Klephts
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Klephts (;
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 ...
κλέφτης, ''kléftis'', pl. κλέφτες, ''kléftes'', which means "thieves" and perhaps originally meant just "brigand": "Other Greeks, taking to the mountains, became unofficial, self-appointed armatoles and were known as klephts (from the Greek ''kleptes'', "brigand").") were highwaymen turned self-appointed
armatoloi The armatoles (; ; ; ), or armatole in singular, were irregular soldiers, or militia, commissioned by the Ottoman Empire, Ottomans to enforce the sultan's authority within an administrative district called an armatoliki ( in singular, , in plura ...
, anti-Ottoman insurgents, and warlike mountain-folk who lived in the countryside when
Greece Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. Located on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula, it shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, North Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to th ...
was a 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 ...
. They were the descendants of
Greeks Greeks or Hellenes (; , ) are an ethnic group and nation native to Greece, Greek Cypriots, Cyprus, Greeks in Albania, southern Albania, Greeks in Turkey#History, Anatolia, parts of Greeks in Italy, Italy and Egyptian Greeks, Egypt, and to a l ...
who retreated into the mountains during the 15th century in order to avoid Ottoman rule.: "The klephts were descendants of Greeks who fled into the mountains to avoid the Turks in the fifteenth century and who remained active as brigands into the nineteenth century." Klepht bands also included many ethnic
Albanians The Albanians are an ethnic group native to the Balkan Peninsula who share a common Albanian ancestry, Albanian culture, culture, Albanian history, history and Albanian language, language. They are the main ethnic group of Albania and Kosovo, ...
. They carried on a continuous war against Ottoman rule and remained active as brigands until the 19th century. The terms
kleptomania Kleptomania is the inability to resist the urge to steal items, usually for reasons other than personal use or financial gain. First described in 1816, kleptomania is classified in psychiatry as an impulse-control disorder. Some of the main ch ...
and
kleptocracy Kleptocracy (from Greek , "thief", or , "I steal", and from , "power, rule"), also referred to as thievocracy, is a government whose corrupt leaders (kleptocrats) use political power to expropriate the wealth of the people and land the ...
are derived from the same
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 ...
root, κλέπτειν (''kléptein''), "to steal".


