Turcopole
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During the Crusades, turcopoles or turcopoliers (Greek: "sons of Turks") were mounted archers.
Many would be mixed race Christians recruited from Christianized Seljuqs, but mounted Frankish sergeants were also later included. There were both secular and military orders turcopoles. In the Holy Land, turcopoles were more lightly armoured than knights and were armed with lances and bows to help combat the more mobile Muslim forces.
Later, the Teutonic Order called its own native light cavalry the "Turkopolen". Mercenary knights are sometimes hired for a campaign (during which they will ride as confreres of the Order. Mercenary engineers, crossbowmen, and other infantry might be rushed in to a city that was expected to stand siege. But these cases are temporary and of comparatively small scale. The Order has a permanent force of mercenary 'turcopoles'. Turcopoles are for the most part natives of Outremer, raised and trained locally. They serve as light cavalry: skirmishers, scouts, and mounted archers, and sometimes ride as a second line in a charge, to back up the knights and sergeants. Turcopoles have lighter, faster horses than knights or even sergeants, and they wear much lighter armour (usually only a quilted aketon and a conical steel helmet. The Mamelukes considered turcopoles (who were usually Syrian-born) to be traitors and apostates: their policy was to kill all those whom they captured. This did not completely deter Syrians from serving the Orders (Templars and the Teutonic knights also employed turcopoles). But it does mean that turcopoles who survived the fall of Acre have as strong an incentive to flee to Cyprus as brother of the Order.