Sipahi Statues, A Collection of Islamic Glory and It’s Story From Indonesian Islamic Art Museum
A collection of Sipahi statues that commemorate a time of Islamic glories in the world are kept at the Museum of Islamic Art in Lamongan, East Java, Indonesia. In Persian, the word “sipahi” originally meant cavalry. Sipahi, occasionally written spahi, was a feudal cavalryman of the Ottoman Empire with status akin to that of a mediaeval European knight.
A vital part of Ottoman forces from the late fifteenth to the early eighteenth centuries was the sipahi cavalry, which had its origins in feudal society. It is impossible to divorce the role of the Ottoman Empire’s military from the splendour it once attained.
The possessor of a fief (timar; Turkish: tmar) that was specifically granted by the Ottoman sultan is referred to as a “sipahi” (derived from the Persian word for “cavalryman”). They were entitled to the entire fief’s revenue in exchange for their military service. The peasants on the land were then bound to it and made into serfs as a result. Up until about the middle of the 16th century, the sipahi made up the majority of the Ottoman army.
From that point on, they were eventually replaced by the Janissaries, an elite infantry unit that was paid a regular salary by the sultanate. This transformation was partly brought about by the greater use of firearms, which reduced the significance of cavalry.
The Sultan granted a land fief to the sipahi, who were expert mounted warriors. The income from this fief allowed the sipahi to keep his horse, weapons, and equipment, but in return, he was required to be available for military service anytime the Sultan required it. During mobilisation, Sipahis from the same region were arranged into units with up to 1000 riders each.
By the sixteenth century, it was estimated that the Ottoman army could send 40,000 sipahs into battle. The sipahi system, which was first created by Turks in Anatolia, was then extended to include the new regions and people of Ottoman-controlled Europe (Rumelia) as the Empire.
Visit the Indonesian Museum of Islamic Art
The Indonesian Islamic Art Museum houses a gallery of artefacts from Indonesia’s Islamic kings in addition to hundreds of objects from other countries, such as Sipahi from Ottoman Turkey, Taj Mahal from Mughal India, and Chinese dynasties.
This museum houses numerous items from Islamic dynasties, including the Zulfikar Shamsir sword, Turkish armour, Alqur’an manuscripts, and more. The Champa kingdom, several pottery collections from the Tang, Song, Yuan, and Qing dynasties, as well as some textiles from Gujarat, India, are also included.
Come on, visit the Museum of Islamic Art in Lamongan, Indonesia!