Golam

Band of Golam warriors with Tenerian officer

A Golam (Tamashek: ⴳⵧⵍⴰⵎ), derived from the Gharbaic term ghulām, was a type of non-Tenerian soldier in Charnea, particularly of the conquest era (1360-1410 CE). The term initially referred to slave-soldiers, often the remnants of armies defeated by the Charneans who had been spared execution in favor of impressment, but would evolve over time to include a diverse body of impressed captives, freedmen and mercenaries fighting on the side of the Charnean Empire. Golam troops as well as their unarmed counterparts in the forced levy were used to fill dangerous roles in the conquering Charnean armies particularly when besieging fortifications, thus sparing the valuable and irreplacable Tenerian mounted warriors the hard and often deadly tasks of filling moats, pushing siege equipment and assaulting the walls. The use of Golam troops faded away after the end of the conquest era. With the Charnean empire entering a period of relative peace and stability following its violent birth, the need to capture cities and fortifications in quick succesion in aggresive campaigns across the continent dissapeared almost overnight, depriving the Golam troops of their purpose within the army. The last Golam unit was disbanded in the early 16th century as the Charnean military adapted to the widespread use of gunpowder weapons.

History

The use of slaves for military purposes was not unheard of in the pre-Ihemodian society of the Ninva. Ihemod himself had been employed for such purposes during his time as a slave in the Ninva. However, it was relatively uncommon before 1353. The Tenerian slaves of the Kel Kaharna under Ihemod would be put to work for military purposes and even armed with the promise of freedom through victory in battle during the early campaigns of 1353-1360. However the true birth of the Golam would not occur until after the siege of the walled Bytra, known thereafter as Agnannet, in March of 1361. As with many of the siege battles of the Achra campaign, Ihemod's army faced a serious defficiency in siege warfare and suffered considerable casualties and constant delays in their attemps to take the rammed earth fortifications of Bytra and the other centers of the Kingdom of Achra. This prompted the impressment of the first Golams from among the captives taken from the conquest of Achra, particularly those who had been warriors captured in battle.