Dimitar Nikolov Asenov ( bg, Димитър Николов Асенов ; 10 May 1840 – 10 August 1868), better known as Hadzhi Dimitar ( ), was one of the most prominent Bulgarian

voivode Voivode (, also spelled ''voievod'', ''voevod'', ''voivoda'', ''vojvoda'' or ''wojewoda'') is a title denoting a military leader or warlord in Central, Southeastern and Eastern Europe since the Early Middle Ages. It primarily referred to the ...

and revolutionaries working for the

Liberation of Bulgaria The Liberation of Bulgaria is the historical process as a result of the Bulgarian Revival. In Bulgarian historiography, the liberation of Bulgaria refers to those events of the Tenth Russo-Turkish War (1877–1878) that led to the re-establishme ...

from

Ottoman rule Ottoman is the Turkish spelling of the Arabic masculine given name Uthman ( ar, عُثْمان, ‘uthmān). It may refer to: Governments and dynasties * Ottoman Caliphate, an Islamic caliphate from 1517 to 1924 * Ottoman Empire, in existence fro ...

Biography

Early life

Rebel detachment of Hadzhi Dimitar and Stefan Karadzha

Dimitar was born in

Sliven Sliven ( bg, Сливен ) is the eighth-largest city in Bulgaria and the administrative and industrial centre of Sliven Province and municipality in Northern Thrace. Sliven is famous for its heroic Haiduts who fought against the Ottoman Turk ...

(İslimiye), which was then part of the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University) ...

, to the family of the merchant Nikola Asenov and his wife Marinka Asenova. When he was two years old, his family went on a

pilgrimage A pilgrimage is a journey, often into an unknown or foreign place, where a person goes in search of new or expanded meaning about their self, others, nature, or a higher good, through the experience. It can lead to a personal transformation, aft ...

Jerusalem Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...

, from which point onward, Dimitar was considered to be a

hajji Hajji ( ar, الحجّي; sometimes spelled Hadji, Haji, Alhaji, Al-Hadj, Al-Haj or El-Hajj) is an honorific title which is given to a Muslim who has successfully completed the Hajj to Mecca. It is also often used to refer to an elder, since i ...

(хаджия).Although the term ''hajji'' suggests the pilgrimage of a Muslim person to

Mecca Mecca (; officially Makkah al-Mukarramah, commonly shortened to Makkah ()) is a city and administrative center of the Mecca Province of Saudi Arabia, and the holiest city in Islam. It is inland from Jeddah on the Red Sea, in a narrow ...

, it was also widely used by

Christians Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words '' Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρ ...

in the Ottoman Empire to refer to a Christian who has completed a pilgrimage to Jerusalem. Its status as an honorific title remained unchanged. During Hadzhi Stavri's Uprising of 1862 Hadzhi Dimitar wandered through the Balkan Mountains with a band of revolutionaries for the whole summer.

Early revolutionary work

He joined the band of Stoyan Voyvoda in 1864 as a standard bearer. The band consisted of twelve people and was formed after the murder of the

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...

bishop of

Veliko Tarnovo Veliko Tarnovo ( bg, Велико Търново, Veliko Tărnovo, ; "Great Tarnovo") is a town in north central Bulgaria and the administrative centre of Veliko Tarnovo Province. Often referred as the "''City of the Tsars''", Veliko Tarnovo ...

. However, it disbanded before entering the city and its members separated from their leader. Hadzhi Dimitar assumed command and led the band into the Balkan Mountains near

and then to

Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central, Eastern, and Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Moldova to the east, and ...

in August. Another band was formed in the home of

Georgi Sava Rakovski Georgi Stoykov Rakovski ( bg, Георги Стойков Раковски) (1821 – 9 October 1867), known also Georgi Sava Rakovski (), born Sabi Stoykov Popovich (), was a 19th-century Bulgarian revolutionary, freemason, writer and an imp ...

on 21 May 1865. Among its members were Hadzhi Dimitar,

Stefan Karadzha Stefan Karadzha (pronounced aɾadʒˈa bg, Стефан Караджа; born Stefan Todorov Dimov, Стефан Тодоров Димов; 11 May 1840 – 31 July 1868), was a Bulgarian national hero, a revolutionary from the national lib ...

, Yurdan Yurdanov, Petar Shivarov and Todor Shivarov. The band crossed the

Danube The Danube ( ; ) is a river that was once a long-standing frontier of the Roman Empire and today connects 10 European countries, running through their territories or being a border. Originating in Germany, the Danube flows southeast for , p ...

near Silistra on 13 June and headed for the mountains near Kotel through the

Ludogorie The Ludogorie ( bg, Лудогорие, usually used with a definite article, Лудогорието, ''Ludogorieto'') or Deliorman (''Делиорман'', tr, Deli Orman, lit=mad forest and Bulgarian: lud - "mad", "crazy" and gora - "forest"), ...

