Azeb

An archer of the Turkish Galleys - Azab

Azebs, azabs, or azaps (Ottoman Turkish: عزب, from Arabic, literally unmarried, meaning bachelor), also known as Asappes or Asappi, were irregular soldiers, originally made up of unmarried youths. They were conscripted among reayas and served in various roles in the early Ottoman army.[1][2][3] The word azeb either often indicates a light infantry soldier which was called yaya azeb or a marine soldier which was called bahriye (navy) and deniz (sea) azeb.[2] The term was used in the sense of "pirate" or "buccaneer" in Byzantine, Latin, and Italian sources from the 14th to 16th centuries.[4]

An azeb holding a gun with his left hand and carrying a sabre with his right hand
  1. ^ Áoston, Gábor; Masters, Bruce Alan (21 May 2010). Encyclopedia of the Ottoman Empire. Infobase Publishing. p. 616. ISBN 978-1-4381-1025-7.
  2. ^ a b Stein, Mark L. (2007). Guarding the Ottoman Frontiers. Tauris Academic Stuides. pp. 75–78.
  3. ^ Káldy-Nagy, Gyula (1977). "The First Centuries of the Ottoman Military Organization". Acta Orientalia Academiae Scientiarum Hungaricae. 31 (2): 147–183. ISSN 0001-6446. JSTOR 23682672.
  4. ^ "Azeb". TDV İslam Ansiklopedisi (in Turkish). Retrieved 2021-01-08.