Agha of the Janissaries
| Janissaries | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Active | 1363–1826 (1830 for Algiers) |
| Allegiance |
 Ottoman Empire
|
| Type | Infantry |
| Size | 1,000 (1400), 7,841 (1484), 13,599 (1574), 37,627 (1609) |
| Garrison/HQ | Adrianople (Edirne),Constantinople (Istanbul) |
| Colors | Blue, Red and Green |
| Engagements | Battle of Kosovo, Battle of Nicopolis, Battle of Ankara, Battle of Varna, Battle of Chaldiran, Battle of Mohács, Siege of Vienna, Great Siege of Malta and others |
| Commanders | |
| First | Murad I |
| Last | Mahmud II |
The Janissaries (Ottoman Turkish: يڭيچرى yeñiçeri [jeniˈt͡ʃeɾi], meaning "new soldier") were elite infantry units that formed the Ottoman Sultan's household troops, bodyguards and the first standing army in Europe. The corps was most likely established during the reign of Murad I (1362–89).
They began as an elite corps of slaves made up of kidnapped young Christian boys who were forced to convert to Islam, and became famed for internal cohesion cemented by strict discipline and order. Unlike typical slaves, they were paid regular salaries. Forbidden to marry or engage in trade, their complete loyalty to the Sultan was expected. By the seventeenth century, due to a dramatic increase in the size of the Ottoman standing army, the corps' initially strict recruitment policy was relaxed. Civilians bought their way into the corps in order to benefit from the improved socioeconomic status it conferred upon them. Consequently, the corps gradually lost its military character, undergoing a process which has been described as 'civilianization'. The corps was abolished by Sultan Mahmud II in 1826 in the Auspicious Incident in which 6,000 or more were executed.
The formation of the Janissaries has been dated to the reign of Murad I (r. 1362-1389), the third ruler of the Ottoman Empire. The Ottomans instituted a tax of one-fifth on all slaves taken in war, and it was from this pool of manpower that the sultans first constructed the Janissary corps as a personal army loyal only to the sultan.
From the 1380s to 1648, the Janissaries were gathered through the devşirme system which was abolished in 1638. This was the taking (enslaving) of non-Muslim boys, notably Anatolian and Balkan Christians; Jews were never subject to devşirme, nor were children from Turkic families. According to the Encyclopedia Britannica, "in early days, all Christians were enrolled indiscriminately. Later, those from Albania, Bosnia, and Bulgaria were preferred."
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