sowar

{{About|the Indian military title|the magazine|Sowar (magazine)}}

{{Short description|Military rank of India and Pakistan}}

{{Infobox military unit

| unit_name = Sowar

| native_name = سوار

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| country = Delhi Sultanate
Deccan Sultanates
Mughal Empire
Maratha Empire
British Raj
India
Pakistan

| branch = Cavalry

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| equipment = Composite bow,

Talwar, Spear, and Musket

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}}

File:A Deccani courtier who may or may not be the king himself, c.1600.jpg

File:Madras cavalry.jpg, serving the British East India Company, {{circa|1845}}]]

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){{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}} 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.

File:Maratha Sowar and Sepoy.jpg