![Murad II and Władysław III of Poland](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c4/Murad_II_and_W%C5%82adys%C5%82aw_III_of_Poland.jpg)
A ''ghazi'' ( ar, غازي, , plural ''ġuzāt'') is an individual who participated in ''ghazw'' (, ''
''), meaning military expeditions or raiding. The latter term was applied in early Islamic literature to expeditions led by the Islamic prophet
Muhammad
Muhammad ( ar, مُحَمَّد; 570 – 8 June 632 Common Era, CE) was an Arab religious, social, and political leader and the founder of Islam. According to Muhammad in Islam, Islamic doctrine, he was a prophet Divine inspiration, di ...
, and later taken up by Turkic military leaders to describe their wars of conquest.
In the context of the wars between Russia and the Muslim peoples of the
Caucasus
The Caucasus () or Caucasia (), is a region between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea, mainly comprising Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, and parts of Southern Russia. The Caucasus Mountains, including the Greater Caucasus range, have historically ...
, starting as early as the late 18th century's
Sheikh Mansur
Sheikh Mansur ("The-Victorious"; born Mansur Ushurma, Mansur Ucherman; 2 June 1762 – 13 April 1794) was a Chechen military commander and Islamic leader who fought for Chechnya and Circassia. He was influential in the resistance against Cather ...
's resistance to Russian expansion, the word usually appears in the form ''gazavat'' ().
In English-language literature, the ''ghazw'' often appears as ''
razzia'', a borrowing through French from
Maghrebi Arabic
Maghrebi Arabic (, Western Arabic; as opposed to Eastern or Mashriqi Arabic) is a vernacular Arabic dialect continuum spoken in the Maghreb region, in Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya, Western Sahara, and Mauritania. It includes Moroccan, Alger ...
.
In modern
Turkish, ''gazi'' is used to refer to
veterans
A veteran () is a person who has significant experience (and is usually adept and esteemed) and expertise in a particular occupation or field. A military veteran is a person who is no longer serving in a military.
A military veteran that has ...
, and also as a title for Turkic Muslim champions such as
Ertuğrul
Ertuğrul or Ertuğrul Gazi ( ota, ارطغرل, Erṭoġrıl; tk, ; died ) was a 13th century bey, who was the father of Osman I. Little is known about Ertuğrul's life. According to Ottoman tradition, he was the son of Suleyman Shah, the ...
and
Osman I
Osman I or Osman Ghazi ( ota, عثمان غازى, translit= ʿOsmān Ġāzī; tr, I. Osman or ''Osman Gazi''; died 1323/4), sometimes transliterated archaically as Othman, was the founder of the Ottoman Empire (first known as the Ottoman Bey ...
.
Ghazw as raid—razzia
In pre-Islamic
Bedouin
The Bedouin, Beduin, or Bedu (; , singular ) are nomadic Arab tribes who have historically inhabited the desert regions in the Arabian Peninsula, North Africa, the Levant, and Mesopotamia. The Bedouin originated in the Syrian Desert and A ...
culture, ghazw
was a form of limited warfare verging on
brigandage
Brigandage is the life and practice of highway robbery and plunder. It is practiced by a brigand, a person who usually lives in a gang and lives by pillage and robbery.Oxford English Dictionary second edition, 1989. "Brigand.2" first recorded usa ...
that avoided head-on confrontations and instead emphasized raiding and looting, usually of livestock (see
cattle raiding
Cattle raiding is the act of stealing cattle. In Australia, such stealing is often referred to as duffing, and the perpetrator as a duffer.Baker, Sidney John (1945) ''The Australian language : an examination of the English language and English ...
). The
Umayyad
The Umayyad Caliphate (661–750 CE; , ; ar, ٱلْخِلَافَة ٱلْأُمَوِيَّة, al-Khilāfah al-ʾUmawīyah) was the second of the four major caliphates established after the death of Muhammad. The caliphate was ruled by the ...
-period Bedouin poet
al-Kutami wrote the oft-quoted verses: "Our business is to make raids on the enemy, on our neighbor and our own brother, in the event we find none to raid but a brother."
William Montgomery Watt
William Montgomery Watt (14 March 1909 – 24 October 2006) was a Scottish Orientalist, historian, academic and Anglican priest. From 1964 to 1979, he was Professor of Arabic and Islamic studies at the University of Edinburgh.
Watt was one of ...
hypothesized that
Muhammad
Muhammad ( ar, مُحَمَّد; 570 – 8 June 632 Common Era, CE) was an Arab religious, social, and political leader and the founder of Islam. According to Muhammad in Islam, Islamic doctrine, he was a prophet Divine inspiration, di ...
found it useful to divert this continuous internecine warfare toward his enemies, making it the basis of his war strategy;
according to Watt, the celebrated
battle of Badr
The Battle of Badr ( ar, غَزْوَةُ بَدِرْ ), also referred to as The Day of the Criterion (, ) in the Quran, Qur'an and by Muslims, was fought on 13 March 624 CE (17 Ramadan (calendar month), Ramadan, 2 Anno Hegirae, AH), near the ...
started as one such
razzia.