. It was active in the region of the

Tundzha The Tundzha ( bg, Тунджа , tr, Tunca , el, Τόνζος ) is a river in Bulgaria and Turkey (known in antiquity as the Tonsus) and the most significant tributary of the Maritsa, emptying into it on Turkish territory near Edirne. The rive ...

, Tvarditsa,

Karlovo Karlovo ( bg, Карлово ) is a historically important town in central Bulgaria located in a fertile valley along the river Stryama at the southern foot of the Balkan Mountains. It is administratively part of Plovdiv Province and has a ...

Gabrovo Gabrovo ( bg, Габрово ) is a town in central northern Bulgaria, the administrative centre of Gabrovo Province. It is situated at the foot of the central Balkan Mountains, in the valley of the Yantra River, and is known as an internatio ...

and the well-known

hajduk A hajduk ( hu, hajdúk, plural of ) is a type of irregular infantry found in Central and parts of Southeast Europe from the late 16th to mid 19th centuries. They have reputations ranging from bandits to freedom fighters depending on time, p ...

gathering place Aglikina Polyana. This band returned to Romania in August 1865. A 20-member band crossed the Danube from Romania in the summer of 1866. It was led by Dyado Zhelyo, Hadzhi Dimitar and Stefan Karadzha. It split into three after reaching the mountains and was active until the autumn, when it regrouped to return to Romania.

Hadzhi Dimitar and Stefan Karadzha's band

The band of Hadzhi Dimitar and Stefan Karadzha was established in Romania in 1868. Many of the members had been participants in the unsuccessful Belgrade-based Second Bulgarian Legion. Dimitar's band crossed the Danube at Vardim in a sail boat on 5 July and engaged in a battle with an Ottoman pursuing party of a thousand men in the vineyards of Karaisen, near

Pavlikeni Pavlikeni ( bg, Павликени ) is a town in Veliko Tarnovo Province, Northern Bulgaria, about 41 kilometers from the city of Veliko Tarnovo. It is the administrative centre of the homonymous Pavlikeni Municipality. As of December 2010, the ...

. The band managed to give the enemy the slip and reached the territory of Gorna Lipitsa. A second battle followed there on 7 July, in which the band caused considerable damage to the Ottomans while only losing one member and two others being wounded. The band proceeded to Vishovgrad, where it also fought on 8 July. On the next day, not far to the south-southeast, there was a bloody fight in which Karadzha was wounded and captured, and the band was defeated. The remaining 58 members proceeded to the Balkan Mountains under the leadership of Hadzhi Dimitar, only to be crushed at

Buzludzha Buzludzha ( bg, Бузлуджа ) is a historical peak in the Central Balkan Mountains, Bulgaria. The mountain is located to the east of the Shipka Pass near the town of Kazanlak and is a site of historical importance. The peak is high. It was ...

Peak on 18 July. After being defeated in this last battle, leader Hadzhi Dimitar, heavily wounded, was carried on a stretcher by his surviving comrades away from Ottoman army, up Mount Kadrafill, 3 km from the village of Svezhen. There he and his comrades were supported by the local people with water, food and herbs, until his death somewhere around the middle of August 1868. He was buried beneath the same mountain. On 6 November 1880, his bones were reburied in the yard of "St.Peter and St.Paul" Church in the village of Svezhen. The funeral service was conducted by the Bishop of Plovdiv Gervassius of Levkia, who made Hadzhi Dimitar a martyr. After nearly two months, the bones of the hero were requested by and given to his mother, who brought them to his birthplace in

. His death inspired Hristo Botev's poem "Hadzhi Dimitar" in 1873:

Honours

Hadzhi Dimitar Peak on

Graham Land Graham Land is the portion of the Antarctic Peninsula that lies north of a line joining Cape Jeremy and Cape Agassiz. This description of Graham Land is consistent with the 1964 agreement between the British Antarctic Place-names Committee an ...

Antarctica Antarctica () is Earth's southernmost and least-populated continent. Situated almost entirely south of the Antarctic Circle and surrounded by the Southern Ocean, it contains the geographic South Pole. Antarctica is the fifth-largest cont ...

is named after Hadzhi Dimitar.

Citations

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dimitar, Hadzhi 1840 births 1868 deaths People from Sliven Bulgarian revolutionaries 19th-century Bulgarian people