"Garrison towns" () were used during the
Arab Islamic conquests of Middle Eastern lands by
Arab-
Muslim armies to increase their dominance over indigenous populations. In order to occupy non-Arab, non-Islamic areas, nomadic Arab tribesmen were taken from the desert by the ruling Arab elite, conscripted into Islamic armies, and settled into garrison towns as well as given a share in the
spoils of war. The primary utility of the Arab-Islamic garrisons was to control the indigenous non-Arab peoples of these conquered and occupied territories, and to serve as garrison bases to launch further Islamic military campaigns into yet-undominated lands. A secondary aspect of the Arab-Islamic garrisons was the uprooting of the aforementioned nomadic Arab tribesmen from their original home regions in the
Arabian Peninsula in order to proactively avert these tribal peoples, and particularly their young men, from revolting against the Islamic state established in their midst. In the
United Kingdom, "Garrison" also specifically refers to any of the major military stations such as
Aldershot,
Catterick,
Colchester,
Tidworth,
Bulford, and
London, which have more than one barracks or
camp and their own military
headquarters, usually commanded by a
colonel,
brigadier or
major-general, assisted by a
garrison sergeant major. In
Ireland,
Association football (as distinct from
Gaelic football) has historically been termed the "garrison game" or the "garrison sport" for its connections with British military serving in Irish cities and towns. In 18th-century
Newfoundland and Labrador, garrisons served as important components of colonial life. Some garrisons reached a peak of 300 men during the
French and Indian War. In times of peace, only a few dozen soldiers would staff the garrison.
Nine garrisons was a system employed by the
Ming dynasty that was meant to defend the northern border of the great wall. ==References==