TRENDEFRAtlas of the Sultans · Glossary
Term · Army and navy
Also known as: serdar
The commander of an army on campaign; after 1826, the commander-in-chief of the land forces and minister of war.
In the classical period the commanders of armies were called serasker or serdar. After the Janissary corps was abolished in 1826, with the new army the serasker became commander-in-chief of the Ottoman land forces; his headquarters was in today's main building of Istanbul University.
Open the map in 1826Source: TDV Encyclopedia of Islam, article “SERASKER” (in Turkish); text condensed for the atlas.