janissary

1. A member of a group of elite, highly loyal supporters.
2. A soldier in an elite Turkish guard organized in the 14th century and abolished in 1826.

[French janissaire, from Old French jehanicere, from Old Italian giannizero, from Ottoman Turkish yanī cheri, new army : yanī, new + cheri, special troops (from Middle Persian chērīh, bravery, victory , from chēr, brave, victorious).]

(JAN-i-ser-ee)
also janizary (-ZER-ee) noun

1. A member of a group of elite, highly loyal supporters.

2. A soldier in an elite Turkish guard organized in the 14th century and abolished in 1826.

[French janissaire, from Old French jehanicere, from Old Italian giannizero, from Ottoman Turkish yani cheri, new army : yani, new + cheri, special troops (from Middle Persian cherih, bravery, victory, from cher, brave, victorious, from Avestan chairya-, vigorous, brave).]

Usage:

"Their duty is to add to the status of the place they serve; decorative janissaries, at least as cool as any potential customer and rather more so in most cases, including mine." — Ian Jack, Bouncers in Prada make service fashionable Ian Jack's Notebook, The Independent, Sep 18, 1999.

For more information on Janissary, visit Britannica.com.

Military corps in the Ottoman Empire's army from the late fourteenth century to 1826.

The term janissary is the anglicized form of the Turkish yeni çeri (new troops). The Janissary corps was established in the late fourteenth century. The Janissaries' first recruits were from the ranks of young Christian prisoners of war; they were converted to Islam, taught Turkish, and given a rigorous military training. At the end of the sixteenth century, the Janissary corps began to admit untrained, mostly Muslim-born, recruits. The admission of untrained recruits marked the beginning of the janissaries' decline as a fighting force and their growing corruption. The basic regulations that had preserved the special character of the corps for some two centuries were treated with growing laxity, until they were abandoned altogether. The janissaries were allowed to marry and have families; then, in order to support their dependents, they were permitted to engage in gainful activities. Over the years, an ever-increasing number of janissaries gave up the practice of living at the barracks and training regularly, and the corps became largely a poorly trained and undisciplined militia. Commissions were sold to the highest bidders, and numerous civilians seeking to enjoy tax exemptions and other privileges bought their way into the corps. Consequently, the number of janissaries steadily increased from 12,000 in the early sixteenth century to 140,000 around 1820. The great majority of these men were not soldiers, but shopkeepers, artisans, porters, and followers of other trades, who rarely performed any military duties but zealously defended their privileged position. Identified with large segments of the urban population, they became a powerful caste resisting change.

The janissaries consistently opposed attempts to introduce military reforms because those required training and submission to discipline. They also objected to any attempts to create a new military force that might replace them or threaten their privileged position. In the last decade of the eighteenth century, Selim III (r. 1789 - 1807) hesitatingly introduced a new infantry corps known as the Nizam-i Cedit. The janissaries objected to the new force, and they eventually led a coalition of conservative forces that overthrew Selim and abolished his reforms (May 1807). An attempt by the grand vizier, Bayrakdar (Alemdar) Mustafa Paşa, to reintroduce the Nizam-i Cedit also was foiled by the janissaries, and Bayrakdar himself was killed (November 1808).

Following Bayrakdar's death, Mahmud II (r. 1808 - 1839) concluded a pact with the janissaries, known as Sened-i Ita'at (Deed of Obedience), promising not to introduce military reforms in return for a janissary commitment not to intervene in political affairs. However, the Greek war of independence that broke out in 1821 (and lasted until 1830) confronted the Ottoman Empire with new and dangerous challenges, including the possibility of European intervention. The janissaries proved ineffective against the Greek insurgents, and the sultan was forced to enlist the support of his governor of Egypt, Muhammad Ali Pasha, who had a new, European-style, modern army. The contrast between the ineffectual janissaries and the disciplined, successful Egyptian troops softened public opinion toward military reform. Capitalizing on this new mood, early in 1826 Mahmud proposed a plan (the Eşkinci/Eşkenci project) to reform a small segment of the Janissary corps, transforming it into a regular, modern, European-style force. Although most of the senior officers approved the plan, soon after its implementation the janissaries once again rose in rebellion. The sultan, however, had taken precautions against such a threat. With the support of the ulama (body of Islamic scholars) and the general public, loyal forces including artillery and naval units quickly suppressed the rebellion with considerable bloodshed (15 June 1826). Mahmud seized the opportunity to abolish completely the Janissary corps and the Bektashi sufi order affiliated with it.

