Ghilman

Ghilman
Active9th century - early 19th century
CountryAbbasid Caliphate
Buyids
Tahirids
Saffarids
Ghaznavid Empire
Seljuk Empire
Ghurids
Khwarazmian dynasty
Qara Qoyunlu
Aq Qoyunlu
Delhi Sultanate
TypeSlave-soldier
Mercenaries

Ghilman (singular Arabic: غُلاَم ghulām, plural غِلْمَان ghilmān) were slave-soldiers and/or mercenaries in armies throughout the Islamic world. Islamic states from the early 9th century to the early 19th century consistently deployed slaves as soldiers, a phenomenon that was very rare outside of the Islamic world.