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 Ukrainian version of the same word is '' hetman''. ''Otaman'' in Ukrainian Cossack forces was a position of a lower rank.

Etymology

The etymologies of the words ''ataman'' and '' hetman'' are disputed. There may be several independent Germanic and Turkic origins for seemingly cognate forms of the words, all referring to the same concept. The ''hetman'' form cognates with German '' Hauptmann'' ('captain', literally 'head-man') by the way of Czech or Polish, like several other titles. The Russian term ''ataman'' is probably connected to Old East Slavic ''vatamanŭ,'' and cognates with Turkic ''odoman'' ( Ottoman Turks). The term ''ataman'' may have also had a lingual interaction with Polish ''hetman'' and German ''hauptmann''.

Suggestions have been made that the word might be of Turkic origin, literally meaning 'father of horsemen' or 'father of men', 'pure blooded father,' or 'eldest man,' considering the '-man' suffix in turkic languages means men, person, pure-blooded, or most. Dictionaries assert that the word comes from the German word ''Hauptmann'' which means 'head man', 'headman' or 'chieftain', which entered the Russian language through Polish ''hetman''.

Otaman in Ukraine

''Otamans'' were usually elected by the Host Council or could have been appointed, especially during the military campaigns. The appointed otamans were called 'acting otaman' (, ).

In the Cossack Hetmanate, leaders of non-Cossack military units (artillery, etc.) were also called ''otamans''. In the Cossack Hetmanate, the title was used for the administrative purposes, such as the head of the city, City Otaman (городовий отаман). Later such administrative uses were adopted by the Kuban Cossacks and were common in Kuban Oblast with different variations.

There were various types of otaman:
*Army otaman (), an executive officer in the Zaporizhian Host
*Campaign otaman ()
* Kish otaman ()
* Kurin otaman (), a commander of a ;
*'' Sotennyi otoman'' () and city otaman () were the 's lieutenants. Those titles were introduced during the Hetmanate in the 17th century. Together with the (, 'aide-de-camp') and (, 'flag-bearer'), this otoman helped the in administrative affairs.
*Village otoman (), an administrative rank in the 17th to 18th centuries
* Okruh otaman (), a territorial leader
* Stanytsia otaman (), a territorial leader
* Khutir otaman (), a territorial leader

Otamans were also in charge of general- and regimental-size artillery units, as well as any volunteer military formations and the Zholdak cavalry.

20th century to present

''Atamans'' were the titles of supreme leaders of various Cossack armies during the Russian Civil War.

When Ukraine acquired its independence in 1918, the rank took on different value. Among the Ukrainian Sich Riflemen and the Ukrainian Galician Army, it was equivalent to a major, as is the battalion executive officer today. In the Ukrainian People's Republic, the title was of a general rank. ''Chief Otaman'' (головний отаман) was the general of the Ukrainian Army who was assisted by his deputies, Acting Otamans.

The head of the army of the Ukrainian People's Republic, in particular, Symon Petliura, was called ''Supreme Otaman'' (головний отаман).

Russian-Azerbaijani MMA fighter Rafael Fiziev fights with the nickname "Ataman" as a homage to his mixed Central Asian heritage.

See also

* Harambaša
* Voivode

References

External links

Encyclopedia of Ukraine main page
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Military organization of Cossacks
Military ranks of Russia
Military ranks of Ukraine
Positions of subnational authority
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History of the Cossacks