Medium armored horse archers, while less mobile than other horse archers, are better suited to hand to hand fighting.
Faris (also known to the Turks as Sipahis) are feudal cavalry, land holders given nominal power over their fiefs, called timars, in exchange for military service. In western regions of the Ottoman empire especially, many Sipahis remained Christian. These horse archers are better armoured than their tribal counterparts, while not as mobile. This increased protection offers more opportunity for these companies to enter into hand to hand combat.