As a form of warfare, the ''
razzia'' was then mimicked by the Christian states of
Iberia
The Iberian Peninsula (),
**
* Aragonese and Occitan: ''Peninsula Iberica''
**
**
* french: Péninsule Ibérique
* mwl, Península Eibérica
* eu, Iberiar penintsula also known as Iberia, is a peninsula in southwestern Europe, defi ...
in their relations with the
taifa
The ''taifas'' (singular ''taifa'', from ar, طائفة ''ṭā'ifa'', plural طوائف ''ṭawā'if'', a party, band or faction) were the independent Muslim principalities and kingdoms of the Iberian Peninsula (modern Portugal and Spain), re ...
states;
rough synonyms and similar tactics are the Iberian ''cavalgada'' and the Anglo-French ''
chevauchée
A ''chevauchée'' (, "promenade" or "horse charge", depending on context) was a raiding method of medieval warfare for weakening the enemy, primarily by burning and pillaging enemy territory in order to reduce the productivity of a region, in add ...
''.
The word ''
razzia'' was used in French colonial context particularly for raids to plunder and capture slaves from among the people of
Western
Western may refer to:
Places
*Western, Nebraska, a village in the US
*Western, New York, a town in the US
*Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia
*Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia
*Western world, countries that id ...
and
Central Africa
Central Africa is a subregion of the African continent comprising various countries according to different definitions. Angola, Burundi, the Central African Republic, Chad, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the Republic of the Congo, ...
, also known as ''rezzou'' when practiced by the
Tuareg
The Tuareg people (; also spelled Twareg or Touareg; endonym: ''Imuhaɣ/Imušaɣ/Imašeɣăn/Imajeɣăn'') are a large Berber ethnic group that principally inhabit the Sahara in a vast area stretching from far southwestern Libya to southern A ...
. The word was adopted from ''ġaziya'' of
Algerian Arabic
Algerian Arabic (natively known as Dziria) is a dialect derived from the form of Arabic spoken in northern Algeria. It belongs to the Maghrebi Arabic language continuum and is partially mutually intelligible with Tunisian and Moroccan.
Like ...
vernacular and later became a figurative name for any act of pillage, with its verb form ''razzier''.
Historical development
![Mughal Troops Chase the Armies of Da'ud](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/dd/Mughal_Troops_Chase_the_Armies_of_Da%27ud.jpg)
''Ghazi'' ( ar, غازي, ') is an
Arabic
Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic languages, Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C ...
word, the
active participle of the verb ''ġazā'', meaning 'to carry out a military expedition or raid'; the same verb can also mean 'to strive for' and ''Ghazi'' can thus share a similar meaning to
Mujahid
''Mujahideen'', or ''Mujahidin'' ( ar, مُجَاهِدِين, mujāhidīn), is the plural form of ''mujahid'' ( ar, مجاهد, mujāhid, strugglers or strivers or justice, right conduct, Godly rule, etc. doers of jihād), an Arabic term t ...
or "one who struggles". The
verbal noun
A verbal noun or gerundial noun is a verb form that functions as a noun. An example of a verbal noun in English grammar, English is 'sacking' as in the sentence "The sacking of the city was an epochal event" (''sacking'' is a noun formed from the ...
of ''ġazā'' is ''ġazw'' or ''ġazawān'', with the meaning 'raiding'. A derived
singulative
In linguistics, singulative number and collective number (abbreviated and ) are terms used when the grammatical number for multiple items is the unmarked form of a noun, and the noun is specially marked to indicate a single item.
This is the ...
in ''ġazwah'' refers to a single battle or raid. The term ''ghāzī'' dates to at least the
Samanid period, where he appears as a
mercenary
A mercenary, sometimes also known as a soldier of fortune or hired gun, is a private individual, particularly a soldier, that joins a military conflict for personal profit, is otherwise an outsider to the conflict, and is not a member of any o ...
and frontier fighter in
Khorasan
Khorasan may refer to:
* Greater Khorasan, a historical region which lies mostly in modern-day northern/northwestern Afghanistan, northeastern Iran, southern Turkmenistan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan
* Khorasan Province, a pre-2004 province of Ira ...
and
Transoxiana
Transoxiana or Transoxania (Land beyond the Oxus) is the Latin name for a region and civilization located in lower Central Asia roughly corresponding to modern-day eastern Uzbekistan, western Tajikistan, parts of southern Kazakhstan, parts of Tu ...
. Later, up to 20,000 of them took part in the Indian campaigns of
Mahmud of Ghazni
Yamīn-ud-Dawla Abul-Qāṣim Maḥmūd ibn Sebüktegīn ( fa, ; 2 November 971 – 30 April 1030), usually known as Mahmud of Ghazni or Mahmud Ghaznavi ( fa, ), was the founder of the Turkic Ghaznavid dynasty, ruling from 998 to 1030. At th ...
.
