DANILO II

born May 25, 1826, Njego, Montenegro died Aug. 13, 1860, Kotor in full Danilo Petrovic Njego prince-bishop (185152) and then prince (185260) of Montenegro, who elevated Montenegro to a hereditary principality. He became ruler of Montenegro upon the death of his uncle, Peter II Petrovic Njego, the elective prince-bishop, and assumed the title of prince the following year (1852). He defeated the Turks near Ostrog in 1853 but refrained from attacking them during the Crimean War. His pacific policy produced much discontent among the warlike mountaineers, which culminated in an open revolt. His demand for the recognition of Montenegrin independence and other claims were set aside by the Congress of Paris. In 1858 his brother Mirko, the Sword of Montenegro, routed the Turks with great slaughter at Grahovo. In 1855 Danilo II promulgated a new code, assuring civil and religious liberty to his subjects. On Aug. 11, 1860, he was shot at Persano on the Bocche de Cattaro by a Montenegrin whom he had exiled after the revolt, and he died two days afterward. He left no male offspring and was succeeded by Nicholas, the son of his brother Mirko.