Ghazi (warrior)

Ghazi (Arabic: غازي, Arabic pronunciation: [ɣaːziː]), is an individual military unit, a warrior or champion strategically originating from the Islamic realms, the word Ghazi can also be an umbrella term for warriors that defend the cause of Islam, to protect its territories and its inhabitants and their assets.

In the context of the wars between Russia and the Muslim peoples of the Caucasus, starting as early as the late 18th century's Sheikh Mansur's resistance to Russian expansion, the word usually appears in the form gazavat (газават). In English-language literature, the ghazw often appears as razzia, a borrowing through French from Maghrebi Arabic.