thumb|Sipahiai Vienos mūšyje
'''Sipahiai''' (Osmanų imperijos raitelių daliniai.

Sipahio statusas atitiko viduramžių Europos riterio statusą. Sipahiai valdydavo feodą (''tîmâr''), kurį suteikdavo Osmanų sultonas, sipahiui priklausė visos to feodo pajamos, už kurias jis turėdavo atlikti karinę tarnybą.

Sipahių daliniai sukurti valdant Muradui I-ajam. Nors pradžioje sipahiai buvo renkami iš nemusulmonų, panašiai kaip Mehmedo I-ojo valdymo sipahiais tapdavo tik etniniai turkai, kurie valdė žemes imperijos teritorijoje. Sipahių daliniai ilgainiui tapo didžiausia Osmanų kavalerijos sudėtine dalimi. Jei Osmanų kariuomenė išsidėstydavo pusmėnuliu, sipahiai būdavo išdėstomi pusmėnulio smaigaliuose. Iš čia raiteliai turėjo spausti priešininką iš šonų link kariuomenės pagrindo, kur buvo išdėstomi pėstininkai, janyčarai. Į sipahių pareigas taip pat įėjo dalyvavimas paraduose kartu su sultonu, taip pat sultono asmeninė apsauga. Taikos metu sipahiai buvo atsakingi už mokesčių rinkimą.

== Varžymasis su janyčarais ==

Kadangi sipahiai buvo išskirtinai iš turkų žemvaldžių sudaryta kavalerija, o janyčarus sudarė tiek turkai, tiek ne turkai, Osmanų imperijos kariniuose sluoksniuose buvo laikoma, kad sipahiai turi aukštesnį statusą už janyčarus. Apie XVI a. vidurį janyčarai darėsi svarbiausia kariuomenės dalimi, tačiau sipahiai išliko svarbiu faktoriumi imperijos ekonomikoje ir politikoje, taip pat turėjo svarbų disciplinuoto vadovavimo armijai vaidmenį. XVII a. sipahiai, kartu su savo varžovais janyčarais tapo de facto valstybės valdovais, ypač pirmaisiais sultono Murado IV-ojo valdymo metais. 1826 m. sipahiai atliko svarbų vaidmenį išformuojant janyčarus. Sukilusius janyčarus pavyko nuslopinti tik padedant lojaliems sipahių kavalerijos daliniams.

'''Sipahi''' (Ottoman Turkish: ; also transliterated as ''Spahi'', ''Sepahi'', and ''Spakh''; traditionally rendered as ''Spahia'' or ''Spahiu'' in Cyrillic спахиjа, спахия - in Bosnian, Croatian, Serbian, Macedonian and Bulgarian) was the name of an Ottoman christian 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  (''sepâh'', meaning "army") and has the same root as the English term "sepoy".
 
==Description==
thumb|right|210px|Ottoman Horse Archer
The Sipahis were an élite mounted force within the fief of land ( ''tîmâr''; hence the alternative name ''Tîmârlı Sipahi'') granted directly by the Ottoman sultan, and was entitled to all of the income from that land, in return for military service. The peasants on the land were subsequently attached thereto.

The Sipahis were originally founded during the reign of Janissaries, using the irregular cavalry organised along feudal lines and known as "sipahi"s colloquially. In fact, the two formations had very little in common.
thumb|left|210px|Sipahis at the Battle of Vienna, 1683

A ''tîmâr'' was the smallest unit of land owned by a Sipahi, providing a yearly revenue of no more than 10,000 akçe, which was between two and four times what a teacher earned. A ''ziamet'' (زعامت) was a larger unit of land, yielding up to 100,000 akçe, and was owned by Sipahis of officer rank. A ''has'' (غاص) was the largest unit of land, giving revenues of more than 100,000 akçe, and was only held by the highest-ranking members of the military. A ''tîmâr'' Sipahi was obliged to provide the army with up to five soldiers, a ''ziamet'' Sipahi with up to twenty, and a ''has'' Sipahi with far more than twenty.

== Rivalry with the Janissary Corps ==
thumb|right|210px|A Sipahi, from a 16th-century Western engraving
Since they were a cavalry regiment it was well known within the Ottoman military circles that they considered themselves a superior stock of soldiers than janissaries, who were a mixture of both Turkic and devshirmeh non-Turks, whereas the sipahis were almost exclusively chosen amongst ethnic Turkic landowners. That minor quarrels erupted between the two units is made evident with a Turkmen adage, still used today within Turkey, ''"Atlı er başkaldırmaz"''. Which, referring to the unruly janissaries, translates into, ''"Horsemen don't mutiny"''.

Towards the middle of the 16th century, the Janissaries had started to be the most important part of the army, though the Sipahis remained an important factor in the empire's economy and politics, and a crucial aspect of disciplined leadership within the army. As late as the 17th century, the Sipahis were, together with their rivals the Janissaries, the ''disbandment of the Janissary corps. The Sultan received critical assistance from the loyalist Sipahi cavalry in order to forcefully dismiss the infuriated janissaries.

Two years later, however, they shared a similar fate when Sultan Mahmud II revoked their privileges and dismissed them in favour of a more modern military structure. Unlike the janissaries before them they retired honorably, peacefully, and without bloodshed into new Ottoman cavalry divisions who followed modern military tradition doctrines.