Hajduk Sava Binbashi

Sava Binbashi was known as a Christian military commander considered to be of Bulgarian or Greek origin. He commanded Ottoman and Wallachian troops and played an important role during the Zavera uprising in Wallachia in 1821.

Sava Binbashi commanded a corps of the Ottoman regular army called a binbashiya, leading about 1,000 men. During the Zavera uprising, organised by the Hetairia, he served as a commander alongside Stoyan Indzhe Voivode and Tudor Vladimirescu, who led the local Wallachian, Bulgarian, Serbian and Albanian insurgents.

Sava Binbashi was killed in Bucharest on 19 August 1821 after being deceived and lured there by the pasha of Silistra.

Views differ concerning his origins. According to Bulgarian sources, he was born in Sliven around 1780 and was regarded as Bulgarian. There are reports identifying him with a certain Father Petrov from Elena or Chitakovtsi in the Gabrovo region. Other sources, however, claim that Sava was Greek and born on Patmos in 1785. He crossed the Danube and served as a soldier in Wallachia, attaining high military ranks. He subsequently returned to Bucharest and became a trusted associate of the Wallachian prince Stefan Bogoridi.

Sava Binbashi also participated in struggles in the Sliven, Elena, Gabrovo, Dryanovo and Tarnovo regions, associating with kardzhali bands and becoming acquainted with Indzhe Voivode.