The kodjabashis (; singular κοτζάμπασης, ''kotzabasis''; ; from from and ) were local Christian notables in parts of the

Ottoman Balkans Rumelia (; ; ) was a historical region in Southeastern Europe that was administered by the Ottoman Empire, roughly corresponding to the Balkans. In its wider sense, it was used to refer to all Ottoman possessions and vassals in Europe. These w ...

, most often referring to

Ottoman Greece The vast majority of the territory of present-day Greece was at some point incorporated within the Ottoman Empire. The period of Ottoman rule in Greece, lasting from the mid-15th century until the successful Greek War of Independence broke out ...

and especially the

Peloponnese The Peloponnese ( ), Peloponnesus ( ; , ) or Morea (; ) is a peninsula and geographic region in Southern Greece, and the southernmost region of the Balkans. It is connected to the central part of the country by the Isthmus of Corinth land bridg ...

. They were also known in Greek as ''proestoi'' or ''prokritoi'' (προεστοί/πρόκριτοι, "primates") or ''demogerontes'' (δημογέροντες, "elders of the people"). In some places they were elected (such in the islands for example), but, especially in the Peloponnese, they soon became a hereditary

oligarchy Oligarchy (; ) is a form of government in which power rests with a small number of people. Members of this group, called oligarchs, generally hold usually hard, but sometimes soft power through nobility, fame, wealth, or education; or t ...

, who exercised considerable influence and held posts in the Ottoman administration. The title was also present in

Ottoman Serbia Ottoman Serbia refers to the Ottoman Empire, Ottoman period in the history of Serbia. Various regions of medieval Serbia came under Ottoman rule already at the end of the 14th century, while the Serbian Despotate fell in 1459. Northern regions o ...

and

Bosnia Bosnia and Herzegovina, sometimes known as Bosnia-Herzegovina and informally as Bosnia, is a country in Southeast Europe. Situated on the Balkans, Balkan Peninsula, it borders Serbia to the east, Montenegro to the southeast, and Croatia to th ...

, where it was known as ''starešina'' ("elder, chief") instead of the official Turkish name. The terms ''

chorbaji Chorbaji (sometimes variously transliterated as tchorbadji, chorbadzhi, tschorbadji) (Turkish: çorbacı) ( English: Soup Seller) was a military rank of the corps of Janissaries in the Ottoman Empire, used for the commander of an '' orta'' (regi ...

'' (from Turkish ''çorbacı'') and '' knez'' (a Slavic title) were also used for this type of primates, in Bulgaria and Serbia respectively. The equivalent of the kodjabashis in Orthodox villages was the ''

mukhtar A mukhtar (; ) is a village chief in the Levant: "an old institution that goes back to the time of the Ottoman rule". According to Amir S. Cheshin, Bill Hutman and Avi Melamed, the mukhtar "for centuries were the central figures". They "were ...

'' in Muslim villages, while mixed villages had both. In the

Morea Eyalet The Eyalet of the Morea () was a first-level province ('' eyalet'') of the Ottoman Empire, centred on the Peloponnese peninsula in southern Greece. History From the Ottoman conquest to the 17th century The Ottoman Empire overran the Peloponne ...

, the title of (), is attested, though not in Turkish sources; it was applied to the most senior rank of the local notables of the Peloponnese (

Morea Morea ( or ) was the name of the Peloponnese peninsula in southern Greece during the Middle Ages and the early modern period. The name was used by the Principality of Achaea, the Byzantine province known as the Despotate of the Morea, by the O ...

), who were members of the provincial council (the 'Divan of the Morea') advising the pasha of the Morea at

Tripolitsa Tripoli (; ) is a city in the central part of the Peloponnese, in Greece. It is the capital of the Peloponnese region as well as of the regional unit of Arcadia. The homonymous municipality had 44,165 inhabitants in 2021. Etymology In the Mid ...

. Their number is variously given as 24 (

François Pouqueville François Charles Hugues Laurent Pouqueville (; 4 November 1770 – 20 December 1838) was a French diplomat, writer, explorer, physician and historian, and member of the Institut de France. He traveled extensively throughout Ottoman-occupied G ...

) or 30 (Athanasios Grigoriadis). During the

Greek War of Independence The Greek War of Independence, also known as the Greek Revolution or the Greek Revolution of 1821, was a successful war of independence by Greek revolutionaries against the Ottoman Empire between 1821 and 1829. In 1826, the Greeks were assisted ...

, the antagonism between the Peloponnesian kodjabashis, who sought to retain their previous preponderance and power, and the military leaders drawn from the

klephts Klephts (; Greek κλέφτης, ''kléftis'', pl. κλέφτες, ''kléftes'', which means "thieves" and perhaps originally meant just "brigand": "Other Greeks, taking to the mountains, became unofficial, self-appointed armatoles and were know ...

, was one of the main driving forces behind the outbreak of the

Greek civil wars of 1824–1825 Greek may refer to: Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor of all kno ...

, in which the "aristocratic" faction comprising the kodjabashis, the wealthy shipowners of Hydra and the

Phanariotes Phanariots, Phanariotes, or Fanariots (, , ) were members of prominent Greek families in Phanar (Φανάρι, modern ''Fener''), the chief Greek quarter of Constantinople where the Ecumenical Patriarchate is located, who traditionally occupied ...

, prevailed.

References

Sources

* * *{{cite book, last=Zakythenos, first=Dionysios A., author-link=Dionysios A. Zakythenos, title=The Making of Modern Greece: From Byzantium to Independence, url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zoKgAAAAMAAJ, year=1976, publisher=Rowman and Littlefield, isbn=978-0-87471-796-9 Oligarchy Ottoman Greece Government of the Ottoman Empire Turkish words and phrases Christians from the Ottoman Empire Ottoman titles Ottoman-era Greek primates

See also

References

Sources