Petar II Petrović-Njegoš
Petar II Petrović-Njegoš was born Radivoje "Rade" Petrović on in the mountain village of Njeguši, near Cetinje. His father, Tomislav "Tomo" Petrović (b. 1762–63), was a member of the Petrović clan of the Njeguši tribe of Katuni "nahiya". Njegoš's mother, Ivana Proroković, hailed from the hamlet of Mali Zalaz and was the daughter of Njeguši captain Lazo Proroković. There is no reliable information about her exact year of birth, but it is believed that she was about ten years younger than her husband. Tomo and Ivana had five children; their eldest son was Petar ("Pero"), Rade was their middle son and Jovan ("Joko") was their youngest. The couple's daughters were named Marija and Stana; Marija was married to a Montenegrin chieftain named Andrija Perović, the "serdar" (count) of Cuce, while Stana was married to Filip Đurašković, the "serdar" of Rijeka Crnojevića.
Petar I Petrović-Njegoš
The Metropolitan Petar I and "guvernadur" Jovan Radonjić were the two head chiefs of Montenegro, one by title, the other according to actual position. Jovan sought to rule Montenegro by himself; he appropriated secular rights for himself, and wanted the Metropolitan to exercise only his spiritual leadership; that the "guvernadur" was the master of the people and the Metropolitan the master of the church. The two clashed in international politics: the Metropolitan held to Russia, while Jovan relied on Austria. Hence, there were two parties in the land, one "Russophile" and the other "Austrophile", led by the Metropolitan and Jovan, respectively. On the question whether to support Austria or not, the two sides conflicted during the Austro-Turkish War (1787–91) and Russo-Turkish War (1787–92). During this period, Montenegro was divided into the following districts: "Katunska nahija", "Riječka nahija", "Crmnička nahija", "Lješanska nahija" and "Pješivačka nahija". These were governed by the officials, Jovan Radonjić and the Metropolitan, with the help of 5 serdars, 9 vojvodas and 34 knezes (a synthesis of secular and theocratic government which will cause strife and struggle for supremacy until 1832–33).