A Montenegrin legend
You might recognise his face on the Serb 20 dinar note, but the place of Petar II Petrović Njegoš in the Montenegrin historical memory is much more prominent.
Heralded for “leading Montenegro out of the Middle Ages”, Njegoš laid the foundation of the modern Montenegrin state while becoming the country’s most beloved poet.
Njegos was born in Njeguši in 1831 to a family that had produced state leaders for several generations, but was raised in a community of illiterate peasants whose main duty was to fight battles against invading Turks. He entered the Cetinje monastery at age 11, however, and began to write poems in the imitation of folk poetry. Njegoš’ inspiration, it is said, came from the self-educated and eccentric poet Sima Milutinović Sarajlija, who instilled in him an appreciation for great heroic folk poems.
Despite his meagre theological training, however, at the age of 17 Njegoš inherited the title of both head of state and the church following the death of his uncle, Petar I Petrović, who then held the positions. His formal title was the Bishop of Montenegro, which he acquired officially in Moscow in 1833.
During his rule, Njegoš undertook a number of measures that are credited with having given birth to the Kingdom of Montenegro, and later the modern Montenegrin nation.
The young ruler established a Senate, Montenegro’s first modern police force, and a centralised tax system. He sought to prevent wars among Montenegro’s various tribes, and imported a printing press to begin publishing the territory’s first books. He built roads and schools across Montenegro, and aggressively fought battles against the Ottomans to establish the borders of a viable Montenegro.
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