Voivode (/ˈvɔɪˌvoʊd/) (Old Slavic, literally "war-leader" or "war-lord") is a Slavic title that originally denoted the principal commander of a military force. It derives from the word vojevoda, which in early Slavic meant the bellidux, i.e. the military commander of an area, but it usually had a greater meaning. In Byzantine times it was used to refer to mainly military commanders of Slavic populations, especially in the Balkans. In medieval Serbia it meant a high-ranking official and before the Ottoman conquest the commander of a military area. During Ottoman times, Voivode was the title borne by the ruler of a province, whose powers included the administration, security and tax collection under a special regime. According to the chronicle of the Voutsas monastery, the Slavic title of “v