Voivod
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- For other uses of "voivod", "voyevoda", etc. see Voivod (disambiguation).
"Voivod," or more commonly "voivode," 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 by a voivod is known as a "voivodship."
The word "voivod" was used in medieval Bohemia, Bulgaria, Hungary, Poland, Russia, Croatia and Serbia, and was equivalent to the Turkish "Sanjaqbey." Later, "voivod" was the highest military rank in Montenegro, Serbia, the Kingdom of Yugoslavia and among the 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. 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 (by 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).
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Etymology
The term stems itself 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 vajda, vojvod, vojvoda, wojwod, wojewoda (Polish), voivode, voivoda, Voievod, воевода (Russian), voyevoda, војвода (Serbian) or voyvoda.
Originally the term was almost equal to Anglo-Saxon term warlord and shared etymology with Latin term dux (which later evolved into Duke) and German term Herzog. Because of that, the Slavic term is sometimes translated as Duke. And while in some countries and periods the rank of voivod was equivalent to that of the Western duke, it was not universally so, and thus the 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 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 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 parts of their authorities to lower-ranking voivods, while retaining the title of highest voivod and the power of the highest priest and 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. With 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.
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 Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, Voivodes of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth was one of the officials who could sit in the Senate of Poland.
Voivods in Romania
In Moldavia and Wallachia, Voivod 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 under the control of the Ottoman Empire, the rank of Voivod came to have the same meaning as Hospodar and in the following century, it had power equivalent to the Pashas of the Ottoman Empire.
- In Transylvania, the title "Voivod" 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 Voivod of Transylvania was Francis Rákóczi II, who held this title officially until 1711.
- The voivod title was kept in its initial form by the Wallachian (Romanian) nobility of Ţara Haţegului and Maramureş, where the title of voivod, together with the cneaz (chinez) title had the meaning of noble, but also of the leader of local armies or militias.
Serbia
See also
de:Wojwode es:Voivoda la:Vaivoda nl:Woiwode pl:Wojewoda ro:Voievod ru:Воевода sr:Војвода sv:Vojvod