07.11.2014.

A book about Serbian rulers presented

At the Central Military Club of Serbia, a presentation was held for the book by Colonel Milivoje Pajovic, MSc, “Rulers of Serbian Lands”, which depicts in a modern and contemporary way the lives and fates of Middle Age and more recent Serbian rulers, rulers of lands and peoples of Serbia, Dukljaand Bosnia. The promotion of the book by Milivoje Pajovic, head of the Peacekeeping Operations Center and history enthusiast was attended by representatives of the Ministry of Defence and General Staff of Serbia, and numerous admirers of the written word, particularly historical. The monograph, published in a bilingual, Serbian-English edition and which caused great interest at the recently finished Book fair, was presented by reviewer historian Bojan Dimitrijevic, PhD, member of the Crown Council and the author.

- Biographies of Serbian rulers, from those from the Middle Ages to those from the middle of the 20th century, described in the monograph by MilivojePajovic, are not only hagiographies of rulers of three lands – Serbia, Bosnia and Zeta, but also a unique testimony that Serbian countries in the Middle Ages were also in between great forces and that the periods of rise alternated with periods when statehood had to be preserved by balancing in relation to stronger neighbors – Bojan Dimitrijevic, PhD said.

– Serbian rulers from the period of greatest Serbian rise in the 14th century reminded me of those from the 20th century, and the circumstances from the 15th century, when Serbian states were enclosed from all sides by powerful and aggressive forces, remind me of today’s circumstances and rulers. What should be noted is that Serbian state center has shifted from the southern areas where Milutin, Dusan, Uros and others ruled – irreversibly, it seems – to the north and that some new nations have taken those Middle Age Serbian areas in the time when the contemporary Serbian state was renewed. Rulers of the co0ntemporary Serbian state were in fact great tragic figures. What we conclude from reading Pajovic’s book is this tragic of ruling. Ruling in peace was characteristic for Obrenovic rulers; Karadjordjevic rulers lead the people and the state in uprisings and wars. The tragedy of ruling is also presented in crushing statistics – of about 12 Serbian (and Montenegrin) rulers, five were killed: Karadjordje, Mihajlo Obrenovic, Danilo Petrovic and both Aleksandars: Obrenovic and Karadjordjevic. Four of them were killed by a Serbian hand, while five were exiled: King Aleksandar Karadjordjevic, Milan Obrenovic, Nikola Petrovic, Petar II and King Pavle Karadjordjevic – Dr. Dimitrijevic said, recommending the book to readers.

Greeting the guests, author Colonel Milivoje Pajovic, MSc stressed that, in spite of all changes in times, characteristic of the existence of all nations and states, the Serbian people has what to be proud of.

- I wanted to make the book a bilingual reminder of Serbian ruling dynasties, of Serbian statehood, culture and language, of the life of one great nation in these territories of over one millennium – Pajovic said. – By shedding light on the faces of Serbian rulers, I wanted to shed the light on the face of one nation that has, during his constant struggle for freedom, actually fought for life, survival and the right to exist.
Milivoje Pajovic’s book “Rulers of Serbian lands”, with its unusual content, placed between a luxurious cover, almost shouts the message that the Serbian people always, in tough and somewhat easier times, has to remain aware of the truth that it has survived on the territory between the East and the West and that, therefore, the sword should never leave its hand.