The Six Divisions of Cavalry (), also known as the Kapıkulu Süvarileri (" Household Slave Cavalry"), was a corps of elite

cavalry Historically, cavalry (from the French word ''cavalerie'', itself derived from ''cheval'' meaning "horse") are groups of soldiers or warriors who Horses in warfare, fight mounted on horseback. Until the 20th century, cavalry were the most mob ...

soldiers in the

army An army, ground force or land force is an armed force that fights primarily on land. In the broadest sense, it is the land-based military branch, service branch or armed service of a nation or country. It may also include aviation assets by ...

of the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empire, was an empire, imperial realm that controlled much of Southeast Europe, West Asia, and North Africa from the 14th to early 20th centuries; it also controlled parts of southeastern Centr ...

(

Sipahi The ''sipahi'' ( , ) were professional cavalrymen deployed by the Seljuk Turks and later by the Ottoman Empire. ''Sipahi'' units included the land grant–holding ('' timar'') provincial ''timarli sipahi'', which constituted most of the arm ...

). There were not really six, but four, divisions in the corps. Two of the six were sub-divisions. The divisions were: * Sipāhiyān (, roughly, "Armymen") * Silah-dārān (From Persian, translated roughly as "weaponbearers") * Ulufeciyān (; translated as " stipendiaries"), organised into two sub-divisions: ** () ** () * Garibān (; translated roughly as "strangers"), organised into two sub-divisions: ** Garips of the Left ** The elite cavalry was the mounted counterpart to the

Janissaries A janissary (, , ) was a member of the elite infantry units that formed the Ottoman sultan's household troops. They were the first modern standing army, and perhaps the first infantry force in the world to be equipped with firearms, adopted du ...

and played an important part in the Ottoman army. The Six Divisions were probably founded during the reign of Sultan

Mehmed II Mehmed II (; , ; 30 March 14323 May 1481), commonly known as Mehmed the Conqueror (; ), was twice the sultan of the Ottoman Empire from August 1444 to September 1446 and then later from February 1451 to May 1481. In Mehmed II's first reign, ...

(r. 1451–1481), but the Sipahis had existed since 1326.

Sources

See also