Klepht

Klephts (Greek: κλέφτης, pl. κλέφτες - kleftis, kleftes, which originally meant just "brigand") were self-appointed armatoloi, anti-Ottoman insurgents, and warlike mountain-folk who lived in the countryside when Greece and Cyprus were a part of the Ottoman Empire. They were the descendants of Greeks who retreated into the mountains during the fifteenth century in order to avoid Ottoman oppression. They carried on a continuous war against Ottoman rule and remained active as brigands until the nineteenth century.