''Kolağası'' (also written as ''Kol Ağası'', ''Kol Aghasi'') was a

military rank Military ranks are a system of hierarchical relationships, within armed forces, police, intelligence agencies or other institutions organized along military lines. The military rank system defines dominance, authority, and responsibility in a ...

of the

Ottoman Army The military of the Ottoman Empire ( tr, Osmanlı İmparatorluğu'nun silahlı kuvvetleri) was the armed forces of the Ottoman Empire. Army The military of the Ottoman Empire can be divided in five main periods. The foundation era covers the ...

. It corresponds to a

Senior Captain Senior captain is a rank which is used in some countries' armed forces, navies, merchant marines, civil aviation and in the airline industry. Army In some armies of the world, the senior captain is a rank between a regular captain and a majo ...

(

modern Turkish Turkish ( , ), also referred to as Turkish of Turkey (''Türkiye Türkçesi''), is the most widely spoken of the Turkic languages, with around 80 to 90 million speakers. It is the national language of Turkey and Northern Cyprus. Significant smal ...

: ''Kıdemli Yüzbaşı'') or an Adjutant Major. Erik Jan Zürcher, ''The Unionist Factor: The Role of the Committee of Union and Progress in the Turkish National Movement, 1905-1926'', BRILL, 1984,
p. 64.
/ref> ''Kol Ağası'' is a

compound Compound may refer to: Architecture and built environments * Compound (enclosure), a cluster of buildings having a shared purpose, usually inside a fence or wall ** Compound (fortification), a version of the above fortified with defensive struc ...

word composed of ''Kol'' ( column in Turkish) and ''

Ağa Ağa is a Turkish surname. Notable people with the surname include: *Mustapha Aga, Ottoman Empire ambassador to the Swedish Court *Osman Aga of Temesvar, Ottoman army officer * Sedefkar Mehmed Agha, Ottoman architect of the Sultan Ahmed Mosque *Su ...

'' (chief in Turkish). The rank was junior to the rank ''

Binbaşı A ''binbashi'', alternatively ''bimbashi'', (from tr, Binbaşı, "chief of a thousand", "chiliarch") is a major in the Turkish army, of which term originated in the Ottoman army. The title was also used for a major in the Khedivial Egyptian a ...

'' (originally corresponding to the Western rank of Lieutenant Colonel until 1934, the Turkish rank ''Binbaşı'' was later relegated to Major due to the removal of the rank ''Kolağası'' (''Önyüzbaşı'')), and senior to the rank ''Yüzbaşı'' ( Captain) in the Ottoman Army and the pre-1934 Turkish Army. Despite being a single rank, ''Kolağası'' was divided in two: ''Sağ Kolağası'' (Kolağası of the Right Flank) and ''Sol Kolağası'' (Kolağası of the Left Flank). ''Sağ Kolağası'' was senior to ''Sol Kolağası''. After the rank of ''Yüzbaşı'' (Captain), an officer had to first become ''Sol Kolağası'', before becoming ''Sağ Kolağası''. The rank of ''Kolağası'' was briefly renamed as ''Önyüzbaşı'' during the early years of the Turkish Republic, before being completely removed. The collar mark (later

shoulder mark A shoulder mark, also called rank slide, or slip-on, is a flat cloth sleeve worn on the shoulder strap of a uniform. It may bear rank or other insignia. A shoulder mark should not be confused with a ''shoulder board'' (which is an elaborate sh ...

) and

cap A cap is a flat headgear, usually with a visor. Caps have crowns that fit very close to the head. They made their first appearance as early as 3200 BC. Caps typically have a visor, or no brim at all. They are popular in casual and informal se ...

of a ''Kolağası'' (''Önyüzbaşı'') had one stripe and three stars during the early years of the Turkish Republic.

Sources

See also