Petar II Petrović-Njegoš (, ; – ), commonly referred to simply as Njegoš (), was a Serbian Prince-Bishop (vladika) of Montenegro, poet and philosopher whose works are widely considered some of the most important in Montenegrin and Serbian literature.
Njegoš was born in the village of Njeguši, near Montenegro's then-capital Cetinje. He was educated at several Serbian monasteries and became the country's spiritual and political leader following the death of his uncle Petar I. After eliminating all initial domestic opposition to his rule, he concentrated on uniting Montenegro's tribes and establishing a centralized state. He introduced regular taxation, formed a personal guard and implemented a series of new laws to replace those composed by his predecessor many years earlier. His taxation policies proved extremely unpopular with the tribes of Montenegro and were the cause of several revolts during his lifetime. Njegoš's reign was also defined by the constant political and military struggle with the Ottoman Empire, and by his attempts to expand Montenegro's territory while gaining unconditional recognition from the Sublime Porte. He was a proponent of uniting and liberating the Serb people, willing to concede his princely rights in exchange for a union with Serbia and his recognition as the religious leader of all Serbs (akin to a modern-day Patriarch of the Serbian Orthodox Church). Although unification between the two states did not occur during his lifetime, Njegoš laid some of the foundations of Yugoslavism and introduced modern political concepts to Montenegro. Venerated as a poet and philosopher, Njegoš is well known for his epic poem Gorski vijenac (The Mountain Wreath), which is considered a masterpiece of Serbian and other South Slavic literature, and the national epic of Serbia, Montenegro, and Yugoslavia. Njegoš has remained influential in Serbia and Montenegro, as well in neighboring countries.
Early life and origins
Petar II Petrović-Njegoš was born Radivoje "Rade" Petrović on in the mountain village of Njeguši, near Cetinje. His father, Tomislav "Tomo" Petrović (b. 1762–63), was a member of the Petrović clan of the Njeguši tribe of Katuni nahiya. Njegoš's mother, Ivana Proroković, hailed from the hamlet of Mali Zalaz and was the daughter of Njeguši captain Lazo Proroković. There is no reliable information about her exact year of birth, but it is believed that she was about ten years younger than her husband. Tomo and Ivana had five children; their eldest son was Petar ("Pero"), Rade was their middle son and Jovan ("Joko") was their youngest. The couple's daughters were named Marija and Stana; Marija was married to a Montenegrin chieftain named Andrija Perović, the serdar (count) of Cuce, while Stana was married to Filip Đurašković, the serdar of Rijeka Crnojevića.
Njeguši is a remote village, situated near the Adriatic coast in western Montenegro (or Old Montenegro). The eponymous tribe is one of the oldest in Montenegro, and its history can be traced back to the 14th century. It likely came about as the result of intermarriages between Illyrian population and South Slavic settlers during the 10th century, according to the author Milovan Djilas. Njeguši was dominated by the Petrovićes' ancestral home, which was the only two-storied house in the village and was made entirely out of stone. Members of Njeguši's Petrović clan had been hereditary Serbian Orthodox Metropolitans (Prince-Bishops) of Cetinje since 1696; the title of Prince-Bishop () was passed from uncle to nephew since Orthodox prelates were required to be celibate and could not have children of their own. The ruling Prince-Bishop was allowed to nominate his own successor, subject to approval by the Montenegrin chieftains and the people of Montenegro.
Njegoš spent his early years in Njeguši shepherding his father's flock, playing the gusle (a traditional one-stringed instrument) and attending family and church celebrations where stories of battles and past suffering were told. His education was rudimentary; he was taught how to read and write by monks at the Cetinje Monastery when he was twelve years old, studied Italian at the Savina Monastery for a year and spent eighteen months at the Topla Monastery near Herceg Novi, learning Russian and French under the tuition of reverend Josif Tropović. In October 1827, the young Njegoš was taken under the tutelage of the poet and playwright Sima Milutinović (nicknamed "Sarajlija"), who had come to Montenegro to serve as the official secretary of Njegoš's uncle, vladika Petar I. A Sarajevan Serb, Milutinović introduced Njegoš to poetry and inspired him to write down Serb folk tales which had been passed down orally through the centuries. An unconventional mentor, he also taught Njegoš sports, shooting and sword-fighting.
Reign
Historical background
Nineteenth-century Montenegrin society was quite primitive even by contemporary standards. Foreigners were viewed with suspicion and merchants were widely seen as "money-grubbing" and "effete". Wars between the Montenegrins and neighboring Muslim tribes were all too common, as was cattle rustling, banditry and headhunting. Men devoted much of their energy to incessant blood feuds, limiting the effectiveness of Montenegrin resistance to the Turks. Most physical labors was done by women; entertainment consisted of contests exhibiting feats of strength and evenings spent listening to songs recounting heroic exploits to the accompaniment of the gusle.
