The Slaughter of the Knezes was the organized assassinations and assaults of noble Serbs in the Sanjak of Smederevo in January 1804 by the rebellious Dahije. Fearing that the Sultan would make use of the Serbs to oust them, they decided to execute leading Serbs throughout the Sanjak. A total of 72 noble Serbs were assassinated, and their heads were put on public display. Notable victims were Aleksa Nenadović and Ilija Birčanin. The event triggered the Serbian revolution, aimed at putting an end to the centuries of occupation.

The Sanjak of Smederevo, also known in historiography as the Pashalik of Belgrade, was an Ottoman administrative unit (sanjak), that existed between the 15th and the outset of the 19th centuries. It was located in the territory of present-day Central Serbia.