Thus ended an institution that had existed for almost five centuries and that had become a hallmark of Ottoman power, in both its greatness and decline. The suppression of the janissaries, which became known in Ottoman history as the Beneficial Event (Vaka-i Hayriye), made a great impression on
contemporaries in the Ottoman Empire and abroad. It also cleared the way for comprehensive, European-style military and administrative reforms that, in the long run, affected every aspect of society, and extended the life of the Ottoman Empire into the twentieth century.

Bibliography

Levy, Avigdor. "The Eşkenci Project: An Ottoman Attempt at Gradual Reform (1826)." Abr-Nahrain 14 (1974): 32 - 39.

Shaw, Stanford J., and Shaw, Ezel Kural. History of the Ottoman Empire and Modern Turkey, Vol. 2: Reform, Revolution, and Republic: The Rise of Modern Turkey, 1808 - 1975. New York and Cambridge, U.K.: Cambridge University Press, 1979.

— AVIGDOR LEVY
UPDATED BY ERIC HOOGLUND

The Janissaries (from yeniçeri, meaning 'new soldier' in Turkish) were an elite standing force of infantrymen, first formed by the Ottoman Sultan Murad I around 1380. Legally slaves (kul ) of the sultan, they served over the centuries as bowmen, crossbowmen, and musketeers. The Janissaries were distinguished from the main body of the army, which was made up of cavalrymen (sipahis) drawn from the freeborn retinues of provincial officials and notables. Janissary recruits were chosen from groups of boys who were taken into Ottoman service in periodic levies on Christian peasant families, predominantly those in the Balkans. The boys were brought to Istanbul, converted to Islam, despite Islamic prohibitions against the forcible conversion of Christians, and then trained for military service.

Organization and Tactics

The Janissary corps was originally organized in the late fourteenth century when a group of prisoners of war were converted to Islam and personally attached to the sultan. It grew from approximately 20,000 men in the late sixteenth century to well over 100,000 by the early nineteenth century, even though it came to include many non-combatants in later years.

The organization became an important Ottoman military force soon after it was established because the Janissaries were perceived to be the sultan's most trustworthy soldiers as well as disciplined troops with particular small arms skill. They received special privileges and benefits to secure their sole allegiance to the ruler, with their group solidarity reinforced by the way they were organized into small companies of celibate warriors living in barracks and receiving constant military training.

The colonel of each company was called the çorbaci ('soup cook') and wore a soup ladle as his rank insignia to symbolize humility before the sultan although he never actually served food himself. The head of the whole Janissary force was the agha, one of the most important officials in the realm. He served on the Imperial Divan, ranking just below the main Ottoman viziers (ministers) but above other military commanders. The Janissaries lived together in large barracks within the cities in which they were stationed. They were forbidden to marry until they retired from active duty. Several Ottoman grand viziers and admirals had served as members of the Janissary corps during their careers.

The Janissaries' military technique was to rush very quickly into battle after a breach had been made in fortress walls or to outflank an enemy cavalry force that had already charged first. They would then attack with handguns or rifles as appropriate. In peacetime, Janissaries served as guards in fortresses and towns and as firefighters in major Ottoman cities. Although Janissaries were principally a land force, there were naval Janissaries who helped man Ottoman ships.

The Janissaries were famous for their distinctive marching style and headgear. Their special military bands are believed to have inspired military bands all over Europe. The Janissary corps was closely connected with Bektashi dervishes, a popular mystical order regarded by many Muslims as heterodox. To commemorate the Islamic millennium in 1591–1592, the sultan allowed the master of the Bektashi order and eight dervishes to become part of the Janissaries.

Janissaries in War

The Janissaries made significant contributions to many important Ottoman victories, among them the conquest of Constantinople in the spring of 1453, the battle against the Iranian Safavids at Chaldiran in 1514, and the defeat of the Mamluk armies at Marj Dabik in 1516. In all these confrontations, the Janissaries administered the final decisive blow after a series of preliminary assaults, usually in swift gunfire attacks. Each of these encounters fueled European perceptions of the Janissary corps as a kind of Ottoman "secret weapon" able to use firearms more effectively than any adversary. Perhaps the greatest moment of Janissary victory was at the battle of Mohacs in 1526, when Janissaries were able to mow down scores of Hungarian cavalry with precise rifle volleys. Many contemporary observers believed that the quality of the Janissary corps diminished in the late sixteenth century when the sons of Janissaries, and freeborn Muslims generally, were permitted to join, and the corps' slave discipline was compromised. This assessment, however, is belied by subsequent Janissary victories in the seventeenth century. Many strains weighed on this group, including inflation and the continual devaluation of Ottoman money, which substantially lowered salary values.

