Delyo ( bg, Дельо, sometimes Делю, ''Delyu'') was a

Bulgarian Bulgarian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to the country of Bulgaria * Bulgarians, a South Slavic ethnic group * Bulgarian language, a Slavic language * Bulgarian alphabet * A citizen of Bulgaria, see Demographics of Bulgaria * Bul ...

rebel leader (''

hajduk A hajduk ( hu, hajdúk, plural of ) is a type of irregular infantry found in Central and parts of Southeast Europe from the late 16th to mid 19th centuries. They have reputations ranging from bandits to freedom fighters depending on time, p ...

voivode Voivode (, also spelled ''voievod'', ''voevod'', ''voivoda'', ''vojvoda'' or ''wojewoda'') is a title denoting a military leader or warlord in Central, Southeastern and Eastern Europe since the Early Middle Ages. It primarily referred to the me ...

'') who was active in the

Rhodope Mountains The Rhodopes (; bg, Родопи, ; el, Ροδόπη, ''Rodopi''; tr, Rodoplar) are a mountain range in Southeastern Europe, and the largest by area in Bulgaria, with over 83% of its area in the southern part of the country and the remainder in ...

in the late 17th and early 18th centuries. Delyo was born in Belovidovo (today

Zlatograd Zlatograd ( bg, Златоград, , ) is a town in Smolyan Province, southern-central Bulgaria. It is the administrative centre of the homonymous Zlatograd Municipality. In December 2009, the town had a population of 7,110.

) in the

Smolyan Smolyan ( bg, Смолян) List of cities and towns in Bulgaria, is a town and ski resort in the south of Bulgaria near the border with Greece. It is the administrative and industrial centre of the homonymous Smolyan Province. The town is built ...

region in the 17th century. He headed an armed detachment of rebels in the central Rhodopes and acted against the Ottoman authorities'

Islamization Islamization, Islamicization, or Islamification ( ar, أسلمة, translit=aslamāh), refers to the process through which a society shifts towards the religion of Islam and becomes largely Muslim. Societal Islamization has historically occur ...

of the local Bulgarian population. In 1720, he led a group of united rebel detachments that attacked Raykovo (today a neighbourhood of

) in revenge for the murder of 200 locals who refused to convert from

Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. It is the world's largest and most widespread religion with roughly 2.38 billion followers representing one-third of the global pop ...

Islam Islam (; ar, ۘالِإسلَام, , ) is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic Monotheism#Islam, monotheistic religion centred primarily around the Quran, a religious text considered by Muslims to be the direct word of God in Islam, God (or ...

. Delyo was mentioned in ''Historical notebook'', an 18th-century document of disputed authenticity. Delyo is a popular character in Rhodopean folk songs and legends. He is presented as a protector of the local population and an opponent of the local Ottoman authorities. He is glorified as being unkillable by a standard sword or gun, so his enemies cast a

silver bullet In folklore, a bullet cast from silver is often one of the few weapons that are effective against a werewolf or witch. The term ''silver bullet'' is also a metaphor for a simple, seemingly magical, solution to a difficult problem: for example, pe ...

in order to murder him. According to the legends, Delyo was the son of a poor craftsman and was taught

tailoring A tailor is a person who makes or alters clothing, particularly in men's clothing. The Oxford English Dictionary dates the term to the thirteenth century. History Although clothing construction goes back to prehistory, there is evidence of ...

by his uncle in Yenice (

Giannitsa Giannitsa ( el, Γιαννιτσά , in English also Yannitsa, Yenitsa) is the largest city in the regional unit of Pella and the capital of the Pella municipality, in the region of Central Macedonia in northern Greece. The municipal unit Gian ...

), but upon getting to know Bulgarians from around Gümülcine (

Komotini Komotini ( el, Κομοτηνή, tr, Gümülcine, bg, Комотини) is a city in the region of East Macedonia and Thrace, northeastern Greece. It is the capital of the Rhodope. It was the administrative centre of the Rhodope-Evros super-pr ...

), he organized a rebel detachment to counter the Ottoman atrocities. The most popular folk piece about Delyo is "

Izlel e Delyo haydutin "Izlel ye Delyo Haydutin" ( bg, Излел е Дельо хайдутин, lit=Delyo has become a hajduk) is a Bulgarian music, Bulgarian folk song from the central Rhodope Mountains about Delyo, a rebel leader who was active in the late seventeenth ...

" ("Delyo the hajduk has gone out"), a song from the Central Rhodopes that has been recorded in various versions. The song is best known as performed by Bulgarian folk singer

Valya Balkanska Valya Mladenova Balkanska ( bg, Валя Младенова Балканска; born 8 January 1942) is a Bulgarian folk music singer from the Rhodope Mountains known locally for her wide repertoire of Balkan folk songs, but in the West mainly fo ...

. It was launched into space in 1977 as part of the

Voyager 1 ''Voyager 1'' is a space probe launched by NASA on September 5, 1977, as part of the Voyager program to study the outer Solar System and interstellar space beyond the Sun's heliosphere. Launched 16 days after its twin ''Voyager 2'', ''Voya ...

and

Voyager 2 ''Voyager 2'' is a space probe launched by NASA on August 20, 1977, to study the outer planets and interstellar space beyond the Sun's heliosphere. As a part of the Voyager program, it was launched 16 days before its twin, ''Voyager 1'', on a ...

probes' Golden Record which includes a multicultural selection of music.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Delyo 17th-century Bulgarian people 18th-century Bulgarian people 17th-century births 18th-century deaths People from Zlatograd Bulgarian revolutionaries Rhodope Mountains