Herzegovina; Or, Omer Pacha and the Christian Rebels

by George Arbuthnot

and that the iniquities perpetrated by the renegade Beys cannot be with justice laid to the charge of their Osmanli conquerors. It would, indeed, be strange had four hundred years of tyranny passed over this miserable land, without leaving a blight upon its children which no time will ever suffice to efface.

As years wore on, other and more important conquests absorbed the attention of the Mussulman rulers, and the rich pasture-lands of Bosnia, and the sterile rocks of Herzegovina, were alike left the undisputed property of the apostate natives of the soil. Thence arose a system of feudal bondage, to a certain extent akin to that recently existing in Russia, but unequalled in the annals of the world for the spirit of intolerance with which it was carried out. Countless are the tales of cruelty and savage wrong with which the old manuscripts of the country abound, and these are the more revolting, as perpetrated upon those of kindred origin, religion, and descent. The spirit of independence engendered by this system of feudality and unresisted oppression could only lead to one result—viz. the increase of local at the expense of the central authority. The increasing debility of the paternal government tended to strengthen the power of the provincial Magnates; and the Beys, the Spahis, and the Timariots, stars of lesser magnitude in their way, could not but be expected to adhere to the cause of the all-powerful Kapetans rather than to the transient power of a Vizier appointed by the Porte.

This last-named official, whose appointment was then, as now, acquired by successful intrigue or undisguised bribery, was never certain of long tenure of office, and invariably endeavoured by all the means in his power to remunerate himself while the opportunity should last.

The disregard entertained for life in those times, and the indifference manifested by the Ottoman government for this portion of the empire, often rendered it the safer policy for the Vizier to make common cause with the recusant Kapetans, who were too powerful to be subdued by force, and too wily to be entrapped by treachery or fraud.

But another and more self-subsistent power had taken deep root throughout the Ottoman dominions, and nowhere more than in those provinces which lie between the Save and the Adriatic. 'In Egypt,' says Ranke, 'there was the power of the Mameluke Beys revived immediately after the departure of the French; there was the protectorate of the Dere Beys in Asia Minor; the hereditary authority of the Albanian chieftains, the dignity of the Ayans in the principal towns, besides many other immunities—all of which seemed to find a bond of union and a centre in the powerful order of the Janissaries.' Of all the provinces of the empire Bosnia was perhaps the most deeply imbued with the spirit of this faction, the last memento of that ancient chivalry which had carried fire and sword over a great part of civilised Europe.

But to that same spirit of turbulent independence, the very germ of existence of the Janissaries, and so predominant among the natives of Bosnia, may in a great measure be attributed the successes of the Turkish arms in Europe in the campaign of 1828, an era fraught with danger to the whole Ottoman empire, dangers which the newly-organised battalions of the imperial army would have been unable to overcome but for the aid of the wild horsemen of the West. That the same spirit exists as did in bygone times I do not say; but whatever does yet remain of chivalrous endurance or reckless daring is to be found among the Mussulman, and not amongst the Christian, population.

Towards the end of the eighteenth and beginning of the nineteenth century, affairs assumed so critical an aspect that it became incumbent upon the central government to adopt some coercive measure. Sultan Selim was the first who endeavoured to suppress these turbulent spirits. He was unequal to the task, and fell a victim to their revengeful displeasure. 'Bairaktar, the hero of those times,' was equally unsuccessful, and the imperial authority bid fair to perish from the land; but in those days there arose one who, like our own Cromwell, moulded circumstances to his will, resolute of purpose, fearing and sparing none. But if Mahmoud was stern and inexorable to rebels, he is entitled to more praise than is usually accorded him, for the steadfastness of purpose with which he applied himself to the restoration of system and order, in the place of the chaos which he had himself brought about. And let us not omit to mention the dignified courage with which he prepared to meet the calamities which now crowded thick upon him. With the mere nucleus of a semi-organised army he held out for two years, both in Europe and Asia, without one ally, against the herculean efforts of Russia to overthrow his kingdom.

There are not wanting those who, besides stigmatising him as deceitful and cruel, cast in his teeth that he failed to carry out the schemes of reform, which they consider to have been visionary and unmeaning. But these, while commenting on what he left undone, forget how much he did, and how little aid he received from without. Well would it be for Turkey this day had either of his sons inherited the vigour, the perseverance, or even the honesty of old Mahmoud.

Since the accession of Mahmoud to the throne, Bosnia and Herzegovina have been the seat of perpetual, though intermittent, warfare. Short time did he allow to elapse before he gave unmistakable signs of his determination to effect a radical change in the state of these provinces. With this view he sent as Vizier Jelaludin Pacha thither, with orders to punish with extreme severity all who should show any signs of discontent. This man, who is said to have belonged to the sect of Bektashi, an order of Mahomedan monks, did not live like other Pachas. He neither kept a harem nor a court, and devoted himself exclusively to fulfilling the duties of his mission. To do this more effectually, he used to go about in disguise, visiting even the Christian places of worship, and thus obtaining a real knowledge of the feelings and wishes of the people. Now as he practised incorruptible, inexorable justice, his rule was as popular among the Rayahs as it was odious to the Bosnian nobles, against whose independence all his laws and measures were directed.