Binbashi

Binbaşı shoulder mark of modern-day Turkish Armed Forces

A binbashi, alternatively bimbashi, (from Turkish: 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 army as Bimbashi (1805–1953). It was also used by the Serbian revolutionaries as Bimbaša (Serbian Cyrillic: Бимбаша) in 1804–1817.

The collar mark (later shoulder mark) and cap (until 1933) of a Binbaşı had two stripes and one star during the early years of the Turkish Republic.

See also

• Military of the Ottoman Empire
• Turkish Army

References

• Dictionary.com, Binbashi entry
• Dunn, John P. "Khedive Ismail's Army" Routledge Press, 2005, p. 156