THE CORPS OF THE JANIZARIES
By Arthur Leon Horniker
Published in Gorget & Sash
Military annals reveal few organizations whose history is more
extraordinary than that of the corps of the Janizaries, which for nearly five
hundred years constituted the backbone of the armed forces of the Ottoman
Empire. Not only was it the first true infantry of modern times, but the method
by which its ranks were filled was unique. Only in our own day is it possible
to observe the creation of a troop the underlying principles of which resemble
even partly those of the corps of the Janizaries; this troop is the elite guard
of Nazi Germany. But still more interesting than the military organization of
the Janizaries were the social and economic aspects of the corps.
Above all, the history of the Janizaries faithfully reflects the whole history
of the Ottoman Empire. From the founding of the corps in 1330 to the time of
Sulaiman the Great, the Janizaries, unopposed by armed forces equally well
organized, disciplined and valorous, were able to carry the Turkish standards
into the heart of Europe. When, however, after Sulaiman's reign, the discipline
and efficiency of the corps began to decay, the Empire entered upon the path to
its downfall.
Yet, while the very name of the organization has become a figure of speech, but
little of its history has been known to the English speaking world.
THE ORIGIN OF THE CORPS OF THE JANIZARIES
What was the origin of the corps of the Janizaries? Two factors led to its
creation. On the one hand, there was the political factor, the character of the
Ottoman Empire with its expansionist policy, and on the other, the military
factor, the urgent need of an organized and well disciplined infantry which
alone could have effectuated this policy of expansion.
The Empire which the nomadic tribe of Osmanli-Turks established in the early
part of the 14th century was a military state whose life and business was war
and conquest. This inherent belligerency of the Turkish state which originated
in the nomadic past of the Osmanli-Turks was powerfully aided moreover by
another factor likewise of nomadic origin--Islam. Islam called for a continuous
war against the infidels and this was linked up closely through the Koran with
the whole cultural and religious life of its followers. The Osmanli-Turks who
were won for Islam took over this ideal because it conformed completely with
their own nature. Thus the teaching of the Koran became the basis and support
of the Ottoman State.
The conquerors who held these ideas and who laid the foundation of the Ottoman
Empire were the army of horsemen, akinci (light cavalry), who were assisted,
from the earliest period, by a small group of irregular foot troops, azab
(unmarried). The army of horsemen long constituted the elite of the Ottoman
military power. However, quiet early it became evident that a complete
reorganization of the army and creation of a well-drilled infantry was
indispensable for the successful conduct of war and conquest. Although this
cavalry was unmatched in open warfare, it was not well suited for siege
operations against fortified towns of the Byzantine Empire. Moreover, very
rapidly the Turks realized the advantages of establishing themselves in Europe
and the expansionist tendency toward the Christian West was their leading idea.
While in Asia Minor the Turks had been able to capture fortified places through
trickery and long sieges, the final destruction of Byzantium and a conquest of
Europe could not be achieved through such means. For this a well organized and
trained infantry was necessary.
To meet the exigency, an attempt apparently was made to establish a military of
foot soldiers comprising the younger sons of the Osmanli horseman. This
uniformly armed and well paid troop was called pyade or yayan (foot people).
But it proved ineffective in war, while in peace time, its licentiousness and
constant clamor for increased pay constituted a danger to the stability of the
State. As a result, the pyade was replaced by a regiment of mercenaries. There
were the azab, and into their ranks entered principally the Islamic town
dwellers. The troop was, however, not well trained and undisciplined and played
only a minor role in the military structure of the Turkish State.
The difficulty of creating an efficient and well drilled infantry from Turkish
elements was due to the fact that every Turk of any importance served as a
feudal horseman, or as a follower of one, while only the lower classes would
enlist in the infantry. But owing to their still recent nomadic life, these
Osmanli elements proved completely worthless for war purposes in a regular
infantry and required a prolonged schooling in order to bring some discipline
and order into their wild hordes.
FROM CHRISTIAN PRISONERS OF WAR TO THE LEVY ON CHRISTIAN CHILDREN
The failure of the attempts to form an infantry from the Turks convinced
the Ottoman rulers of the necessity of drawing upon other people. However,
since Asiatics stood low in their reputation as warriors, Armenians, Jews and
the inhabitants of Asia Minor were immediately excluded from all consideration.
