  thumb|hajduk, 1703 hajduk is a term most commonly referring to outlaws, brigands, highwaymen or freedom fighters in southeastern europe, and parts of central and eastern europe. 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 or habsburg authorities. they are comparable to the english legend of robin hood and his merry men, who stole from the rich (which as in the case of the hajduci happened to be also foreign occupants) and gave to the poor, while defying unjust laws and authority. in reality, the hajduci of the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries commonly were as much guerrilla fighters against the ottoman rule as they were bandits and highwaymen who preyed not only on ottomans and their local representatives, but also on local merchants and travelers. as such, the term could also refer to any robber and carry a negative connotation.ÐÐ°Ð¹Ð´ÐµÐ½ ÐÐµÑÐ¾Ð². 1895-1904. Ð ÐµÑÐ½Ð¸Ðº Ð½Ð° Ð±Ð»ÑÐ³Ð°ÑÑÐºÐ¸Ð¹ ÑÐ·Ð¸Ðº.Ð¥Ð°Ð¹Ð´ÑÐºÑÐ.ÐÐ½Ð´ÑÐµÐ¹ÑÐ¸Ð½ Ð¸ Ð´Ñ. 2006. ÐÑÐ»Ð³Ð°ÑÑÐºÐ¸ ÑÑÐ»ÐºÐ¾Ð²ÐµÐ½ ÑÐµÑÐ½Ð¸Ðº. Ð§ÐµÑÐ²ÑÑÑÐ¾ Ð¸Ð·Ð´Ð°Ð½Ð¸Ðµ ==etymology== the etymology of the word "hajduk" is unclear. one theory is that hajduk was derived from the turkish word haidut or haydut, which was originally used by the ottomans to refer to hungarian infantry soldiers. another theory suggests that the word comes from the hungarian hajtÃ³ or "hajdÃ³" (plural hajtÃ³k or "hajdÃ³k"), meaning a (cattle) drover.petroviÄ, aleksandar. these persons become later soldiers at the hungarian-turkish border and fight against the otoman turkish. the role of banditry in the creation of national states in the central balkans during the 19th century indeed, these two theories do not necessarily contradict each other, as the balkan word is said to be derived from the turkish word haiduk or hayduk (bandit).ÐÐ»Ð°Ð´ÐµÐ½Ð¾Ð², Ð¡ÑÐµÑÐ°Ð½. 1941. ÐÑÐ¸Ð¼Ð¾Ð»Ð¾Ð³Ð¸ÑÐµÑÐºÐ¸ Ð¸ Ð¿ÑÐ°Ð²Ð¾Ð¿Ð¸ÑÐµÐ½ ÑÐµÑÐ½Ð¸Ðº Ð½Ð° Ð±ÑÐ»Ð³Ð°ÑÑÐºÐ¸Ñ ÐºÐ½Ð¸Ð¶Ð¾Ð²ÐµÐ½ ÐµÐ·Ð¸Ðº other spellings include ajduk, haydut, haiduk, haiduc, hayduck, hayduk. forms of the word in various languages include:  *hajdut (albanian); in the ordinary sense of "thief" *Õ°Õ¡ÕµÕ¤Õ¸ÖÕ¯ (hayduk) (armenian) - used as a male given name *hajduk ([[
Guerrilla_warfare History_of_Armenia History_of_Bulgaria History_of_Hungary History_of_Romania History_of_the_Ottoman_Empire Hungarian_words_and_phrases Insurgents Macedonia_under_the_Ottoman_Empire Ottoman_Greece Ottoman_Serbia Ottoman_period_in_the_history_of_Croatia Outlaws Rebels Robbers Turkish_words_and_phrases