Hajduk

This article is about the former outlaws and guerrilla fighters of the Balkans. For other uses, see Hajduk (disambiguation).
Illustration of a Hungarian Hajduk, from an 1703 book from Bavaria.
Portrait of Hajduk-Veljko, a prominent Serbian outlaw fighting against Ottoman occupation during the first half of the 19th century.

A hajduk (Hungarian: hajdúk, plural of hajdú 'foot-soldier') is a type of irregular infantry found in Central, Eastern, and parts of Southeast Europe from the late 16th to mid 19th centuries, especially from Hajdú-Bihar county.[1] They have reputations ranging from bandits to freedom fighters depending on time, place, and their enemies.

In the European lands of the Ottoman Empire, the term hajduk was used to describe bandits and brigands of the Balkans, while in Central Europe for the West Slavs, Hungarians, and Germans, and Eastern Europe for the Ukrainians, it was used to refer to outlaws who protected Christians against provocative actions by the Ottomans.[2]

By the 17th century they were firmly established in the Ottoman Balkans, owing to increased taxes, Christian victories against the Ottomans, and a general decline in security. Hajduk bands predominantly numbered one hundred men each, with a firm hierarchy under one leader. They targeted Ottoman representatives and rich people, mainly rich Turks, for plunder or punishment to oppressive Ottomans, or revenge or a combination of all.[2]

In Balkan folkloric tradition, the hajduk is a romanticised hero figure who steals from, and leads his fighters into battle against, the Ottoman authorities.[3] They are comparable to the English legendary Robin Hood and his merry men, who stole from the rich (who as in the case of the hajduk happened to also be foreign occupiers) and gave to the poor, while defying seemingly unjust laws and authority.[citation needed]

People that helped hajduks were called jataks. Jataks lived in villages and towns and provided food and shelter for hajduks. In return, hajduks would give them part of the loot.

The hajduk of the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries commonly were as much guerrilla fighters against the Ottoman rule as they were bandits and highwaymen who preyed not only on Ottomans and their local representatives, but also on local merchants and travellers. As such, the term could also refer to any robber and carry a negative connotation.[4][5]

  1. ^ "hajdú | Magyar etimológiai szótár | Kézikönyvtár". www.arcanum.com (in Hungarian). Retrieved 2024-09-18.
  2. ^ a b Gabor Agoston; Bruce Alan Masters (21 May 2010). Encyclopedia of the Ottoman Empire. Infobase Publishing. p. 252. ISBN 978-1-4381-1025-7.
  3. ^ Sophoulis, Sophoulis (2020). Banditry in the Medieval Balkans, 800-1500. Springer. p. 127. ISBN 978-3-0305-5905-2.
  4. ^ Найден Геров. 1895-1904. Речник на блъгарский язик.Хайдукъ
  5. ^ Л.Андрейчин и др. 2006. Български тълковен речник. Четвърто издание