The importance of the horse in the organizatiin of the Ottoman army

In this study, the effect of the Ottoman cavalry units on the war between the years 1550-1700, which covers the period called the military revolution, was examined. Within the scope of the thesis, Mühimme, Ruus, Timar Tevcih Registers were scanned, but two records were found in Mühimme Registers related to the thesis. The main sources were chronicles and fetihnames. Thesis; It consists of introduction, five chapters and conclusion. In the first chapter, the entry of the horse into the civilization life is discussed and the effect of the Turks on this situation is revealed. In the second part, the contributions of the cavalry to the army before the war were examined. In the third part, the effects on the course of the war were observed in the field war, where the cavalry was the most effective. In the fourth chapter, the contributions and damages of the cavalry to the army in the fortress wars are tried to be understood. In the fifth chapter, the problems and rebellions of the cavalry were discussed. The data obtained as a result of the examination of the sources are different from what the European military revolution theorists say. Overlooking the differences between Ottoman and European army structures has created this problem. The Ottoman cavalry has the equipment and power to change the course of the war in the period under study. It follows all kinds of technological developments closely and can use it tactically and strategically if it works for them. However, the state institutions that differed in the light of economic and political developments also affected the army. While the European armies realized that the problem was not in the cavalry but in the education system and created cavalry with the ability to act together, the Ottoman army started to fight with untrained cavalry due to the urgent need for soldiers. As the number of untrained cavalry increased, the rate of losing battles increased. In addition, cavalry has evolved to be useful in castle sieges due to the thought that cavalry will not work in castle sieges. As a matter of fact, the sipahis from Timar and the people of Six companies began to be employed in digging for metris. Tatars did what they had to do as an auxiliary force. However, the Tatars, who were technically mercenaries, did not hesitate to leave the battlefield when they disagreed politically. As of the aforementioned period, the cavalry still has the effect of winning wars and losing wars.