Stanislav "Stanko" Sočivica was a Serbian hajduk (brigand) active in the Ottoman territories in western Balkans. Born in a village close to Bileća, his family owned a farm subject to a harsh Ottoman bey family. After murdering the beys and taking their collected taxes, the family subsequently relocated to Venetian Dalmatia from where Sočivica and his brothers began their brigandage. After decades of brigandage, and the capture of his wife and children, he retired to the Habsburg monarchy, where he was appointed commander of the Pandurs by Emperor Joseph II himself, in 1775.
Engraving of Sočivica (1779)
Sočivica killing a Turk.
Sočivica's men roasting Turk prisoners.
Painting of Sočivica at the Military Museum (Belgrade).
A hajduk is a type of irregular infantry found in Central, Eastern, and parts of Southeast Europe from the late 16th to mid 19th centuries. They have reputations ranging from bandits to freedom fighters depending on time, place, and their enemies.
Hajduk, 1703
Portrait of Hajduk-Veljko, a prominent Serbian outlaw fighting against Ottoman occupation during the first half of the 19th century.
István Bocskay and his hajduk warriors
Bulgarian Macedonian Ilyo Voyvoda (1805–1898), known as "the last hayduk".
