Purbiya

Purbiya
Populated states	Bihar and Awadh

Purbiya (Purbia) was a common term used in medieval India for Rajput soldiers of the eastern Ganga plains (the present day Bihar and Eastern Uttar Pradesh).

Purbiya was a common term given to the soldiers of Awadh and Bhojpur who served as mercenaries for the rulers of west and north India. The rulers of Malwa were keen recruiters due to the Purbiya expertise with firearms. This expertise may have been gained due to the easy availability of saltpetre in their native areas. Most Purbiyas were mercenaries and were paid for their services but some were actual kings of smaller principalities.

The Bengal Army consisted largely of Purbiya sepoys (infantry soldiers).

Prior to 1857 the British preferred to recruit Purbiya soldiers, who were designated by the British as "The fighting tribes of the Hindoos and the Musselmen", or simply "Easterners". The Bengal Army of the East India Company preferred to recruit its sepoys from the Brahmans and Rajputs of Oudh and Bihar, in part because they had an average height of 5'8,an important consideration in an army that valued impressive appearance amongst its soldiers.

The Purbiya sepoys in the Bengal Army played a major role in the Indian rebellion of 1857 against the British. Following the suppression of the uprising the new Bengal Army was to be recruited primarily from the Sikh and Muslim communities of the Punjab.Purbiya recruitment from the western United Provinces and the Delhi region continued but on a much reduced scale.

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