Panayot Ivanov Hitov () (November 11, 1830 – February 22, 1918) was a
Bulgaria
Bulgaria, officially the Republic of Bulgaria, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern portion of the Balkans directly south of the Danube river and west of the Black Sea. Bulgaria is bordered by Greece and Turkey t ...
n ''haidoutin (
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 ...
)'', national revolutionary and
voivoda.
Born in 1830 in
Sliven (known as İslimiye at the time), he became a haidoutin in Georgi Trankin's band of rebels in 1858. Two years later, after the death of Trankin, Hitov succeeded him as voivode of the band, which became one of the most active in southeastern Bulgaria. Some of his subordinates included
Hadzhi Dimitar, Stoyan Papazov and Dyado Zhelyu. Around 1864–1865, Hitov began to regard his actions as part of the national liberation movement, and was in correspondence with
Georgi Rakovski. In 1864, while in
Serbia
, image_flag = Flag of Serbia.svg
, national_motto =
, image_coat = Coat of arms of Serbia.svg
, national_anthem = ()
, image_map =
, map_caption = Location of Serbia (gree ...
, he gathered band members among the Bulgarians in
Kragujevac
Kragujevac ( sr-Cyrl, Крагујевац, ) is the List of cities in Serbia, fourth largest city in Serbia and the administrative centre of the Šumadija District. It is the historical centre of the geographical region of Šumadija in central Se ...
and
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 ...
and moved to the region of
Berkovitsa and
Pirot
Pirot ( sr-Cyrl, Пирот) is a city and the administrative center of the Pirot District in southeastern Serbia. According to 2022 census, the urban area of the city has a population of 34,942, while the population of the city administrative are ...
. According to Rakovski's plan as presented in "1867 Provisional Law on the National and Forest Bands", Hitov was to be the chief Bulgarian voivode.
Following Rakovski's death on April 28, 1867, Hitov entered Bulgaria from
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 ...
at
Tutrakan with a band of thirty, the band's standard-bearer being
Vasil Levski
Vasil Levski (, spelled in Reforms of Bulgarian orthography, old Bulgarian orthography as , ), born Vasil Ivanov Kunchev (; 18 July 1837 – 18 February 1873), was a Bulgarians, Bulgarian revolutionary who is, today, a Folk hero, national ...
. With his band, Hitov headed to 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 ...
and spent some time around
Kotel and Sliven. The goal of his band was not to organize an uprising, but to garner support among the Bulgarians for an organized resistance against
Ottoman rule.
In August 1867, together with his band and that of
Filip Totyu, Hitov headed to Serbia along the ridge of the Balkan Mountains. He settled in Belgrade, living there as a pensioner and becoming a supporter of the idea that
Bulgaria's liberation struggle should be co-ordinated with Serbia's anti-Ottoman actions. Between 1869 and 1871, he expressed his views to Vasil Levski, with whom he kept up a correspondence. Without taking Levski's advice into consideration, he signed an agreement with the
Montenegrin voivode Matanović to organize a joint uprising in Bulgaria,
Bosnia
Bosnia and Herzegovina, sometimes known as Bosnia-Herzegovina and informally as Bosnia, is a country in Southeast Europe. Situated on the Balkans, Balkan Peninsula, it borders Serbia to the east, Montenegro to the southeast, and Croatia to th ...
,
Herzegovina
Herzegovina ( or ; sh-Latn-Cyrl, Hercegovina, separator=" / ", Херцеговина, ) is the southern and smaller of two main geographical Regions of Bosnia and Herzegovina, regions of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the other being Bosnia (reg ...
and
Albania
Albania ( ; or ), officially the Republic of Albania (), is a country in Southeast Europe. It is located in the Balkans, on the Adriatic Sea, Adriatic and Ionian Seas within the Mediterranean Sea, and shares land borders with Montenegro to ...
. In April 1872 Hitov became a member of the
Bucharest
Bucharest ( , ; ) is the capital and largest city of Romania. The metropolis stands on the River Dâmbovița (river), Dâmbovița in south-eastern Romania. Its population is officially estimated at 1.76 million residents within a greater Buc ...
branch of the
Bulgarian Revolutionary Central Committee
The Bulgarian Revolutionary Central Committee (BRCC; ) was a Bulgarian revolutionary organisation founded in 1866 by Georgi Rakovski, among the Bulgarian emigrant circles in Romania. The decisive influence for the establishment of the committee ...
(BRCC).
After Levski's death in 1873, Hitov played an important role in the Bucharest committee, although he continued to live in Belgrade. In August 1875, he presided over the BRCC assembly which approved the proclamation of the
Stara Zagora Uprising. According to the plan, Panayot Hitov was supposed to lead a band of soldiers, but this was not carried out due to the Serbian government's objections. Hitov was a leader in the Serbian-Turkish War of 1876 and the
Russo-Turkish War of 1877–78. After the Liberation in 1878, Hitov lived in
Rousse
Ruse (also transliterated as Rousse, Russe; ) is the List of cities and towns in Bulgaria, fifth-largest city in Bulgaria. Ruse is in the northeastern part of the country, on the right bank of the Danube, opposite the Romanian city of Giurgiu, ...
, taking part in local political life. In 1885, he headed the
Unification of Bulgaria in his native Sliven. Later, due to his opposition to
Stefan Stambolov
Stefan Nikolov Stambolov (; 31 January 1854 Adoption of the Gregorian calendar#Adoption in Eastern Europe, OS – 19 July 1895 Adoption of the Gregorian calendar#Adoption in Eastern Europe, OS) was a Bulgarian politician, journalist, revoluti ...
's regime (1887–1894), he was sent to prison. He died on February 22, 1918, in Rousse.
Honours
Hitov Spur on
Oscar II Coast in
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 Panayot Hitov. It is located 16.5 km northwest of
Mount Quandary.
In popular culture
Outside Bulgaria, Hitov is remembered for his characteristic
moustache
A moustache (; mustache, ) is a growth of facial hair grown above the upper lip and under the human nose, nose. Moustaches have been worn in various styles throughout history.
Etymology
The word "moustache" is French language, French, and i ...
.
References
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hitov, Panayot
1830 births
1918 deaths
Revolutionaries from the Ottoman Empire
People from Sliven
Bulgarian revolutionaries
People of the Serbo-Bulgarian War
19th-century Bulgarian people