Chavdar () was a 16th-century semi-legendary
Bulgarian hajduk
A hajduk (, plural of ) is a type of Irregular military, irregular infantry found in Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and parts of Southeast Europe from the late 16th to mid 19th centuries, especially from Hajdú–Bihar Count ...
voivode
Voivode ( ), also spelled voivod, voievod or voevod and also known as vaivode ( ), voivoda, vojvoda, vaivada or wojewoda, is a title denoting a military leader or warlord in Central, Southeastern and Eastern Europe in use since the Early Mid ...
, a leader of a band of outlaws and a protector of the people against
Ottoman injustice. Hajduks would usually take to the woods and wage
guerrilla warfare
Guerrilla warfare is a form of unconventional warfare in which small groups of irregular military, such as rebels, partisans, paramilitary personnel or armed civilians, which may include recruited children, use ambushes, sabotage, terrori ...
on the ruling
Turks. Chavdar was born in south
Macedonia
Macedonia (, , , ), most commonly refers to:
* North Macedonia, a country in southeastern Europe, known until 2019 as the Republic of Macedonia
* Macedonia (ancient kingdom), a kingdom in Greek antiquity
* Macedonia (Greece), a former administr ...
and headed a band of 300 people. He was initially active in the
Å tip
Å tip ( ) is the largest urban agglomeration in the eastern part of North Macedonia, serving as the economic, industrial, entertainment and educational focal point for the surrounding municipalities.
As of the 2021 census, the city of Å tip had ...
and
Kozjak regions, but subsequently moved to the region of
Sofia
Sofia is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Bulgaria, largest city of Bulgaria. It is situated in the Sofia Valley at the foot of the Vitosha mountain, in the western part of the country. The city is built west of the Is ...
. According to the legend, he was captured by the
pasha
Pasha (; ; ) was a high rank in the Ottoman Empire, Ottoman political and military system, typically granted to governors, generals, dignitary, dignitaries, and others. ''Pasha'' was also one of the highest titles in the 20th-century Kingdom of ...
of Sofia by trickery, but rescued by his nephew and
standard-bearer
A standard-bearer, also known as a colour-bearer or flag-bearer, is a person who bears an emblem known as a standard or military colours, i.e. either a type of flag or an inflexible but mobile image, which is used (and often honoured) as ...
Lalush Voyvoda who devastated the pasha's estates. It is thought that Chavdar may have been one of the hajduks who assaulted Sofia in February 1595.
[
]
Legacy
One of the greatest hajduk figures in Bulgarian folklore and epic tales, Chavdar was immortalised by national poet Hristo Botev. One of Botev's masterpieces, ''Hajduks'', is about Chavdar, as are a large number of folk songs.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 ...
on the Antarctic Peninsula
The Antarctic Peninsula, known as O'Higgins Land in Chile and Tierra de San Martin in Argentina, and originally as Graham Land in the United Kingdom and the Palmer Peninsula in the United States, is the northernmost part of mainland Antarctica.
...
, Antarctica
Antarctica () is Earth's southernmost and least-populated continent. Situated almost entirely south of the Antarctic Circle and surrounded by the Southern Ocean (also known as the Antarctic Ocean), it contains the geographic South Pole. ...
is named after Chavdar.Chavdar Peninsula.
SCAR Composite Gazetteer of Antarctica
The Composite Gazetteer of Antarctica (CGA) of the Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research (SCAR) is the authoritative international gazetteer containing all Antarctic toponyms published in national gazetteers, plus basic information about th ...
References
External links
''Chavdar Voyvoda and Standard-bearer Lalush''by
Nikolay Haytov
''Chavdar (Voyvoda) Between Folklore and History''by Todor Mollov {{in lang, bg
Bulgarian revolutionaries
16th-century births
16th-century Bulgarian people
Year of death unknown
Macedonia under the Ottoman Empire
People from Å tip
Macedonian Bulgarians