At the beginning of the 19th century Serbia has been ruled by the Ottoman Empire for almost three centuries ; In late 1801 renegade Janissary leaders ( soldiers of the Ottoman sultan see janissary ) ruled over that northern edge of the Ottoman Empire known as the Sanjak of Smederevo or Pashalik of Belgrade , with unrestrained brutality , the four were known as the Dahijas . Their cruelty had made them many enemies among the '' Christian Serb '' so the Dahije decided to strike against the leadership of the revolt before it started . They began to disarm the population then set about exterminating all the Serbs they had most to fear : veterans of the war of 1788-91 with Austria , nobles or knez and village priests ; The severed heads were put on public display in central squares and at city gates to serve as an example to those who might plot against their rule . The event is known as the Slaughter of the Knezes . The massacre precipitated what the Janissaries most hoped to avoid : a general uprising of the Christian Serbs . The Serbs replied by murdering the soubashis and leading women and children away to safe retreats in the mountains and the woods ; thus started the beginning of modern history on the Balkan Peninsula
Slaughter of the Knezes
Slaughter of the Knezes
Čolak-Anta