''Ghāzī'' warriors depended upon plunder for their livelihood, and were prone to
brigandage
Brigandage is the life and practice of highway robbery and plunder. It is practiced by a brigand, a person who usually lives in a gang and lives by pillage and robbery.Oxford English Dictionary second edition, 1989. "Brigand.2" first recorded usa ...
and
sedition
Sedition is overt conduct, such as speech and organization, that tends toward rebellion against the established order. Sedition often includes subversion of a constitution and incitement of discontent toward, or insurrection against, estab ...
in times of peace. The corporations into which they organized themselves attracted adventurers,
zealot
The Zealots were a political movement in 1st-century Second Temple Judaism which sought to incite the people of Judea Province to rebel against the Roman Empire and expel it from the Holy Land by force of arms, most notably during the First Jew ...
s and religious and political dissidents of all ethnicities. In time, though, soldiers of
Turkic ethnicity predominated, mirroring the acquisition of Mamluks, Turkic slaves in the Mamluk retinues and guard corps of the caliphs and emirs and in the ranks of the ''ghazi'' corporation, some of whom would ultimately rise to military and later political dominance in various Muslim states.
In the west, Turkic ''ghāzīs'' made continual incursions along the
Byzantine frontier zone, finding in the
akritai
The ''Akritai'' ( el, , singular: ''Akritēs'', ) is a term used in the Byzantine Empire in the 9th–11th centuries to denote the frontier soldiers guarding the Empire's eastern border, facing the Muslim states of the Middle East. Their exploits, ...
(
akritoi
The ''Akritai'' ( el, , singular: ''Akritēs'', ) is a term used in the Byzantine Empire in the 9th–11th centuries to denote the frontier soldiers guarding the Empire's eastern border, facing the Muslim states of the Middle East. Their exploits, ...
) their Greek counterparts. After the
Battle of Manzikert
The Battle of Manzikert or Malazgirt was fought between the Byzantine Empire and the Seljuk Empire on 26 August 1071 near Manzikert, theme of Iberia (modern Malazgirt in Muş Province, Turkey). The decisive defeat of the Byzantine army and th ...
these incursions intensified, and the region's people would see the ''ghāzī'' corporations coalesce into semi-
chivalric
Chivalry, or the chivalric code, is an informal and varying code of conduct developed in Europe between 1170 and 1220. It was associated with the medieval Christian institution of knighthood; knights' and gentlemen's behaviours were governed b ...
fraternities, with the white cap and the
club
Club may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media
* ''Club'' (magazine)
* Club, a ''Yie Ar Kung-Fu'' character
* Clubs (suit), a suit of playing cards
* Club music
* "Club", by Kelsea Ballerini from the album ''kelsea''
Brands and enterprises
...
as their emblems. The height of the organizations would come during the Mongol conquest when many of them fled from Persia and Turkistan into Anatolia.
As organizations, the ''ghazi'' corporations were fluid, reflecting their popular character, and individual ''ghāzī'' warriors would jump between them depending upon the prestige and success of a particular
emir
Emir (; ar, أمير ' ), sometimes transliterated amir, amier, or ameer, is a word of Arabic origin that can refer to a male monarch, aristocrat, holder of high-ranking military or political office, or other person possessing actual or cerem ...
, rather like the mercenary bands around western
condottiere
''Condottieri'' (; singular ''condottiero'' or ''condottiere'') were Italian captains in command of mercenary companies during the Middle Ages and of multinational armies during the early modern period. They notably served popes and other Europe ...
. It was from these
Anatolia
Anatolia, tr, Anadolu Yarımadası), and the Anatolian plateau, also known as Asia Minor, is a large peninsula in Western Asia and the westernmost protrusion of the Asian continent. It constitutes the major part of modern-day Turkey. The re ...
n territories conquered during the ''ghazw'' that the Ottoman Empire emerged, and in its legendary traditions it is said that its founder,
Osman I
Osman I or Osman Ghazi ( ota, عثمان غازى, translit= ʿOsmān Ġāzī; tr, I. Osman or ''Osman Gazi''; died 1323/4), sometimes transliterated archaically as Othman, was the founder of the Ottoman Empire (first known as the Ottoman Bey ...
, came forward as a ''ghāzī'' thanks to the inspiration of
Shaikh
Sheikh (pronounced or ; ar, شيخ ' , mostly pronounced , plural ' )—also transliterated sheekh, sheyikh, shaykh, shayk, shekh, shaik and Shaikh, shak—is an honorific title in the Arabic language. It commonly designates a chief of a ...
Ede Bali.
In later periods of Islamic history the honorific title of ''ghāzī'' was assumed by those Muslim rulers who showed conspicuous success in extending the domains of Islam, and eventually the honorific became exclusive to them, much as the Roman title
imperator
The Latin word ''imperator'' derives from the stem of the verb la, imperare, label=none, meaning 'to order, to command'. It was originally employed as a title roughly equivalent to ''commander'' under the Roman Republic. Later it became a part o ...
became the exclusive property of the supreme ruler of the Roman state and his family.
The
Ottomans
The Ottoman Turks ( tr, Osmanlı Türkleri), were the Turkic founding and sociopolitically the most dominant ethnic group of the Ottoman Empire ( 1299/1302–1922).
