Ottoman Empire The
bölükbaşı was an Ottoman officer rank equivalent to captain. It was used in the
Janissary corps during the reign of
Suleiman the Magnificent (r. 1520–66). In the 17th century the holder was in command of a
bölük, a sub-division of a regiment. During the
Ottoman Old Regime (1703–89) the rank translated into "captain of a squadron", commanding a
bölük of the
sipahi and
silahdar cavalry. It was higher than
oda-bashi (lieutenant). The Ottoman reforms of
Tanzimat (1839–76) saw the
bölük being a company of hundred men (
yüz meaning "hundred") under the commanding rank of
yüzbaşı (also translated as "captain").
Serbs The rank of
buljubaša () or
buljukbaša () was used by the
Serbian hajduks for the commanders of a
brigand četa ("company"). Among notable hajduks holding the rank that were murdered by the
Dahije (renegade Janissaries) in the
Slaughter of the Knezes were
Janko Gagić, Gavrilo Buđevac and Mata from Lipovac. It then entered the ranks of the
Revolutionary Serbian Army in the
First Serbian Uprising (1804–13) as the equivalent of
kapetan ("captain"). Among notable holders were
Arsenije Loma,
Todor Bojinović,
Zeka Buljubaša,
Hajduk-Veljko and
Petar Dobrnjac.
Royal Corps of Colonial Troops In the
Royal Corps of Colonial Troops of the
Italian Royal Army, it was known as
bulucbasci and was the equivalent to the rank of sergeant. ==Notable people==