Miloš Obrenović born Miloš Teodorović, also known as Miloš the Great was the Prince of Serbia twice, from 1815 to 1839, and from 1858 to 1860. He was an eminent figure of the First Serbian uprising, the leader of the Second Serbian uprising, and the founder of the House of Obrenović. Under his rule, Serbia became an autonomous principality within the Ottoman Empire. Prince Miloš was an autocrat, consistently refusing to decentralize power, which gave rise to a strong internal opposition. Despite his humble background, he eventually became the most affluent man in Serbia and one of the wealthiest in the Balkan peninsula, possessing estates in Vienna, Serbia and Wallachia. During his rule, Miloš bought a certain number of estates and ships from the Ottomans and was also a prominent trader.

The First Serbian Uprising was an uprising of Serbs in Orašac against the Ottoman Empire from 14 February 1804, to 7 October 1813. The uprising began as a local revolt against the Dahije, who had seized power in a coup d'état. It later evolved into a war for independence, known as the Serbian Revolution, after more than three centuries of Ottoman rule and brief Austrian occupations.