{"id":178877,"date":"2026-05-31T18:54:00","date_gmt":"2026-05-31T16:54:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/serbiantimes.info\/en\/?p=178877"},"modified":"2026-05-31T18:55:45","modified_gmt":"2026-05-31T16:55:45","slug":"symbol-of-sacrifice-for-freedom-duke-sindelic-bravely-led-4000-serbian-heroes-to-their-deaths-and-the-turks-made-cele-kula-from-their-skulls-photo","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/serbiantimes.info\/en\/symbol-of-sacrifice-for-freedom-duke-sindelic-bravely-led-4000-serbian-heroes-to-their-deaths-and-the-turks-made-cele-kula-from-their-skulls-photo\/","title":{"rendered":"SYMBOL OF SACRIFICE FOR FREEDOM: Duke Sin\u0111eli\u0107 bravely led 4,000 Serbian heroes to their deaths, and the Turks made \u0106ele Kula from their skulls! (PHOTO)"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Back in 1809, the Serbian people fought for liberation from the Ottoman invaders. The First Serbian Uprising was in its sixth year. For the rebels, capturing Ni\u0161 meant having a passage to Kosovo and the heart of Old Serbia. Thus, a small hill with an unusual name \u2013 \u010cegar, near this city, became the epicenter of the struggle for freedom.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

At the head of the Serbian army, gathered “from pillar to post,” in the trench at \u010cegar, was Duke Stevan Sin\u0111eli\u0107. The Turkish army, significantly more numerous and superior, attacked on May 31, 1809.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The battle raged all day. The Turks charged four times, but Sin\u0111eli\u0107’s fighters stubbornly repelled them. However, the invaders eventually began to push back the Serbian army and increasingly entered the trench. The fight with rifles turned into a struggle with rifle butts, knives, grappling, and eye-gouging.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

New forces constantly arrived for the Turks, while the Serbian army was alone. In such a situation, Stevan Sin\u0111eli\u0107 did something no one expected\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

It all began and ended with one bullet<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Seeing that the battle was lost one way or another, that he was left with few soldiers, and that the Turks were advancing, he fired a bullet into a full gunpowder magazine, blowing up everyone who was in or near the trench at that moment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The price of victory was enormous \u2013 Stevan Sin\u0111eli\u0107 and all his insurgents died that day. Four thousand Serbs lay on \u010cegar.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And yet\u2026 the final balance was on Sin\u0111eli\u0107’s side \u2013 for every fallen Serbian soldier, four Turkish soldiers died. In total, about 16,000 invaders who thought they would easily deal with the Serbs near Ni\u0161 that day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Price of Freedom<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

For the common people, Duke Sin\u0111eli\u0107 became a symbol of priceless resistance and bravery. For the Turks, a lesson that Serbs are never easy to deal with.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As a warning to future generations, the enemies collected 952 skulls of soldiers who died at \u010cegar and built them into a tower they erected at the entrance to Ni\u0161. They named this morbid monument “\u0106ele Kula” (Skull Tower).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Years later, returning from Constantinople through what would then be free Serbia, the French poet and academic Alphonse de Lamartine stopped by this unique monument. He then wrote:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“I greeted with my eyes and heart the remains of these brave men, whose severed heads became the cornerstone of their homeland’s independence\u2026 Let the Serbs cherish this monument! It will teach their children how much the independence of a nation is worth, showing them at what price their fathers paid for it.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

MORE TOPICS:<\/mark><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

SURPRISE THEY WILL REMEMBER FOR THE REST OF THEIR LIVES: Novi Sad students gifted their teacher a skydive!<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

WITHOUT A LOST SET: Aleksandra Kruni\u0107 and Ana Danilina routinely secured the quarterfinals of Roland Garros!<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

HERITAGE IS PRESERVED IN CHICAGO: Folklorijada for the salvation of soul and tradition, Black, White, and Asian Serbs in one kolo! (VIDEO + PHOTO GALLERY)<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

PARTIZAN ACCEPTED EMIRATES\u2019 SECURITY GUARANTEES: The ABA league finals will be played in Dubai!<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

SERBIAN ROWERS SHONE AT THE WORLD CUP: Ma\u010dkovi\u0107 and Pimenov won the bronze medal!<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

PROFESSOR FROM \u010cA\u010cAK FALSELY ACCUSED: Police officers admitted in court that they invented the whole event under pressure from their superior!<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Source<\/strong><\/strong>: Istorijski Zabavnik<\/a> Photo:<\/strong> Wikimedia Creative Commons<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Back in 1809, the Serbian people fought for liberation from the Ottoman invaders. The First Serbian Uprising was in its sixth year. For the rebels, capturing Ni\u0161 meant having a passage to Kosovo and the heart of Old Serbia. Thus, a small hill with an unusual name \u2013 \u010cegar, near this city, became the epicenter […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2169,"featured_media":178879,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"newspack_featured_image_position":"","newspack_post_subtitle":"","newspack_article_summary_title":"Overview:","newspack_article_summary":"","newspack_hide_updated_date":false,"newspack_show_updated_date":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[6788,6789,761,1060,555,1222,556,113,6790],"class_list":["post-178877","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-history","tag-bitka-na-cegru","tag-cele-kula","tag-left","tag-nis","tag-osmansko-carstvo","tag-otomansko-carstvo","tag-prvi-srpski-ustanak","tag-srbija","tag-vojvoda-stevan-sindelic","entry"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t