Reliable information about the early history of Ottoman Turks remains scarce, ...
were probably the first to adopt this practice, and in any case the institution of ''ghazw'' reaches back to the beginnings of their state:
: By early Ottoman times it had become a title of honor and a claim to leadership. In an inscription of 1337
Bursa
( grc-gre, Προῦσα, Proûsa, Latin: Prusa, ota, بورسه, Arabic:بورصة) is a city in northwestern Turkey and the administrative center of Bursa Province. The fourth-most populous city in Turkey and second-most populous in the ...
mosque], Orhan I, Orhan, second ruler of the Ottoman line, describes himself as "Sultan, son of the Sultan of the Gazis, Gazi son of Gazi… frontier lord of the horizons."
Ottoman historian Ahmedi in his work explain the meaning of Ghazi:
A Ghazi is the instrument of the religion of Allah, a servant of God who purifies the earth from the filth of polytheism. The Ghazi is the sword of God, he is the protector and the refuge of the believers. If he becomes a martyr in the ways of God, do not believe that he has died, he lives in beatitude with Allah, he has eternal life.
The first nine Ottoman chiefs all used Ghazi as part of their full throne name (as with many other titles, the nomination was added even though it did not fit the office), and often afterwards. However, it never became a formal title within the ruler's formal style, unlike ''Sultan ul-Mujahidin'', used by Sultan Murad Khan II Khoja-Ghazi, 6th Sovereign of the House of Osman (1421–1451), styled 'Abu'l Hayrat, Sultan ul-Mujahidin, Khan of Khans, Grand Sultan of Anatolia and Rumelia, and of the Cities of Adrianople and Philippolis.
Because of the political legitimacy that would accrue to those bearing this title, Muslim rulers vied amongst themselves for preeminence in the ''ghāziya'', with the Ottoman Sultans generally acknowledged as excelling all others in this feat:
: For political reasons the Ottoman Sultans — also being the last dynasty of
Caliph
A caliphate or khilāfah ( ar, خِلَافَة, ) is an institution or public office under the leadership of an Islamic steward with the title of caliph (; ar, خَلِيفَة , ), a person considered a political-religious successor to th ...
s — attached the greatest importance to safeguarding and strengthening the reputation which they enjoyed as ''ghāzīs'' in the Muslim world. When they won victories in the ''ghazā'' in the Balkans they used to send accounts of them (singular, ''feth-nāme'') as well as slaves and booty to eastern Muslim potentates. Christian knights captured by
Bāyezīd I at his victory over the Crusaders at
Nicopolis
Nicopolis ( grc-gre, Νικόπολις, Nikópolis, City of Victory) or Actia Nicopolis was the capital city of the Roman province of Epirus Vetus. It was located in the western part of the modern state of Greece. The city was founded in 29 ...
in 1396, and sent to Cairo, Baghdad and Tabriz were paraded through the streets, and occasioned great demonstrations in favour of the Ottomans. (''Cambridge History of Islam'', p. 290)
''Ghazi'' was also used as a title of honor in the Ottoman Empire, generally translated as the Victorious, for military officers of high rank, who distinguished themselves in the field against non-Moslem enemies; thus it was conferred on
Osman Pasha Osman Pasha (also spelled ''Uthman Pasha'' or ''Othman Pasha'') may refer to:
* Özdemiroğlu Osman Pasha (1527–1585), Ottoman grand vizier
* Bosniak Osman Pasha (died 1685), Ottoman governor of Egypt, Damascus, and Bosnia
* Topal Osman Pasha (16 ...
after his famous defence of
Plevna in Bulgaria and on Mustafa Kemal Pasha (later known as
Mustafa Kemal Atatürk
Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, or Mustafa Kemal Pasha until 1921, and Ghazi Mustafa Kemal from 1921 Surname Law (Turkey), until 1934 ( 1881 – 10 November 1938) was a Turkish Mareşal (Turkey), field marshal, Turkish National Movement, re ...
) for leading the defense against the
Gallipoli
The Gallipoli peninsula (; tr, Gelibolu Yarımadası; grc, Χερσόνησος της Καλλίπολης, ) is located in the southern part of East Thrace, the European part of Turkey, with the Aegean Sea to the west and the Dardanelles ...
campaign.
Some Muslim rulers (in Afghanistan) personally used the subsidiary style
Padshah-i-Ghazi.
Muhammad's Ghazwa
''Ghazwah'', which literally means "campaigns", is typically used by biographers to refer to all the Prophet's journeys from Medina, whether to make peace treaties and preach Islam to the tribes, to go on ''ʽumrah'', to pursue enemies who attacked Medina, or to engage in the nine battles.
Muhammad participated in 27 Ghazwa. The first Ghazwa he participated in was the
Invasion of Waddan
The Patrol of al-Abwa or Waddan occurred on the 12th of Rajab in the second Hijri year or in Safar of the same year. Muhammad took a force of 70 men and when he reached Waddan, the Quraysh were not present. However, the Banu Damrah met with Muhamm ...
in August 623,
he ordered his followers to attack a Quraysh caravan.
