| Novica Cerović | |
| Birth Date: | 27 October 1805 |
| Birth Place: | Tušina, Ottoman Empire |
| Death Place: | Tušina, Principality of Montenegro |
| Nationality: | Montenegrin |
Novica Cerović (Serbian: Новица Цepoвић; 1805–1895) was a Montenegrin vojvoda (duke) of the Drobnjak clan,[1] who is noted as having defeated and killed a local Ottoman tyrant, Smail-aga Čengić, on the auspices of Petar II Petrović-Njegoš, the Prince-Bishop of Montenegro. He later became a senator in the Montenegrin government.[2]
Cerović was born in Tušina, a village near Šavnik in the Drobnjaci clan, then part of the Ottoman Empire (today in Montenegro). His most noted act was leading a successful assault to kill local Ottoman tyrant Smail-aga Čengić under the auspices of Petar II Petrović-Njegoš[3] thereby freeing parts of Herzegovina from the Ottoman Empire and joining them to the Principality of Montenegro.
His heroism and the death of Smail-aga Čengić was the theme of Ivan Mažuranić's poem Smrt Smail-age Čengića, an epic poem celebrating the struggle for freedom.
There is a tower in Tušina named after him (the Tower of Duke Novica Cerović).