The Warriors of the Frontier: the Osavul Office (Aide-De-Camp) in the Military Structure of Ukrainian Cossack and Turkic Armies

Authors : Oleksii SOKYRKO

Pages : 119-136

Doi:10.26650/gaad.794397

View : 20 | Download : 14

Publication Date : 2021-11-10

Article Type : Research Paper

Abstract :The article is dedicated to the study of the historical roots and the process of evolution of the institution of osavul in the Cossack Army and in the government of Hetmanate (Hetmanshchyna, the Ukrainian Cossack State). The osavul office appeared in the early Cossack military structure as a result of its relations with nomadic societies. The comparison between a cossack osavul and a corresponding officer of a Turkic army reveals a lot of common functions: both could be responsible for mobilization, commanding of field, camping and management of quartering, combat intelligence and military discipline. The other factors that affect the state and the functions of a cossack osavul included the structure of the Crown Troops of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth (Rzeczpospolita) and the system of patron-client relations formed on the frontier during the sixteenth and the seventeenth centuries. In the Hetmanate, these basic functions were supplemented by administrative assistance to the hetman, and by some judicial and diplomatic duties.
Keywords : Cossack Hetmanate, Aide de Camp, Registered Cossacks, Cossack Officials, Free lanced Troops, Nomadic Armies