The Kirdzhalis have been a social phenomenon in the European possessions of the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University) ...

since the late 18th and early 19th centuries. Although they are often artistically depicted as brigands or ''bandits in the field'', from the literal meaning in

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 ...

, they are well-armed and organized gangs at the disposal and submission of the local

Ottoman Ayan The Ayan (Arabic plural: ''a‘yan'' ; singular: ''‘ayn'' ) was the class of local notables or dynasts in the 16th to the early 19th century Ottoman Empire who held varying degrees of authority in provincial towns and districts.Agoston, Gabor. ...

History

The beginning of the phenomenon was in

Ottoman Albania Albania under the Ottoman Empire refers to a period in Albanian history from the Ottoman conquest in the late 15th century to the Albanian declaration of Independence and official secession from the Ottoman Empire in 1912. The Ottomans first ent ...

on the eve of the

Russo-Turkish War (1768–1774) The Russo-Turkish War of 1768–1774 was a major armed conflict that saw Russian arms largely victorious against the Ottoman Empire. Russia's victory brought parts of Moldavia, the Yedisan between the rivers Bug and Dnieper, and Crimea into the ...

and during the Orlov revolt. Because robbers operated in the mountains of the Armatolis, i.e. ''daalii'' in Ottoman Turkish, they are not referred to as ''kirdzhalis''.

Moscopole Moscopole or Voskopoja ( sq, Voskopojë; rup, Moscopole, with several other variants; el, Μοσχόπολις, Moschopolis) is a village in Korçë County in southeastern Albania. During the 18th century, it was the cultural and commercial ...

was ruined at that time. In the 1780s, the phenomenon gained momentum and was in full swing under Sultan

Selim III Selim III ( ota, سليم ثالث, Selim-i sâlis; tr, III. Selim; was the Sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 1789 to 1807. Regarded as an enlightened ruler, the Janissaries eventually deposed and imprisoned him, and placed his cousin Mustafa ...

. It was a response to the attempts to reform the empire under this sultan and at the same time a response to

Nizam-I Cedid The Nizam-i Cedid ( ota, نظام جديد, Niẓām-ı Cedīd, lit=new order) was a series of reforms carried out by Ottoman Sultan Selim III during the late 18th and the early 19th centuries in a drive to catch up militarily and politically w ...

.Le temps de kirdjalis
/ref> Kirdzhalis are a phenomenon in

Rumelia Rumelia ( ota, روم ايلى, Rum İli; tr, Rumeli; el, Ρωμυλία), etymologically "Land of the Names of the Greeks#Romans (Ῥωμαῖοι), Romans", at the time meaning Eastern Orthodox Christians and more specifically Christians f ...

and to some extent in

Bosnia Bosnia and Herzegovina ( sh, / , ), abbreviated BiH () or B&H, sometimes called Bosnia–Herzegovina and often known informally as Bosnia, is a country at the crossroads of south and southeast Europe, located in the Balkans. Bosnia and He ...

, peripherally affecting

Wallachia Wallachia or Walachia (; ro, Țara Românească, lit=The Romanian Land' or 'The Romanian Country, ; archaic: ', Romanian Cyrillic alphabet: ) is a historical and geographical region of Romania. It is situated north of the Lower Danube and so ...

and

Morea The Morea ( el, Μορέας or ) was the name of the Peloponnese peninsula in southern Greece during the Middle Ages and the early modern period. The name was used for the Byzantine province known as the Despotate of the Morea, by the Ottoman ...

on the eve of 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. The Greeks were later assisted by ...

. The social phenomenon subsided with the

Ottoman coups of 1807–1808 The Ottoman palace coups of 1807–1808 refers to several coups and rebellions deposing or restoring to the throne three Ottoman sultans, that took place as a result of the attempted reforms of Selim III. Causes The Ottoman Empire was in ...

and gradually disappeared with the attenuation of the

Napoleonic Wars The Napoleonic Wars (1803–1815) were a series of major global conflicts pitting the French Empire and its allies, led by Napoleon I, against a fluctuating array of European states formed into various coalitions. It produced a period of Fren ...

. The most prominent leader of the Kirdzhalis was

Osman Pazvantoglu Osman is the Persian transliteration and derived from the Arabic masculine given name Uthman ( ar, عُثْمان, , link=no ''‘uthmān'') or an English surname. It may refer to: People * Osman (name), people with the name * Osman I (1258–13 ...

. With the assassination of

Ali Pasha of Ioannina Ali Pasha of Ioannina (1740 – 24 January 1822), was an Albanian ruler who served as pasha of a large part of western Rumelia, the Ottoman Empire's European territories, which was referred to as the Pashalik of Yanina. His court was in Ioanni ...

, the phenomenon ended. In world literature this phenomenon appeared in

Pushkin Alexander Sergeyevich Pushkin (; rus, links=no, Александр Сергеевич ПушкинIn pre-Revolutionary script, his name was written ., r=Aleksandr Sergeyevich Pushkin, p=ɐlʲɪkˈsandr sʲɪrˈɡʲe(j)ɪvʲɪtɕ ˈpuʂkʲɪn, ...

's novel of the same name — ''Kirdzhali''. The name of the Bulgarian town

Kardzhali Kardzhali ( bg, Кърджали , ''Kărdžali''; tr, Kırcaali; gr, Κάρτζαλι, ''Kártzali''), sometimes spelt Kardžali or Kurdzhali, is a town in the Eastern Rhodopes in Bulgaria, centre of Kardzhali Municipality and Kardzhali Provi ...

has the same meaning.

References

{{reflist History of the Ottoman Empire Kirdzhalis 18th century in Bulgaria 19th century in Bulgaria

History

See also

References