The Don and Zaporozhye Cossacks bore a Turkic name, lived a Turkic life, used Turkic tactics in war, and even by blood were largely Turkic, as bride-kidnapping from neighbors was a common practice. It is therefore natural that they had predecessors in the Turkic world, and in the Ottoman Empire they were called akıncı.
An almost perfect translation of this word is «raider». «Akın» in Turkish means «raid» or «raid», «akıncı» means the one who organizes them. This was the oldest tactic in the history of Eurasian nomads, and it appeared long before they had formed states and armies. The Oghuz, ancestors of the Ottomans, used it when they lived in Central Asia and did not abandon it after migrating to Anatolia and Europe.
Like so many things in the Ottoman state, the akyinji came into being thanks to the earlier Seljuk Empire. As in any country of its time, the government’s main aim was to make it cheaper to maintain an army — and good old-fashioned Turkic traditions helped this as best they could.
On the borders of their possessions, no man’s land and poorly controlled lands, Seljuk sultans established uji — the same thing in the Frankish Empire was called marka, and in ancient Russia — ukraina (with a small letter, because it is not the name of the state). Some Turkic clan settled here, accepting the suzerainty of the supreme ruler and owing him military service. And in peace time these people gained their sustenance by raids on their neighbors.
Thus, several new principalities emerged, including the Ottoman one — the Uj Beys had the right to independently dispose of the captured territories. But, unlike the Seljuks with their Turkic liberties, the Ottomans founded a settled and centralized state, where the status of these raiders was revised. This is how the akıncı came into being.
Initially, light horse warriors from Turkmen clans were the backbone of the Ottoman military forces. They were joined by volunteers from neighboring states and Byzantine renegades. Therefore, the composition of the akyinji was international, although over time they were fully Turkicized.
They were originally based in Anatolia, but moved there after the first conquests in Europe. Famous families of Akinji leaders came from among the earliest supporters of the Ottomans and settled in one or another of the key areas of the conquests: Turhanli (Turks) in Moray, Evrenosoglu (Greeks) in Albania, Mihaloglu (Greeks) in Sofia, and Malkochoglu (Serbs) in northeastern Bulgaria. From these families the commanders of all akinji were chosen.
In peaceful years, the Akynji engaged in sedentary cattle breeding, and in time began to practice farming. In war they became light cavalry, which surrounded the flanks of the Ottoman armies in clouds. Unlike the Janissaries, they did not receive salaries, unlike the Sipahs, they did not claim land grants from the state. Therefore, their only reward was booty, and they went to war with what Allah would send them. In most military campaigns they were not even provided with provisions — they ate what they would take from the enemy.
Akinjis performed the functions of rearguard and vanguard, were engaged in reconnaissance, surrounded and pursued the enemy in major battles. But their most important task was to intimidate and demoralize the local population — with their raids they confused the enemy. Since they were not part of the regular Ottoman army, the sultans believed that the akıncı were not bound by state agreements. Therefore, even in peacetime, they harassed the potential enemy by probing their weaknesses.
Their main weapon was the composite bow, but these warriors also carried sabers, battle axes and maces, and light spears. They had a shield and leather armor, but they did not use chainmail or lamellars. Their horses differed for the better from the hardy but not very fast Tatar horses, because they ate oats and cereals, not only steppe grasses. Therefore, akyndzhi could outrun heavy cavalry.
In some Ottoman battles and even entire campaigns, akynji were the only kind of troops. Thus, in the battle of Krbava in 1493, 8 thousand Turks defeated 10 thousand Croats, including the knights. But the further, the more reliance on an army of only light cavalry became dangerous. So in time these guys were overshadowed by the better trained and armed sipahas and janissaries.
The akıncı system worked fine up until the 16th century and played no small part in the early Ottoman conquests. But when the empire’s advance on European Christians came to a halt, irregular troops were no longer needed as the base for the raiding economy narrowed. For the first time in their history, the Turks themselves began to seek peace with European Christians, and the akıncı troublemakers became dangerous.
At the Battle of Giurgiu in 1595, the artillery of the Principality of Transylvania destroyed the bridge over the Danube built by the Turks, and Wallachian arquebusiers attacked those who managed to cross. It was mainly the Akyndzhi who took the fight, and were killed almost in their entirety.
After that, only a few thousand soldiers remained of the Akynji horde of many thousands. As an irregular army they were abolished, those willing to serve in the Ottoman army. Starting from the 17th century, Crimean Tatars took over their tactical role. However, the last remnants of the akynji system existed in one form or another until the 19th century. Only now they were called bashibuzuks or deli.