Operationally
When performed within the context of Islamic warfare, the ''ghazws function was to weaken the enemy's defenses in preparation for his eventual conquest and subjugation. Because the typical ''ghazw'' raiding party often did not have the size or strength to seize military or territorial objectives, this usually meant sudden attacks on weakly defended targets (e.g. villages) with the intent of demoralizing the enemy and destroying material which could support their military forces. Though Islam's rules of warfare offered protection to non-combatants such as women,
monastics and
peasant
A peasant is a pre-industrial agricultural laborer or a farmer with limited land-ownership, especially one living in the Middle Ages under feudalism and paying rent, tax, fees, or services to a landlord. In Europe, three classes of peasants ...
s in that they could not be slain, their property could still be looted or destroyed, and they themselves could be abducted and enslaved (''Cambridge History of Islam'', p. 269):
:The only way of avoiding the onslaughts of the ''ghāzīs'' was to become subjects of the Islamic state. Non-Muslims acquired the status of ''
dhimmīs'', living under its protection. Most Christian sources confuse these two stages in the Ottoman conquests. The Ottomans, however, were careful to abide by these rules... Faced with the terrifying onslaught of the ''ghāzīs'', the population living outside the confines 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 '
abode of war', often renounced the ineffective protection of Christian states, and sought refuge in subjection to the Ottoman Empire. Peasants in open country in particular lost nothing by this change.
:''Cambridge History of Islam'', p. 285
A good source on the conduct of the traditional ''ghazw'' raid are the medieval Islamic jurists, whose discussions as to which conduct is allowed and which is forbidden in the course of warfare reveal some of the practices of this institution. One such source is
Averroes
Ibn Rushd ( ar, ; full name in ; 14 April 112611 December 1198), often Latinized as Averroes ( ), was an
Andalusian polymath and jurist who wrote about many subjects, including philosophy, theology, medicine, astronomy, physics, psycholog ...
' ''Bidāyat al-Mujtahid wa-Nihāyat al-Muqtasid'' (translated in Peters, ''Jihad in Classical and Modern Islam: A Reader'', Chapter 4).
Use in the modern era
In the 19th century, Muslim fighters in
North Caucasus
The North Caucasus, ( ady, Темыр Къафкъас, Temır Qafqas; kbd, Ишхъэрэ Къаукъаз, İṩxhərə Qauqaz; ce, Къилбаседа Кавказ, Q̇ilbaseda Kavkaz; , os, Цӕгат Кавказ, Cægat Kavkaz, inh, ...
who were resisting the Russian military operations declared a ''gazawat'' (understood as holy war) against the Russian Orthodox invasion. Although uncertain, it is believed that
Dagestan
Dagestan ( ; rus, Дагеста́н, , dəɡʲɪˈstan, links=yes), officially the Republic of Dagestan (russian: Респу́блика Дагеста́н, Respúblika Dagestán, links=no), is a republic of Russia situated in the North C ...
i Islamic scholar
Muhammad Yaragskii
Muhammad ( ar, مُحَمَّد; 570 – 8 June 632 Common Era, CE) was an Arab religious, social, and political leader and the founder of Islam. According to Muhammad in Islam, Islamic doctrine, he was a prophet Divine inspiration, di ...
was the ideologist of this holy war. In 1825, a congress of
ulema
In Islam, the ''ulama'' (; ar, علماء ', singular ', "scholar", literally "the learned ones", also spelled ''ulema''; feminine: ''alimah'' ingularand ''aalimath'' lural are the guardians, transmitters, and interpreters of religious ...
in the village of
Yarag declared ''gazawat'' against the Russians. Its first leader was
Ghazi Muhammad
Qazi Mullah (Russian: Кази-Мулла, ''Kazi-Mulla'', 1793–1832) was an Islamic scholar and ascetic, who was the first Imam of the Caucasian Imamate (from 1828 to 1832). He was a staunch ally of Imam Shamil. He promoted the Sacred Law of Sh ...
; after his death,
Imam Shamil
Imam Shamil ( av, Шейх Шамил, Şeyx Şamil; ar, الشيخ شامل; russian: Имам Шамиль; 26 June 1797 – 4 February 1871) was the political, military, and spiritual leader of North Caucasian resistance to Imperial Russia in ...
would eventually continue it.
After the
terrorist attacks on Paris in November 2015, the
Islamic State
An Islamic state is a State (polity), state that has a form of government based on sharia, Islamic law (sharia). As a term, it has been used to describe various historical Polity, polities and theories of governance in the Islamic world. As a t ...
group is said to have referred to its actions as "ghazwa".
In modern Turkey, gazi is used to refer to veterans.
19 September is celebrated as Veterans Day in Turkey.
Notable examples
*
Mahmud of Ghazni
Yamīn-ud-Dawla Abul-Qāṣim Maḥmūd ibn Sebüktegīn ( fa, ; 2 November 971 – 30 April 1030), usually known as Mahmud of Ghazni or Mahmud Ghaznavi ( fa, ), was the founder of the Turkic Ghaznavid dynasty, ruling from 998 to 1030. At th ...
*
Battal Ghazi, 8th century, Arab military commander
*
Ahmad ibn Ibrahim al-Ghazi
Ahmad ibn Ibrahim al-Ghazi ( so, Axmed Ibraahim al-Qaasi or Axmed Gurey, Harari: አሕመድ ኢብራሂም አል-ጋዚ, ar, أحمد بن إبراهيم الغازي ; 1506 – 21 February 1543) was an imam and general of the Adal Sultana ...
