Kaymakam, also known by
many other romanizations, was a title used by various officials of the
Ottoman Empire, including acting
grand viziers, governors of provincial
sanjaks, and administrators of district
kazas. The title has been retained and is sometimes used without translation for
provincial or
subdistrict governors in various Ottoman
successor states, including the
Republic of Turkey,
Northern Cyprus,
Iraq
Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq ...
, and
Lebanon.
Names
The title has been
romanized in
English
English usually refers to:
* English language
* English people
English may also refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England
** English national ...
since 1645 with extremely numerous spelling variations. The most common present-day forms are kaymakam, kaimakam, and qaimaqam. The modern
Turkish term is , from
Ottoman Turkish ''kaymakam'' (), from
Arabic
Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C. E.Watson; Walter ...
''qāʾim maqām'' (), meaning "stand in" or "deputy".
History
Ottoman Empire
In the
Ottoman Empire, the title of ''kaymakam'' (known either as ''sadâret kaymakamı'' or as ''kaymakam
pasha'') was originally used for the official deputizing for the
Grand Vizier during the latter's illness, absence from the capital on campaign, or in the interval between the dismissal of one Grand Vizier and the arrival to the capital of a new appointee. The practice began in the 16th century, or perhaps even earlier, and continued until the end of the Empire.
The ''kaymakam'' enjoyed the full plenitude of powers of the Grand Vizier, but was not allowed to intervene in the conduct of the military campaigns. Selected from the ranks of the
viziers, the ''kaymakam'' played an important role in the politics of the capital and often became involved in intrigues against the absent Grand Vizier, trying to replace him. In the last decades of the Empire, the post of ''kaymakam'' was filled by the members of the imperial cabinet, or by the ''
Shaykh al-Islam''.
The modernization and Westernization reforms instituted in the 19th century added new meanings to the term. With the establishment of the regular ''
Asakir-i Mansure-i Muhammediye'' troops in 1826, ''kaymakam'' became a rank in the
Ottoman army, equivalent to a
lieutenant colonel. It remained in use throughout the final century of the Empire, and continued in use in the
Turkish Republic until the 1930s, when it was replaced by the title of ''yarbay''.
The overhaul of the administrative system in the
Tanzimat reforms soon after saw the use of ''kaymakam'' for the governor of a ''
sanjak'' (second-level province), while after the establishment of the ''
vilayet'' system in 1864, a ''kaymakam'' became the governor of a ''
kaza'' (third-level province). The system was retained by modern Turkey, where a sub-province (''
ilçe'' after the 1920s) is still headed by a ''kaymakam''.
Moldavian and Wallachian (Romanian) history
The term Qaim Maqam has a specific meaning in
Moldavian and
Wallachian history, where it refers to a temporary replacement for a
Hospodar ("prince"), in and after
Phanariote rule, as well as the delegates of the
Oltenia Ban in
Craiova after the main office was moved to
Bucharest during the same period (1761).
In this context, the word may be spelled ''caimacam'', while the
Romanian
Romanian may refer to:
*anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Romania
** Romanians, an ethnic group
**Romanian language, a Romance language
***Romanian dialects, variants of the Romanian language
**Romanian cuisine, traditiona ...
term for the office is ''căimăcămie''.
Persian Gulf history
Qatar history
In the Persian Gulf, four ''
hakims'' (native rulers) of the later emirate of
Qatar held the additional Ottoman title of kaymakam in their administrative capacity since 1872 of district administrator since the establishment of Ottoman sovereignty (as
kaza istrictof
Sandjak
Sanjaks (liwāʾ) (plural form: alwiyāʾ)
* Armenian: նահանգ (''nahang''; meaning "province")
* Bulgarian: окръг ('' okrǔg''; meaning "county", "province", or "region")
* el, Διοίκησις (''dioikēsis'', meaning "province" ...
al-Hasa, within the
vilayet of Baghdad
ota, ولايت بغداد''Vilâyet-i Bagdad''
, conventional_long_name = Baghdad Vilayet
, common_name = Baghdad Vilayet
, subdivision = Vilayet
, nation = Ottoman Empire
, year_start = 186 ...
, from 1875
Basra vilayet) till this was exchanged on 3 November 1916 with a British
protectorate (as
Sheikdom of Qatar
The Emir, or Amir, of the State of Qatar ( ar, أمیر دولة قطر) is the monarch and head of state of the country. He is also the commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces and guarantor of the Constitution. He holds the most powerful posi ...
, colonially under the chief political
resident of the Persian Gulf, at
Bahrein
Bahrain ( ; ; ar, البحرين, al-Bahrayn, locally ), officially the Kingdom of Bahrain, ' is an island country in Western Asia. It is situated on the Persian Gulf, and comprises a small archipelago made up of 50 natural islands and an a ...
).
Kuwait history
Similarly, three ruling native hakims of the later emirate of Kuwait, were also Kaymakam of a
kazas in the same province, 1871 till a British protectorate, also on 3 November 1914.
Egyptian history
In
Ottoman Egypt, the title of ''kaymakam'' was used in its generic sense of "lieutenant" for deputies or agents, but most notably, until the ascendancy of
Muhammad Ali of Egypt, for the interim
governors of the country, who served between the removal of one governor and the installation of the next one. In the tumultuous politics of the ruling
Mamluk
Mamluk ( ar, مملوك, mamlūk (singular), , ''mamālīk'' (plural), translated as "one who is owned", meaning " slave", also transliterated as ''Mameluke'', ''mamluq'', ''mamluke'', ''mameluk'', ''mameluke'', ''mamaluke'', or ''marmeluke'') ...
elite, the appointment of a ''kaymakam'' "became, particularly in the 18th century, a device by which a Mamluk faction would legitimize its ascendancy" before installing one of its own members as governor.
After Muhammad Ali consolidated his control of the country and his Westernizing reforms, the title, as in the rest of the Ottoman Empire, acquired a new technical meaning: in the army, it became a rank equivalent to lieutenant-colonel, while in the administration it signified the official in charge of a ''
nahiye
A nāḥiyah ( ar, , plural ''nawāḥī'' ), also nahiya or nahia, is a regional or local type of administrative division that usually consists of a number of villages or sometimes smaller towns. In Tajikistan, it is a second-level division w ...
'', with particular responsibility for the maintenance of the irrigation system.
Kaymakams as a military rank
The rank is attested in use with a British officer commanding the Equatorial Battalion in East Africa, 1918: Kaimakam R F White DSO who was an officer of the Essex Regiment. In the 1947
Birthday Honours, a recipient of an MBE, Diran Bodossian, is referred to as "Assistant Paymaster Kaimakam" of the Trans-Jordan Frontier Force.
[https://www.thegazette.co.uk/London/issue/37977/supplement/2581/data.pdf ]
See also
*
Subdivisions of the Ottoman Empire
*
Double Qaim-Maqamate of Mount Lebanon
The Double Qaim-Maqamate of Mount Lebanon (1843–1861, , or simply, ; ''Al-Qāʾim maqāmiyyatayn,'' ) was one of the Ottoman Empire's subdivisions following the abolishment of the Mount Lebanon Emirate. After 1843, there existed an autonomous Mo ...
References
Sources
WorldStatesMen.org see present nations
Gubernatorial titles
Egyptian nobility
Ottoman period in Romania
Military ranks of the Ottoman Empire
Ottoman titles
Turkish words and phrases
Titles in Lebanon
Military ranks of Egypt
{{Italic title