Stefan Karadzha (pronounced aɾadʒˈa bg, Стефан Караджа; born Stefan Todorov Dimov, Стефан Тодоров Димов; 11 May 1840 – 31 July 1868), was a Bulgarian national hero, a revolutionary from the national liberation movement and a prominent leader of rebellion against 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 ...

Rebel detachment of Hadzhi Dimitar and Stefan Karadzha

Monument, Stefan Karadzha, Varna, Bulgaria

He was born in the village of Ichme (now ''Stefan Karadzhovo''), near

Yambol Yambol ( bg, Ямбол ) is a town in Southeastern Bulgaria and administrative centre of Yambol Province. It lies on both banks of the Tundzha river in the historical region of Thrace. It is occasionally spelled ''Jambol''. Yambol is the ad ...

Rumelia Rumelia ( ota, روم ايلى, Rum İli; tr, Rumeli; el, Ρωμυλία), etymologically "Land of the Romans", at the time meaning Eastern Orthodox Christians and more specifically Christians from the Byzantine rite, was the name of a hi ...

, and was reputedly a descendant of Momchil Voyvoda. Karadzha studied in

Tulcea Tulcea (; also known by other alternative names) is a city in Northern Dobruja, Romania. It is the administrative center of Tulcea County, and had a population of 73,707 . One village, Tudor Vladimirescu, is administered by the city. Names The ...

Dobruja Dobruja or Dobrudja (; bg, Добруджа, Dobrudzha or ''Dobrudža''; ro, Dobrogea, or ; tr, Dobruca) is a historical region in the Balkans that has been divided since the 19th century between the territories of Bulgaria and Romania. I ...

, but quit school due to lack of funding. During a wedding celebration, he defeated the famous Turkish wrestler Gaazi Plisa. Going in hiding for some time, as Ottoman authorities were searching for him, he then emigrated to

Principality of Romania The United Principalities of Moldavia and Wallachia ( ro, Principatele Unite ale Moldovei și Țării Românești), commonly called United Principalities, was the personal union of the Principality of Moldavia and the Principality of Wallachia, ...

and later joined the First Bulgarian Legion in

Belgrade Belgrade ( , ;, ; names in other languages) is the capital and largest city in Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers and the crossroads of the Pannonian Plain and the Balkan Peninsula. Nearly 1,166,763 mi ...

Principality of Serbia The Principality of Serbia ( sr-Cyrl, Књажество Србија, Knjažestvo Srbija) was an autonomous state in the Balkans that came into existence as a result of the Serbian Revolution, which lasted between 1804 and 1817. Its creation wa ...

. Karadzha crossed the

Danube The Danube ( ; ) is a river that was once a long-standing frontier of the Roman Empire and today connects 10 European countries, running through their territories or being a border. Originating in Germany, the Danube flows southeast for , pa ...

from

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 s ...

a couple of times, carrying out revolutionary tasks. In 1867, he joined the Second Bulgarian Legion, which he quit the following year before returning to Romania, where he had a meeting with

Hadzhi Dimitar Dimitar Nikolov Asenov ( bg, Димитър Николов Асенов ; 10 May 1840 – 10 August 1868), better known as Hadzhi Dimitar ( ), was one of the most prominent Bulgarian voivode and revolutionaries working for the Liberation of Bulg ...

. On 6 June, both of them were leaders of a detachment of 129 people, and crossed the Danube at

Vardim {{Infobox settlement , official_name = Vardim , native_name =вардим , image_shield = , image_skyline = , image_caption = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = {{BUL , subdivision_type1 = Province(Oblast) , ...

, near Svishtov. Their cheta was supposed to get to

Stara planina 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 be ...

and establish there a revolutionary government which would then command a general uprising of all Bulgarians. This was not to happen, though, as the group was discovered by Turkish forces shortly after crossing the river.Jelavich p.137 Stefan Karadzha was badly wounded during the fight at Kanladere near Vishovgrad, and was captured by the army and police sent by the chairman of the State Council,

Midhat Pasha Ahmed Şefik Midhat Pasha ( ota , احمد شفيق مدحت پاشا, 18 October 1822 – 26 April 1883) was an Ottoman democrat, kingmaker and one of the leading statesmen during the late Tanzimat period. He is most famous for leading the O ...

. Afterwards, on 12 July, he was convoyed to

Tarnovo Veliko Tarnovo ( bg, Велико Търново, Veliko Tărnovo, ; "Great Tarnovo") is a town in north central Bulgaria and the administrative centre of Veliko Tarnovo Province. Often referred as the "''City of the Tsars''", Veliko Tarnovo ...

, and later to

Rousse Ruse (also transliterated as Rousse, Russe; bg, Русе ) is the fifth largest city in Bulgaria. Ruse is in the northeastern part of the country, on the right bank of the Danube, opposite the Romanian city of Giurgiu, approximately south of ...

. Karadzha was standing half-dead before the emergency Turkish court, assembled by Midhat Pasha, the so-called ''criminal council'', and sentenced to death by

hanging Hanging is the suspension of a person by a noose or ligature around the neck.Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed. Hanging as method of execution is unknown, as method of suicide from 1325. The ''Oxford English Dictionary'' states that hanging ...

, but died from his wounds before the execution. He was buried by

Tonka Obretenova Tonka Obretenova ( bg, Тонка Обретенова), known as Baba Tonka (Баба Тонка), was a female Bulgarian revolutionary, born in 1812 in Rousse. Her parents, Toncho Postavchiyata (Тончо Поставчията) and Minka Ton ...

, who preserved his skull.

Honours

Stefan Karadzha Peak Stefan Karadzha Peak ( bg, връх Стефан Караджа, vrah Stefan Karadzha, ) is the ice-covered peak of elevation 2038 m

Graham Land Graham Land is the portion of the Antarctic Peninsula that lies north of a line joining Cape Jeremy and Cape Agassiz. This description of Graham Land is consistent with the 1964 agreement between the British Antarctic Place-names Committee an ...

Antarctica Antarctica () is Earth's southernmost and least-populated continent. Situated almost entirely south of the Antarctic Circle and surrounded by the Southern Ocean, it contains the geographic South Pole. Antarctica is the fifth-largest cont ...

is named after Stefan Karadzha.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Karadzha, Stefan 1840 births 1868 deaths People from Yambol Province Bulgarian revolutionaries Executed Bulgarian people Executed revolutionaries People executed by the Ottoman Empire by hanging 19th-century Bulgarian people 19th-century executions by the Ottoman Empire