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Irregular men at arms appointed as Ottoman authority personnel

The armatoles (αρματολοί; ; ; ), 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). In Greek regions of the Ottoman Empire, they were composed of Greeks who were either former klephts or village stalwarts who had taken up arms against the klephts in the defense of their district. The Greek armatoles had a semi independent status all over the Greek peninsula, and armatolikia were created in areas 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, such as the Agrafa mountains of Thessaly, where the first armatoliki was established in the 15th century. Over time, the roles of the armatoles and klephtes became blurred, with both reversing their roles and allegiances as the situation demanded, all the while maintaining the delicate status quo with the Ottoman authorities. They were armed men who were enforcing the law according to their desires with the force of their guns, armata, since the authority of the Ottoman Empire was very limited in the areas that they were acting, as the Ottoman Empire where the armatoles were present was a failed state. Albanian armatoles were employed by Ottoman authorities, and in particular in the latter half of the 18th century, during the administration of the Ottoman Albanian ruler Ali Pasha of the increasingly independent Pashalik of Yanina he replaced Greek armatoles, making the regions armatoles almost exclusively Albanian. 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. Despite being ineffective, they were the only viable military force for the provisional governments of the 1821 1827 period. 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. as well as some Aromanian armatoles, many of whom cooperated with pro Bulgarian komitadjis. There also were Megleno Romanian armatoles.

The word "armatole" first appeared in the 15th century during Venetian times. It is derived from a medieval loan from Latin arma ('weapon'), probably via Greek αρματολόγος ('someone who deals with arms', 'an armed person') → αρματολόος → αρματολός. According to an older hypothesis, the development of the word may also have been influenced by a conflation with the similar sounding αμαρτωλός ("sinner"; cf. 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"). Owing to the parallelism with "αμαρτωλός", the word was also sometimes spelled as "αρματωλός", with the letter omega.

The military/police organization of the armatoles, known as armatolismos, has its origins in the Byzantine period of Greek history. 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. Therefore, it was not surprising that armatole units were organised in very much the same way as the klephts, with a captain assisted by a lieutenant called a protopalikaro, who was usually a kinsman, and the remaining force made up of armatoles. Many captains ran their armatolikia like their personal fiefdoms, exacting a heavy toll of extortion and violence on the local peasantry.

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. They were chosen with agreement between the local pasha and Muslim and Christian community representatives (local primates). They were paid by the local people, and made use of force to collect taxes. This caused conflicts between the armatoles and community representatives. There were also instances of collaboration between them to exterminate rival factions. The palikaria would train with their weapons on a daily basis. The main weapon the palikaria utilized was the kariofili (καριοφίλι). Marksmanship was the proverbial hallmark that defined the palikaria. They were also highly mobile and capable at conducting ambushes. The palikaria were resilient toward thirst, hunger and even the painful difficulties in their encounters with the klephts. The term klephtopolemos (κλεφτοπόλεμος) was used to name the strategies/tactics that both the klephts and armatoles utilized. These tactics are used today for unconventional military campaigns by small guerrilla groups. The armatoles would conduct campaigns during nighttime. This strategy was known as "going out to pagana" (έβγαιναν στην παγάνα). The armatoles would usually do this when the klephts were coming out of their dens. The armatoles would defend themselves in improvised forts (called meterizia; μετερίζια) against the guerrilla tactics utilized by the klephts (specifically known as klephtouria; κλεφτουριά). A general offensive campaign by the armatoles was known as giourousi (γιουρούσι). During one of these campaigns, the armatoles would make effective use of swords and war cries.

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. Because of that they had little influence from the Greek nationalist organization Filiki Eteria and had reservations about participating at the Greek War of Independence. This changed after Ali Pasha died and their future became less certain. Most of the Armatoles had learned their military skills among the Christian Albanian Souliotes and other Albanian groups who had a renowned tradition in irregular warfare. The klephts and armatoles played a key role during the Greek War of Independence. Despite being ineffective, they were the only viable military force for the provisional governments of the 1821 1827 period. 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. Contrary to conventional Greek history, many of the klephts and armatoles participated at the Greek War of Independence according to their own militaristic patron client terms. They saw the war as an economic and political opportunity to expand their areas of operation. Balkan bandits such as the klephts and armatoles glorified in nationalist historiography as national heroes were actually driven by economic interests, were not aware of national projects, made alliances with the Ottomans and robbed Christians as much as Muslims.

Albanian armatoles were employed by the Ottoman authorities. Christian Albanian Souliots and other Albanian warrior groups with a renowned tradition in irregular warfare imbued most of armatoles with their military art. Albanian armatoles were employed by Ottoman authorities, in particular in the latter half of the 18th century. During the administration of the Ottoman Albanian ruler Ali Pasha of the increasingly independent Pashalik of Yanina the Greek armatoles where replaced by Albanians, making the region's armatoles almost exclusively Albanian. The deposed Greek armatoles became klephts and their subsequent activity was not only brigandage, but also a form of resistance against Ottoman rule. 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.

There also were ethnic Aromanian armatole fighters.