, 16th century general and Imam of the
Adal Sultanate
The Adal Sultanate, or the Adal Empire or the ʿAdal or the Bar Saʿad dīn (alt. spelling ''Adel Sultanate, ''Adal ''Sultanate'') () was a medieval Sunni Muslim Empire which was located in the Horn of Africa. It was founded by Sabr ad-Din ...
*
Belek Ghazi
Belek Ghazi (''Nuruddevle Belek'' or ''Balak'') was a Turkish bey in the early 12th century.
Early life
His father was Behram and his grandfather was Artuk Bey, an important figure of the Seljuk Empire in the 11th century. He was a short-term ...
, Bey of the
Artuqids
The Artuqid dynasty (alternatively Artukid, Ortoqid, or Ortokid; , pl. ; ; ) was a Turkoman dynasty originated from tribe that ruled in eastern Anatolia, Northern Syria and Northern Iraq in the eleventh through thirteenth centuries. The Artuqi ...
*
Gazi Gümüshtigin
Gümüshtigin Gazi (died 1104), also known as Melikgazi Gümüshtigin was the second ruler of the Danishmendids which his father Danishmend Gazi had founded in central-eastern Anatolia after the Battle of Manzikert.
He succeeded his father when ...
, second ruler of the
Danishmendids
The Danishmendids or Danishmends ( fa, دودمان دانشمند; tr, Dânişmendliler) was a Turkish beylik that ruled in north-central and eastern Anatolia from 1071/1075 to 1178. The dynasty centered originally around Sivas, Tokat, and N ...
*
Danishmend Gazi
Danishmend Gazi ( fa, دانشمند غازی), Danishmend Taylu, or Dānishmand Aḥmad Ghāzī (died 1085), was the Turkmen general of the Seljuks and later founder of the beylik of Danishmends. After the Turkic advance into Anatolia that fo ...
12th century, founder of the
Danishmendids
The Danishmendids or Danishmends ( fa, دودمان دانشمند; tr, Dânişmendliler) was a Turkish beylik that ruled in north-central and eastern Anatolia from 1071/1075 to 1178. The dynasty centered originally around Sivas, Tokat, and N ...
*
Ertuğrul Gazi (13th century), leader of the
Kayı tribe Kayı can refer to:
* Kayı (tribe)
The Kayı or Kayi tribe (Middle Turkic: قَيِغْ ''qayïγ'' or simply ''qayig''; tr, Kayı boyu, tk, Gaýy taýpasy) were an Oghuz Turkic people and a sub-branch of the Bozok tribal federation. In hi ...
, father of
Osman I
Osman I or Osman Ghazi ( ota, عثمان غازى, translit= ʿOsmān Ġāzī; tr, I. Osman or ''Osman Gazi''; died 1323/4), sometimes transliterated archaically as Othman, was the founder of the Ottoman Empire (first known as the Ottoman Bey ...
*
Osman Gazi
Osman I or Osman Ghazi ( ota, عثمان غازى, translit= ʿOsmān Ġāzī; tr, I. Osman or ''Osman Gazi''; died 1323/4), sometimes transliterated archaically as Othman, was the founder of the Ottoman Empire (first known as the Ottoman Bey ...
(1299–1326), founder of 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) ...
*
Orhan Gazi
Orhan Ghazi ( ota, اورخان غازی; tr, Orhan Gazi, also spelled Orkhan, 1281 – March 1362) was the second bey of the Ottoman Beylik from 1323/4 to 1362. He was born in Söğüt, as the son of Osman I.
In the early stages of his re ...
(1281–1362), second Ottoman Sultan
*
Ghazavat-i Sultan Murad, sixth Ottoman Sultan
*
Gazi Chelebi
The Gazi Chelebi ( tr, Gazi Çelebi, "Warrior Gentleman") was the nickname of a naval commander who controlled the Black Sea port of Sinop in the first decades of the 14th century.
His epitaph in the Pervâne Medrese in Sinop states that he was th ...
(14th century), pirate and ruler of
Sinop Sinop can refer to:
* Sinop, Turkey, a city on the Black Sea
** Sinop Nuclear Power Plant, was planned in 2013, but cancelled in 2018
** Battle of Sinop, 1853 naval battle in the Sinop port
*** Russian ship ''Sinop'', Russian ships named after the ...
, Turkey
*
Gazi Evrenos
Evrenos or Evrenuz (died 17 November 1417 in Yenice-i Vardar) was an Ottoman military commander. Byzantine sources mention him as Ἐβρενός, Ἀβρανέζης, Βρανέζης, Βρανεύς (?), Βρενέζ, Βρενέζης, Βρε ...
(1288–1417), Ottoman military commander
*
Sikandar Khan Ghazi
Sikandar Khān Ghāzī ( fa, , bn, সিকান্দার খান গাজী) was the first wazir of Srihat under the Lakhnauti Kingdom ruled by Shamsuddin Firuz Shah. Prior to this, Khan was one of the commanders of the Battles of ...