Janissaries in the Seventeenth and Eighteenth Centuries

In the early seventeenth century, when economic and social unrest threatened the stability in the empire, the Janissaries became more deeply involved in royal politics. The young sultan in 1621, Osman II, blamed the Janissaries for the Polish defeat of the Ottomans at Khotin. Osman did not trust their loyalty since he associated them with his uncle and rival, the previous sultan Mustafa I, who had just been deposed. Within a year, Mustafa became Sultan again (with his mother behind the throne), and the Janissaries killed Osman II. Many of the regicides were hunted down and executed in retribution for Osman's death, but the Janissaries' kingmaker role was in no way diminished.

Throughout the seventeenth century, the Janissaries had a fearsome reputation for fomenting unrest instead of fighting in combat. The distinction between the urban craft guilds and the Janissaries had already started to blur, a development that reduced unit cohesion and undermined the Janissaries' fighting capacity. The Janissaries came to be blamed for a series of military defeats, beginning with unsuccessful Ottoman campaigns against the Habsburgs in the 1690s that led to the Treaty of Carlowitz, the first permanent Ottoman surrender of territory to European powers.

The "Tulip Era" of the 1720s was a time when European ideas and fashions became extremely popular in the Ottoman Empire, challenging the traditional system in the wake of a string of Ottoman military failures. This era of social change, combined with the financial weakness and inept administration of the government at that time, produced tensions that culminated in a popular revolt to overthrow Sultan Ahmed III (1703–1730). Patrona Halil, a noncombatant, illiterate Janissary, led this uprising.

Janissaries in the Era of Ottoman Military Reform

Count Alexandre de Bonneval was assigned in the 1730s to modernize the Janissaries. Despite slight improvements in their military capabilities, the Janissaries still had great difficulties adapting to modern warfare and did not receive adequate funding. Further disasters were in store, such as Janissary mismanagement of naval forces that led to a terrible defeat at Chesme in 1770 during the Russo-Ottoman War.

The Ottomans then turned to another European adviser, Baron de Tott, to begin modernizing the military by establishing a naval engineering school in the 1790s. This began an educational transformation in the Ottoman military that totally left out the Janissaries. New army units with no connection to them were organized under Sultan Selim III (ruled 1789–1807) in a military and financial program called the Nizam-i Cedid ('New Order').

By the late eighteenth century, though, the Janissaries would prove difficult to dislodge. As their importance as soldiers waned, they had developed considerable economic and coercive power in major Ottoman cities and were able to thwart reformers' direct assaults on their status for several decades. When they were ordered in 1807, for example, to wear European-style uniforms, the Janissaries staged a revolt and put a new sultan, Mustafa IV, on the throne.

However, general reform trends worked against them. Another sultan, Mahmud II, took power in 1808, and gradually developed strong alliances with advocates of change that resulted in drastic action against the Janissaries eighteen years later. During the so-called "Auspicious Event" in 1826, Mahmud carried out a secret plan to surround the Janissary barracks with artillery and kill everyone inside. The Bektashi order, so closely associated with the Janissaries, was outlawed in the Ottoman Empire in December 1826. This incident, which occurred as enemies with more modern armies were trouncing the Ottomans, ushered in the era of profound military and social reform that extended over the next few decades.

Bibliography

Goodwin, Godfrey. The Janissaries. London, 1997.

Inalcik, Halil. The Ottoman Empire: The Classical Age, 1300–1600. Translated by Norman Itzkowitz and Colin Imber. New York, 1973.

Itzkowitz, Norman. Ottoman Empire and Islamic Tradition. Chicago, 1972.

—ERNEST TUCKER

"Janissaries" redirects here. For the Janissaries series of novels by Jerry Pournelle, see Janissaries series.

