Name Notes: Haiduk is a term most commonly referring to a bandit in the Balkans. In Balkan folkloric tradition, the haiduk is a romanticised hero figure who steals from, and leads his fighters into battle against, the Ottoman oppressors. In reality, the Haiduk of the 18th and 19th centuries were guerilla fighters cum bandits who preyed not only on Ottomans but also on local merchants and travellers.