Ghazi (warrior): Difference between revisions

{{hatnote|"Ghazw" redirects here; for related terms, see [[Razzia (disambiguation)]]. "Ghazis" redirects here; for other uses, see [[Ghazi (disambiguation)]]. "Gazi" redirects here; for other uses, see [[Gazi (disambiguation)]]. "Ghaza" redirects here; for the city in the [[Gaza Strip]], see [[Gaza City]].}}

{{Usul al-fiqh}}

 

In the context of the wars between Russia and the Muslim peoples of the [[Caucasus]], starting as early as the late 18th century's [[Sheikh Mansur]]'s resistance to Russian expansion, the word usually appears in the form ''gazavat'' ({{lang|ru|газават}}).<ref>{{Cite web |last=Kullberg |first=Anssi |date=1 Oct 2003 |title=The Background of Chechen Independence Movement II: The Sufi Resistance |url=http://users.jyu.fi/~aphamala/pe/2003/tsets-2.htm |website=The Eurasian Politician}}</ref>

==Historical development==

{{Refimprove section|date=May 2015}}

''Ghazi'' ({{lang-ar|غازي}}, ''{{transl|ar|DIN|ġāzī}}'') is an [[Arabic language|Arabic]] word, the [[active participle]] of the verb ''ġazā'', meaning 'to carry out a military expedition or raid'; the same verb can also mean 'to strive for' and ''Ghazi'' can thus share a similar meaning to [[Mujahid]] or "one who struggles". The [[verbal noun]] of ''ġazā'' is ''ġazw'' or ''ġazawān'', with the meaning 'raiding'. A derived [[singulative]] in ''ġazwah'' refers to a single battle or raid. The term ''ghāzī'' dates to at least the [[Samanid dynasty|Samanid period]], where he appears as a [[mercenary]] and frontier fighter in [[Greater Khorasan|Khorasan]] and [[Transoxiana]]. Later, up to 20,000 of them took part in the Indian campaigns of [[Mahmud of Ghazni]].

 

: For political reasons the Ottoman Sultans — also being the last dynasty of [[Caliph]]s — attached the greatest importance to safeguarding and strengthening the reputation which they enjoyed as ''ghāzīs'' in the Muslim world. When they won victories in the ''ghazā'' in the Balkans they used to send accounts of them (singular, ''feth-nāme'') as well as slaves and booty to eastern Muslim potentates. Christian knights captured by [[Bayezid I|Bāyezīd I]] at his victory over the Crusaders at [[Battle of Nicopolis|Nicopolis]] in 1396, and sent to Cairo, Baghdad and Tabriz were paraded through the streets, and occasioned great demonstrations in favour of the Ottomans. (''Cambridge History of Islam'', p. 290)

 

 

Some Muslim rulers (in Afghanistan) personally used the subsidiary style [[Padshah-i-Ghazi]].

{{Further information|Caucasian War}}

In the 19th century, Muslim fighters in [[North Caucasus]] who were resisting the Russian military operations declared a ''gazawat'' (understood as holy war) against the Russian Orthodox invasion. Although it is not known for certain, it is believed that [[Dagestan]]i Islamic scholar [[Muhammad Yaragskii|Muhammad al-Yaraghi]] was the ideologist of this holy war. In 1825, a congress of [[ulema]] in the village of [[Yarag]] declared ''gazawat'' against the Russians. Its first leader was [[Ghazi Muhammad]]; after his death, [[Imam Shamil]] would eventually continue it.<ref name="Yemelianova2002">{{cite book|author=Galina M. Yemelianova|title=Russia and Islam: a historical survey|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=92NRaeiYdnAC&pg=PA50|year=2002|publisher=Palgrave Macmillan|isbn=978-0-333-68354-5|page=50}}</ref>

 

After the [[November 2015 Paris attacks|terrorist attacks on Paris in November 2015]], the [[Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant|Islamic State]] group is said to have referred to its actions as "ghazwa".<ref>{{cite news | last=Ibrahim | first=Ayman S. | title=4 ways ISIS grounds its actions in religion, and why it should matter (COMMENTARY) | newspaper=Washington Post | date=16 November 2015 | url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/religion/4-ways-isis-grounds-its-actions-in-religion-and-why-it-should-matter-commentary/2015/11/16/d7e31278-8ca0-11e5-934c-a369c80822c2_story.html | access-date=17 November 2015}}</ref>

* [[Mustafa Kemal Atatürk|Gazi Mustafa Kemal]] (1881–1938), Turkish field marshal, first president of [[Turkey]]

* [[Amanullah Khan|Ghazi Amanullah Khan]], [[Barakzai dynasty|King]] who launched [[emirate of Afghanistan|Afghanistan's]] [[Third Anglo-Afghan War|Independence war]] in 1919, resulting in the first independence of a country from [[British Empire|Britain]] since the [[American Revolutionary War|American Revolution of 1776]]

* [[Wazir Akbar Khan|Ghazi Wazir Akbar Khan]], Afghan Royal General who led battle against the [[Sikh Empire|Sikh Khalsa Regime]] at [[battle of Jamrud|Jamrud]] and fought to Victory against the [[British Raj|British Empire]] in the [[First Anglo-Afghan War|First Afghan War]]

* [[Ayub Khan (Emir of Afghanistan)|Ghazi Mohammad Ayub Khan]], Victor of the [[Battle of Maiwand]]

* [[Nasir I of Kalat]], 18th-century King of [[Balochistan]] with surname ''Ghazi-e-Din''

* [[Abdul Rashid Ghazi]], [[Islamic fundamentalism|Islamic fundamentalist]] and [[Vice-chancellor|Chancellor]] of [[Jamia Faridia|Faridia University]].