Danilo I Petrović-Njegoš (; 25 May 1826 – 13 August 1860) was the ruling Prince of Montenegro from 1851 to 1860. The beginning of his reign marked the transition of Montenegro from an archaic form of government (Prince-Bishopric) into a secular Principality. He became involved in a war with the Ottoman Empire in 1852, the Porte claiming jurisdiction in Montenegro, and the boundaries between the two countries were not defined until 1858. Danilo, with the help of his elder brother, Voivode Mirko, defeated the Ottomans at Ostrog in 1853 and in the Battle of Grahovac in 1858. The town of Danilovgrad is named after him. Rise to power as Prince When Petar II Petrović-Njegoš died, the Senate, under the influence of Đorđije Petrović (the wealthiest Montenegrin at the time), proclaimed Petar's elder brother Pero Tomov as Prince (not bishop, or Vladika). Nevertheless, in a brief struggle for power, Pero, who commanded the support of the Senate, lost to the much younger Danilo who had much more support among people. Prior to the determination of Petar's successor, after making peace between the Crmnica and Katunjani tribes, and being recognized by all of the Montenegrin clans except for the Bjelopavlići, Danilo traveled to Vienna, Austrian Empire and then to the Russian Empire, supposedly to be ordained as Vladika, not Prince. After Danilo returned from Russia in 1852, he took Pero and his supporters by surprise, bringing with him the endorsement from Nicholas I of Russia to become the Prince of Montenegro. Thus somewhat unexpectedly, Danilo became prince and Pero conceded defeat by returning to his position as president of the Senate. After centuries of theocratic rule, Danilo was the first Montenegrin secular prince who did not hold the ecclesiastical position of the Vladika. He was planning to upgrade the status of Montenegro turning it into a kingdom but did not live long enough to see his ambitions realized. Military successes It was during Danilo's reign that Montenegro won its most important battle with Turkey and its de facto independence. His charismatic elder brother, Grand Voivode Mirko Petrović-Njegoš led a 7,500 strong army and won the crucial Battle of Grahovac against the Turks (between 7,000 and 13,000) on 1 May 1858. The Turkish forces were routed. A considerable arsenal of war trophies was left in the Montenegrins hands, to come handy again in the final wars of independence in 1862 and 1875-1878. This