Derbendcis or Derbentler were the most important and largest

Ottoman military The military of the Ottoman Empire ( tr, Osmanlı İmparatorluğu'nun silahlı kuvvetleri) was the armed forces of the Ottoman Empire. Army The military of the Ottoman Empire can be divided in five main periods. The foundation era covers the ...

auxiliary

constabulary Constabulary may have several definitions: *A civil, non-paramilitary (police) force consisting of police officers called constables. This is the usual definition in the United Kingdom, in which all county police forces once bore the title (and som ...

units usually responsible for guarding important roads, bridges, fords or mountain passes. Usually, the population of an entire village near some important pass would be assigned with derbendci status in exchange for tax exemptions.

Etymology

The name is derived from a

Persian Persian may refer to: * People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language ** Persians, the majority ethnic group in Iran, not to be conflated with the Iranic peoples ** Persian language, an Iranian language of the ...

word ''Dar-band'' meaning "pass", "gateway" or "closer of the door".

History

The Ottomans had common practice to exempt some of their tax-paying subjects (

rayah A raiyah or reaya (from , a plural of "countryman, animal, sheep pasturing, subjects, nationals, flock", also spelled ''raiya'', ''raja'', ''raiah'', ''re'aya''; Ottoman Turkish رعايا ; Modern Turkish râiya or reaya; related to the Arabi ...

) from paying certain taxes in exchange for some services. In case of derbendcis this also included military services such as guarding mountain passes. Usually the entire villages were assigned with this duty and exempted from paying war time taxes ( tr, avarız-ı divaniyye), customary taxes ( tr, tekâlif-i örfiye), service as oarsmen in the Ottoman navy and

devşirme Devshirme ( ota, دوشیرمه, devşirme, collecting, usually translated as "child levy"; hy, Մանկահավաք, Mankahavak′. or "blood tax"; hbs-Latn-Cyrl, Danak u krvi, Данак у крви, mk, Данок во крв, Danok vo krv ...

of their boys into

janissaries A Janissary ( ota, یڭیچری, yeŋiçeri, , ) was a member of the elite infantry units that formed the Ottoman Sultan's household troops and the first modern standing army in Europe. The corps was most likely established under sultan Orhan ( ...

. In the region of northern Macedonia at least 175 villages had derbendci status and enjoyed these kind of tax exemptions. Sometimes the Ottoman state "created" villages around ''derbend'' territories while in some cases the existing villages applied to their

kadı A ''kadi'' ( ar, قاضي '; tr, kadı) was an official in the Ottoman Empire. The term ''kadi'' refers to judges who preside over matters in accordance with Islamic law, but in the Ottoman Empire, the ''kadi'' also became a crucial part of the ...

to receive derbendci status in exchange for providing security, constructing or maintaining roads and bridges. Newly settled population of such villages was not exempt from paying avariz taxes. Their duty was to patrol the territory they were assigned to (''derbend''), similar to immobile

gendarmerie Wrong info! --> A gendarmerie () is a military force with law enforcement duties among the civilian population. The term ''gendarme'' () is derived from the medieval French expression ', which translates to " men-at-arms" (literally, ...

. Since the end of the 18th century derbedcis were organized within Derbendat Ministry ( tr, Derbendat Başbuğluğu) that appointed derbend aghas ( tr, derbendat başbuğ) whose post lasted one year. Derbendci status was compulsory and hereditary. If some individual or group would escape from their duty, the Ottomans would forcefully return them. They were organized into simple structures of 30 men (''tabl'') whose members performed rotational duties. Initially they carried only light weapons and later also fire guns. Significant part of this units were Christians who were, because of their derbendci duty, allowed to ride horses and carry weapon, but only of conventional type. Because derbendcis were poorly motivated, they could not match trained and better armed soldiers, so the Ottomans had to hire mercenaries (Christians or

Muslims Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abraha ...

) to ensure loyalty of derbendcis, especially since the beginning of the

decline of the Ottoman Empire In the late eighteenth century, the Ottoman Empire (Ottoman Old Regime) faced numerous enemies. In response to these threats, the empire initiated a period of internal reform which came to be known as the Tanzimat, which succeeded in significant ...

at the end of the 17th century.

References

Sources

* * {{cite book, last=Ursinus, first=Michael, title=Grievance Administration (Sikayet) in an Ottoman Province: The Kaymakam of Rumelia's 'Record Book of Complaints' of 1781-1783, url=https://books.google.com/books?id=BI5PyOWbkyAC&pg=PA41, year=2012, publisher=Routledge, isbn=978-1-134-24328-0

Etymology

History

References

Sources

Further reading