Origins

After the
Fall of Constantinople The Fall of Constantinople, also known as the Conquest of Constantinople, was the capture of Constantinople, the capital of the Byzantine Empire by the Ottoman Empire. The city was captured on 29 May 1453 as part of the culmination of a 55-da ...
in 1453 and then the fall of Mistra in the
Despotate of the Morea The Despotate of the Morea () or Despotate of Mystras () was a province of the Byzantine Empire which existed between the mid-14th and mid-15th centuries. Its territory varied in size during its existence but eventually grew to include almost a ...
, most of the plains of present-day Greece fell entirely into the hands 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 ...
. The only territories that did not fall under Ottoman rule were the mountain ranges (populated by Greeks and inaccessible to the Ottoman Turks), as well as a handful of islands and coastal possessions under the control of
Venice Venice ( ; ; , formerly ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 islands that are separated by expanses of open water and by canals; portions of the city are li ...
. This situation lasted until 1821. However, the later acquired territories of Greece, such as
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 ...
, Thrace and
Epirus Epirus () is a Region#Geographical regions, geographical and historical region, historical region in southeastern Europe, now shared between Greece and Albania. It lies between the Pindus Mountains and the Ionian Sea, stretching from the Bay ...
, were in Turkish hands until the 20th century. This period of time in Greece is known as the Turkocracy. Ottoman lands were divided up into pashaliks, also called
eyalets Eyalets (, , ), also known as beylerbeyliks or pashaliks, were the primary administrative division, administrative divisions of the Ottoman Empire. From Fall of Constantinople, 1453 to the beginning of the nineteenth century the Ottoman local go ...
; in the case of the lands that form present-day Greece, these were
Morea Morea ( or ) was the name of the Peloponnese peninsula in southern Greece during the Middle Ages and the early modern period. The name was used by the Principality of Achaea, the Byzantine province known as the Despotate of the Morea, by the O ...
and Roumelia. Pashaliks were further sub-divided into sanjaks which were often divided into feudal chifliks ( Turkish (farm),
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 ...
). Any surviving Greek troops, whether regular
Byzantine The Byzantine Empire, also known as the Eastern Roman Empire, was the continuation of the Roman Empire centred on Constantinople during late antiquity and the Middle Ages. Having survived the events that caused the fall of the Western Roman E ...
forces, local
militia A militia ( ) is a military or paramilitary force that comprises civilian members, as opposed to a professional standing army of regular, full-time military personnel. Militias may be raised in times of need to support regular troops or se ...
, or
mercenaries A mercenary is a private individual who joins an War, armed conflict for personal profit, is otherwise an outsider to the conflict, and is not a member of any other official military. Mercenaries fight for money or other forms of payment rath ...
had either to join the Ottoman army as
janissaries A janissary (, , ) was a member of the elite infantry units that formed the Ottoman sultan's household troops. They were the first modern standing army, and perhaps the first infantry force in the world to be equipped with firearms, adopted du ...
, serve in the
private army A private army (or private military) is a military force under the command of a private person or organization, rather than a nation or state. History Private armies may form when landowners arm household retainers for the protection of self and ...
of a local Ottoman notable, or fend for themselves. Many Greeks wishing to preserve their Greek identity, Orthodox Christian religion, and independence chose the difficult but liberated life of a bandit. These bandit groups soon found their ranks swelled with impoverished and/or adventurous peasants, societal outcasts, and escaped criminals. Klephts under Ottoman rule were generally men who were fleeing vendettas or
tax A tax is a mandatory financial charge or levy imposed on an individual or legal entity by a governmental organization to support government spending and public expenditures collectively or to regulate and reduce negative externalities. Tax co ...
es,
debt Debt is an obligation that requires one party, the debtor, to pay money Loan, borrowed or otherwise withheld from another party, the creditor. Debt may be owed by a sovereign state or country, local government, company, or an individual. Co ...
s and reprisals from Ottoman officials. They raided travelers and isolated settlements and lived in the rugged mountains and back country. Most klephtic bands participated in some form in the
Greek War of Independence The Greek War of Independence, also known as the Greek Revolution or the Greek Revolution of 1821, was a successful war of independence by Greek revolutionaries against the Ottoman Empire between 1821 and 1829. In 1826, the Greeks were assisted ...
. During the Greek War of Independence, the klephts, along with the
armatoloi The armatoles (; ; ; ), or armatole in singular, were irregular soldiers, or militia, commissioned by the Ottoman Empire, Ottomans to enforce the sultan's authority within an administrative district called an armatoliki ( in singular, , in plura ...
, formed the nucleus of the Greek fighting forces, and played a prominent part throughout its duration. Despite being ineffective, they were the only viable military force for the provisional governments of the 1821–1827 period. During that time period, three attempts were made at creating a regular army, and one of the reasons for their failure was the resistance of the klepht and armatoles leaders. Yannis Makriyannis referred to the "klephtes and armatoloi" as the "yeast of liberty". John Koliopoulos studied the klephts in the 19th century, and stated that the principle of kinship and honour seen in Albanian could be seen among the klephts after centuries of contact with Albanian irregulars. Contrary to conventional Greek history, many of the klephts and armatoles participated at the
Greek War of Independence The Greek War of Independence, also known as the Greek Revolution or the Greek Revolution of 1821, was a successful war of independence by Greek revolutionaries against the Ottoman Empire between 1821 and 1829. In 1826, the Greeks were assisted ...
according to their own militaristic patron-client terms. They saw the war as an economic and political opportunity to expand their areas of operation. Balkan bandits such as the klephts and armatoles – glorified in nationalist historiography as national heroes – were actually driven by economic interests, were not aware of national projects, made alliances with the Ottomans and robbed Christians as much as Muslims.


