Revolutionary Hadzhi Hristo the Bulgarian

Hadzhi Hristo the Bulgarian was a Bulgarian revolutionary and commander in the Greek War of Independence of 1821–1832.

He was born in Nisia village in the Edessa region, described in a Greek encyclopaedia as a 'Bulgarian borderland'. Some sources state that he came from Tatar Pazardzhik, now Pazardzhik. His father and brother died fighting the Ottomans during the First Serbian Uprising in 1806. Hristo also participated in that uprising, but after its failure he fled to Bosnia and reached Alexandria via Venice, Rhodes and Cyprus.

He entered the service of the Albanian Mehmed Ali Pasha, governor of Egypt, distinguishing himself by his bravery in battles against Arab tribes resisting the authorities. He later moved to service in Syria under Hurshid Pasha. Together with Hurshid Pasha, Hadzhi Hristo then found himself in the Morea.

In 1822, Hadzhi Hristo fought in the Battle of Dervenakia, winning a decisive victory for the insurgent forces by defeating a 40,000-strong Ottoman army. He then received the rank of general in the Greek army.

In 1823, Hadzhi Hristo's unit defeated Turkish troops at Kromidi. During the battle at Navarino Fortress, he was captured and imprisoned in one of the dungeons of Methoni Fortress, but was released after the combined Russian, British and French fleets' victory at Navarino. After Greece's liberation, Hadzhi Hristo remained in the Greek capital and actively participated in Greek political life. He died of a stroke in 1853.