# Dizdar

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For people with the surname, see [Dizdar (surname)](/source/Dizdar_(surname)).

**Dizdar** (Persian: دیزدار, *dizdār*; Turkish: *dizdar, kale muhafızı*) was the title given in the [Ottoman Empire](/source/Ottoman_Empire) to a [castle](/source/Castle) warden or [fortress](/source/Fortress) commander, who was appointed to manage [troops](/source/Troops) and keep the fortress in its role as a defence point.

The word is of [Persian](/source/Persian_language) origin and means [gatekeeper](/source/Gatekeeper), [watchman](/source/Security_guard), [guardsman](/source/Guardsman) or [castellan](/source/Castellan). It spread to the west following the [Ottoman](/source/Ottoman_Empire) conquest of the [Balkans](/source/Balkans).

The dizdar commanded military unit in the fortress, but at the same time, he was responsible for the settlement (village or town) under or around it as well because the purpose of the fortress was to defend the area.

As a commander, the dizdar had his deputy, called *chekhaya* (Turkish: *kâhya*), and other [subordinates](/source/Subordinate_officer) (e.g. yasakci). His superiors were the [captain](/source/Captain_(armed_forces)), [sanjakbeg](/source/Sanjakbeg) and other senior military officers.

In 1839 ,after the [Tanzimat](/source/Tanzimat) reforms, the [Ottoman Empire](/source/Ottoman_Empire) abolished [captaincies](/source/Captaincy), and titles like captain and dizdar ceased to exist.

## See also

- [Dizdarević](/source/Dizdarevi%C4%87), [Bosniak](/source/Bosniak) surname derived from the word *dizdar*
- [Agha](/source/Agha_(Ottoman_Empire))
- [Beg](/source/Baig)
- [Serdar](/source/Serdar_(Ottoman_rank))

## External links

- [Dizdar = castle warden (in the book *The Origins of English Words* by Joseph T. Shipley) /page 62/](https://books.google.com/books?id=m1UKpE4YEkEC&dq=dizdar+castle+commander&pg=PA62)
- [Dizdar – commander of a fortress in the Ottoman Empire (from the book *The Siege of Shkodra* by Marin Barleti /page 241/)](https://books.google.com/books?id=zeZ963q3ok0C&dq=dizdar+castle+commander&pg=PA241)
- [Disdars or dizdars were castle-holders](https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Page%3AThe_Works_of_Lord_Byron_(ed._Coleridge%2C_Prothero)_-_Volume_2.djvu%2F206)
- [Dizdars as castle commanders in Cyprus under Ottoman administration](http://www.turkishstudies.net/Makaleler/895238439_15%c3%96zkul%20Ali%20Efdal-trh_239-283.pdf)

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Dizdar](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dizdar) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dizdar?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.