The Provincial troops were those units raised by the local government officials, the Beys, Pasha, etc. The governors of the Empire collected and hired small private armies and personal bodyguards. These troops were used for the guarding of the provincial rulers' property, police and border guards. They would bring to the military call-up when a war was declared. These included a wild array of nationalities and weaponry. Also included in the Provincial unit logs were the local militia forces that were called out in times of emergency. These were known as Yerli Kulu or Derbents. They gradually grew into a sort of 'standing' army that was sometimes called upon to serve outside their own provinces.

The Dellis were light Balkan cavalry armed with shield, adorned with an eagle or vulture wing nailed to it, plus a lance, sword, bow and pistols. Their headress was a hanging cap made from the skin of a snow leopard, decorated with feathers and bird wings. Their cloak was usually made from another animal skin as was their saddle blanket. They wore yellow boots and wore trousers and jackets of animal skin, fur side out.

The Beslis were another Balkan cavalry type similar to Hungarian hussars. These were light cavalry armed with sword, pistols, bow, and later on, carbines.

The infantry included the Arnaut. These were musket-armed infantry recruited from Albania and Macedonia. They were valued as good marksmen and they dressed in a manner similar to Croat infantry.

Tufengi were Anatolian Moslem infantry, though they were recorded as serving as mounted infantry in the mid-16th Century. They were armed with the latest tufek style arquebuses and muskets, swords and pistols.

Martolos from Greece were actually bandits hired by the Ottoman governors to help control their erstwhile brothers. They were skilled light infantry well-suited for operations in rough terrain. They were armed with the usual assortment of weapons as other Ottoman infantry.

Sarika or Sarijas were Christian or Moslem firearm infantry from Turkish lands. The term 'sarika' means yellow in Turkish and it would appear that these troops were either dressed in yellow or else they carried yellow flags. They were also lightly armed infantry with firearm, sword and pistols.

Eftak were the Syrian Sekhan type of light infantry armed with all types of weapons previosly mentioned. Gonullus and Mustafiz were local para-military units used to garrison strong points along the Ottoman frontier. Reaya were the non-military classes of the Empire who began acquiring firearms for hunting. They were eventually enlisted as local guardsmen.

More Ottoman Turk Army of the 17th to Early 19th Century

Introduction
The Standing Army
Feudal Hosts
Provincial Armies
Tribute States Armies and Freebooters
Battle Tactics