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

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 ...

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 The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empire, was an imperial realm that controlled much of Southeast Europe, West Asia, and North Africa from the 14th to early 20th centuries; it also controlled parts of southeastern Central Euro ...

Biography

Early life

Rebel detachment of Hadzhi Dimitar and Stefan Karadzha

Dimitar was born in

Sliven Sliven ( ) is List of cities and towns in Bulgaria, the eighth-largest city in Bulgaria and the administrative and industrial centre of Sliven Province and municipality in Northern Thrace. It is situated in the Sliven Valley at the foothills of th ...

(İslimiye), which was then part of the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empire, was an empire, imperial realm that controlled much of Southeast Europe, West Asia, and North Africa from the 14th to early 20th centuries; it also controlled parts of southeastern Centr ...

, 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 travel, journey to a holy place, which can lead to a personal transformation, after which the pilgrim returns to their daily life. A pilgrim (from the Latin ''peregrinus'') is a traveler (literally one who has come from afar) w ...

Jerusalem Jerusalem is a city in the Southern Levant, on a plateau in the Judaean Mountains between the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean and the Dead Sea. It is one of the List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest cities in the world, and ...

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

hajji Hajji (; sometimes spelled Hajjeh, 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. Etymology ''Hajji'' is derived from the Arabic ' (), which i ...

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

Muslim Muslims () are people who adhere to Islam, a Monotheism, monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God ...

person to

Mecca Mecca, officially Makkah al-Mukarramah, is the capital of Mecca Province in the Hejaz region of western Saudi Arabia; it is the Holiest sites in Islam, holiest city in Islam. It is inland from Jeddah on the Red Sea, in a narrow valley above ...

, it was also widely used by

Christians A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the world. The words '' Christ'' and ''C ...

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 The Balkan mountain range is located in the eastern part of the Balkan peninsula in Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe. It is conventionally taken to begin at the peak of Vrashka Chuka on the border between Bulgaria and Serbia. It then runs f ...

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: 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 of all kno ...

bishop of

Veliko Tarnovo Veliko Tarnovo (, ; "Great Tarnovo") is a city in north central Bulgaria and the administrative centre of Veliko Tarnovo Province. It is the historical and spiritual capital of Bulgaria. Often referred to as the "''City of the Tsars''", Velik ...

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

near

and then to

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

in August. Another band was formed in the home of

Georgi Sava Rakovski Georgi Stoykov Rakovski () (1821 – 9 October 1867), known also Georgi Sava Rakovski (), born Sabi Stoykov Popovich (), was a 19th-century Bulgarian revolutionary, freemason, writer and an important figure of the Bulgarian National Revival ...

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

Stefan Karadzha Stefan Karadzha (, ; 11 May 1840 – 31 July 1868) was a Bulgarian revolutionary from the national liberation movement and a cheta leader. He attempted to start a rebellion against the Ottoman Empire. Life He was born as Stefan Todoro ...

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

Danube The Danube ( ; see also #Names and etymology, other names) is the List of rivers of Europe#Longest rivers, second-longest river in Europe, after the Volga in Russia. It flows through Central and Southeastern Europe, from the Black Forest sou ...

near

Silistra Silistra ( ; ; or ) is a town in Northeastern Bulgaria. The town lies on the southern bank of the lower Danube river, and is also the part of the Romanian border where it stops following the Danube. Silistra is the administrative center of the ...

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

Ludogorie The Ludogorie () or Deliorman (; and Bulgarian: lud - "mad", "crazy" and gora - "forest"), is a region in northeastern Bulgaria stretching over the plateau of the same name. Major cities in the region are Targovishte, Razgrad, Dulovo, Novi P ...

. It was active in the region of the

Tundzha The Tundzha ( ; ; ''Tonsus'' in antiquity) is a river in southeastern Bulgaria and northwesternmost Turkey, a left tributary of the Maritsa. With a length of 390 km, of which 350 km are in Bulgaria, it is Maritsa's longest tributary, ...

, Tvarditsa,

Karlovo Karlovo ( ) 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 population of about 1 ...

Gabrovo Gabrovo ( ) is a city in central northern Bulgaria, the Local government, 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 international ca ...

and the well-known

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 ...

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 Belgrade is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Serbia, largest city of Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers and at the crossroads of the Pannonian Basin, Pannonian Plain and the Balkan Peninsula. T ...

-based Second Bulgarian Legion. Dimitar's band crossed the Danube at

Vardim Vardim () is a village in Svishtov Municipality, Veliko Tarnovo Province, north central Bulgaria, located on the right bank of the Danube river. The village of Vardim is located in the central part of the Danubian plain about 10 km east of Sv ...

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 ( ) 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 town had a population ...

. 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 Vishovgrad is a village in the Veliko Tarnovo Province of northern Bulgaria. Geography Location Vishovgrad is located in the central Danubian Plain, near the Balkan Mountains (Stara Planina). It is from Veliko Tarnovo, from Pavlikeni, and ...

, 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 ( ) 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 renamed to Hadzhi Di ...

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 Svezhen () is a village located in southern Bulgaria, in municipality of Brezovo, Plovdiv Province. It is located in the Sredna Gora mountain range. Svezhen is 32 kilometers away from Karlovo and 68 km away from Plovdiv. The latest data for 2 ...

. 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 the "St.Peter and St.Paul" Church in the village of Svezhen. The funeral service was conducted by the Bishop of

Plovdiv Plovdiv (, ) is the List of cities and towns in Bulgaria, second-largest city in Bulgaria, 144 km (93 miles) southeast of the capital Sofia. It had a population of 490,983 and 675,000 in the greater metropolitan area. Plovdiv is a cultural hub ...

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 ...

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 Hadzhi Dimitar. Roads and Neighbourhoods in Several Cities and Towns in Bulgaria are named after Hadzhi Dimitar. Subway Station Hadzhi Dimitar Metro Station is named after Hadzhi Dimitar.

Citations

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