Who were Petar II Petrović-Njegoš parents?
230958#3
Petar II Petrović-Njegoš was born Radivoje "Rade" Petrović on in the mountain village of Njeguši, near Cetinje. His father, Tomislav "Tomo" Petrović (b. 1762–63), was a member of the Petrović clan of the Njeguši tribe of Katuni "nahiya". Njegoš's mother, Ivana Proroković, hailed from the hamlet of Mali Zalaz and was the daughter of Njeguši captain Lazo Proroković. There is no reliable information about her exact year of birth, but it is believed that she was about ten years younger than her husband. Tomo and Ivana had five children; their eldest son was Petar ("Pero"), Rade was their middle son and Jovan ("Joko") was their youngest. The couple's daughters were named Marija and Stana; Marija was married to a Montenegrin chieftain named Andrija Perović, the "serdar" (count) of Cuce, while Stana was married to Filip Đurašković, the "serdar" of Rijeka Crnojevića.
Petar II Petrović-Njegoš
230958#11
The day after Petar's death, all of Montenegro's chieftains met in Cetinje to confirm the new "vladika". According to one account, there were several chieftains who did not wish to see Njegoš bestowed the title. They considered him too young and inexperienced, and disliked the haste with which he was to be crowned. Figures such as Milutinović, Stanko S. Petrović, "iguman" Mojsije Zečević, "serdar" Mikhail Bošković, and the headman of Čevo, Stefan Vukotić, supported Njegoš's bid and urged the council to immediately proclaim him the next "vladika". The first to recognize him as such was the "archimandrite" of Ostrog, Josif Pavičević, followed by the "guvernadur" (governor) of Montenegro, Vukolaj "Vuko" Radonjić, and all the other chieftains. Another account holds that Radonjić hotly opposed Njegoš's succession and argued that the expatriated Đorđije was Petar I's true heir. The reason behind Radonjić's opposition to Njegoš lay in the fact that his clan, the Radonjićes, were bitter enemies of Njegoš's Petrović clan. Apparently, Radonjić's opinion did not sway the chieftains and they composed a declaration proclaiming Njegoš the next "vladika". According to this account, "archimandrite" Josif signed the declaration first and Radonjić signed it last after seeing that all of the other chieftains had done so. Despite not having any formal training as a monk, the teenaged Njegoš was consecrated in 1831 an "archimandrite" himself in a ceremony that took place in the Kom Monastery.. He adopted the ecclesiastical name Petar in honour of his late predecessor, thus becoming known as Petar II Petrović-Njegoš. Following his consecration, he signed himself using his monkish name and his surname. Thus, all of Njegoš's correspondences were signed under the name Petar Petrović, though the Montenegrin people continued to refer to him by his given name and affectionately called him Bishop Rade. In most scholarly texts, he is referred to simply as Njegoš.
Petar II Petrović-Njegoš
230958#0
Petar II Petrović-Njegoš (, ;  – ), commonly referred to simply as Njegoš (), was a Prince-Bishop ("vladika") of Montenegro, poet and philosopher whose works are widely considered some of the most important in Serbian and Montenegrin literature.
Petar II Petrović-Njegoš
3412030#8
The Metropolitans of Montenegro, all members of this family (with the exception of Arsenije Plamenac) were: Danilo I Petrović-Njegoš (1697–1735), Sava II Petrović-Njegoš (1735–1781), Arsenije Plamenac (1781–1784), Petar I Petrović-Njegoš (1784–1830), and Petar II Petrović-Njegoš (1830–1851). After the death of Petar II, the state of Montenegro was no longer ruled by the Metropolitans, since his successor, Prince Danilo Petrović-Njegoš, did not wish to become a Metropolitan.
Metropolitanate of Montenegro and the Littoral
230958#20
In response to the defeat at Podgorica, the Montenegrins formed tactical alliances with neighbouring Muslims tribes that were hostile to the Porte. By entering into such alliances Njegoš risked further alienating the Russians, whose support Montenegro still desperately needed. To neutralize any suspicion that Montenegro was acting against Russian interests, Njegoš cultivated a close personal friendship with vice-consul Grujić, who advised the czar that Njegoš was as dependable as ever. In one of his letters to Grujić, Njegoš reported that the final advice Petar I gave him before his death was "pray to God and hold on to Russia".
