Harambaša ( sr-cyr, Харамбаша) was the rank for a senior commander of a ''
hajduk
A hajduk (, plural of ) is a type of Irregular military, irregular infantry found in Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and parts of Southeast Europe from the late 16th to mid 19th centuries, especially from Hajdú–Bihar Count ...
'' band (
brigand
Brigandage is the life and practice of highway robbery and plunder. It is practiced by a brigand, a person who is typically part of a gang and lives by pillage and robbery.Oxford English Dictionary second edition, 1989. "Brigand.2" first record ...
gangs).
Etymology
It is derived from the
Turkish word for 'bandit leader' ( < 'bandit' + 'head') and, like some other
Ottoman Turkish
Ottoman Turkish (, ; ) was the standardized register of the Turkish language in the Ottoman Empire (14th to 20th centuries CE). It borrowed extensively, in all aspects, from Arabic and Persian. It was written in the Ottoman Turkish alphabet. ...
titles, was adopted into the irregular militias of Montenegrin, Serbian, and Croatian rebels (''
bimbaša
A ''binbashi'', alternatively ''bimbashi'', (from , "chief of a thousand", "chiliarch") is a major in the Turkish people, Turkish army, of which term originated in the Ottoman army. The title was also used for a major in the Egypt under Muhammad ...
'', ''
serdar
Serdar may refer to
* Serdar (given name)
* Serdar (surname) Serdar is a surname of the following notable people:
* Can Serdar (born 1996), German-Turkish football midfielder
* Emerîkê Serdar (1935–2018), Kurdish-Yezidi writer from Armenia
* I ...
'', ''
buljubaša'').
Usage
*
Montenegrin hajduks
*
Serbian hajduks
The Serbian hajduks ( / ''hajduci'') were brigands (bandits) and guerrilla freedom fighters (rebels) throughout Ottoman-held Balkans, mainly in Serbia, organized into bands headed by a '' harambaša'' ("bandit leader"), who descended from the mou ...
*
Military Frontier
The Military Frontier (; sh-Cyrl-Latn, Војна крајина, Vojna krajina, sh-Cyrl-Latn, Војна граница, Vojna granica, label=none; ; ) was a borderland of the Habsburg monarchy and later the Austrian and Austro-Hungari ...
:
Seressaners,
Pandurs, and others.
*
Serbian Revolution
The Serbian Revolution ( / ') was a national uprising and constitutional change in Serbia that took place between 1804 and 1835, during which this territory evolved from an Sanjak of Smederevo, Ottoman province into a Revolutionary Serbia, reb ...
, most of the supreme commanders were former harambaša's
*Military of
Principality of Montenegro
The Principality of Montenegro () was a principality in Southeastern Europe that existed from 13 March 1852 to 28 August 1910. It was then proclaimed a Kingdom of Montenegro, kingdom by Nikola I of Montenegro, Nikola I, who then became King of M ...
*Serbian Orthodox tradition of
Čuvari Hristovog Groba
Čuvari Hristovog Groba ( sr-cyr, Чувари Хрстовог гроба; "Guardians of Christ's Grave") refers to a religious/cultural practice of guarding a representation of Christ's grave on Good Friday in the Church of St. Nicholas by the ...
("Keepers of Christ's Grave") in
Vrlika, Croatia
See also
*
Harambašić, Serbian and Croatian surname
*
Hussar
A hussar, ; ; ; ; . was a member of a class of light cavalry, originally from the Kingdom of Hungary during the 15th and 16th centuries. The title and distinctive dress of these horsemen were subsequently widely adopted by light cavalry ...
, Hungarian origin light cavalry in Europe, word meaning "the best of twenty" or in Slavic etymology "pirate"
*
Vojvoda, a civil and military administrator of Serbs in the Habsburg Monarchy
*
Korun Aramija Korun Aramija or Korun Haramija or Korun Kesedžija is a popular legendary hero of Serbian epic poetry and Bulgarian and Macedonian folklore. He is known as a rival of either Prince Marko or Nenad Jugović, other heroes of South Slavic folklore. T ...
*
Ataman
Ataman (variants: ''otaman'', ''wataman'', ''vataman''; ; ) was a title of Cossack and haidamak leaders of various kinds. In the Russian Empire, the term was the official title of the supreme military commanders of the Cossack armies. The Ukra ...
References
*Hanka Vajzović 1999, Orijentalizmi u književnom djelu: lingvistička analiza, : "harambaša m (tur. harami basi) = vođa hajduka, odmetnika,"
*The Military Museum, 1968, Fourteen centuries of struggle for freedom, Belgrade (Serbia). Vojni muzej Jugoslovenske narodne armije, p. xxvii
Military ranks of Serbia
Turkish words and phrases
Serbo-Croatian words and phrases
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