Deli (Ottoman)

Deli (from Turkish: deli, meaning "mad, wild, daring") was an Ottoman light cavalry unit which acted as frontline shock troops, skirmishers, and personal guards for high-level Ottoman officials in Rumelia during peacetime. The unit is usually confused in earlier historical records with the Akinji, both being light cavalry units and being part of Eyalet soldiers, although they were not related. The sipahi constituted the main and traditional cavalry force of the Ottoman Empire. The unit was first established in the Rumelia Eyalet (Ottoman-held Balkans) in the mid-15th century as frontier troops and border protection. It came to full potential in the 16th century, as organized by the Sanjak-beys of Bosnia and Smederevo (central Serbia). Gazi Husrev Bey is most associated with these troops, as he employed about 10,000 of them; due to their efficiency, other governors in Rumelia adopted them as well. The majority were Turkic or chosen from among the native Islamized Balkan peoples. By the late 18th century the Deli volunteers were the most numerous cavalry force and were found in most Ottoman provinces. Sultan Mahmud II abolished the unit in 1829, along with the disbandment of the Janissaries, in attempts to reform the army and establish one on the Western model.