Voivod

Related Topics:
Voivodships

"Voivod", or more commonly "voivode", as it is spelled in the Oxford English Dictionary, is a Slavic word that originally denoted the principal commander of a military force. The word has since come to denote the governor of a province; the territory ruled or administered by a voivod is known as a "voivodship". The word is sometimes translated in English translation as Palatine or Count palatine, whose jurisdiction is known as a palatinate.

The word "voivod" was used in medieval Bohemia, Bulgaria, Hungary, Poland, Russia, Croatia, Serbia, Wallachia, Moldavia, and Transylvania, and was equivalent to the Turkish "Sanjaq bey" (Bey, military officer usually just below Pasha, in administrative charge of a sanjak, district usually part of an Ottoman province such as a vilayet). Later, "voivod" was the highest military rank in the principalities of Montenegro and Serbia, the Kingdom of Yugoslavia and among the Serbian Chetniks.

Wojewoda is the term for the governor of a present-day Polish province ("województwo").

In the Romanian medieval principalities of Moldavia and Wallachia, "Voievod" became part of the official titulature of the sovereign prince, but tributary to the Ottoman empire. This seems also to have been the case in Transylvania prior to its conquest by Hungary, since this remained the title of the head of the autonomous principality even after its conquest (in contrast with Hungary's western-style feudal titles).

The leaders of Bulgaria's Haiduti (Хайдути) rebels under the Ottoman Empire were called "voevodes" (Bulgarian, singular: войвода, voivoda).

Etymology

The term itself stems from the Slavic roots voi (warrior) and ved'- meaning "to lead". Because of evolution of the Slavic languages, in modern times the term could be rendered as vajda, vojvod, vojvoda, wojwod, wojewoda (Polish), voivode, voivoda, Voievod, воевода (Russian), voyevoda, војвода (Serbian Cyrillic) or voyvoda.

This etymology is perfectly parallel, though unrelated, to equivalent terms like Anglo-Saxon term warlord and Germanic titles such as the German Herzog, which in feudal times was equated with the Latin Dux (originally a term for either a barbaric war leader or a Roman commanding officer and/or military governor, which later evolved into such feudal and modern titles of peerage rank as Duke). Because of that, the Slavic terms are sometimes translated as Duke; while in some countries and periods the rank of voivod was equivalent to a Western duke, it was not universally so, so that translation is not always correct.

History

The tradition of electing a voivod is very old and dates back to the times of early Slavs. Each tribe, gathered on a veche (congregation) elected its own voivod. In case of war he was entitled to lead the army. When the war was over, the power was transferred back to the legitimate peace-time rulers — be it the veche or a prince.

By the end of 8th century, the Slavic tribes established the first organised states in Central and Eastern Europe. The new situation demanded a more flexible command over the state, especially during the conflicts with Turkic, Baltic and German peoples. At that time the power of the Voivod was in most cases extended also to civil authority and, in some instances, to religious command. The chiefs of the tribes, princes and hospodars, delegated part of their authority to lower-ranking voivods, while retaining the title of highest voivod and the positions of high priest and supreme judge.

With the creation of permanent Slavic states in Ruthenia and Poland, the highest authority was passed to dukes and princes, both terms of Germanic origin. In Kievan Rus these were of the Varangian nobles (Rurik Dynasty), while in Poland of local origin (Piast Dynasty). The basis of the power of a prince was his band of warriors called druzhyna. Initially a small group of professional soldiers, the druzhyna grew in order to be able to control the vast areas under authority of the prince. In time the need to split the army into several units became clear and the commander of such a unit was called prince's voivod. The highest-ranking of such voivods formed the princes' courts in Gniezno and Kiev, while others commanded the troops in distant towns and served as advisors to the prince's delegates. The rank was abolished by Peter the Great in the mid-18th century.

Voivods in Poland

In modern Poland, voivod(e) is the governing official of the voivodship.

The office was created in the Kingdom of Poland under Piasts, and from the Crown of the Polish Kingdom spread to Grand Duchy of Lithuania after 1569 as an overseer of voivodship and its administration. In time the office lost some of its importance — from the 'second after the ruler' position to just that of an important but one of several dozens officials. In Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, Voivode of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth was one of the officials who could sit in the Senate of Poland.

Voivods in Romania and Moldova

In Moldavia and Wallachia, Voievod meant the leader of the army, as opposed to the Domn (Lord), which was the administrative leader and is a term stemming from the Latin word dominus, meaning lord or master. Starting with the 17th century, as military power was scrutinized by the Ottoman Empire, the rank of Voievod came closer to the meaning of national ruler (domn).

In Transylvania, the title "Voievod" was seen as equivalent to a Western European Prince. The term had this meaning until Transylvania came into the hands of the Austrian Archdukes. The last Voievod of Transylvania, Francis Rákóczi II, held this title officially until 1711.

The voievod title was kept in its initial form by the Wallachian (Romanian) nobility of Ţara Haţegului and Maramureş, where the title of voievod, together with the princely cneaz title, had the meaning of noble/local ruler, but also of the leader of local armies or militias.

See:

Voivods in Russia

Voyevodas (Voivods) were elected administrators in Russia who were responsible on a local level only. The Voyevodas filled a power vacuum left by the Time of Troubles. The Early Romanovs (1613–82) gave all their judicial and police powers to the voyevoda in an attempt to reform them but problems remained as their powers became too broad and invited corruption. In 1621, the Voyevoda was forbidden by Tsar Michael to take bribes as this became a problem. Despite this, the administration remained chaotic until Peter the Great's reforms replaced the Voyevodas with Burgmesters (Burgomasters, after the German) to collect the taxes.

Voivods in Serbia

In 1691, the Serbs which lived in the Habsburg Monarchy (now Vojvodina province in northern Serbia) gained privilege from the Habsburg emperor, which recognized the right of the Serbs to territorial autonomy within one separate voivodship in the Habsburg Monarchy, as well as right to be ruled by Serb voivod - a civil and military administrator of the voivodship. However, voivodship was not formed in that time, neither voivod was appointed, but only vice-voivod. The vice-voivod of the Serbs was Jovan Monasterlija, who had this title between 1691 and 1706. After Monasterlija, no other vice-voivod was appointed.

At the May Assembly in Sremski Karlovci (May 13-15, 1848), recalling the privilege from 1691, the Serbs proclaimed creation of the Serbian Voivodship and elected a voivod - Stevan Šupljikac. The decisions of the May Assembly were later recognized by the Austrian emperor, and Šupljikac was recognized as a voivod. By a decision of the Austrian emperor, in November 1849, new province of the Austrian Empire was formed, as a political successor of the Serbian Voivodship, and it was known as the Voivodship of Serbia and Tamiš Banat. New voivodship existed between 1849 and 1860, and title of its great voivod belonged to the emperor himself (Franz Joseph I of Austria), while voivodship was ruled by appointed governor. After voivodship was abolished in 1860, Franz Joseph I kept the title of its voivod (great voivod of the Voivodship of Serbia) until his death in 1916. The successor of Franz Joseph I, emperor Karl, also had this title until the end of the Monarchy in 1918.

See also: Rulers of Vojvodina