A Deli (from Turkish ''deli'', meaning "mad, wild, daring") was a member of a

light cavalry Light cavalry comprised lightly armed and armored cavalry troops mounted on fast horses, as opposed to heavy cavalry, where the mounted riders (and sometimes the warhorses) were heavily armored. The purpose of light cavalry was primarily rai ...

unit within the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University) ...

. Their main role was to act as front-line

shock troops Shock troops or assault troops are formations created to lead an attack. They are often better trained and equipped than other infantry, and expected to take heavy casualties even in successful operations. "Shock troop" is a calque, a loose tra ...

, also acting as personal guards for high-level Ottoman officials in the

Rumeli Rumelia ( ota, روم ايلى, Rum İli; tr, Rumeli; el, Ρωμυλία), etymologically "Land of the Romans", at the time meaning Eastern Orthodox Christians and more specifically Christians from the Byzantine rite, was the name of a histo ...

during peacetime.

History

The first Delis were created by the Bosnian and Semendire governors.

Gazi Husrev-beg Gazi Husrev-beg ( ota, غازى خسرو بك, ''Gāzī Ḫusrev Beğ''; Modern Turkish: ''Gazi Hüsrev Bey''; 1480–1541) was an Ottoman Bosnian sanjak-bey (governor) of the Sanjak of Bosnia in 1521–1525, 1526–1534, and 1536–1541. He w ...

was the leader most associated with these troops, who employed about 10,000 of them. Due to the efficiency of Husrev-beg, other district (ie frontier and inland) governors of Rumelia began to imitate him. The majority are Turks and they were chosen from among the peoples living in Rumelia. The unit was first established in

Rumelia Eyalet The Eyalet of Rumeli, or Eyalet of Rumelia ( ota, ایالت روم ایلی, ), known as the Beylerbeylik of Rumeli until 1591, was a first-level province ('' beylerbeylik'' or ''eyalet'') of the Ottoman Empire encompassing most of the Balkans (" ...

around the middle of the 15th century to create a force to protect the borders of the

empire An empire is a "political unit" made up of several territories and peoples, "usually created by conquest, and divided between a dominant center and subordinate peripheries". The center of the empire (sometimes referred to as the metropole) ex ...

in the

Balkans The Balkans ( ), also known as the Balkan Peninsula, is a geographical area in southeastern Europe with various geographical and historical definitions. The region takes its name from the Balkan Mountains that stretch throughout the who ...

and came to full power around the 16th century. The unit is usually confused in historical records with the

Akinji Akinji or akindji ( ota, آقنجى, aḳıncı, lit=raider, ; plural: ''akıncılar'') were Irregular military, irregular light cavalry, scout divisions (deli) and advance troops of the Ottoman Empire's Military of the Ottoman Empire, military ...

, both being light cavalry units and being part of

Eyalet Eyalets ( Ottoman Turkish: ایالت, , English: State), also known as beylerbeyliks or pashaliks, were a primary administrative division of the Ottoman Empire. From 1453 to the beginning of the nineteenth century the Ottoman local government ...

soldiers, although they were not related.

Sultan Mahmud II Mahmud II ( ota, محمود ثانى, Maḥmûd-u s̠ânî, tr, II. Mahmud; 20 July 1785 – 1 July 1839) was the 30th Sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 1808 until his death in 1839. His reign is recognized for the extensive administrative, ...

abolished the unit in 1829, along with the disbandment of the Janissaries, in attempts to reform the army and establish one in the Western model.

In popular culture

In the Turkish movie, ''Deliler Fatih'in Fermanı'': directed by Osman Kaya, a small group of Delis is sent to

Wallachia Wallachia or Walachia (; ro, Țara Românească, lit=The Romanian Land' or 'The Romanian Country, ; archaic: ', Romanian Cyrillic alphabet: ) is a historical and geographical region of Romania. It is situated north of the Lower Danube and so ...

in order to kill the Romanian Prince

Vlad the Impaler Vlad III, commonly known as Vlad the Impaler ( ro, Vlad Țepeș ) or Vlad Dracula (; ro, Vlad Drăculea ; 1428/311476/77), was Voivode of Wallachia three times between 1448 and his death in 1476/77. He is often considered one of the most im ...

Gallery

File:Deli 1590.jpg, Delis (1590) File:Deli-Nicolas-de-Nicolay.jpg, Deli horseman from a 1576 Italian edition of

Nicolas de Nicolay Nicolas de Nicolay, Sieur d'Arfeville & de Belair, (1517–1583) of the Nicolay (family) was a French geographer. Biography Born at la Grave in Oisans, in the Dauphiné, he left France in 1542 to participate in the siege of Perpignan which was ...

's ''Travels in Turkey'' File:Sueleymanname akinci2.png, Deli horsemen with pelt File:Surname-i huemayun Deli..png, Surname-i Hümayun (1582-1587) File:Deli-Stefano-della-Bella.png, Deli Stefano Della File:Weigel-Deli.jpg, Ottoman Military Illustrations from Hans Weigel's Habitus Praecipuorum Populorum (Trachtenbuch), 1577 File:Deli Lorichs.jpg, Deli in parade uniform, paint from 1688 Melchior Lorichs 1583 File:Turkey, 1600-1805 (NYPL b14896507-416245).tiff, Delis File:Deli Radidsch.png, Deli signature from Sultan Suleyman I's campaign diary

References

Sources

* * Military units and formations of the Ottoman Empire Ottoman Army Special forces Ottoman period in the Balkans Types of military forces {{Ottoman-stub