| Military ranks of the Ottoman Empire |
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| Officers |
| Non-commissioned officers |
Kaymakam, also known bymany other romanizations, was a title used by various officials of theOttoman Empire, including actinggrand viziers, governors of provincialsanjaks, and administrators of districtkazas. The title has been retained and is sometimes used without translation forprovincial orsubdistrictgovernors in various Ottomansuccessor states, including theRepublic of Turkey,Kuwait,Iraq, andLebanon.
The title has beenromanized inEnglish since 1645 with extremely numerous spelling variations.[1] The most common present-day forms are kaymakam,kaimakam, andqaimaqam. The modernTurkish term iskaymakam, fromOttoman Turkishkaymakam (قایمقام), fromArabicqāʾim maqām (قَائِم مَقَام), meaning "stand in" or "deputy".
In theOttoman Empire, the title ofkaymakam (known either assadâret kaymakamı or askaymakampasha) was originally used for the official deputizing for theGrand Vizier during the latter's illness, absence from the capital on campaign, or in the interval between the dismissal of one Grand Vizier and the arrival to the capital of a new appointee. The practice began in the 16th century, or perhaps even earlier, and continued until the end of the Empire.[2] Thekaymakam enjoyed the full plenitude of powers of the Grand Vizier, but was not allowed to intervene in the conduct of the military campaigns. Selected from the ranks of theviziers, thekaymakam played an important role in the politics of the capital and often became involved in intrigues against the absent Grand Vizier, trying to replace him. In the last decades of the Empire, the post ofkaymakam was filled by the members of the imperial cabinet, or by theShaykh al-Islam.[2]
The modernization and Westernization reforms instituted in the 19th century added new meanings to the term. With the establishment of the regularAsakir-i Mansure-i Muhammediye troops in 1826,kaymakam became a rank in theOttoman army, equivalent to alieutenant colonel. It remained in use throughout the final century of the Empire, and continued in use in theTurkish Republicuntil the 1930s, when it was replaced by the title ofyarbay.[2] The overhaul of the administrative system in theTanzimat reforms soon after saw the use ofkaymakam for the governor of asanjak (second-level province), while after the establishment of thevilayet system in 1864, akaymakam became the governor of akaza (third-level province). The system was retained by modern Turkey, where a sub-province (ilçe after the 1920s) is still headed by akaymakam.[2]
The termCaimacam has a specific meaning inMoldavian andWallachian history, where it refers to a temporary replacement for aDomn (Hospodar/"Prince"), in and afterPhanariote rule, as well as the delegates of theOltenia Ban inCraiova after the main office was moved toBucharest during the same period (1761).
In this context, the word may be spelledcaimacam, while theRomanian term for the office iscăimăcămie.
In the Persian Gulf, fourhakims (native rulers) of the later emirate ofQatar held the additional Ottoman title of kaymakam in their administrative capacity since 1872 of district administrator since the establishment of Ottoman sovereignty (askaza [district] ofSandjakal-Hasa, within thevilayet of Baghdad, from 1875Basra vilayet) till this was exchanged on 3 November 1916 with a Britishprotectorate (asSheikdom of Qatar, colonially under the chief politicalresident of the Persian Gulf, atBahrein).
Similarly, three ruling native hakims of the later emirate of Kuwait, were also Kaymakam of akazas in the same province, 1871 till a British protectorate, also on 3 November 1914.
| Historical military ranks of Egypt |
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| Officers |
| Others |
InOttoman Egypt, the title ofkaymakam was used in its generic sense of "lieutenant" for deputies or agents, but most notably, until the ascendancy ofMuhammad Ali of Egypt, for the interimgovernors of the country, who served between the removal of one governor and the installation of the next one. In the tumultuous politics of the rulingMamluk elite, the appointment of akaymakam "became, particularly in the 18th century, a device by which a Mamluk faction would legitimize its ascendancy" before installing one of its own members as governor.[2] After Muhammad Ali consolidated his control of the country and his Westernizing reforms, the title, as in the rest of the Ottoman Empire, acquired a new technical meaning: in the army, it became a rank equivalent to lieutenant-colonel, while in the administration it signified the official in charge of anahiye, with particular responsibility for the maintenance of the irrigation system.[2]
The rank is attested in use with a British officer commanding the Equatorial Battalion in East Africa, 1918: Kaimakam R F White DSO who was an officer of the Essex Regiment.[3] In the 1947Birthday Honours, a recipient of an MBE, Diran Bodossian, is referred to as "Assistant Paymaster Kaimakam" of the Trans-Jordan Frontier Force.[4]
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