Ottoman Army (15th-19th centuries)

Ottoman Classical Army was the military structure established by Mehmed II, during his reorganization of the state and the military. This was the major reorganization following Orhan I's standing army paid by salary rather than booty or fiefs. This army was the force during the rise of the Ottoman Empire. The organization was twofold, central (Kapu Kulu) and peripheral (Eyalet). This army was forced to disbandment by Sultan Mahmud II on 15 June 1826 by what is known as Auspicious Incident following a century long reform efforts.

The Ottomans were one of the first states to maintain a standing army in Europe since the Roman Empire. The force originated in the 14th century; it was abolished by Sultan Mahmud II in 1826.

The Janissaries were elite infantry units that formed the Ottoman Sultan's household troops and bodyguards. Sultan Murad I created the force in 1383. They began as an elite corps of slaves recruited from young Christian boys, and became famed for internal cohesion cemented by strict discipline and order. By 1620 they were hereditary and corrupt and an impediment to reform.

For all practical purposes, Janissaries belonged to the Sultan, carrying the title "kapikulu" (Subject of the gate) indicating their collective bond with the Sultan. Janissaries were taught to consider the corps as their home and family, and the Sultan as their de facto father. The janissary corps was significant in a number of ways. The janissaries wore uniforms, were paid in cash as regular soldiers, and marched to distinctive music, by the mehter.

The history Yaya goes to the early Ottoman military forces consisted of irregular nomadic cavalry and volunteer light infantry. These units were efficient against local Byzantine feudal lords but were unable to capture fortified castles by direct assault. Established by Sultan Orhan during Alaeddin Pasha's reorganization the military in the mid 1320s.

Yaya, and Musellem over time they lost their original martial qualities and were employed only at such tasks as transportation or founding cannonballs. The organisation was totally abolished in 1582.

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