Delyo

Who is Delyo?

Delyo was a Bulgarian rebel leader who was active in the Rhodope Mountains in the late 17th and early 18th centuries.

Delyo was born in Belovidovo in the Smolyan region in the 17th century. He headed an armed detachment of rebels in the central Rhodopes and acted against the Ottoman authorities' Islamization of the local Bulgarian population. In 1720, he led a group of united rebel detachments that attacked Raykovo in revenge for the murder of 200 locals who refused to convert from Christianity to Islam. Delyo was mentioned in Historical notebook, an 18th-century document of disputed authenticity.

Delyo is a popular character in Rhodopean folk songs and legends. He is presented as a protector of the local population and an opponent of the local Ottoman authorities. He is glorified as being unkillable by a standard sword or gun, so his enemies cast a silver bullet in order to murder him. According to the legends, Delyo was the son of a poor craftsman and was taught tailoring by his uncle in Enidzhe, but upon getting to know Bulgarians from around Gyumyurdzhina, he organized a rebel detachment to counter the Ottoman atrocities.