The Turkish army for many centuries in a row remained one of the most powerful forces in Europe and the Middle East. For seven hundred years, the Turkish soldier conquered more and more new territories and built fortifications along the borders of his state. The Turkish armed forces were formed more than 700 years ago, and during its existence the Ottoman army has undergone significant changes. Therefore, the question "what is the name of the Turkish soldier" cannot be considered without a brief overview of the Turkish army as a whole.
Pre-government period
The great Ottoman Empire had an ancestor - the Seljuk Sultanate. This formation existed in the 13th century, had relative independence and a fairly strong army. The Turkish soldier of that time is a former ghoul slave who escaped from Byzantium, or a descendant of the captured Scythians and Sarmatians who inhabited the northern shores of the Black Sea.
During one century, the Seljuk Khaganate several times passed under the control of the Mongols. Finally, under Mehmed 1, a single army was formed, which became the prototype of the Turkisharmed forces.
The structure of the Turkish army
The Turkish army was fully organized by the first half of the 14th century. It was then that the word "asker" appeared, which in translation means - a warrior, a fighter, a Turkish soldier. The name was strengthened not only in internal circulation - this is how the fighters of the Turkish army began to be called in other countries.
The army had several large groups of troops that performed various functions:
- Infantry (piade or ya). It was formed from among the peasants liable for military service. In peacetime, they were engaged in their immediate duties, in the war period, the peasants were mobilized, and they served in the troops, while receiving a salary.
- The cavalry (mussel) was recruited from impoverished nobles, we althy farmers, anyone who could buy a horse could join its ranks.
- Cavalry (akyndzhi) - light cavalry of the Turkic type, selected for cavalry raids or reconnaissance operations.
- Janissaries. They were recruited from slaves converted to Islam, brought up by the state. Later, the Janissaries played an important role in the internal life of the country.
In addition to the functional division, the structure of the troops was divided into several large groups according to the method of mobilization. There was the main army involved in all military operations, auxiliary divisions that performed a limited range of tasks; cavalry, formed from the mobilized subjects of the Turkish Sultan, and cavalry, consisting of those who paid tribute.
Capicules
Battle backbone of the Ottomantroops. The Turkish soldier "kapikuly" could serve in the infantry, cavalry or cavalry. Many of the main fighters were recruited from Christian children who converted to Islam. In addition to the traditional types of medieval troops - infantry, cavalry and artillery, the capicule included jebeji - blacksmiths and gunsmiths who repaired and created military equipment; sakka, whose main task was to bring water to the front line of the battle; sipahi or ulufeli - troops who performed administrative functions.
Seratkul
An army supported by contributions from the provinces and subordinate to them. Seratkul troops were only assembled during direct hostilities.
A typical Turkish Seratkul soldier could be:
- azebs - a militia of free peasants, as a rule, well trained and able to use handguns;
- seimens - a poorly trained and poorly armed peasant who was mobilized only out of emergency;
- isarely - a representative of the engineering troops serving artillery;
- dzhundzhyuly - a representative of the border troops patrolling the border;
- dely - a volunteer who was accepted into the army during active hostilities.
Toprakly
Turkish toprakli army soldier is usually a horseman who has his own land, which presented itself to him as a reward for military service. On the European continent, such a piece of land was called flax. In the event of a declaration of war, toprakly independently bought a horse, weapons,equipment and went on a campaign with his own military servants.
As you can see, the wide variety of Turkish troops and units has led to the possibility of different names for the soldiers of the Turkish army.
