Stojan Janković

Did You Know?

• In 1669-1670, Venice awarded him 29 ducats monthly and a golden ring of St. Mark, making him a knight of the Order of Saint Mark.
• Venetians wrote of him having 'bigger heart than mind', and his name was famous among Turks and Christians, especially among those of the 'old faith' (Orthodox).

Life

Stojan was born around 1636, likely in the village of Žegar or Zelengrad in the mountainous Bukovica region of northern Dalmatia. His father, harambaša Janko Mitrović, was a noted anti-Ottoman rebel in Venetian service during the Cretan War. Stojan began fighting at age fifteen alongside his father and Ilija Smiljanić. In 1650 he received a payment of 4 ducats, raised to 6 in 1653.

After his father and Ilija Smiljanić died from wounds at the Cetina river in February 1659, the 23-year-old Stojan was chosen as leader by the band. He took part in many frontier battles, defeating several Turkish contingents and slaying commanders such as Ali-beg Durakbegović, Redžep-aga Filipović, aga Velagić, aga Pajalitović, and Ibrahim-aga Kovačević. In 1666, during fighting near Obrovac at the Cetina River, he was captured by the Ottomans and spent 14 months as a slave in Constantinople before escaping.

For his deeds he received a title and an estate in Ravni Kotari. During peacetime between the Cretan and Great Turkish War, he was ordered to suppress anti-Ottoman operations on Venetian territory, while his brother Ilija left Venetian service to fight the Ottomans, leading to Stojan's brief interrogation in Venice.

Family

Stojan married twice. His first wife was Vika, with whom he had three children: sons Alojz (also called Alviža, named after godfather Alvisa Contarini) and Nikola, and daughter Stošija (Anastazija). He killed Vika due to alleged jealousy over a possible love scam. In 1676 he married Antonia Rezzi (or Reci), a Greek Catholic from Zadar, and had sons Josip, Konstantin (died 1692), Slobodan (died 1866), Janko (died 1685), Marko (died 1686), and daughters Marija (died 1686) and Magdalena (died 1684).

Six of his children and his sister Ana appear in the death register of the Catholic župa of Zadar Cathedral, suggesting the family was Catholic. After a military victory, Stojan was awarded a fortification formerly owned by Turkish landlord Jusuf Aga Tunić in Islam Grcki, which became the Janković family home. In 1675 he commissioned a Serbian Orthodox Church dedicated to Saint George there, as Đurđevdan was the family slava. The estate, called Kula Janković, was legally bound to remain in the Janković family.

His sons Nikola and Konstantin died in military service, and his branch died out without children. His brother Ilija's branch also had no grandchildren. Sister Ana married Dmitar Nikolić from the Bay of Kotor and had a daughter Ana. Brother Zaviša had sons Stojan and Ilija and daughter Jelena.

In 1705 the Doge of Venice Sebastiano Mocenigo granted all family members the title of count. The estate passed to Jelena, who married Venetian colonel Teodor Dede, an Orthodox Greek from Heraklion. Teodor took the surname Mitrović, and the transfer of surname, nobility, and estate was confirmed by Doge Alvise Pisani in 1739, creating the Venetian counts Dede Mitrović. The last count was Ilija Dede Mitrović (born 1818 in Zadar, died 1874 in Trieste), whose daughter Olga married Vladimir Desnica, grandfather of Vladan Desnica.