{{for, people with the surname, Dizdar (surname) Melchior Lorck - A Turkish warrior

Dizdar ( fa, دزدار, translit=dizdār; tr, dizdar, kale muhafızı) was the title given in the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University) ...

to a

castle A castle is a type of fortified structure built during the Middle Ages predominantly by the nobility or royalty and by military orders. Scholars debate the scope of the word ''castle'', but usually consider it to be the private fortified r ...

warden or

fortress A fortification is a military construction or building designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is also used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from Latin ''fortis'' ("strong") and ''facere'' ...

commander, appointed to manage

troop A troop is a military sub-subunit, originally a small formation of cavalry, subordinate to a squadron. In many armies a troop is the equivalent element to the infantry section or platoon. Exceptions are the US Cavalry and the King's Troop Ro ...

s and keep the fortress in its role as a defence point. The word is of

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 ...

origin, meaning

gatekeeper A gatekeeper is a person who controls access to something, for example via a city gate or bouncer, or more abstractly, controls who is granted access to a category or status. Gatekeepers assess who is "in or out", in the classic words of manage ...

, watchman,

guardsman Guardsman is a rank used instead of private in some military units that serve as the official bodyguard of a sovereign or head of state. It is also used as a generic term for any member of a guards unit of any rank. Canada In the Canadian Force ...

castellan A castellan is the title used in Medieval Europe for an appointed official, a governor of a castle and its surrounding territory referred to as the castellany. The title of ''governor'' is retained in the English prison system, as a remnant o ...

. It spread to the west following the Ottoman conquest of the

Balkans The Balkans ( ), also known as the Balkan Peninsula, is a geographical area in southeastern Europe with various geographical and historical definitions. The region takes its name from the Balkan Mountains that stretch throughout the who ...

. Dizdar commanded military unit in the fortress, but at the same time he was responsible for the settlement (village or town) under or around it as well, because the purpose of fortress was to defend the area. As a commanding person, dizdar had his deputy, called ''chekhaya'' ( tr, kâhya), and other

subordinates A hierarchy (from Greek: , from , 'president of sacred rites') is an arrangement of items (objects, names, values, categories, etc.) that are represented as being "above", "below", or "at the same level as" one another. Hierarchy is an important ...

(e.g. yasakci). His superiors were

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

sanjakbeg ''Sanjak-bey'', ''sanjaq-bey'' or ''-beg'' ( ota, سنجاق بك) () was the title given in the Ottoman Empire to a bey (a high-ranking officer, but usually not a pasha) appointed to the military and administrative command of a district (''sanjak ...

and other senior military officers. In 1839 after the

Tanzimat The Tanzimat (; ota, تنظيمات, translit=Tanzimāt, lit=Reorganization, ''see'' nizām) was a period of reform in the Ottoman Empire that began with the Gülhane Hatt-ı Şerif in 1839 and ended with the First Constitutional Era in 1876. ...

reforms, the

abolished captaincies; the titles like captain and dizdar ceased to exist.

External links

Dizdar = castle warden (in the book ''The Origins of English Words'' by Joseph T. Shipley) /page 62/

Dizdar – commander of a fortress in the Ottoman Empire (from the book ''The Siege of Shkodra'' by Marin Barleti /page 241/)
* Disdars or dizdars were castle-holders
Dizdars as castle commanders in Cyprus under Ottoman administration
Military ranks of the Ottoman Empire Ottoman titles Persian words and phrases Titles in Bosnia and Herzegovina during Ottoman period

See also

External links