Petko Kirkov Kaloyanov Петко Кирков (Каракирков, Киряков, Калоянов), better known as

Captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

Petko Voyvoda (Капитан Петко Войвода; 5 December 1844 – 7 February 1900) was a 19th-century Bulgarian hajduk leader and freedom fighter who dedicated his life to the liberation of Bulgaria (and, particularly, the region of Thrace). Petko Voyvoda was born in the Bulgarian village of Dogan Hisar, today

Aisymi Aisymi (Greek: Αισύμη, Bulgarian: Дуган Хисар, ''Dugan hisar'', tr, Doğanhisar) is a village in the southern part of the Evros regional unit, Greece. It is located next to the Greek National Road 53, about 20 km north of t ...

( Evros regional unit, Greece). He married a Greek lady from

Maronia Maroneia ( el, Μαρώνεια) is a village and a former municipality in Rhodope regional unit, East Macedonia and Thrace, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Maroneia-Sapes, of which it is a munic ...

in 1860. When a group of Turkish brigands attacked his wife, he fought and killed them all, including the leader of the bashibuzuks, Mehmed Kesedji Bey. Beginning in 1861 Petko began fighting against the Ottomans in the surrounding areas of Maroneia,

, Enos etc. He visited Italy in 1866, where he met

Giuseppe Garibaldi Giuseppe Maria Garibaldi ( , ;In his native Ligurian language, he is known as ''Gioxeppe Gaibado''. In his particular Niçard dialect of Ligurian, he was known as ''Jousé'' or ''Josep''. 4 July 1807 – 2 June 1882) was an Italian general, patr ...

, who became a close friend. Petko lived in Garibaldi's home for a few months. Garibaldi helped Petko organize the well-known "Garibaldi Battalion" in the

Cretan Revolution of 1866–1869 Crete ( el, Κρήτη, translit=, Modern: , Ancient: ) is the largest and most populous of the Greek islands, the 88th largest island in the world and the fifth largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, after Sicily, Sardinia, Cyprus, and ...

, consisting of 220 Italians and 67 Bulgarians, who fought the

Ottomans The Ottoman Turks ( tr, Osmanlı Türkleri), were the Turkic founding and sociopolitically the most dominant ethnic group of the Ottoman Empire ( 1299/1302–1922). Reliable information about the early history of Ottoman Turks remains scarce, ...

on Crete under Petko's command. For his service, Petko was assigned the military title of ''Kapetan'' (Captain). Petko Voyvoda's detachment, established in 1869, took part in the Russo-Turkish War of 1877-78. His unit liberated Maroneia from the Turkish rule in December 1877, establishing a Christian government there. He fought against the Turks for three months and saved the local population from Turkish oppression. After that, he took part in the liberation of the Rhodopes together with Kraycho Voyvoda. As part of this effort, he led the defeat of the 1878 Muslim insurgence in the Rhodopes organized by the British agent

Saint Clair Saint Clair (also spelled St. Clair, St Clair or even Sinclair, and sometimes also pronounced that way) may refer to: Saints * Clair of Nantes (3rd century), first bishop of Nantes, the Saint named Clair * Clare of Assisi (1194–1253), source na ...

. With his son and new wife Rada Kravkova from Kazanlak Petko lived in

Varna Varna may refer to: Places Europe *Varna, Bulgaria, a city in Bulgaria **Varna Province **Varna Municipality ** Gulf of Varna **Lake Varna **Varna Necropolis *Vahrn, or Varna, a municipality in Italy *Varniai, a city in Lithuania * Varna (Šaba ...

after 1880 and died in that city in 1900. He founded the revolutionary committee called ''

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 ...

'' there in 1896. His revolutionary work has been commemorated with numerous monuments all around Bulgaria, as well as in his native village in modern Greece and on the hill of

Gianicolo The Janiculum (; it, Gianicolo ), occasionally the Janiculan Hill, is a hill in western Rome, Italy. Although it is the second-tallest hill (the tallest being Monte Mario) in the contemporary city of Rome, the Janiculum does not figure among th ...

in Rome, where a monument of Garibaldi also stands. The

TV series A television show – or simply TV show – is any content produced for viewing on a television set which can be broadcast via over-the-air, satellite, or cable, excluding breaking news, advertisements, or trailers that are typically placed betw ...

'' Captain Petko Voivode'' written by Nikolay Haytov and first aired in 1981 also popularized him as a national hero. There are several Bulgarian patriotic songs dedicated to Petko and his comrades. Petko Voyvoda Peak on Livingston Island in the South Shetland Islands, Antarctica is also named in his honor. Monuments dedicated to Petko Voyvoda can be found in

( Greece), his place of birth, as well as in Rome ( Italy), Kyiv ( Ukraine) and in

, Sofia, Burgas,

Plovdiv Plovdiv ( bg, Пловдив, ), is the second-largest city in Bulgaria, standing on the banks of the Maritsa river in the historical region of Thrace. It has a population of 346,893 and 675,000 in the greater metropolitan area. Plovdiv is the c ...

, Haskovo and other places in Bulgaria.

References

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External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Voyvoda, Petko 1844 births 1900 deaths Bulgarian revolutionaries Bulgarian people of the Russo-Turkish War (1877–1878) Bulgarians from Western Thrace 19th-century Bulgarian people Ottoman Thrace Thracian Bulgarians Recipients of the Cross of St. George People from Alexandroupolis