Armatoles
The armatoles (Greek: αρματολοί, romanized: armatoloi; Albanian: armatolë; Aromanian: armatoli; Bosnian: armatoli), or armatole in singular, were irregular soldiers, or militia, commissioned by the Ottomans to enforce the sultan's authority within an administrative district called an armatoliki (αρματολίκι in singular, αρματολίκια, armatolikia in plural).
The thus deposed Greek armatoles became klephts and their subsequent anti-armatoloi activity was not only brigandage, but also a form of resistance against Ottoman rule.
During that time period, three attempts were made at creating a regular army, and one of the reasons for their failure was the resistance of the klepht and armatoles leaders.
hamartia), which may have been associated with the topic of armed bands through phrases such as "αμαρτωλοί/αρματολοί και κλέφτες" (meaning "sinners and thieves", but also "armatoles and klephts").
[20] Administrative districts known as armatolikia were created in areas of Greece that had high levels of brigandage (i.e. klephts), or in regions that were difficult for Ottoman authorities to govern due to the inaccessible terrain.
An armatoliki was commanded by a kapetanios often a former klepht captain who had been hired by the governing Ottoman pasha to combat, or at least contain, brigand groups operating in the region.
In most cases, the captain would have gained a level of notoriety as a klepht to force the Ottomans to give him amnesty and the privileges that came with an armatoliki.
As mentioned earlier, the armatoles were organized based on a feudal system under which they maintained their military/police duties in exchange for titles of land.
[3] The Ottomans would have units of armatoles or kapetanioi (καπετάνιοι, captains) function as peace-keepers in territories near difficult terrain (i.e. mountain passes) or in areas where resistance to foreign rule entailed acts of theft by the klephts.
The armatoles would defend themselves in improvised forts (called meterizia; μετερίζια) against the guerrilla tactics utilized by the klephts (specifically known as klephtouria; κλεφτουριά).
During the 1810-1820 decade the Greek armatoles largely depended on the support they enjoyed from the Ottoman Albanian ruler Ali Pasha of the increasingly independent Pashalik of Yanina.
During that time period, three attempts were made at creating a regular army, and one of the reasons for their failure was the resistance of the klepht and armatoles leaders.
[13][14][27] During the Austro-Turkish War (1716–1718), an Albanian armatole-like private militia caused trouble in Kavala, resulting in its abolition by Ahmed III in 1721; however, it continued to exist illegally for another 100 years.
[5] Ali Pasha appointed under his direct authority a number of armatoloi and klephts who were loyal to him, and who were employed as his own military troops in Yanina and in territories under his administration.
[29] The defeat of Ali Pasha by the Ottoman Empire in 1820 and the subsequent outbreak of the Greek revolution generated a vacuum of power in the region, especially until 1823.
[31] In 1825 he permanentrly changed allegiances and joined the army of the Ottoman Albanian ruler Omer Vrioni, Pasha of Yanina, and thereafter he was captured and executed by the Greek revolutionaries.
[5] According to documents, in 1485-1490 these Bosnian armatoles were tasked with guarding the Turkish forts on the shores of Dalmatia which sustained attacks from the Venetians.
