Zejbeki u crnogorsko-osmanskim ratovima druge polovine XIX vijeka: Neregularne trupe u osmanskom vojnom sistemu
Zeybeks in the Ottoman-Montenegrin Wars of the Second Half of the 19th Century: Irregular Troops in the Ottoman Military System

Summary/Abstract: This paper examines the concept, origin, organization, and military role of the zeybeks, with particular focus on their participation in the Ottoman–Montenegrin wars of 1862 and 1876–1878. Based on lexicographical sources, historiography, and archival materials, the study demonstrates that the term “zeybek” represents a complex and multi-layered category encompassing ethnic, regional, social, and functional elements. The analysis shows that zeybeks emerged in western Anatolia as irregular military formations operating on the margins of state authority. Their internal structure, distinctive identity, and code of conduct enabled them to function both as protectors of local populations and as outlaws, depending on the broader political context. Their integration into the Ottoman military system was not incidental, but rather part of a pragmatic strategy aimed at utilizing irregular forces in periods of military crisis. The participation of zeybeks in the Montenegrin campaigns provides insight into their operational role outside their native environment. In the 1862 campaign, they appear as organized reinforcements transported from Anatolia, while in the 1876–1878 war (the so-called “Great War” in Montenegrin historiography), their presence becomes more visible and controversial. Contemporary domestic and European sources consistently highlight both their combat engagement and their lack of discipline, including instances of violence against civilians. The study concludes that zeybeks represent a characteristic example of irregular troops within the late Ottoman military system. While their mobility and combat capabilities made them a valuable resource, their heterogeneity and limited controllability simultaneously exposed structural weaknesses of the Ottoman state during its process of military transformation in the nineteenth century.

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