Indzhe Voyvoda ( bg, Индже войвода) (c. 1755,

Sliven Sliven ( bg, Сливен ) is the eighth-largest city in Bulgaria and the administrative and industrial centre of Sliven Province and municipality in Northern Thrace. Sliven is famous for its heroic Haiduts who fought against the Ottoman Turk ...

– 1821,

Sculeni Sculeni ( yi, סקולען, ''Skulen'') is a commune in Ungheni District, Moldova. It is composed of four villages: Blindești, Floreni, Gherman and Sculeni. It is also a border checkpoint to Romania. History The town had an important Jewish ...

) was a renowned

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 ...

leader ''( voivod)'' of an armed band of outlaws ''(

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 ...

s)'' in Ottoman-held Bulgaria. He mainly operated in the mountainous regions of

Strandzha Strandzha ( bg, Странджа, also transliterated as ''Strandja'', ; tr, Istranca , or ) is a mountain massif in southeastern Bulgaria and the European part of Turkey. It is in the southeastern part of the Balkans between the plains of T ...

, Sakar and the eastern

Balkan Mountains The Balkan mountain range (, , known locally also as Stara planina) is a mountain range in the eastern part of the Balkan Peninsula in Southeastern Europe. The range is conventionally taken to begin at the peak of Vrashka Chuka on the border betw ...

. During the feudal seditions in the Ottoman Empire, Stoyan (his nickname ''Indzhe'' comes from

Ottoman Turkish Ottoman Turkish ( ota, لِسانِ عُثمانى, Lisân-ı Osmânî, ; tr, Osmanlı Türkçesi) was the standardized register of the Turkish language used by the citizens of the Ottoman Empire (14th to 20th centuries CE). It borrowed extens ...

''ince'', "slim") became the leader of a large gang of robbers. His band attempted to attack and rob the town of Kotel, but its inhabitants erected a three-metre high wall and drove them back. He later gave up robbing and began to patronize the poor Bulgarian population, according to one legend leading an insurrection in the early 19th century. In 1806 Indzhe moved to

Moldova Moldova ( , ; ), officially the Republic of Moldova ( ro, Republica Moldova), is a Landlocked country, landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by Romania to the west and Ukraine to the north, east, and south. The List of states ...

, where he enrolled in the local rulers' guard and continued to fight against the Ottomans, until dying in 1821 in the

Battle of Sculeni The Battle of Sculeni was fought on 29 June 1821 in Sculeni, Moldavia between Ottoman forces and the Greek revolutionary forces raised by the Filiki Eteria led by Prince George Katakouzenos. The battle came about as the result of Ottoman repr ...

. He is still remembered in Bulgarian folklore, and many folk songs honour him. The Bulgarian village of Indzhe Voyvoda in the Strandzha Mountain is named in his memory.

Bibliography

* ''Narodni pesni za Indzhe voivoda'', M. Petrov, (''Народни песни за Индже войвода'', Петров, Милю)

External links

Brief biography of Индже войвода (in Bulgarian)Plamen Pavlov. "Zaplakala e gorata..." Poznatijat i nepoznat Indzhe
in Bulgarian) 1755 births 1821 deaths People from Sliven Bulgarian revolutionaries Military personnel killed in action 18th-century Bulgarian people 19th-century Bulgarian people Thracian Bulgarians {{Bulgaria-bio-stub