What is the name of the Turkish soldier?

For many centuries the Turkish army remained one of the most powerful forces in the territories of Europe and the Middle East. For seven hundred years, the Turkish soldier conquered all new territories and built fortifications along the borders of his state. The Armed Forces of Turkey were formed over 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" can not be considered without a brief survey of the Turkish army as a whole.

Pre-State Period

The great Ottoman Empire had an ancestor - the Seljuk sultanate. This education existed in the 13th century, had a relative independence and a fairly strong army. A Turkish soldier of the time - a former slave-gulam who fled from Byzantium, or a descendant of captured Scythians and Sarmatians who inhabited the northern shores of the Black Sea.

During one century, the Seljuk Khaganate passed several times under the control of the Mongols. Finally, under Mehmed 1, a single army was formed, which became the prototype of the Turkish armed forces.

Structure of the Turkish Army

The Turkish army was completely 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 the internal circulation - this was how the fighters of the Turkish army began to be called in other countries.

The army had several large groups of troops, which performed various functions:

• Infantry (piad or yaya). Formed from the number of military liable peasants. In peacetime, they were engaged in their immediate duties, during the war period the peasants were mobilized, and they served in the troops, while receiving salaries.
• The cavalry (mussel) was recruited from impoverished nobles, rich farmers, all who could buy a horse could join its ranks.
• Cavalry (Akynji) is a light cavalry of the Turkic type, was selected for cavalry assaults or reconnaissance operations.
• The 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 army was divided into several large groups according to the mode of mobilization. There was a main force involved in all military operations, auxiliary divisions that carried out a limited range of tasks; Cavalry, formed from the mobilized subjects of the Turkish sultan, and cavalry, consisting of those who paid tribute.

The capicles

Battle backbone of the Ottoman army. The Turkish soldier "kapikuly" could serve in infantry, cavalry or cavalry. Many of the mainstream fighters were recruited from Christian children who converted to Islam. In addition to the traditional types of medieval troops - infantry, cavalry and artillery, the kapikul consisted of blacksmiths and gunsmiths who repaired and created military equipment; Sakka, the main task of which was to bring water to the front line of the battle; Sipahi or ulufeli - troops, performing administrative functions.

Seratkuli

The army, which has contributions to the provinces and is subordinate to them. The seratkuly troops gathered only for the time of direct military operations. A typical Turkish serutkuly soldier could be:

• Azebah - a militia of free peasants, as a rule, well-trained and able to use hand-held firearms;
• Seymen - poorly trained and poorly armed peasant, who was mobilized only from extreme necessity;
• Isarely - a representative of the engineering troops, serving artillery;
• Jiandjuly - representative of the border troops patrolling the border;
• Business - a volunteer who was accepted into the army for the period of active military operations.

Toprakly

The soldier of the Turkish army Toprakly is usually a rider who has his own land, which he introduced himself 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 bought his own horse, weapons, equipment and went camping with his own military servants.

As can be seen, a great variety of Turkish troops and units led to the possibility of differently calling the soldiers of the Turkish army.