Kawass

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Pen drawing by a Kawaß, illustration template for Karl May: In the Gorges of the Balkans
Two kawassen leaving the Jerusalem Church of the Holy Sepulcher in front of a spiritual dignitary (2013)

Kawass , also Kawasse (Pl. Kawassen , Turkish kavas , Arabic قواس Kawass , DMG qawwās "archer") is a historical name for an Ottoman police officer. The embassyguards ofthe embassies at theSublime Porte in Istanbul were also known as Kawassen. The leader of this group was called Kawass-Baschi .

In German, the Kawaß is best known from the works of Karl May , where the Kawassen appear in numerous places in the stories localized in the Orient, especially in the volumes In the Gorges of the Balkans and Through the Land of the Skipetars . The Kawass also appears there as the name of the police officer who administered the bastinado .

The term is still used today for the uniformed servants of Christian dignitaries in Jerusalem who precede the dignitaries during processions and pave the way for them.

  • A kawass with the traditional fez in Jerusalem's Church of the Holy Sepulcher

  • Two Kawassen leaving the Jerusalem Church of the Holy Sepulcher (1984)

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Kawass , Duden online
  2. ^ Meyer's Large Conversational Lexicon . Vol. 10. Leipzig 1907, p. 795
  3. ↑ Kawaß . In: Meyers Konversationslexikon. Vol. 9. Bibliographisches Institut, Leipzig 1885ff, p. 646
  4. ↑ 33 places where Kawaß found and 64 places where Kawassen found in the digital edition of Mays (HKA).
  5. ↑ Example: The slave caravan . In: Karl May's works . III. Dept. Vol. 3, p. 121
  6. ↑ kavasses in Jerusalem in The Philippi Collection (English), accessed on 25 July 2014