The Seimeni were a group of flintlock-armed infantry mercenaries who served in the principalities of Wallachia and Moldavia during the 17th and 18th centuries. Their primary responsibility was to provide security for the hospodar, or ruler, and his court.
Most members of this mercenary group were of Serb and other Balkan origin. The term "Seimeni" is derived from the Turkish word seğmen, which translates to "young armed man" and originates from the Persian sagbān. In modern Slavonic transcriptions, the name may also appear as simén or siimén (siiméni).