Janissary New Soldier
A Janissary commander confers with the Şeyhülislam of the Ottoman Empire (center)
Active	c. 1365–1828
Allegiance	Ottoman Caliph
Type	Islamic
Size	54,22 members during 1680,
Headquarters	Temple Mount, Jerusalem
Nickname	Order of the Temple
Patron	Hajji Bektash Wali
Motto	[Door Slaves]
March	Ceddin deden
Engagements	The Battle of Mohacs, Fall of Constantinople, , Battle of Adrianople (1365), Battle of Kosovo, Battle of Varna and many others.
Commanders
Last	Mahmud II

Military of the Ottoman Empire Army: Sipahi · Akıncı · Timariot · Janissary · Nizam-ı Cedid · Navy · Air Force Conflicts: European · Near East · Polish · Russian · Serbian · Sieges and landings See: Conscription · Reform · Naval treaties · Kaptan Pashas

The Janissaries (from Ottoman Turkish ينيچرى Yeniçeri meaning "new soldier") comprised infantry units that formed the Ottoman sultan's household troops and bodyguards. The force was created by the Sultan Murad I from male Christian children levied through the devşirme system from conquered Christian countries in the 14th century^[1] and was abolished by Sultan Mahmud II in 1826 with the Auspicious Incident.^[2]

Contents 1 Origins 2 Janissary characteristics 3 Recruitment, training and status 4 Training 5 Janissary corps 6 Corps strength 7 Equipment 8 Battles 9 Revolts and disbandment 10 Janissary music 11 See also 12 Notes and sources 12.1 Notes 12.2 Sources 13 External links

Origins

Janissaries battling the Knights Hospitaller during the Siege of Rhodes in 1522.

The origins of the Janissaries are shrouded in myth though traditional accounts credit Orhan I – an early Ottoman bey, who reigned from 1326 to 1359 – as the founder. ^[3] Modern historians, such as Patrick Kinross, put the date slightly later, around 1365, under Orhan's son, Murad I, the first sultan of the Ottoman Empire.^[1] The Janissaries became the first Ottoman standing army, replacing forces that mostly comprised tribal warriors (ghazis) whose loyalty and morale could not always be trusted.^[1]

From the start, they were kapıkulu (pl. kapıkulları), the "door slaves" of the sultan. Kinross refers to them as "human watch dogs".^[4]

The Ukrainian language, which was in close contact with the Ottoman Empire for centuries, adopted the word, changing the pronounciation to yanichar. Cossacks used it to refer to any warrior who converted from Christianity to Islam.

Janissary characteristics

The Janissary corps were significant in a number of ways. The Janissaries wore uniforms, were paid in cash as regular soldiers, and marched to distinctive music, the mehter, similar to a modern marching band.

The Ottomans were the first state to maintain a standing army in Europe since the Roman Empire. The Janissaries have been likened to the Roman Praetorian Guard and they had no equivalent in the Christian armies of the time, where the feudal lords raised troops during wartime.^[1] A Janissary battalion was effectively the soldier's family. They lived in their barracks and served as policemen and firefighters during peacetime.^[5]

The Janissary corps was also distinctive in the regular payment of a cash salary to the troops, and differed from the contemporary practice of paying troops only during wartime. The Janissaries were paid quarterly and the Sultan himself, after authorizing the payment of the salaries, dressed as a Janissary, visited the barracks and received his salary as a regular trooper of the First Division.^[6]

Logistical support also set the Janissaries apart from their contemporaries. The Janissaries waged war as one part of a well organized military machine. The Ottoman army had a corps to prepare the road, a corps to pitch the tents ahead, a corps to bake the bread. The cebeci corps carried and distributed weapons and ammunition. The Janissary corps had its own internal medical auxiliaries, Muslim and Jewish surgeons who would travel with the corps during campaigns and had organized methods of moving the wounded and the sick to traveling hospitals behind the lines.^[6]

These differences, along with a war-record that was impressive, made the Janissaries into a subject of interest and study by foreigners in their own time. Although eventually the concept of the modern army incorporated and surpassed most of the distinctions of the Janissary, and the Ottoman Empire dissolved the Janissary corps, the image of the Janissary has remained as one of the symbols of the Ottomans in the western psyche.

In return for their loyalty and their fervour in war, Janissaries gained privileges and benefits. They received a cash salary, received booty during wartime and enjoyed a high living standard and respected social status. At first they had to live in barracks and could not marry until retirement, or engage in any other trade but by the mid-18th century they had taken up many trades and gained the right to marry and enroll their children in the corps and very few continued to live in the barracks.^[5] Many of them became administrators and scholars. Retired or discharged Janissaries received pensions and their children were also looked after. This evolution away from their original military vocation was the major cause of the system's demise.

