The Akinji

Today's post is the second part to the Balkan Cavalry post from a couple months back: https://camisado1500s.blogspot.com/2024/09/balkan-cavalry.html. That post showed the Wargames Atlantic 3D printed "turkic light cavalry" built and painted as generic 15th and 16th century Balkan light horse and here we have another dozen of them built and painted more specifically as Ottoman akinji. Of course the previous figures would also be perfect as akinji but the turbans most of the figures in this second unit wear demark them more clearly as Ottomans. As with the previous unit these figures are not made solely from the 3D printed kits. The shields have been swapped whilst feather plumes have been added to some of the turbans and sheathed swords have been added to the miniatures along with bows in bow cases. One of the figures has a helmeted head left over from the dismounted sipahis unit that was completed earlier in the year: https://camisado1500s.blogspot.com/2024/05/dismounted-sipahis.html.

As the Ottoman empire expanded westwards in the 1500s large raiding parties of akinji, meaning "raiders" in Turkish, were often active, even when the more formal Ottoman army was not engaged. They were unpaid irregular forces of horsemen and were not allowed to camp with the rest of the Ottoman army if they were campaigning alongside the more regular troops of the Sultan. Some contemporary images of akinji can be seen here: https://camisado1500s.blogspot.com/2020/01/ottoman-raiders-akinji-and-azabs.html. In some ways the akinji remind me of the Border Reivers of the Anglo-Scots border but operating on a much larger scale. There were even well known akinji families as was the case with the border families. Raiding parties of akinji, which included all kinds of light horsemen intent on plunder, both Muslim and Christian, crossed into eastern Christendom spreading panic and terror to the civilian populations they raided. Sometimes they encountered defending forces resulting in skirmishes and even pitched battles. 

Many of the border clashes that took place in the late 15th and early 16th century were encounters between defending "Christian" forces such as the Imperialists, Hungarians or Croatians and Ottoman forces comprised entirely of akinji. I have already gamed one such encounter, Leobersdorf in 1532, with Stuart back in 2021, https://camisado1500s.blogspot.com/2021/06/leobersdorf-1532.html, but plan to cover more clashes like this in the future. The force shown in the final photos would be perfect for representing the Ottoman forces, or perhaps more accurately the forces of the local Beylerbeys and Sanjak-beys, in battles such as Vrpile 1491, Krbava Field 1493, Illádia 1512, Dubica 1513 and Plješevica 1520 to name but a few. The army is made up of 96 figures with 7 additional figures for command and kettle drummers and represents all of the Ottoman light cavalry I can muster so far, a force made up of akinji, balkan light horse, delis, Wallachian calarasi and some skirmishing sipahis to represent better armed akinji.  About a third of the figures included in the akinji horde can also be used in opposing Hungarian, Wallachian or Croation armies. Like landsknecht I don't think it is possible to have too many akinji and I will be adding to the akinji host if any more suitable figures become available in the future!

28mm 3D printed Ottoman akinji

28mm akinji horsemen

Akinji or "raiders"

A unit of 3D printed akinji from Wargames Atlantic

The akinji carry a mix of spears and bows

Two units of 3D printed akinji

Twenty four 28mm akinji

The akinji raiding party under a local Sanjak-bey

An Ottoman raiding party of akinji

The akinji raiding party is formed of delis, akinji, Wallachian calarasi and other Balkan cavalry

An army comprised of Ottoman akinji