The kodjabashis ( el, κοτζαμπάσηδες, kotzabasides; singular κοτζάμπασης, ''kotzabasis''; sh, kodžobaša, kodžabaša; from tr, kocabaṣı, hocabaṣı) were local Christian notables in parts of the

Ottoman Balkans Rumelia ( ota, روم ايلى, Rum İli; tr, Rumeli; el, Ρωμυλία), etymologically "Land of the Romans", at the time meaning Eastern Orthodox Christians and more specifically Christians from the Byzantine rite, was the name of a histo ...

, most often referring to

Ottoman Greece Most of the areas which today are within modern Greece's borders were at some point in the past part of the Ottoman Empire. This period of Ottoman rule in Greece, lasting from the mid-15th century until the successful Greek War of Independence t ...

and especially the

Peloponnese The Peloponnese (), Peloponnesus (; el, Πελοπόννησος, Pelopónnēsos,(), or Morea is a peninsula and geographic regions of Greece, geographic region in southern Greece. It is connected to the central part of the country by the Isthmu ...

. They were also known in Greek as ''proestoi'' or ''prokritoi'' (προεστοί/πρόκριτοι, "primates") or ''demogerontes'' (δημογέροντες, "elders of the people"). In some places they were elected (such in the islands for example), but, especially in the Peloponnese, they soon became a hereditary

oligarchy Oligarchy (; ) is a conceptual form of power structure in which power rests with a small number of people. These people may or may not be distinguished by one or several characteristics, such as nobility, fame, wealth, education, or corporate, r ...

, who exercised considerable influence and held posts in the Ottoman administration. The title was also present in

Ottoman Serbia Most of the territory of what is now the Republic of Serbia was part of the Ottoman Empire throughout the Early Modern period, especially Central Serbia and Southern Serbia, unlike Vojvodina which had passed to Habsburg rule starting from the ...

and

Bosnia Bosnia and Herzegovina ( sh, / , ), abbreviated BiH () or B&H, sometimes called Bosnia–Herzegovina and often known informally as Bosnia, is a country at the crossroads of south and southeast Europe, located in the Balkans. Bosnia and He ...

, where it was known as ''starešina'' ("elder, chief") instead of the official Turkish name. The terms '' chorbaji'' (from Turkish ''çorbacı'') and '' knez'' (a Slavic title) were also used for this type of primates, in Bulgaria and Serbia respectively. The equivalent of the kodjabashis in Orthodox villages was the ''

mukhtar A mukhtar ( ar, مختار, mukhtār, chosen one; el, μουχτάρης) is a village chief in the Levant: "an old institution that goes back to the time of the Ottoman rule". According to Amir S. Cheshin, Bill Hutman and Avi Melamed, the muk ...

'' in Muslim villages, while mixed villages had both. During the

Greek War of Independence The Greek War of Independence, also known as the Greek Revolution or the Greek Revolution of 1821, was a successful war of independence by Greek revolutionaries against the Ottoman Empire between 1821 and 1829. The Greeks were later assisted by ...

, the antagonism between the Peloponnesian kodjabashis, who sought to retain their previous preponderance and power, and the military leaders drawn from the

klephts Klephts (; Greek κλέφτης, ''kléftis'', pl. κλέφτες, ''kléftes'', which means "thieves" and perhaps originally meant just "brigand": "Other Greeks, taking to the mountains, became unofficial, self-appointed armatoles and were know ...

, was one of the main driving forces behind the outbreak of the

Greek civil wars of 1824–1825 Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...

, in which the "aristocratic" faction comprising the kodjabashis, the wealthy shipowners of

Hydra Hydra generally refers to: * Lernaean Hydra, a many-headed serpent in Greek mythology * ''Hydra'' (genus), a genus of simple freshwater animals belonging to the phylum Cnidaria Hydra or The Hydra may also refer to: Astronomy * Hydra (constel ...

and the

Phanariotes Phanariots, Phanariotes, or Fanariots ( el, Φαναριώτες, ro, Fanarioți, tr, Fenerliler) were members of prominent Greeks, Greek families in Fener, Phanar (Φανάρι, modern ''Fener''), the chief Greek quarter of Constantinople whe ...

, prevailed.

References

Sources

* *{{cite book, last=Zakythenos, first=Dionysios A., author-link=Dionysios A. Zakythenos, title=The Making of Modern Greece: From Byzantium to Independence, url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zoKgAAAAMAAJ, year=1976, publisher=Rowman and Littlefield, isbn=978-0-87471-796-9 Oligarchy Ottoman Greece Government of the Ottoman Empire Turkish words and phrases Christians from the Ottoman Empire Ottoman titles Ottoman-era Greek primates

See also

References

Sources