In later years, they received "accession money", a gift from the incoming sultan.^{[citation needed]}

Recruitment, training and status

The first Janissary units were formed from prisoners of war and slaves, probably as a result of the sultan taking his traditional one-fifth share of his army's booty in kind rather than cash.^[3] From the 1380s onwards, their ranks were filled under the devşirme system, where feudal dues were paid by service to the sultan.^[3] The "recruits" were mostly Christian youths, reminiscent of Mamelukes.^[1] Sultan Murad may have used futuwa groups as a model. Initially the recruiters favoured Greeks (who formed the largest part of the first units) and Albanians (who also served as gendarmes), usually selecting about one boy from forty houses, but the numbers could be changed to correspond with the need for soldiers. Boys aged 14-18 were preferred, though ages 8-20 could be taken.

As borders of the Ottoman Empire expanded, the devşirme was extended to include Bulgarians, Armenians, Croats, Bosnians and Serbs and later Romanians, Georgians, Poles, Ukrainians, southern Russians, and Black Africans.

The Janissaries first began enrolling outside the devşirme system during the reign of Sultan Murad III (1546-1595) and abandoned devşirme recruitment completely during the 17th century. After this period, volunteers were enrolled, mostly of Muslim origin.^[6]

The Janissaries’ reputation increased to the point that by 1683, Sultan Mehmet IV abolished the devşirme as increasing numbers of originally Muslim Turkish families had already enrolled their own sons into the force hoping for a lucrative career.^{[citation needed]} Every governor wanted to have his own Janissary troops.

Training

A 15th century Janissary drawing by Gentile Bellini who also painted the renowned portrait of Sultan Mehmed II.

Janissaries trained under strict discipline with hard labour and in practically monastic conditions in acemi oğlan ("rookie" or "cadet") schools, where they were expected to remain celibate. They were also expected to convert to Islam. All did, as Christians were not allowed to bear arms in the Ottoman Empire until the 19th century. Unlike other Muslims, they were expressly forbidden to wear beards (a Muslim custom), only a moustache. These rules were obeyed by Janissaries, at least until the 18th century when they also began to engage in other crafts and trades, breaking another of the original rules.

For all practical purposes, Janissaries belonged to the Sultan, carrying the title kapıkulu ("door slave") indicating their collective bond with the Sultan. Janissaries were taught to consider the corps as their home and family, and the Sultan as their father. Only those who proved strong enough earned the rank of true Janissary at the age of twenty-four or twenty-five. The Ocak inherited the property of dead Janissaries, thus amassing wealth (like religious orders and foundations enjoying the "dead hand").

Janissaries also learned to follow the dictates of the dervish saint Hajji Bektash Wali, disciples of whom had blessed the first troops. Bektashi served as a kind of chaplain for Janissaries. In this and in their secluded life, Janissaries resembled Christian military orders like the Johannites of Rhodes.

Janissary corps

The corps was organized in ortas (equivalent to battalion) An orta was headed by çorbaci. All ortas together would comprise the proper Janissary corps and its organization named ocak (literally "hearth"). Suleiman I had 165 ortas but the number over time increased to 196. The Sultan was the supreme commander of the Army and the Janissaries in particular, but the corps was organized and led by their supreme ağa (commander). The corps was divided into three sub-corps:

• the cemaat (frontier troops; also spelled jemaat), with 101 ortas
• the beyliks or beuluks (the Sultan's own bodyguard), with 61 ortas
• the sekban or seirnen, with 34 ortas

In addition there were also 34 ortas of the ajemi (cadets). A semi-autonomous Janissary corps was permanently based in Algiers.

Originally Janissaries could be promoted only through seniority and within their own orta. They would leave the unit only to assume command of another. Only Janissaries' own commanding officers could punish them. The rank names were based on positions in a kitchen staff or troop of hunters, perhaps to emphasise that Janissaries were servants of the Sultan.

Local Janissaries, stationed in a town or city for a long time, were known as yerliyyas.

