TR EN DE FR ARAtlas of the Sultans · Wars, battles and treaties

Bosnian uprising (1831–1832)

Revolt · 1831

The abolition of the Janissary corps and Mahmud II's reforms caused deep discontent in Bosnia. According to the TDV article on Bosnia-Herzegovina, in 1831 attempts to introduce certain reforms and reorganise the army turned into an uprising led by Captain Husein Gradaščević and headed by the Bosnian Muslim notables. The rebels demanded full autonomy for Bosnia-Herzegovina and the right to choose their own vizier, offering in return to pay the central government an annual tribute. They had early successes but, divided by rivalries and disputes, were easily dispersed (1832). After the revolt the institution of the kapetanates was abolished (1835) and replaced by müsellimliks; resistance in the region was finally broken only in 1850–1851 by Ömer Pasha Latas as governor of Bosnia.

About the event

Date	1831 – 1832
Location	Bosnia-Herzegovina
Result	Suppressed; the kapetanates were abolished in 1835

Belligerents	Ottoman Empire	Bosnian Muslim notables and captains
Commanders		Husein Gradaščević

This event in the atlas

Took place during the reign of Mahmud II (1808–1839). Mahmud II

Open the reign of Mahmud II on the map

Context of the period

By the atlas's calculation the Ottoman lands covered about 3,806,000 km² in 1831; at the start of Mahmud II's reign they measured 4,551,000 km², at its end 3,803,000 km².

During Mahmud II (1808–1839) the atlas records 0 regions gained and 6 regions lost.

Regions lost: Cyclades (Naxos) (1821), Morea (Peloponnese) (1828), Akhaltsikhe (Childir) (1828), Athens–Central Greece (1829), Algiers (1830), Euboea (Negroponte) (1833).

Mahmud II in brief

He recentralised the state: he abolished the Janissaries and founded modern ministries, schools and the census. The territorial losses were heavy (Greece, Algiers, Bessarabia), but the administrative structure he built made the Tanzimat possible.

Other battles and treaties of Mahmud II

Alemdar Incident (1808)
Treaty of the Dardanelles (1809)
Ottoman–Wahhabi war (1811)
Treaty of Bucharest (1812) (1812)
Second Serbian Uprising (1815)
Revolt of Ali Pasha of Yanina (1820)
Egyptian conquest of Sudan (1820–1824) (1820)
Greek War of Independence (1821)
First Treaty of Erzurum (1823)
Auspicious Incident (1826)
Akkerman Convention (1826)
Battle of Navarino (1827)
Treaty of Adrianople (1829) (1829)
Battle of Kulevicha (1829)
French conquest of Algeria (1830)
Revolt of Mehmed Ali Pasha of Egypt (1831)
Treaty of Hünkâr İskelesi (1833)
Treaty of Balta Liman (1838)

Areas are land area computed from the atlas's region data; see Method and sources.

Source: TDV Encyclopedia of Islam, “BOSNA-HERSEK” (Turkish); text written for the atlas.

Cite as: Atlas of the Sultans, “Bosnian uprising (1831–1832): Date, Commanders and Outcome”, https://padisahlaratlasi.com/en/events/bosnian-uprising-1831-1832/ (last updated 12 November 2026). Corrections

Terms on this page: Vizier · Janissaries