Songs

Klephtic songs (), or ballads, were developed in mainland Greece. They are part of the
Greek folk music Greek traditional music (, , 'traditional music'; also , , 'folk songs') includes a variety of Culture of Greece, Greek styles played by Greek people, ethnic Greeks in Greece, Cyprus, Australia, the United States and other parts of Europe. Apar ...
genre, which includes folk poetry, and are thematically oriented on either the achievements and death of a single klepht or the generic life of the klephts as a group. Klephtic songs are especially popular in
Epirus Epirus () is a Region#Geographical regions, geographical and historical region, historical region in southeastern Europe, now shared between Greece and Albania. It lies between the Pindus Mountains and the Ionian Sea, stretching from the Bay ...
and the
Peloponnese The Peloponnese ( ), Peloponnesus ( ; , ) or Morea (; ) is a peninsula and geographic region in Southern Greece, and the southernmost region of the Balkans. It is connected to the central part of the country by the Isthmus of Corinth land bridg ...
. The
Czech Czech may refer to: * Anything from or related to the Czech Republic, a country in Europe ** Czech language ** Czechs, the people of the area ** Czech culture ** Czech cuisine * One of three mythical brothers, Lech, Czech, and Rus *Czech (surnam ...
composer
Antonín Dvořák Antonín Leopold Dvořák ( ; ; 8September 18411May 1904) was a Czech composer. He frequently employed rhythms and other aspects of the folk music of Moravia and his native Bohemia, following the Romantic-era nationalist example of his predec ...
wrote a song-cycle named ''Three Modern Greek Poems'': the first one is entitled "Koljas – Klepht Song" and tells the story of Koljas, the klepht who killed the famous Ali Pasha. The most famous klephtic and modern Greek folk song is ''The Battle of Mount Olympus and Mount Kisavos'', a ballad based on a musico-poetic motif dating back to
classical Greece Classical Greece was a period of around 200 years (the 5th and 4th centuries BC) in ancient Greece,The "Classical Age" is "the modern designation of the period from about 500 B.C. to the death of Alexander the Great in 323 B.C." ( Thomas R. Mar ...
(specifically to the poetic song composed by
Corinna Corinna or Korinna () was an ancient Greek lyric poet from Tanagra in Boeotia. Although ancient sources portray her as a contemporary of Pindar (born ), not all modern scholars accept the accuracy of this tradition. When she lived has been th ...
pertaining to a contest between
Mount Helicon Mount Helicon (; ) is a mountain in the region of Thespiai in Boeotia, Greece, celebrated in Greek mythology. With an altitude of , it is located approximately from the north coast of the Gulf of Corinth. Some researchers maintain that Helicon ...
and
Mount Cithaeron Cithaeron or Kithairon (Κιθαιρών, -ῶνος) is a mountain and mountain range about sixteen kilometres (ten miles) long in Central Greece. The range is the physical boundary between Boeotia region in the north and Attica region in the s ...
).


Cuisine

The famous Greek dish '' klephtiko'' (or kleftiko), a dish entailing slow-cooked lamb (or other meat), can be translated "in the style of the klephts". The klephts, not having flocks of their own, would steal lambs or goats and cook the meat in a sealed pit to avoid the smoke being seen.


Famous klephts

* Antonis Katsantonis *
Giorgakis Olympios Giorgakis Olympios (; ; ; 1772–1821) was an armatole and military commander during the Greek War of Independence against the Ottoman Empire. Noted for his activities with the Filiki Eteria in the Danubian Principalities, he is considered to b ...
*
Odysseas Androutsos Odysseas Androutsos (; 1788–1790 – 1825; born Odysseas Verousis ) was a Greek armatolos in eastern continental Greece and a prominent figure of the Greek War of Independence. Born in Ithaca (island), Ithaca, the son of an Arvanites, Arva ...
* Athanasios Diakos * Geórgios Karaïskákis *
Theodoros Kolokotronis Theodoros Kolokotronis (; 3 April 1770 – ) was a Greek general and the pre-eminent leader of the Greek War of Independence (1821–1829) against the Ottoman Empire. The son of a klepht leader who fought the Ottomans during the Orlov revolt ...
* Dimitrios Makris * Nikitas Stamatelopoulos


See also

*
Armatoloi The armatoles (; ; ; ), or armatole in singular, were irregular soldiers, or militia, commissioned by the Ottoman Empire, Ottomans to enforce the sultan's authority within an administrative district called an armatoliki ( in singular, , in plura ...
*
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 ...
*
Uskok The Office for the Suppression of Corruption and Organised Crime (), better known as USKOK, is a body of the Croatian criminal justice system, attached to the State's Attorney Office and specializing in investigations related to corruption and ...
*
Ottoman Greece The vast majority of the territory of present-day Greece was at some point incorporated within the Ottoman Empire. The period of Ottoman rule in Greece, lasting from the mid-15th century until the successful Greek War of Independence broke out ...


References


Citations


Sources

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Further reading

* * * * * * * * * * {{Greek War of Independence, state=collapsed 15th-century establishments in the Ottoman Empire 19th-century disestablishments in Greece Greek War of Independence Greek outlaws Highwaymen