Turcopole Guide on foot

The first Turcopoles (literally sons of Turks) were found in Byzantine armies, where they seem to have been of ethnic Turkish origin. The crusader states quickly saw the value of such light cavalry, but applied the term loosely to native cavalry from a wide range of origins, including Christianised Turks, Arabs, Syrians and Greeks. In the twelfth century, Turcopole seems to have been synonymous with lightly armoured cavalry archers in the armies of Outremer. They routinely formed a large proportion of the cavalry of Outremer, with an even split of Turcopoles and knights or melee cavalry being common. In battle, Turcopoles seem to have ridden after the knightly charge, protecting the flanks and exploiting any breakthrough. On campaign, Turcopoles fulfilled the wide range of roles demanded of light cavalry - scouting, raiding, harassing the enemy and hunting down fugitives. Pack contains a single foot figure and a 25mm round base. Miniature supplied unpainted and may need some assembly.