During the period of the Crusades, turcopoles (also "turcoples" or "turcopoli"; from the Greek: τουρκόπουλοι, literally "sons of Turks")[1] were locally recruited mounted archers and light cavalry employed by the Byzantine Empire and the Crusader states. A leader of these auxiliaries was designated as Turcopolier, a title subsequently given to a senior officer in the Knights Templars and the Order of the Hospital of St John of Jerusalem, in charge of the coastal defences of Rhodes and Malta.[2] In addition to the two Military Orders, the army of the Kingdom of Jerusalem employed king's Turcoples under the direction of a Grand Turcopolier.[3]
- ^ "Tourkopouloi".
- ^ Whitworth Porter, History of the Knights of Malta, or The Order of the Hospital of St John of Jerusalem, p.287[1]
- ^ Nicolle, David. Hattin 1187. Saladin's Greatest Victory. p. 47. ISBN 978-1-85532-284-4.