Corps strength

Year	Strength
1400	>1,000[7]
1514	10,156 [8]
1523	12,000[8]
1526	7,885[8]
1564	13,502[8]
1567-68	12,798[8]
1574	13,599[8]
1603	14,000[8]
1609	37,627[8]
1660-61	54,222[8]
1665	49,556[8]
1669	51,437[8]
1670	49,868[8]
1680	54,222[8]

The full strength of the Janissary troops varied from maybe 100 to more than 200,000. According to David Nicolle, the number of Janissaries in the 14th century was 1,000, and estimated to be 6,000 in 1475, whereas the same source estimates 40,000 as the number of Timariot, the provincial soldiers.^[7] After the defeat in 1699, the number was reduced, but it was increased in the 18th century to 113,400 soldiers according to Ottoman, but most were not actual soldiers and were accepted into the army through corrupt means and were only taking salary.^[7]

Equipment

Further information: Rise of the Ottoman Empire and Growth of the Ottoman Empire

In the first centuries, Janissaries were expert archers, but they began adopting firearms as soon as such became available during the 1440s. The siege of Vienna in 1529 confirmed the reputation of their engineers, e.g. sapping and mining. In melee combat they used axes and sabres. Originally in peacetime they could carry only clubs or cutlasses, unless they served as border troops.

By the early 16th century, the Janissaries were equipped with and were skilled with muskets.^[9] In particular, they used a massive 'trench gun', firing an 80-millimetre (3.1 in) ball,^{[citation needed]} which was "feared by their enemies".^[9] Janissaries also made extensive use of early grenades and hand cannon, such as the abus gun.^[6] Pistols were not initially popular but they became so after the Cretan War (1645–1669).^[10]

Battles

The Ottoman empire used Janissaries in all its major campaigns, including the 1453 capture of Constantinople, the defeat of the Egyptian Mamluks and wars against Hungary and Austria. Janissary troops were always led to the battle by the Sultan himself, and always had a share of the booty.

Revolts and disbandment

Banquet (Safranpilav) for the Janissaries, given by the Sultan. If they refused the meal, they signaled their disapproval of the Sultan. In this case they accept the meal. Ottoman miniature painting, from the Surname-i Vehbi (1720) at the Topkapı Palace Museum in Istanbul.

As Janissaries became aware of their own importance they began to desire a better life. By the early 17th century Janissaries had such prestige and influence that they dominated the government. They could mutiny and dictate policy and hinder efforts to modernize the army structure. They could change Sultans as they wished through palace coups. They made themselves landholders and tradesmen. They would also limit the enlistment to the sons of former Janissaries who did not have to go through the original training period in the acemi oğlan, as well as avoiding the physical selection, so of lesser military value.

When Janissaries could practically extort money from the Sultan and business and family life replaced martial fervour, their effectiveness as combat troops decreased. The northern borders of the Ottoman Empire slowly began to shrink southwards after the second Battle of Vienna in 1683.

In 1449 they revolted for the first time, demanding higher wages, which they obtained. The stage was set for a decadent evolution, like the Streltsy of Tsar Peter's Russia or Praetorian Guard which had proved the greatest threat to Roman emperors, rather than an effective protection. After 1451, every new Sultan felt obligated to pay each Janissary a reward and raise his pay rank. Sultan Selim II gave janissaries permission to marry in 1566, undermining the exclusivity of loyalty to the dynasty.

By 1622, the Janissaries were a "serious threat" to the stability of the Empire.^[11] Through their "greed and indiscipline", they were now a law unto themselves and, against modern European armies, ineffective on the battlefield as a fighting force. ^[11] In 1622, the teenage sultan, Osman II, came to the throne, determined to curb Janissary excesses and outraged at becoming "subject to his own slaves".^[11] In the spring, hearing rumours that the Sultan was preparing to move against them, the Janissaries revolted and took the Sultan captive, imprisoning him in the notorious Seven Towers: he was murdered shortly afterwards.^[11]

In 1807 a Janissary revolt deposed Sultan Selim III, who had tried to modernize the army along Western European lines.^[12] His supporters failed to recapture power before Mustafa IV had him killed, but elevated Mahmud II to the throne in 1808.^[12] When the Janissaries threatened to oust Mahmud II, he had the captured Mustafa executed and eventually came to a compromise with the Janissaries.^[12] Ever mindful of the Janissary threat, the sultan spent the next years discreetly securing his position. The Janissaries' abuse of power, military ineffectiveness, resistance to reform and the cost of salaries to 135,000 men, many of whom were not actually serving soldiers, had all become intolerable^[13].

