Akinji, akıncı or akindji (Ottoman Turkish: آقنجى, romanized: aḳıncı, lit. 'raider', IPA: [akɯnˈdʒɯ]; plural: akıncılar) were Turkish irregular light cavalry, scout divisions (deli) and advance troops of the Ottoman Empire's military. When the pre-existing Turkish ghazis were incorporated into the Ottoman Empire's military they became known as "akıncı." Unpaid, they lived and operated as raiders on the frontiers of the Ottoman Empire, subsisting on plunder. In German sources these troops were called Renner und Brenner (English: "Runner and burner"). There is a distinction made between "akıncı" and "deli" cavalry.
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Akinji in the context of Sipahi
The sipahi (Persian: سپاهی sipâhi, Turkish pronunciation: [sipaːhi]) were professional cavalrymen deployed by the Seljuk Turks and later by the Ottoman Empire. Sipahi units included the land grant–holding (timar) provincial timarli sipahi, which constituted most of the army, and the salaried regular kapikulu sipahi, or palace troops. However, the irregular light cavalry akıncı ("raiders") were not considered to be sipahi. The sipahi formed their own distinctive social classes and were rivals to the janissaries, the elite infantry corps of the sultans.
A variant of the term "sipahi" was also applied by colonial authorities to several cavalry units serving in the French and Italian colonial armies during the 19th and 20th centuries (see Spahi).