Sipahi

Sipahi was the name of several Ottoman cavalry corps. In the form of "Spahi" it was the title given to several cavalry units serving in the French and Italian colonial armies during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. The name ultimately derives from the Persian سپاه (sepâh, meaning "army") and has the same root as the English term "sepoy". Sipahi refers to all mounted troops other than akıncıs and tribal horsemen in Ottoman army. The word was used almost synonymously with cavalry. The sipahis formed two distinct types of cavalry: feudal-like, provincial timarlı sipahi (timariots) which consisted most of the Ottoman army, and salaried, regular kapıkulu sipahi (sipahi of the Porte), which consisted cavalry part of the Ottoman household troops.

(From Wikipedia)