In early 1804 , following a massacre of Serb chieftains by renegade Ottoman janissaries known as Dahis , the Serbs of the Pashalik rebelled . Karađorđe was unanimously elected to lead the uprising against the Dahis at an assembly of surviving chiefs in February 1804 . Within six months , most of the Dahi leaders had been captured and executed by Karađorđe 's forces , and by 1805 , the final remnants of Dahi resistance had been crushed . Karađorđe and his followers now demanded far-reaching autonomy , a move which Sultan Selim interpreted as but the first step towards complete independence . Selim promptly declared '' jihad '' against the rebels and ordered an army to march into the Pashalik . The Ottomans suffered a string of defeats at the hands of Karađorđe 's forces . By 1806 , the rebels had captured all the major towns in the Pashalik , including Belgrade and Smederevo , and expelled their Muslim inhabitants . Burdened by the demands of the Russo-Ottoman War of 1806 – 1812 , Selim offered the Serbs extensive autonomy , but Karađorđe refused in light of Russia 's avowal to aid the rebels should they continue fighting
massacre
Slaughter of the Knezes
Karađorđe