{{About|the Indian military title|the magazine|Sowar (magazine)}} {{Short description|Mounted cavalry soldier in South Asia}} {{Infobox military unit | unit_name = Sowar | native_name = ''سوار'' | image = | image_size = | caption = | date = | country = Delhi Sultanate <br> Deccan Sultanates <br> Mughal Empire <br/> Maratha Empire<br>British Raj <br> India <br> Pakistan | branch = Cavalry | size = | garrison = | colors = | equipment = Composite bow, Talwar, Spear, and Musket | battles = }} [[File:Sowar, Madras Light Cavalry, 1847 (c).jpg|thumb|{{circa|1847}} painting of a Madras Army sowar]]
'''Sowar''' ({{langx|ur|سوار}}, also '''sawar''' or '''siwar''' meaning "the one who rides" or "rider", from Persian {{lang|fa-Latn|sawār}}, from the Sasanid Persian '''Aswār''', from the Achaemenid Persian '''Asabāra''')<ref>{{cite book|last1=Ostler|first1=Nicholas|title=The Last Lingua Franca: English Until the Return of Babel|date=2010|publisher=Penguin UK|pages=1–352|isbn=978-0141922218}}</ref> was originally a rank during the Mughal Empire. Later, during the British Raj, it was the name in Anglo-Indian usage for a horse-soldier belonging to the cavalry troops of the native armies of British India and the feudal states. It is also used more specifically of a mounted orderly, escort or guard. It was also the rank held by ordinary cavalry troopers, equivalent to sepoy in the infantry — this rank has been inherited by the modern armies of India and Pakistan. The rank higher is Acting Lance Daffadar.
==History== An image from the Carnatic Wars features a Sowar armed with a musket.{{citation needed|date=December 2024}}
''Sowar'' has been used as the name of a line of wrist-watches by the Swiss West End Watch Co.
==See also== * Suvari
==References== {{reflist}} * {{EB1911|wstitle=Sowar}}
Category:Urdu words and phrases Category:Military of the Mughal Empire Category:Military ranks of British India Category:Pakistan Army ranks Category:Military ranks of the Indian Army