Mihailo Ovčarević

View of Komárno with chaikas, 1597. Mihailo Ovčarević was a vojvoda (commander) of the Šajkaši, the river flotilla that defended the Danube and Sava rivers against the Ottomans.

Mihailo Ovčarević (Serbian Cyrillic: Михаило Овчаревић; fl. 1550–79) was a Habsburg Serb vojvoda (commander) of the Šajkaši (river flotilla). Mihailo Ovčarević belonged to the Ovčarević family, a notable Serb family in Habsburg service in the 16th century, and was a relative of the earlier Petar Ovčarević (fl. 1521–41), a Šajkaši commander and spy, and contemporaries Dimitrije Ovčarević (fl. 1552–66), captain of Gyula, and Jovan Ovčarević (fl. 1557), an emissary.[1] He is mentioned in 1550 as a vojvoda of the Šajkaši.[1] After a denunciation, Emperor Ferdinand I had Mihailo imprisoned, where he stayed for several months until having proved his innocence.[1] As compensation, Ferdinand I issued him a yearly 50 gold coins, which was then changed to 25.[2] In 1557 he asked the War Council to appoint him a vojvoda in Komárno.[1] It is unknown whether he succeeded.[1] It seems that he continued living on his low pension which was not paid regularly;[3] the payment issue is evident from his many appeals.[2] He is last mentioned in 1579.[1]

References

1. Kolundžija 2008, p. 216, Popović 1957, p. 159
2. Kolundžija 2008, p. 216.
3. Popović 1957, p. 159.

Sources

• Ivić, Aleksa (1929). Istorija srba u Vojvodini. Izdanje matice srpske. pp. 177, 179, 186, 189.
• Kolundžija, Zoran (2008). Vojvodina: Od najstarijih vremena do velike seobe. Prometej. p. 216. ISBN 9788651503064.
• Popović, Dušan J. (1957). Srbi u Vojvodini (1): Od najstarijih vremena do Karlovačkog mira 1699. Matica srpska. p. 159.
• Stojkovski, Boris (2015). Đura Hardi (ed.). "The cultural and historical heritage of Vojvodina in the context of classical and medieval studies". Novi Sad: Filozofski fakultet. pp. 205–222.