By 1826, the sultan was ready to move. Historian Patrick Kinross suggests that Mahmud II incited them to revolt on purpose, describing it as the sultan's "coup against the Janissaries".^[2] The sultan informed them, though a fatwa, that he was forming a new army, organised and trained along modern European lines.^[2] As predicted, they mutinied, advancing on the sultan's palace.^[2] In the ensuing fight, the Janissary barracks were set in flames by artillery fire resulting in 4,000 Janissary fatalities.^[2] The survivors were either exiled or executed, and their possessions were confiscated by the Sultan.^[2] This event is now called the Auspicious Incident. The last of the Janissaries were then put to death by decapitation in, what was later called 'the blood tower' in Thessalonica.

Janissary music

Janissaries marching into battle with the Mehter martial tunes played by the Mehterân military band. Ottoman miniature painting, from the Surname-i Vehbi (1720) at the Topkapı Palace Museum in Istanbul.

Further information: Ottoman military band

In modern times, although the Janissary corps no longer exists as a professional fighting force, the tradition of Mehter music is carried on as a cultural and tourist attraction.

The military march music of the Janissaries is characteristic because of its powerful, often shrill sound combining davul (bass drum), zurna (a loud oboe), naffir (trumpet), bells, triangle, and cymbals (zil), among others. Janissary music influenced European classical musicians like Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Ludwig van Beethoven, both of whom composed marches in the Turkish style (Mozart's Piano Sonata in A major, K. 331 (c. 1783), and Beethoven's incidental music for The Ruins of Athens, Op. 113 (1811), and the final movement of Symphony no. 9).

In 1952, the Janissary military band, Mehterân, was organized again under the auspices of the Istanbul Military Museum. They have performances during some national holidays as well as in some parades during days of historical importance. For more details, see Turkish music (style) and Mehter.

See also

• Devşirme system
• Millet system
• Military of the Ottoman Empire
• Culture of the Ottoman Empire

Notes and sources

Notes

1. ^ ^{a b c d e} Kinross, pp 48–52.
2. ^ ^{a b c d e f} Kinross, pp. 456–457.
3. ^ ^{a b c} Nicolle, p. 7.
4. ^ Kinross, p. 52
5. ^ ^{a b} Goodwin. J, pp. 59, 179-181
6. ^ ^{a b c d} Uzunçarşılı, pp 66-67, 376-377, 405-406, 411-463, 482-483
7. ^ ^{a b c} Nicolle, pp 9–10.
8. ^ ^{a b c d e f g h i j k l m} Agoston, p. 50
9. ^ ^{a b} Nicolle, p.36.
10. ^ Nicolle, pp 21–22.
11. ^ ^{a b c d} Kinross, pp 292–295
12. ^ ^{a b c} Kinross, pp 431–434.
13. ^ Levy, Avigdor. "The Ottoman Ulama and the Military Reforms of Sultan Mahmud II." Asian and African Studies 7 (1971): 13 - 39.

Sources

• Agoston, Gabor. Barut, Top ve Tüfek Osmanlı İmparatorluğu'nun Asker Gücü ve Silah Sanayisi, ISBN 975-6051-41-8.
• Goodwin, Godfrey (2001). The Janissaries. UK: Saqi Books. ISBN 9780863560552
• Goodwin, Jason (1998). Lords of the Horizons: A History of the Ottoman Empire. New York: H. Holt ISBN 0-8050-4081-1
• Jelavich, Barbara (1983). History of the Balkans, 18th and 19th Centuries. New York: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521 27458-3
• Kinross, Patrick (1977). The Ottoman Centuries: The Rise and Fall of the Turkish Empire London: Perennial. ISBN 9780688080938
• Nicolle, David (1995). The Janissaries. London: Osprey Publishing. ISBN 9781855324138
• Shaw, Stanford J. (1976). History of the Ottoman Empire and Modern Turkey (Vol. I). New York: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 9780521291637
• Shaw, Stanford J. & Shaw, Ezel Kural (1977). History of the Ottoman Empire and Modern Turkey (Vol. II). New York: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 9780521291668
• Uzunçarşılı, İsmail (1988). Osmanlı Devleti Teşkilatından Kapıkulu Ocakları: Acemi Ocağı ve Yeniçeri Ocağı. Ankara: Türk Tarih Kurumu. ISBN 975-16-0056-1
• This article incorporates text from the Encyclopædia Britannica, Eleventh Edition, a publication now in the public domain.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Janissaries

• History of the Janissary Music
• Janissary section on German-language website about Ottomman empire (not yet exploited)

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