Revisión crítica

Podgorica sub-district, in the Ottoman system of provincial administration, was traditionally part of Shkodra district but, during the second half of the eighteenth century, there was a continuous shift in this region due to political circumstances.

The population of this sub-district was mainly Bosnian,¹² and what was more important, the garrisons were manned by Bosnian militia, thus giving the governor of Bosnia the right of supervising the tax revenues used to pay the soldiers. Yet, except

9 This term was used for the Venetian possessions on the Balkan coast from the bay of Kotor to the enclave of Budua.

10 Naci, Pashalleku i Shkodres, p. 145.

11 B.O.A. C.DH. 333, 16631 [29 S 1195(24 February 1781)].

12 Naci, Ibid.

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for supervising the tax revenues, the administration was left to the governor of Shkodra, causing a dichotomy that led to a confrontation between the two sides.¹³

In order to preserve balance in the region, the Ottoman government transferred the sub-district of Podgorica to the district of Herceg, which was part of Bosnia province.¹⁴ Mahmud, on the other hand, tried every kind of method to persuade the center to return it to him, even using military intervention in 1781 by attacking Niksic (Bakiyye-Nova).¹⁵ On the other hand, according to the Bushatli governor, Podgorica was much closer to the market of Shkodra, thus making it economically dependent on Shkodra, but this aspect of the issue was not quite convincing to the center, which left the contested sub-district under the authority of the Bosnian governor in the end.

However, Mahmud Pasha took advantage of the information revealed by the Austrian colonel, and decided to use it against the Montenegrins as a pretext to dispatch an army. In addition to this, as an “obedient” Ottoman official, he would do his duty by eliminating the enemies of the central authority and retake Podgorica for his administration, thus killing two birds with one stone.¹⁶

A Zealous Bosnian Governor

In this crisis the governor of Bosnia province, Defterzade Abdullah, was one of the main actors in addition to being one of the most remarkable Ottoman officials of that period. Born as the son of Bosnian Ismail Ağa, a member of Hekimoğlu Ali’s household, Abdullah was educated in the inner service of the imperial palace, becoming a skillful financier and an accomplished official. Following this, he was promoted to Silahdar Ağa, therefore close to and a favorite of the sultan.¹⁷ Later on, in 1780 Abdullah was appointed as the new governor of Bosnia province and was given the duty of restoring the military strength of this frontier back to its previous

13 Michael R Hickok, Ottoman Military Administration in Eighteenth-Century Bosnia, p. 153.

14 Ibid.

15 B.O.A. AE.SABH.I. 78, 5449[09 Za 1195(27 October 1781)].

16 Naci, Ibid, p. 146.

17 Ahmed Vasıf Efendi, Mehâsinü’l-Âsâr ve Hakaikü’l-Ahbâr, p. 217.

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status. Despite the difficulty of the task, he was successful and managed to restore the old Bosnia militia to his command and consolidate his authority by appointing his own men; however, in the end, he came face-to-face with Bushatli Mahmud.

The protection of the territorial integrity of Bosnia province was essential to reinforcing the authority of the government and to collect the tax revenues, which were used to maintain the Bosnian militia companies. Although new to the post of governor, Defterzade Abdullah immediately showed great progress by appointing, on 16 March 1781, his own man Ibrahim Pasha as deputy-governor in the contested sub-district of Podgorica. He also managed to restore order by eliminating the bandits and other troublemakers in the district of Herceg, who, according to an investigations done by both the central government and Abdullah Pasha, were men of Mahmud Pasha. However, due to the threats of war from both Russia and Austria, the two parties decided not to move immediately against Mahmud.¹⁸

The central government decided, probably in the beginning of 1784, in order to find a permanent solution for the Podgorica issue, to move the contested sub-district from the jurisdiction of Shkodra and join it to Herceg, thus putting it under the authority of the Bosnian governor. As a matter of fact, the mobilization of Austrian troops just a couple of kilometers away from the border alerted the Ottoman government, which chose to strengthen the Bosnian frontier by any necessity.

Furthermore, the zealous governor Defterzade was vigorously surveilling the frontier, thus obstructing a military invasion from the Austrian side. However, Bushatli Mahmud immediately opposed the decision of the center by removing Abdullah Pasha and his son Ibrahim, who were both clients of the governor Defterzade Abdullah, and appointing as new deputy-governor his own man, Husain Pasha of Izvornik.¹⁹

18 Hickok, Ottoman Military Administration, p. 158-159.

19 Ibid, p. 162-163. Ibrahim Pasha, according to Hickok, was probably the same official who was appointed by Defterzade Abdullah as deputy-governor of Podgorica in 1781, and we can assume that he was administering the office together with his father Abdullah Pasha.

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The Assault on Podgorica

Following the transfer of Podgorica to Bosnia, Mahmud Pasha and his younger brother Ahmed entered Podgorica in February 1784 and invaded it with their troops.

As told by Ibrahim Pasha, who was the only one of the people inside the castle of Podgorica to escape, the pasha of Shkodra, after pillaging the region, moved to the castle Işbuzi. Furthermore, Ibrahim Pasha, as the legitimately appointed deputy-governor of the sub-district, demanded the punishment of Mahmud Pasha by the center. In addition to this, he decided to gather troops in Bosnia so he could stop Mahmud and his men’s advance before they could reach Işbuzi.²⁰ Regarding the assault on Podgorica by Mahmud and his men, aside from Ibrahim, we can also rely on reports sent by Naip (regent) Ahmed of Podgorica and Defterzade Abdullah Pasha.

In his report sent to the center, Naip Ahmed condemned the disastrous activities of the Shkodra governor, who had killed many innocent people and pillaged the region of Podgorica. He also appealed for the punishment of Mahmud Pasha, who according to Naip Ahmed ruined the peace formerly present under Ibrahim Pasha and annexed the sub-district, transferring it again to Shkodra. In addition to this, Ahmed underlined the fact the Bushatli had previously infiltrated his men, which leads us to think that Mahmud had planned the assault on Podgorica right after Defterzade Abdullah appointed Ibrahim Pasha in 1781. Moreover, according to the letter sent to the center, Ahmed was also representing a group of the pious and notables of the localities in Podgorica.²¹

Ibrahim Pasha, in one of his many letters sent to the center, also gave information about the journey to Austria of the Montenegrin governor, Radovan Radonjic, who applied for military support to the Austrian emperor for a general rebellion against the Ottomans. Consequently, the Austrians mobilized five thousand troops and the supplies needed for the campaign and sent them to Kotor. According to Ibrahim, the leader of this campaign against the Sublime Porte would have been Bushatli

20 B.O.A. HAT 21, 1200-A [25 R 1198(18 March 1784)].

21 B.O.A. HAT 21, 1200-D [21 R 1198(14 March 1784)]; Hickok, Ottoman Military Administration, p.

166-167.

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Mahmud, and for this reason, he wanted to attack Işbuzi in order to avenge his family’s murdered by the governor of Shkodra.²² From this, we also understand that even the Venice may have been indirectly supporting this plan, or perhaps they were forced to, since these activities were taking place in its territorial possessions.