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Zaptié
 
 
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Zaptié was the designation given to locally raised gendarmerie
Gendarmerie

A gendarmerie or gendarmery is a military body charged with police duties among civilian populations. The members of such a body are called gendarmes....
 units in the Italian colonies of Tripolitania
Tripolitania

Tripolitania or Tripolitana is a historic region and former province of Libya, situated alongside Cyrenaica and Fezzan). The system of administrative divisions that included Tripolitania was abolished in the early 1970s in favour of a system of smaller-size municipality or baladiyah ....
, Cyrenaica
Cyrenaica

Cyrenaica or Cirenaica is the eastern coastal region of Libya and also an ex-province or state of the country in the pre-1963 administrative system....
, Eritrea
Eritrea

Eritrea , officially the Country of Eritrea, is a country in Northeast Africa. It is bordered by Sudan in the west, Ethiopia in the south, and Djibouti in the southeast....
 and Somalia
Somalia

Somalia , officially the Republic of Somalia and formerly known as the Somali Democratic Republic, is a country located in the Horn of Africa....
 between 1889 and 1942. The word "zaptié" was derived from Turkish
Turkish language

Turkish is a language spoken by over 63 million people worldwide, making it the most commonly spoken of the Turkic languages. Its speakers are located predominantly in Turkey and Cyprus, with smaller groups in Iraq, Greece, Bulgaria, the Republic of Macedonia, Kosovo, Albania and other parts of Eastern Europe....
 and the same title was given to mounted police recruited from the Turkish community in Cyprus during the period of British rule.

The Italian colonial governments in the territories listed above modelled the various zaptié constabulary forces on Italy's own carabinieri
Carabinieri

The Arma dei Carabinieri is the national gendarmerie of Italy, policing both the military and civilian populations. The Carabinieri is now a branch of armed forces , thus ending their long standing role as the first corps of the Italian army....
.






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Zaptié was the designation given to locally raised gendarmerie
Gendarmerie

A gendarmerie or gendarmery is a military body charged with police duties among civilian populations. The members of such a body are called gendarmes....
 units in the Italian colonies of Tripolitania
Tripolitania

Tripolitania or Tripolitana is a historic region and former province of Libya, situated alongside Cyrenaica and Fezzan). The system of administrative divisions that included Tripolitania was abolished in the early 1970s in favour of a system of smaller-size municipality or baladiyah ....
, Cyrenaica
Cyrenaica

Cyrenaica or Cirenaica is the eastern coastal region of Libya and also an ex-province or state of the country in the pre-1963 administrative system....
, Eritrea
Eritrea

Eritrea , officially the Country of Eritrea, is a country in Northeast Africa. It is bordered by Sudan in the west, Ethiopia in the south, and Djibouti in the southeast....
 and Somalia
Somalia

Somalia , officially the Republic of Somalia and formerly known as the Somali Democratic Republic, is a country located in the Horn of Africa....
 between 1889 and 1942. The word "zaptié" was derived from Turkish
Turkish language

Turkish is a language spoken by over 63 million people worldwide, making it the most commonly spoken of the Turkic languages. Its speakers are located predominantly in Turkey and Cyprus, with smaller groups in Iraq, Greece, Bulgaria, the Republic of Macedonia, Kosovo, Albania and other parts of Eastern Europe....
 and the same title was given to mounted police recruited from the Turkish community in Cyprus during the period of British rule.

The Italian colonial governments in the territories listed above modelled the various zaptié constabulary forces on Italy's own carabinieri
Carabinieri

The Arma dei Carabinieri is the national gendarmerie of Italy, policing both the military and civilian populations. The Carabinieri is now a branch of armed forces , thus ending their long standing role as the first corps of the Italian army....
. The first of these units was raised in Eritrea in 1882, drawing from existing companies of "basci bazuks" (tribal irregulars).

They were armed with 1874 model revolvers, cavalry carbines and 1871 model sabres. Officers and some non commissioned officers were Italian but the rank and file were recruited from the colony in question. As an example the Somali Zaptié Corps in 1927 numbered 1,500 Somali and 72 Italian personnel. Uniforms varied from colony to colony but usually comprised fezs, red sashes and khaki or white clothing. A common feature was the white and red collar insignia of the carabinieri. In Italian Somalia the zaptié provided a ceremonial escort for the Italian Viceroy
Viceroy

A viceroy is a royal official who governs a country or province in the name of and as representative of the monarch. The term derives from the Latin prefix vice-, meaning "in the place of" and the French word roi, meaning king....
 (Governor) as well as the territorial police.

See also

  • Camel cavalry
    Camel cavalry

    File:The camel corps at Beersheba2.jpgCamel cavalry, or camelry, is a generic designation for armed forces using camels as a means of transportation....
  • Italian Africa Police
    Italian Africa Police

    The Italian Africa Police . After the end of the war in Ethiopia in late 1936 early 1937, the Corps of "Polizia Coloniale" was created to be the police in the colonies in Africa and it started issuing its own license plates in Mach 1938....