Çavuş, also anglicized Chaush and Chiaus (from / ; ; from

Old Turkic Old Siberian Turkic, generally known as East Old Turkic and often shortened to Old Turkic, was a Siberian Turkic language spoken around East Turkistan and Mongolia. It was first discovered in inscriptions originating from the Second Turkic Kh ...

''Çabuş'' or ''Çawuş'', "person who gives order or yells") was an Ottoman title used for two separate soldier professions, both acting as messengers although differing in levels. It was a rank below '' agha'' and ''

kethüda (; ; ), often corrupted to or in daily speech, was an Ottoman Turkish title meaning "steward, deputy, lieutenant". It derives from the Persian word ("master of a household", later "chieftain, headman"). The term originated in medieval Persia ...

'' (from

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 ...

, kad-khuda, "magistrate"), in units such as the

Janissaries A janissary (, , ) was a member of the elite infantry units that formed the Ottoman sultan's household troops. They were the first modern standing army, and perhaps the first infantry force in the world to be equipped with firearms, adopted du ...

and

Sipahi The ''sipahi'' ( , ) were professional cavalrymen deployed by the Seljuk Turks and later by the Ottoman Empire. ''Sipahi'' units included the land grant–holding ('' timar'') provincial ''timarli sipahi'', which constituted most of the arm ...

, and was also a term for members of the specialized unit of '' çavuşān'' (, also ''çavuşiyye'', ''çavuş(an)-i divan(i)'') consisting of combined cavalry and infantry serving the Imperial Council (as in

Ottoman Egypt Ottoman Egypt was an administrative division of the Ottoman Empire after the conquest of Mamluk Egypt by the Ottomans in 1517. The Ottomans administered Egypt as a province (''eyalet'') of their empire (). It remained formally an Ottoman prov ...

). The leaders of the council's ''çavuş'' were titled ''çavuşbaşı'' / (or ''başçavuş'' / ). The ''çavuşbaşı'' was an assistant (or deputy) to the

Grand Vizier Grand vizier (; ; ) was the title of the effective head of government of many sovereign states in the Islamic world. It was first held by officials in the later Abbasid Caliphate. It was then held in the Ottoman Empire, the Mughal Empire, the Soko ...

, dealing with security matters, accompanying ambassadors visiting the Grand Vizier, and also carried out the first examination of petitions submitted to the council, and led council meetings when the Grand Vizier was not present. The title has its origin in Uyghur use, where it was the title of ambassadors, and then entered Seljuq use for

Byzantine The Byzantine Empire, also known as the Eastern Roman Empire, was the continuation of the Roman Empire centred on Constantinople during late antiquity and the Middle Ages. Having survived the events that caused the fall of the Western Roman E ...

imperial messengers, and Persian and Arabic use for various court attendants. The word gave rise to surnames, such as

Çavuş Çavuş, also anglicized Chaush and Chiaus (from / ; ; from Old Turkic ''Çabuş'' or ''Çawuş'', "person who gives order or yells") was an Ottoman Empire, Ottoman title used for two separate soldier professions, both acting as messengers altho ...

(Turkish), Çavuşoğlu (Turkish), Čaušević (Serbo-Croatian), Čaušić (Serbo-Croatian), Baščaušević (Serbo-Croatian), Çaushaj (Albanian), Ceaușu (Romanian), Ceaușescu (Romanian), Τσαούσης (Tsaousis in Greek), and others. It is also the stem of place names, such as

(in Turkey), Çavuşlu (in Turkey),

Çavuşlar Çavuşlar is a neighbourhood in the municipality and district of Gülnar, Mersin Province, Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called Eas ...

(in Turkey), Çavuşköy (in Turkey), Çavuşbayırı (in Turkey), Čauševac (in Bosnia),

Čauševići Čauševići is a village in the municipality of Prijepolje, Serbia , image_flag = Flag of Serbia.svg , national_motto = , image_coat = Coat of arms of Serbia.svg , national_anthem = () , image_ma ...

(one village in Bosnia and one village in Serbia), Čaušev Do (in Bosnia), Čauševina (in Bosnia), Čaušlije (in Bosnia), Čaušlija (in Macedonia), Chavusy (in Belarus), Çaushi (in Albania), and others. In the past in

former Yugoslavia The Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (commonly abbreviated as SFRY or SFR Yugoslavia), known from 1945 to 1963 as the Federal People's Republic of Yugoslavia, commonly referred to as Socialist Yugoslavia or simply Yugoslavia, was a country ...

, the word ''čauš'' was also sometimes applied to the wedding-planner. __NOTOC__

List of ''çavuşbaşı''

*Daut Bey (fl. 1484), served Sultan

Bayezid II Bayezid II (; ; 3 December 1447 – 26 May 1512) was the sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 1481 to 1512. During his reign, Bayezid consolidated the Ottoman Empire, thwarted a pro-Safavid dynasty, Safavid rebellion and finally abdicated his throne ...

(r. 1481–1512) *Kuyumcu Süleyman Agha, served Grand Vizier Ipşir Pasha (1653–54) *Mehmed Raşid, served Sultan

Mahmud II Mahmud II (, ; 20 July 1785 – 1 July 1839) was the sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 1808 until his death in 1839. Often described as the "Peter the Great of Turkey", Mahmud instituted extensive administrative, military, and fiscal reforms ...

(r. 1808–1839) *Mustafa Agha *Ahmed Agha *Selim Pasha *Zulfiqar Agha *Mohammed Haji-Ajvazade *Abdul Kerim Izet

Modern Turkish military usage

In the modern

Turkish Armed Forces The Turkish Armed Forces (TAF; , TSK) are the armed forces, military forces of the Turkey, Republic of Turkey. The TAF consist of the Turkish Army, Land Forces, the Turkish Navy, Naval Forces and the Turkish Air Force, Air Forces. The Chief of ...

, the rank of is roughly equivalent of "corporal" and ranks above the rank of ("private first class"). also serves as the

root word A root (also known as a root word or radical) is the core of a word that is irreducible into more meaningful elements. In morphology, a root is a morphologically simple unit which can be left bare or to which a prefix or a suffix can attach. Th ...

for the rest of the

non-commissioned officer A non-commissioned officer (NCO) is an enlisted rank, enlisted leader, petty officer, or in some cases warrant officer, who does not hold a Commission (document), commission. Non-commissioned officers usually earn their position of authority b ...

rank names.

References

Sources

* * * * * * *

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cavus Turkish titles Turkish words and phrases Ottoman titles Military ranks of the Ottoman Empire Military ranks of Turkey tr:Çavuş

List of ''çavuşbaşı''

Modern Turkish military usage

See also

References

Sources

External links