Timariots

Timariot (or tımar holder; tımarlı in Turkish) was the name given to a Sipahi cavalryman in the Ottoman army.

In return for service, each timariot received a parcel of revenue called a timar, a fief, which were usually recently conquered plots of agricultural land in the countryside.

[3] Also non-military timar holders were obliged to supply the imperial army with soldiers and provisions.

The timariot was granted feudatory with the obligation to go mounted to war and to supply soldiers and sailors in numbers proportionate to the revenue of the appanage.

[5] Timariots were expected to bring cebelus or men-at-arms as well as their own equipment on campaign, the number of cebelu being determined by revenue.

[7] This system of using agricultural revenue to pay troops was influenced by a similar Byzantine practice and other Near Eastern states prior to the Ottoman Empire.

[8] The central government enforced these laws rigorously, and a sipahi could lose his timar for violating regulations.

This ensured that all equipment and troops for campaigns was determined in advance and Ottoman commanders knew the exact number of their forces for mobilization.