Turkopolan

Reconstruction of a Turkopol of the 12th century

The Turkopolies ( Greek Τουρκόπουλοι Turkopouloi , German 'Sons of the Turks ' ) were a light cavalry that was used as auxiliary troops in the Middle East during the time of the Crusades by the Franks , but also by the Byzantines .

When Templerorden Turcopole are occupied since the mid-12th century. They were initially recruited from among the local Christian population; that is, at least one parent had to be Christian. This regulation was increasingly abandoned in later years. The Turkopolans shared the fighting style of the Muslim light cavalry, who constantly showered their opponents with arrows and tried to avoid a direct conflict in close combat.

The Teutonic Order also called its light cavalry units recruited from locals Turkopolans.

literature

• Alain Demurger: The Templars. Rise and Fall 1120-1314 . CH Beck, Munich 2007, ISBN 978-3-406-52367-0
• Yuval Noah Harari : The Military Role of the Frankish Turcopoles. A reassessment. In: Mediterranean Historical Review. Volume 12, 1997, pp. 75-116.

Individual evidence

1. ^ Max Perlbach : The statutes of the Teutonic Order . Tübingen 1975. page 111.