Binbashi or Bimbashi is a major in the Turkish

Turkish people

Turkish people, also known as the "Turks" , are an ethnic group primarily living in Turkey and in the former lands of the Ottoman Empire where Turkish minorities had been established in Bulgaria, Cyprus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Georgia, Greece, Kosovo, Macedonia, and Romania...

 army, of which term originated in the Ottoman army. The title was also used for a major in the Khedivial Egypt

Egypt under Muhammad Ali and his successors

The history of Egypt under the Muhammad Ali Pasha dynasty spanned the later period of Ottoman Egypt, the Khedivate of Egypt under British patronage, and the nominally independent Sultanate of Egypt and Kingdom of Egypt, ending with the Revolution of 1952 and the formation of the Republic of...

ian army as Bimbashi (1805-1953). It was also used by the Serbian revolution

Serbian revolution

Serbian revolution or Revolutionary Serbia refers to the national and social revolution of the Serbian people taking place between 1804 and 1835, during which this territory evolved from an Ottoman province into a constitutional monarchy and a modern nation-state...

aries as Bimbaša in 1804-1817.

Since the restructuring of the modern Turkish Army

Turkish Army

The Turkish Army or Turkish Land Forces is the main branch of the Turkish Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. The modern history of the army began with its formation after the collapse of the Ottoman Empire...

 in 1934, Binbaşı means Major

Major

Major is a rank of commissioned officer, with corresponding ranks existing in almost every military in the world.When used unhyphenated, in conjunction with no other indicator of rank, the term refers to the rank just senior to that of an Army captain and just below the rank of lieutenant colonel. ...

; but in the Ottoman Army (and in the pre-1934 Turkish Army during the early years of the Turkish Republic) the more correct equivalent of the Western rank "Major" was Kolağası (Senior Captain

Senior Captain

Senior Captain is a rare military rank which is used in some countries armed forces.-Army:In some armies of the world, the senior captain is a rank between a regular Captain and a Major. The rank is often only found in armies and air forces...

), which ranked above Yüzbaşı (Captain) and below Binbaşı.

"Sağ Kolağası" (Senior Captain [or Major] of the Right Flank) was a higher rank than "Sol Kolağası" (Senior Captain [or Major] of the Left Flank.) Sağ (sagh) means "right" in Turkish, while sol means "left."

When the rank Kolağası

Kolağası

Kolağası was a military rank of the Ottoman Army. It corresponds to a Senior Captain or an Adjutant Major. Kol Ağası is a compound word composed of Kol and Ağa...

was removed from the Turkish Army in 1934, the rank Binbaşı was relegated to Major (before 1934, the rank Binbaşı was also considered an equivalent of Lieutenant Colonel

Lieutenant colonel

Lieutenant colonel is a rank of commissioned officer in the armies and most marine forces and some air forces of the world, typically ranking above a major and below a colonel. The rank of lieutenant colonel is often shortened to simply "colonel" in conversation and in unofficial correspondence...

.) Until 1934, it was the duty of a Binbaşı to command a battalion

Battalion

A battalion is a military unit of around 300–1,200 soldiers usually consisting of between two and seven companies and typically commanded by either a Lieutenant Colonel or a Colonel...

(tabur) in the Ottoman (and pre-1934 Turkish) armies; but since 1934, it is the duty of a Yarbay (Lieutenant Colonel) to command a battalion.