Orašac Assembly

Orašac Assembly
Illustration of the Orašac Assembly from Život i dela Kara-Đorđa (1903).
Date14 February [O.S. 2 February] 1804
LocationOrašac, Ottoman Empire
(now Serbia)
Also known asMeeting in Orašac
ThemeUprising against the Dahije
CauseSlaughter of the Knezes
ParticipantsBelgrade and Kragujevac nahiya Serbs
OutcomeFirst Serbian Uprising

The Orašac Assembly was the gathering of 300 Serbian chiefs and rebels on 14 February [O.S. 2 February] 1804 (Presentation of Jesus) at Orašac, a village near Aranđelovac, following the "Slaughter of the Knezes" which saw notable Serbs murdered by the renegade Janissaries (the Dahije) in January which prompted the Serbs to rise up against the tyranny (known in historiography as the "Uprising against the Dahije"), resulting in the First Serbian Uprising against the Ottoman Empire. Karađorđe was appointed leader of the Serbian rebels after they all raised their "three fingers in the air" and thereby swore oath. The site of the assembly, Marićevića jaruga, is today a memorial complex.