Çavuş, also anglicized Chaush and Chiaus (from / ; ; from Old Turkic Çabuş or Çawuş, "person who gives an order or yells") was an Ottoman title used for two separate soldier professions, both acting as messengers although differing in levels. It was a rank below agha and kethüda (from Persian, kad-khuda, "magistrate"), in units such as the Janissaries and Sipahi, and was also a term for members of the specialized unit of çavuşān (, also çavuşiyye, çavuş(an)-i divan(i)) consisting of combined cavalry and infantry serving the Imperial Council (as in Ottoman Egypt). The leaders of the council's çavuş were titled çavuşbaşı / (or başçavuş / )., , The çavuşbaşı was an assistant (or deputy) to the Grand Vizier,, dealing with security matters, accompanying ambassadors visiting the Grand Vizier, and also carried out the first examination of petitions submitted to the council, and led council meetings when the Grand Vizier was not present. The title has its origin in Uyghur use, where it was the title of ambassadors, and then entered Seljuk usage for Byzantine imperial messengers, and Persian and Arabic usage for various court attendants.
The word gave rise to surnames, such as Çavuş (Turkish), Çavuşoğlu (Turkish), Čaušević (Serbo-Croatian),, Čaušić (Serbo-Croatian), Baščaušević (Serbo-Croatian), Çaushaj (Albanian), Ceaușu (Romanian), Ceaușescu (Romanian), Τσαούσης (Tsaousis in Greek), and others. It is also the stem of place names, such as Çavuş (in Turkey), Çavuşlu (in Turkey), Çavuşlar (in Turkey), Çavuşköy (in Turkey), Çavuşbayırı (in Turkey), Čauševac (in Bosnia),, Čauševići (one village in Bosnia, and one village in Serbia), Čaušev Do (in Bosnia), Čauševina (in Bosnia), Čaušlije (in Bosnia), Čaušlija (in Macedonia), Chavusy (in Belarus),Jan Karłowicz. Imiona własne polskich miejsc i ludzi od zatrudnień. Warszawa, 1887. p. 5. Çaushi (in Albania), and others. In the past in former Yugoslavia, the word čauš was also sometimes applied to the wedding-planner. __NOTOC__
List of çavuşbaşı
Daut Bey (fl. 1484), served Sultan Bayezid II (r. 1481–1512) Kuyumcu Süleyman Agha, served Grand Vizier Ipşir Pasha (1653–54) Mehmed Raşid, served Sultan Mahmud II (r. 1808–1839) Mustafa Agha Ahmed Agha Selim Pasha Zulfiqar Agha Mohammed Haji-Ajvazade Abdul Kerim Izet
Modern Turkish military usage
In the modern Turkish Armed Forces, the rank of is roughly equivalent of "corporal" and ranks above the rank of ("private first class").
also serves as the root word for the rest of the non-commissioned officer rank names.
See also Military ranks of Turkey Tzaousios, Byzantine title Chaush (India), Muslim community
References
Sources
External links
tr:Çavuş