, a military commander during the 1303
Conquest of Sylhet
The Conquest of Sylhet ( bn, শ্রীহট্টের বিজয়, Srīhôtter Bijôy, Conquest of Srihatta) predominantly refers to an Islamic conquest of Srihatta (present-day Sylhet, Bangladesh) led by Sikandar Khan Ghazi, the milit ...
*
Haydar Ghazi
Nūr al-Hudā Abū'l-Karāmāt as-Saʿīdī al-Ḥusaynī ( ar, نور الهدىٰ أبو الكرمات السعيدي الحسيني), better known as Ḥaydar Ghāzī ( ar, , bn, হায়দর গাজী), was the second wazir of Sr ...
, second wazir of Sylhet who fought in the 1303
Conquest of Sylhet
The Conquest of Sylhet ( bn, শ্রীহট্টের বিজয়, Srīhôtter Bijôy, Conquest of Srihatta) predominantly refers to an Islamic conquest of Srihatta (present-day Sylhet, Bangladesh) led by Sikandar Khan Ghazi, the milit ...
*
Ikhtiyaruddin Ghazi Shah
Ikhtiyaruddin Ghazi Shah ( bn, ইখতিয়ারউদ্দিন গাজী শাহ, fa, ; reigned 1349–1352) was an independent sultan of Sonargaon.
History
Ikhtiyaruddin was the son and successor of Fakhruddin Mubarak Shah. ...
, 14th-century Sultan of
Sonargaon
Sonargaon ( bn, সোনারগাঁও; pronounced as ''Show-naar-gaa''; lit. ''Golden Hamlet'') is a historic city in central Bangladesh. It corresponds to the Sonargaon Upazila of Narayanganj District in Dhaka Division.
Sonargaon is one ...
*
Shahzada Danyal Dulal Ghazi, Prince of Bengal who fought in the 1498
Conquest of Kamata
Conquest is the act of military wiktionary:subjugation, subjugation of an enemy by force of Weapon, arms.
Military history provides many examples of conquest: the Roman conquest of Britain, the Mauryan conquest of Afghanistan and of vast area ...
*
Gazi-Husrev Beg, an Ottoman bey of
Bosnian origin (1480–1541)
*
Ghazi Khan
Ghazi Khan ( Balochi, Urdu ) was a Baloch mercenary from who moved to Multan in the late 15th century at the behest of the Langah Sultanate. He was accompanied by his sons, Ghazi Khan, Fatih Khan and Ismail Khan.
The Derajat had its existence ...
, 15th century Baloch Chief from Dera Ghazi Khan, India
*
Ğazı I Giray
Ğazı I Giray (1504–1524, ruled 1523–24) was for six months khan of the Crimean khanate. He was preceded by his father Mehmed I Giray (r. 1515–1523) and was followed by his uncle Saadet I Girai (r. 1524–1532). He was enthroned after ...
, 16th century Crimean Tatar khan
*
Gazi Osman Pasha
Osman Nuri Pasha ( ota, عثمان نوری پاشا; 1832, Tokat, Ottoman Empire – 4 to 5 April 1900, Constantinople, Ottoman Empire), also known as Ghazi Osman Pasha ( tr, Gazi Osman Paşa), was an Ottoman field marshal. Being one ...
(1832–1897), Ottoman field marshal
*
Ghazi Saiyyad Salar Masud
Ghazi Salar Masud or Ghazi Miyan (1014 – 1034 CE) was a semi-legendary Muslim figure from India. By the 12th century, he had become reputed as a warrior, and his tomb (''dargah'') at Bahraich, Uttar Pradesh, India, had become a place of pilgrim ...
(1014–1034), Ghaznavid military commander
*
Gazi Saiyyed Salar Sahu
Ghazi Saiyyed Salar Sahu or Saiyed Salar Dawood or Sahu Bin Ataullah Alavi or Salar Sahu ( fa, غازى سيد سالار ساھو) was commander in the army of Sultan Mahmud Ghaznavi who came to the Indian subcontinent in the early 11th century. ...
(early 11th century), Ghaznavid military commander
*
Ghazi Amanullah Khan, King of Afghanistan from 1919 to 1929
*
Ghazi Mustafa Kemal
Ghazi or Gazi ( ar, غازى), a title given to Muslim warriors or champions and used by several Ottoman Sultans, may refer to:
*Ghazi (warrior), an Islamic term for the Muslim soldier who crusades for their religion, land or territory
People G ...
(1881–1938), Turkish field marshal, first president of
Turkey
Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a list of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolia, Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with ...
*
Nasir I of Kalat, 18th-century King of
Balochistan
Balochistan ( ; bal, بلۏچستان; also romanised as Baluchistan and Baluchestan) is a historical region in Western and South Asia, located in the Iranian plateau's far southeast and bordering the Indian Plate and the Arabian Sea coastline. ...
with surname ''Ghazi-e-Din''
*
Abdul Rashid Ghazi
Abdul Rashid Ghazi ( ur, عبد الرشید غازی; – 10 July 2007) was a Pakistani Islamic fundamentalism, Islamic fundamentalist who served as the vice-chancellor of Jamia Faridia, Faridia University. Prior to his radicalisation, he serv ...
