Novica Cerović

Novica Cerović
Novica M. Cerović
Born	1805
Died	1895
Nationality	Serbian
Other names	Serbian Cyrillic: Новица Цepoвић)
Known for	Liberator of Old Herzegovina
Title	Duke (Ban)

Novica M. Cerović (Serbian Cyrillic: Новица М. Цepoвић) (born 1805, Šavnik, Herzegovina, Ottoman Empire, today Montenegro, death 1895) was a Serbian warrior, senator and leader of the Drobnjak clan from Old Herzegovina.

Life

His most noted act was leading a successful assault to kill local Muslim tyrant Smail-aga Čengić under the auspices of Petar II Petrović-Njegoš^[1] thereby freeing parts of Herzegovina from the Ottoman Empire and joining them to the Principality of Montenegro. His heroism and the death of Smail-aga Čengić was the theme of Ivan Mažuranić's poem Smrt Smail-age Čengića (The Death of Smail-aga Čengić), an epic poem celebrating the struggle for freedom. Sometime after that, some of the Cerović family moved to Serbia, some going north, near to the city of Pljevlja and changed their family name to "Lalović" to disguise from Turks.

There is a tower in Tušina named after him (The tower of Duke Novica Cerović).

References

1. ^ Zulfikarpašić, Adil. The Bosniak. Milovan Djilas. C. Hurst & Co. Publishers. pp. p7. ISBN 1850653399. 

Persondata
Name	Cerovic, Novica
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	1805
Place of birth
Date of death	1895
Place of death