Mughal Empire 16th–18th centuries A Mughal Infantryman.jpg|A
Mughal sepoy, under the command of
Mirza Najaf Khan. Bhavanidas. The Emperor Aurangzeb Carried on a Palanquin ca. 1705–20 Metripolitan Museum of Art..jpg|The
Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb leads his final expedition (1705), (sepoy column visible in the lower right). A
Sipahi or a sepoy was an infantryman armed with a musket in the army of the
Mughal Empire. The earliest sepoys were armed with daggers,
talwars and
matchlocks. By the mid to late 17th century they began to utilize more upgraded forms of
muskets and even
rockets. These sepoys also operated and mounted
artillery pieces and sharpshooter upon
war elephants which were also used for transport, hauling artillery and in combat. By the 18th century individual Nawabs employed their own sepoy units as did the European merchant companies established in parts of India. Sepoys became more visible when they gained European arms and fought for various fragmented polities of the Mughal Empire during the
Carnatic Wars and the
Bengal War, after which the importance of the local sepoy diminished and they were replaced by the "European hired Sepoy".
Sepoys in British service Sepoys of the 3rd Battalion at Bombay, 1773 (cropped).jpg|1773 illustration of two
Bombay Army sepoys Troops in the East India Company's service, a Sergeant and a Grenadier Sepoy of the Bengal Army, 1812.jpg|1812 illustration of two
Bengal Army sepoys Sepoy, Madras Army, 1835 (c) (cropped).jpg| illustration of a
Madras Army sepoy The
East India Company initially recruited sepoys from the local communities in the
Madras and
Bombay Presidencies. The emphasis here favoured tall and soldierly recruits, broadly defined as being "of a proper caste and of sufficient size". In the
Bengal Army however, recruitment was only amongst high caste
Brahmin and
Rajput communities, mainly from the present day
Uttar Pradesh and
Bihar regions. Recruitment was undertaken locally by battalions or regiments often from the same community, village and even family. The commanding officer of a battalion became a form of substitute for the village chief or
gaon bura. He was the
mai-baap or the "father and mother" of the sepoys making up the
paltan (from "platoon"). There were many family and community ties amongst the troops and numerous instances where family members enlisted in the same battalion or regiment. The
izzat ("honour") of the unit was represented by the
regimental colours; the new sepoy having to swear an oath in front of them on enlistment. These colours were stored in honour in the
quarter guard and frequently paraded before the men. They formed a rallying point in battle. The oath of fealty by the sepoy was given to the East India Company and included a pledge of faithfulness to the salt that one has eaten. Although much reduced in numbers after their decisive defeat in India at the
Battle of Wandewash in 1760, France continued to maintain a Military Corps of Indian Sepoys ('''') in
Pondicherry until it was disbanded and replaced by a locally recruited gendarmerie in 1898. The 19th century diplomat Sir
Justin Sheil commented about the British East India Company copying the French Indian army in raising an army of Indians: {{quote|It is to the military genius of the French that we are indebted for the formation of the Indian army. Our warlike neighbours were the first to introduce into India the system of drilling native troops and converting them into a regularly disciplined force. Their example was copied by us, and the result is what we now behold.
Sepoys in Portuguese service Sepoys were also recruited in
Portuguese India. The term '
(sepoy) was also applied by the Portuguese to African soldiers in Angola, Mozambique and Portuguese Guinea, plus African rural police officers. ' from Angola provided part of the garrison of
Goa during the final years of Portuguese rule of that Indian territory. ==Contemporary sepoys==