Petar II Petrović-Njegoš
803158#2
When Petar II Petrović-Njegoš died, the Senate, under the influence of Đorđije Petrović (the wealthiest Montenegrin at the time), proclaimed Petar II's elder brother Pero Tomov Petrović as Prince (not bishop, or "Vladika"). Nevertheless, in a brief struggle for power, Pero, who commanded the support of the Senate, lost to the much younger Danilo who had much more support among people.
Danilo I, Prince of Montenegro
4686700#1
Mirko was born on 19 August 1820, in Njeguši, the son of Stanko Petrović-Njegoš and Krstinja Vrbica. He was the older brother of Prince Danilo I, while his uncle was Petar II Petrović-Njegoš. He is famous for winning the Battle of Grahovac on 1 May 1858, leading the Montenegrin army against the Ottoman Empire.
Mirko Petrović-Njegoš
230958#10
It was only then that Petar entertained the possibility of extending his throne to the teenaged Njegoš and took steps to further his education. The seventeen-year-old was again sent to the Cetinje Monastery and mentored at its seminary. Petar then introduced him to state matters, trusting him with the writing of official letters and orders on his behalf. He died of old age on , without having publicly named a successor. Prior to his death, the elderly "vladika" had dictated his will and testament to Njegoš's old mentor, Milutinović, where he named Njegoš as his successor and granted all of his ecclesiastical and secular powers to him. The will also cursed anyone who trampled over Montenegro's traditional bonds with Russia in exchange for better relations with Austria, swearing that leprosy would strike them down. Some Montenegrins hostile to the Petrović clan alleged that Milutinović had fabricated the document in order to make Njegoš "vladika", pointing to their close friendship as proof. Several scholars have raised the possibility that the will was indeed a forgery, though most modern historians believe that it was genuine.
Petar II Petrović-Njegoš
230958#9
Petar I's final years were defined by his deteriorating health and continuing inability to find a successor—ideally both a Petrović and a literate monk—capable of carrying on his role. Petar's first candidate was Mitar M. Petrović, the son of his eldest brother Stjepan. Within several years, the younger Petrović died and Petar was forced to find a different successor. He turned his attention to Đorđije S. Petrović, his middle brother's son. As Đorđije was illiterate, Petar sent him to Saint Petersburg to attend school. Once there, Đorđije realized that he preferred living in Russia over Montenegro. In 1828, he sent his uncle a letter from Saint Petersburg informing him that he wished to enroll into the Imperial Russian Army and asking to be relieved of succession. In 1829, Petar informed Jeremija Gagić, an ethnic Serb who served as the Russian vice-consul in Dubrovnik and was in charge of all of Russia's dealings with Montenegro, that Đorđije had his permission to enter the Russian military, depriving him of his right to the throne.
Petar II Petrović-Njegoš
230958#40
While staying in Italy, Njegoš was disturbed by reports of Omar Pasha's plans to invade Montenegro. He planned another visit to Saint Petersburg to enlist Russian support, but the czar refused to meet him. Njegoš headed back to Montenegro in the summer, having consulted physicians in Vienna on his way back. While in Vienna, he encountered Serbian photographer Anastas Jovanović, who persuaded him to pose for a picture in his studio. Jovanović's calotype portrait is the only known photograph of Njegoš in existence. Jovanović also photographed a group of "Perjanici" that had accompanied Njegoš on his journey to Italy, as well as the chieftains Mirko Petrović and Petar Vukotić. Njegoš returned to Cetinje in August 1851, with his health rapidly deteriorating. He died there on , surrounded by his closest associates and just two weeks shy of his thirty-eighth birthday. Eyewitnesses reported his last words as "love Montenegro and render justice to the poor."
Petar II Petrović-Njegoš