Jovan Rajić

Jovan Rajić
BornSeptember 21, 1726
Sremski Karlovci, Slavonian Military Frontier, Habsburg monarchy
DiedDecember 22, 1801
Kovilj
Occupation
  • Poet
  • Theologian
  • Historian
NationalitySerb
Literary movementBaroque

Jovan Rajić (Serbian Cyrillic: Јован Рајић; September 21, 1726 – December 22, 1801) was a Serbian writer, historian, theologian, and pedagogue, considered one of the greatest Serbian academics of the 18th century. He was one of the most notable representatives of Serbian Baroque literature along with Zaharije Orfelin, Pavle Julinac, Vasilije III Petrović-Njegoš, Simeon Končarević, Simeon Piščević, and others (although he worked in the first half of 18th century, as Baroque trends in Serbian literature emerged in the late 17th century).

Rajić was the forerunner to modern Serbian historiography, and has been compared to the importance of Nikolay Karamzin to Russian historiography.