Darugha Explained

Darugha (Bashkir: даруга, Tatar: даруга|translit=daruğa, from Mongol: daru-, 'to press, to seal'^[1]) was a territorial subdivision in the Mongol Empire. A darugha was ruled by a darughachi.

Later, the term was used for the province, particularly in Kazan and the Siberian Khanates in the 15th and 16th centuries. It was used in the Turkic-populated parts of the Russian Empire in the 16th to 18th centuries. In Safavid Iran, it was a title meaning prefect.^[2] One of the many Safavid darughas was Mirman Mirimanidze.

In 1762, the Bashkir people controlled the Kazan, Nogai, Osin and Siberian darughas.^[3]

In the Mughal Empire, a daroga was the title of a district police officer. This title was kept until the 20th century during the British Raj.

Notes and References

1. Book: Ergene. Boğaç A.. Judicial Practice: Institutions and Agents in the Islamic World. 2009. Brill. 978-9-00417-934-9. 271. Darugha - the word is derived from the Mongol daru-, 'to press, to seal' and was used to denote a chief in the Mongol feudal hierarchy (...).
2. Book: Mikaberidze. Alexander. Historical Dictionary of Georgia. 2015. Rowman & Littlefield. 978-1-44224-146-6. 95.
3. Rychkov Petr Ivanovich: "Topography of Orenburg" Russia St. Petersburg, 1762 page 93