Related terms
* ''
Akıncı'': (Turkish) "raider", a later replacement for ''ghāzī''
* ''
al-'Awāsim'': the Syrio-
Anatolia
Anatolia, tr, Anadolu Yarımadası), and the Anatolian plateau, also known as Asia Minor, is a large peninsula in Western Asia and the westernmost protrusion of the Asian continent. It constitutes the major part of modern-day Turkey. The re ...
n frontier area between the Byzantine and various caliphal empires
* ''
ribāt'': fortified convent used by a militant religious order; most commonly used in North Africa
* ''
thughūr
''Al-ʿAwāṣim'' ( ar, العواصم, "the defences, fortifications"; sing. ''al-ʿāṣimah'', , "protectress") was the Arabic term used to refer to the Muslim side of the frontier zone between the Byzantine Empire and the Umayyad and Abbasid ...
'': an advanced/frontier fortress
* ''uc'': Turkish term for frontier; ''uc
beği'' (frontier lord) was a title assumed by early Ottoman rulers; later replaced by ''serhadd'' (frontier)
* ''
Mujahideen
''Mujahideen'', or ''Mujahidin'' ( ar, مُجَاهِدِين, mujāhidīn), is the plural form of ''mujahid'' ( ar, مجاهد, mujāhid, strugglers or strivers or justice, right conduct, Godly rule, etc. doers of jihād), an Arabic term th ...
''
See also
*
Gaza Thesis
The Ghaza or Ghazi thesis (from ota, غزا, ''ġazā'', "holy war," or simply "raid") is a historical paradigm first formulated by Paul Wittek which has been used to interpret the nature of the Ottoman Empire during the earliest period of it ...
*
Jihad
Jihad (; ar, جهاد, jihād ) is an Arabic word which literally means "striving" or "struggling", especially with a praiseworthy aim. In an Islamic context, it can refer to almost any effort to make personal and social life conform with Go ...
(
ism)
*
Fedayeen
Fedayeen ( ar, فِدائيّين ''fidāʼīyīn'' "self-sacrificers") is an Arabic term used to refer to various military groups willing to sacrifice themselves for a larger campaign.
Etymology
The term ''fedayi'' is derived from Arabic: '' ...
*
Janissary
A Janissary ( ota, یڭیچری, yeŋiçeri, , ) was a member of the elite infantry units that formed the Ottoman Sultan's household troops and the first modern standing army in Europe. The corps was most likely established under sultan Orhan ( ...
*
Spread of Islam
The spread of Islam spans about 1,400 years. Muslim conquests following Muhammad's death led to the creation of the caliphates, occupying a vast geographical area; conversion to Islam was boosted by Arab Muslim forces conquering vast territorie ...
*
Muslim conquests
The early Muslim conquests or early Islamic conquests ( ar, الْفُتُوحَاتُ الإسْلَامِيَّة, ), also referred to as the Arab conquests, were initiated in the 7th century by Muhammad, the main Islamic prophet. He estab ...
*
Battle of Hamra al-Asad
The Battle of Hamra al-Assad ( ar, غزوة حمراء الأسد), was a Ghazawat, a battle in which the prophet Muhammad took part. It occurred in AD 625 (AH 3) after the Battle of Uhud, when the Quraysh were returning to Mecca.
In this batt ...
*
Anatolian Beyliks
Anatolian beyliks ( tr, Anadolu beylikleri, Ottoman Turkish: ''Tavâif-i mülûk'', ''Beylik'' ) were small principalities (or petty kingdoms) in Anatolia governed by beys, the first of which were founded at the end of the 11th century. A secon ...
References
Further reading
*
*
*
* , p. 74
* , p. 34
*
**
Averroes
Ibn Rushd ( ar, ; full name in ; 14 April 112611 December 1198), often Latinized as Averroes ( ), was an
Andalusian polymath and jurist who wrote about many subjects, including philosophy, theology, medicine, astronomy, physics, psycholog ...
, ''Bidāyat al-Mujtahid wa-Nihāyat al-Muqtasid''
*
*
*
*
* Kaziev, Shapi
Imam Shamil. "Molodaya Gvardiya" publishers. Moscow, 2001, 2003, 2006, 2010.
* Kaziev, Shapi.
Akhoulgo.
Caucasian War of 19th centuryThe historical novel. "Epoch", Publishing house. Makhachkala, 2008.
* {{cite book, editor=
Dawn Chatty
Dawn Chatty, (born October 16, 1947) is an American Emerita Professor of Anthropology and Forced Migration, who specialises in the Middle East, nomadic pastoral tribes, and refugees. From 2010 to 2015, she was Professor of Anthropology and Force ...
, title=Nomadic societies in the Middle East and North Africa: entering the 21st century, year=2006, publisher=BRILL, isbn=978-90-04-14792-8, author=Mohammed Bamyeh, chapter=The Nomands of Pre-Islamic Arabia, pages=33–49
Battles of Muhammad
Conversion to Islam
Islamic terminology
Jihad
Military history of Islam
Warriors