Hajduk

Hajduk or haiduk or haiduc is a term most commonly referring to a bandit in the Balkans. Forms of the word in various languages include haiduc (Romanian), ??????/hajduk (Serbian), hajduk (Croatian), haidut (Bulgarian), aiducco (Italian), ha?douk (French), haydut (Turkish).

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In Balkan folkloric tradition, the hajduk (hajduci or haiduci in the plural) is a romanticised hero figure who steals from, and leads his fighters into battle against, the Ottoman oppressors. In reality, the hajduci of the 18th and 19th centuries were guerilla fighters cum bandits who preyed not only on Ottomans but also on local merchants and travellers. However, the hajduci did follow a moral code which forbade robbing of the poor and motiveless murder.

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The actual origin of the word hajduk is unclear. One theory is that hajduk was derived from the Turkish word haydut, which was originally used by the Ottomans to refer to Hungarian infantry soldiers. Another theory suggests that the word comes from the Hungarian hajt? (plural hajt?k), meaning a (cattle) drover.

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The Serbian leader Hajduk Veljko and the football teams Hajduk Kula, and Hajduk sa Liona, Croatian football team Hajduk Split, the Romanian band Taraful Haiducilor and the pop-music project Haiducii are all named after the haiduci. The surname of actress Stacy Haiduk is likewise derived from this word.

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The term haiduci was used by the Romanian resistance movement Haiducii Muscelului, between 1947 and 1959, which opposed the Soviet occupation and the Communist government.

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