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The Pandurs were any of several
light infantry Light infantry refers to certain types of lightly equipped infantry throughout history. They have a more mobile or fluid function than other types of infantry, such as heavy infantry or line infantry. Historically, light infantry often fought ...
military units beginning with
Trenck's Pandurs Trenck's Pandurs ( hr, Panduri, german: Panduren, Hungarian: Pandúr) were a light infantry unit of the Habsburg monarchy, raised by Baron Franz von der Trenck under a charter issued by Maria Theresa of Austria in 1741. The unit was largely co ...
, used by the
Kingdom of Hungary The Kingdom of Hungary was a monarchy in Central Europe that existed for nearly a millennium, from the Middle Ages into the 20th century. The Principality of Hungary emerged as a Christian kingdom upon the coronation of the first king Stephen ...
from 1741, fighting in the War of the Austrian Succession and the Silesian Wars. Others to follow included
Vladimirescu's Pandurs The uprising of 1821 was a social and political rebellion in Wallachia, which was at the time a tributary state of the Ottoman Empire. It originated as a movement against the Phanariote administration, with backing from the more conservative ...
, a
militia A militia () is generally an army or some other fighting organization of non-professional soldiers, citizens of a country, or subjects of a state, who may perform military service during a time of need, as opposed to a professional force of r ...
established by
Tudor Vladimirescu Tudor Vladimirescu (; c. 1780 – ) was a Romanian revolutionary hero, the leader of the Wallachian uprising of 1821 and of the Pandur militia. He is also known as Tudor din Vladimiri (''Tudor from Vladimiri'') or, occasionally, as Domnul Tudo ...
in the Wallachian uprising of 1821, Pandurs of the
Croatian Military Frontier The Croatian Military Frontier ( hr, Vojna krajina or ') was a district of the Military Frontier, a territory in the Habsburg monarchy, first during the period of the Austrian Empire and then during Austria-Hungary. History Founded in the late 1 ...
, a frontier guard infantry unit deployed in the late 18th century, Pandurs of the
Kingdom of Dalmatia The Kingdom of Dalmatia ( hr, Kraljevina Dalmacija; german: Königreich Dalmatien; it, Regno di Dalmazia) was a crown land of the Austrian Empire (1815–1867) and the Cisleithanian half of Austria-Hungary (1867–1918). It encompassed the entire ...
, a frontier guard infantry unit deployed in the 19th century. In the second half of the 18th century the
Republic of Venice The Republic of Venice ( vec, Repùblega de Venèsia) or Venetian Republic ( vec, Repùblega Vèneta, links=no), traditionally known as La Serenissima ( en, Most Serene Republic of Venice, italics=yes; vec, Serenìsima Repùblega de Venèsia, ...
used pandurs as a local militia to fight bandits in the Dalmatia area. In early 19th Century
Wallachia Wallachia or Walachia (; ro, Țara Românească, lit=The Romanian Land' or 'The Romanian Country, ; archaic: ', Romanian Cyrillic alphabet: ) is a historical and geographical region of Romania. It is situated north of the Lower Danube and s ...
, being a Pandur was a fixed, legally recognized social status - whether or not one was a member of a specific military unit. This social condition had a considerable bearing on the central role played by Pandurs in the
Wallachian uprising of 1821 The uprising of 1821 was a social and political rebellion in Wallachia, which was at the time a tributary state of the Ottoman Empire. It originated as a movement against the Phanariote administration, with backing from the more conservative b ...
. Two armoured personnel carriers made by the Austrian company Steyr-Daimler-Puch are named after the historical Austrian units: the
Pandur I The Pandur is an APC developed and produced by the Austrian company Steyr-Daimler-Puch Spezialfahrzeuge (SSF). It was developed during the 1980s as a private venture. In 2003, General Dynamics took over Steyr-Daimler-Puch which is now part of ...
6x6, and
Pandur II The Pandur II is an improved modular all-wheel-drive version of the Pandur 6x6 APC wheeled armoured vehicle. It was developed as a private venture by the Austrian company Steyr-Daimler-Puch Spezialfahrzeuge. Steyr-Daimler-Puch Spezialfahrzeuge is ...
8x8. Four ships have also share a namesake of Pandur units. The first was a ship of the
French Navy The French Navy (french: Marine nationale, lit=National Navy), informally , is the maritime arm of the French Armed Forces and one of the five military service branches of France. It is among the largest and most powerful naval forces in t ...
, ''Pandour'', renamed HMS ''Pandora'' after its capture by the Royal Navy in 1795. The additional British ships were named HMS ''Pandour''. In
Serbia Serbia (, ; Serbian: , , ), officially the Republic of Serbia (Serbian: , , ), is a landlocked country in Southeastern and Central Europe, situated at the crossroads of the Pannonian Basin and the Balkans. It shares land borders with Hungar ...
, pandur is a slang term for a policeman.


