbia.

A great voivode, leader of the Second Serbian Uprising, and ultimately the first Serbian prince, Prince Miloš was the figure under whose rule Serbia finally regained elements of statehood after centuries of Ottoman bondage.

Although the exact year of his birth is still uncertain today (some sources even mention 1783), Prince Miloš was born in the village of Gornja Dobrinja near Požega as Miloš Teodorović. However, his father Teodor Mihailović died very early, leaving a very faint impression in his son's memory. Having half-brothers from his parents' previous marriages, Miloš decided to change his surname in 1810 out of respect for his beloved half-brother Milan (after his death). By becoming Obrenović, he also determined the historical name of the entire future ruling dynasty.

His pronounced skill in negotiation and governance, which characterized Prince Miloš throughout most of his reign, is believed to have originated from his early youth when he traveled through Šumadija, Bosnia, Dalmatia as a cattle herder in the service of a wealthy merchant, and even reached Venice, attending numerous business agreements and getting acquainted with people, customs, and the mentality of the people.

He earned the rank of voivode during the First Serbian Uprising, bestowed upon him by Karađorđe himself, as he was the best man at the wedding that followed shortly after.

However, after the collapse of the uprising, Miloš was the only voivode who remained in Serbia and did not flee to Hungary with Karađorđe and other prominent voivodes. This not only granted him amnesty from the supreme Turkish authority but also gave him control over three large nahiyahs, laying the foundations for his future rule.

As the position of the Serbian people worsened after the failure of the First Uprising, the idea of launching a new one did not diminish. In 1813, it was Miloš Obrenović who led it. Despite winning several battles, realizing that he couldn't permanently defeat the Turks by military force, he resorted to tactical methods of negotiation (and compromises) with Turkish pashas and systematic acquisition of freedom.

The ability to work for the Serbian cause while simultaneously positioning himself uncompromisingly as the foremost figure among the people (including the assassination of Karađorđe) made Miloš the most powerful man in Serbia in the early decades of the 19th century.

With the Hatišerif of 1830, Serbia gained autonomy, the highest degree of statehood and freedom since the fall of the Serbian Despotate in the 15th century, and Miloš Obrenović became its first prince and the progenitor of a dynasty that would, with interruptions, rule Serbia for the next 75 years.

He had a total of 16 children with different women. His most famous descendant from his marriage to Princess Ljubica is undoubtedly Prince Mihailo Obrenović, while the alleged illegitimate son is mentioned as Milivoje Petrović Blaznavac, a renowned Serbian general and later Prime Minister.

A controversial figure inclined towards compromise (even when it came to morality), possessing great natural wisdom and personal authority, Prince Miloš was uneducated, even illiterate, throughout his entire life. It may be a paradox, but an undeniable fact that Miloš Obrenović is among the most significant figures in Serbian history.

Today, in Serbia, numerous schools and streets in as many as 127 settlements bear the name of the great Prince Miloš Obrenović. Recently, a highway with his name was opened here. Cultural and historical monuments commemorating the illustrious prince can be found in Topčider Park, his birth village, and Brestovačka Banja.