Indzhe Voyvoda

Who was Indzhe Voyvoda?

Indzhe Voyvoda was a renowned leader of an armed band of outlaws in Ottoman-held Bulgaria. He mainly operated in the mountainous regions of Strandzha, Sakar and the eastern Balkan Mountains.

During the feudal seditions in the Ottoman Empire Indzhe became the leader of a large gang of robbers. His band attempted to attack and rob the town of Kotel, but its inhabitants erected a three-metre high wall and drove them back. He later gave up robbing and began to patronize the poor Bulgarian population, according to one legend leading an insurrection in the early 19th century. In 1806 Indzhe moved to Moldova, where he enrolled in the local rulers' guard and continued to fight against the Ottomans until dying in battle in 1821 near Sculeni at the Prut River.

He is still remembered in Bulgarian folklore, and many folk songs honour him. The Bulgarian village of Indzhe Voyvoda in the Strandzha Mountains is named in his memory.