Mehmed-beg Kulenović, Gazi Mehmed-beg Kulenović, Mehmed-beg Kulinović, also known as Kulin-kapetan was a BosnianOttoman soldier born and raised in Bihać and later became the Kapetan of Bosnia Eyalet. He was a very important regional official for the Ottoman forces due to his ties with the aristocracy in Belgrade. He was killed in the First Serbian Uprising.
Early life
Mehmed-beg Kulenović was the son of Hadži-Ibrahim-beg Kulenović of Kulen Vakuf. He soon entered Ottoman service and became one of the most important military frontier authorities in Bosnia Eyalet, he was referred to by his servicemen as the "Master of Ostrovica". He participated in several military campaigns starting with the assistance of Abu Bekir Pasha of Belgrade, he also attempted to subdue with the aim of calming the Serbian revolt against Belgrade Dahia. But later defended the populace of Visegrad from Serbian insurgents. He guarded the borders of the Bosnia Eyalet on the Drina and in the summer 1806, he accompanied an Ottoman battalion that was defeated during the Battle of Mišar.
When the First Serbian Uprising broke out in 1804–05, after the assassination of Hadji Mustafa Pasha of Belgrade, turmoil had become evident throughout the Sanjak of Smederevo; thousands of Muslim refugees from the Sanjak began to pour into the Sanjak of Zvornik. In 1805 the Serbian rebels led by Luka Lazarević had begun their assault on Zvornik itself prompting the Ottoman Grand Vizier to mobilize his army in the Bosnia Eyalet commanded by Sulejman-paša Skopljak and Mehmed-beg Kulenović. Kulenović guarded the borders of the Bosnia Eyalet on the Drina and in the summer of 1806 accompanied an Ottoman battalion led by Sulejman-paša that was on its way to Mišar. For months the Serbian rebels remained entrenched in different strongholds throughout and nearby the Mišar Hill and a pitched battle itself seemed impossible for the Serbian rebels. Mehmed-beg Kulenović and the remaining Ottoman Bosnian troops continued asymmetric efforts against the advancements of the Serbians. Kulenović's efforts were bold enough to cause Luka Lazarević to request for a cavalry challenge. But Kulenović remained with his army and was killed by Serbian rebel musket-fire, while fighting in the woods. Mehmed-beg Kulenović was wounded and then died from wounds, and his body was transferred to Bosnia and buried in the graveyard of the mosque in Janja. The rebellion continued for years after his death.