Etymology

The term ''pandur'' made its way into military use via a Hungarian
loanword A loanword (also loan word or loan-word) is a word at least partly assimilated from one language (the donor language) into another language. This is in contrast to cognates, which are words in two or more languages that are similar because t ...
, in turn originating from the Croatian term ''pudar'', though the nasal in place of the "u" suggests a borrowing before Croatian innovated its own reflex for Proto-Slavic /ɔ̃/. "Pudar" is still applied to security guards protecting crops in vineyards and fields, and it was coined from the verb ''puditi'' (also spelled ''pudati'') meaning to chase or scare away. The meaning of the Hungarian loanword was expanded to guards in general, including law enforcement officers. The word was likely ultimately derived from
medieval Latin Medieval Latin was the form of Literary Latin used in Roman Catholic Western Europe during the Middle Ages. In this region it served as the primary written language, though local languages were also written to varying degrees. Latin functione ...
''banderius'' or ''bannerius'', meaning either a guardian of fields or summoner, or follower of a
banner A banner can be a flag or another piece of cloth bearing a symbol, logo, slogan or another message. A flag whose design is the same as the shield in a coat of arms (but usually in a square or rectangular shape) is called a banner of arms. Als ...
. By the middle of the 18th century, law enforcement in the
counties of Croatia The counties of Croatia ( hr, hrvatske županije) are the primary administrative subdivisions of the Republic of Croatia. Since they were re-established in 1992, Croatia has been divided into 20 counties and the capital city of Zagreb, which ...
included county pandurs or hussars who patrolled roads and pursued criminals. In 1740, the term was applied to frontier guard duty
infantry Infantry is a military specialization which engages in ground combat on foot. Infantry generally consists of light infantry, mountain infantry, motorized infantry & mechanized infantry, airborne infantry, air assault infantry, and mar ...
deployed in the
Croatian Military Frontier The Croatian Military Frontier ( hr, Vojna krajina or ') was a district of the Military Frontier, a territory in the Habsburg monarchy, first during the period of the Austrian Empire and then during Austria-Hungary. History Founded in the late 1 ...
(
Banal Banal may refer to: * Something that is common in a boring way, to the point of being cliché * Of or pertaining to the ban (medieval) or banalité * Banal nationalism * ''Banal'' (film), a 2019 Filipino horror film People * A. J. Banal (born ...
Frontier), specifically its Karlovac and
Varaždin ) , image_photo = , image_skyline = , image_flag = Flag of Varaždin.svg , flag_size = , image_seal = , seal_size = , image_shield = Grb_Grad ...
Generalcies. The role of the pandurs as security guards was extended to Dalmatia after the establishment of
Austrian Austrian may refer to: * Austrians, someone from Austria or of Austrian descent ** Someone who is considered an Austrian citizen, see Austrian nationality law * Austrian German dialect * Something associated with the country Austria, for example: ...
rule there in the early 19th century. The term has dropped from official use for law enforcement officials, but it is still used colloquially in Croatia and the
Western Balkans The Balkans ( ), also known as the Balkan Peninsula, is a geographical area in southeastern Europe with various geographical and historical definitions. The region takes its name from the Balkan Mountains that stretch throughout the who ...
in a manner akin to the
English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...
word ''cop''. The unit raised and led by Trenck is also referred to more specifically as ''Trenck's Pandurs'', and less frequently in Croatia than elsewhere, as ''Croatian Pandurs''.


References

{{Reflist Military units and formations