Before the 19th century, western Montenegro was nothing more than a cluster of feuding tribes presided over by the Metropolitans of Cetinje. Montenegrin territory consisted of four small districts (), the most important of which was the Katuni nahiya with its nine tribes (Cetinje, Njeguši, Ćeklići, Bjelice, Cuce, Čevo, Pješivci, Zagarač, and Komani). These areas had been de facto independent from the Ottoman Empire since the Treaty of Passarowitz in 1718, though elements of self-governance had existed since the earliest days of Turkish rule in the 15th century. For decades, Ottoman authorities treated the inhabitants of western Montenegro and eastern Herzegovina as unsubjected filuricis who were only obligated to pay a fixed amount of Florentine ducats (florin) to the Ottomans each year. Such taxation did not increase with the wealth or size of one's household, and Serbs in these regions were completely exempt from the Ottoman poll tax and other levies usually paid by Christian subjects to the Sublime Porte. Though the privileges granted the highlanders were meant to allay public dissatisfaction in these poor but strategically vital regions on the Venetian border, by the late 16th century, they ended up having the opposite effect. The Serbs began shunning Ottoman tax collectors entirely, and when the Ottomans attempted to impose some of the taxes normally paid by other Christian subjects, the Serbs revolted and carved out their own autonomous region. Absence of Ottoman authority produced an ideal opportunity for tribalism to flourish. Thousands of Serbs who remained in Ottoman-held territory converted to Islam to avoid paying these newly imposed taxes. Converts were granted full rights and privileges as Muslim subjects of the Sultan, while non-Muslims were viewed as second-class subjects and treated as such. Hence, Christians viewed all converts with derision and considered them "traitors to the faith of their forefathers". Religious killings were common in times of war since both Christians and Muslims considered members of the opposing faith to be apostates worthy of death.
Although Montenegrin warriors often attributed their country's survival as an independent entity to their own military prowess, journalist Tim Judah notes that the Turks often saw little point in expending blood and resources trying to subdue the impoverished sliver of land controlled by the Montenegrin chieftains. As far as the Ottomans were concerned, the Montenegrins were "rebellious infidels" who only wished to plunder what property their more prosperous Muslim neighbors possessed. Throughout the 18th century, thousands of Montenegrins left their homeland and migrated to Serbia in the hope of finding fertile fields to raise their crops. Authority became more centralized after Petar I came to power in 1782. In 1796, Petar initiated a war against Kara Mahmud Bushati, vizier of the Pashalik of Scutari, which reinforced Montenegro's autonomy and resulted in large territorial gains at the Ottomans' expense. Two years later, a council of tribal chiefs met in Cetinje and agreed to compose a code of laws and form a central court known as a kuluk, which had both administrative and judicial functions. Despite these accomplishments, Petar had little success in unifying the disparate Montenegrin tribes, as it was impossible to form a stable government or organize an army unless taxes could be levied, and the tribes were no more willing to pay taxes to Cetinje than they were to the Ottomans. Attempts to stop their raiding and looting were equally futile, as attempted to keep them from feuding with one another. By 1830, Montenegro boasted only a handful of literate citizens, yet it was seen in the Western world as a bastion of Christian resistance to the Turks. The country's economic situation remained dire, its borders were still not internationally recognized and the Turks continued to claim it as part of their empire.
Accession
Petar I's final years were defined by his deteriorating health and continuing inability to find a successor—ideally both a Petrović and a literate monk—capable of carrying on his role. Petar's first candidate was Mitar M. Petrović, the son of his eldest brother Stjepan. Within several years, the younger Petrović died and Petar was forced to find a different successor. He turned his attention to Đorđije S. Petrović, his middle brother's son. As Đorđije was illiterate, Petar sent him to Saint Petersburg to attend school. Once there, Đorđije realized that he preferred living in Russia over Montenegro. In 1828, he sent his uncle a letter from Saint Petersburg informing him that he wished to enroll into the Imperial Russian Army and asking to be relieved of succession. In 1829, Petar informed Jeremija Gagić, an ethnic Serb who served as the Russian vice-consul in Dubrovnik and was in charge of all of Russia's dealings with Montenegro, that Đorđije had his permission to enter the Russian military, depriving him of his right to the throne.
It was only then that Petar entertained the possibility of extending his throne to the teenaged Njegoš and took steps to further his education. The seventeen-year-old was again sent to the Cetinje Monastery and mentored at its seminary. Petar then introduced him to state matters, trusting him with the writing of official letters and orders on his behalf. He died of old age on , without having publicly named a successor. Prior to his death, the elderly vladika had dictated his will and testament to Njegoš's old mentor, Milutinović, where he named Njegoš as his successor and granted all of his ecclesiastical and secular powers to him. The will also cursed anyone who trampled over Montenegro's traditional bonds with Russia in exchange for better relations with Austria, swearing that leprosy would strike them down. Some Montenegrins hostile to the Petrović clan alleged that Milutinović had fabricated the document in order to make Njegoš vladika, pointing to their close friendship as proof. Several scholars have raised the possibility that the will was indeed a forgery, though most modern historians believe that it was genuine.