It was decided to recruit the troops from European Christians only. But to
recruit an army from strangers and unbelievers was as much contrary to the
basic principles of Islam as it was impolitic to have an armed militia composed
of Christian subjects. And yet, the creation of the indispensable and efficient
foot troop, upon which the perpetuation of the military State itself depended
could only materialize by utilizing, in accordance with nomadic custom, the
service of foreign, indeed, even hostile, peoples. Advised by the renowned and
shrewd military judge Kara Halil Cendereli to recruit the infantry from
European Christians exclusively, Sultan Orkan decided to organize the corps of
the Janizaries in 1330 by resorting to Christian prisoners of war. Since as a
result of the numerous wars there was an abundance of these prisoners, the plan
was executed rapidly.
As organized by Orkan, the corps consisted of 1,000 men who were drawn from the
fifth part (besinci) of the human booty which, according to the Koran, belonged
to the Sultan. Replacements were drawn from Christian prisoners of war who were
forced to accept Islam and Christian volunteers who became converts to Islam.
But the number of mature prisoners did not suffice to meet an increasing demand
for replacements, nor did it permit the expansion of the corps. Furthermore,
despite the severe discipline, it was not possible to trust such recruits.
Children, however, could be properly molded. Hence, in 1362, under Murad I, the
recruiting was extended to the fifth part of Christian children who became
prisoners of war, and it was decided to subject them to a thorough schooling
for their future military activity. By the time of Selim I, even this source
was no longer adequate to meet the growing demand for men and it was decided to
impose a forced levy (devsirme) upon children of the subject Christian peoples
who up to that time had been free from military service. It is interesting to
observe that the method of recruiting the Janizaries developed gradually from
experience and improved step by step until it culminated in the institution
unique in history.
Throughout the earlier period of their existence, the number of Janizaries was
always small. The first Sultans followed the rule of not augmenting the troop
in the interest of their own security. However, in the later period their
number increased. With the shrinkage in the prestige and the authority of the
Sultans, this deviation from the earlier rule had serious consequences.
THE CORPS' AFFILIATION WITH THE RELIGIOUS ORDER OF BEKTASIE
That Orkan, in establishing the corps of the Janizaries, wished to make it
the spearhead of that perpetual war against the unbelievers which was preached
by Islam and which, favored by the nomadic origin of the Osmanli, had become
the driving principle of the Turkish State, can be inferred from the religious
ceremony in connection with the establishment of the corps and from its
intimate association with a religious order.
According to legend, upon founding the corps, in order to appease the religious
sentiment of the Turks and endow the organization, in view of its anticipated
function, with permanency, Orkan asked Haci Bektas, a renowned Islamic
religious leader who has given his name to the Bektasie, an order of Dervishes,
to name the troop and impart his blessing to it. According to the traditional
story, the holy man, ceremonially placing a felt sleeve ripped from his white
coat upon the head of one of the new soldiers in such a manner that the sleeve
hung down in the back, called him yenicere, or new trooper, and imparting his
benediction, wished them victory, glory and well being for all time. In memory
of this occasion, the Janizaries always wore a white felt cap to the rear of
which was attached a piece of cloth. The corps was formally affiliated with the
Bektasie. The members of the order served as godfathers and chaplains for the
Janizaries. Haci Bektas became the patron saint of the latter and was always
remembered by them in their evening prayers.
Very often we find in history military organizations linked to religious
associations. Among the Christian nations, the ecclesia militans, the celibate
monastic orders, were the prototype of the militant religious associations of
knights, with their highly developed esprit de corps and their readiness to
sacrifice themselves for the Church. It is quite likely that the Christian
Knightly Orders of the Johannites of Rhodes and Malta exerted some influence on
the character of the corps. These knights were the most formidable foes whom
the Turks had encountered and whom they could not completely destroy. It may be
assumed therefore that the knightly orders served as a model when the
organization of the Janizaries was undertaken. The latter, too, were
dissociated from all family ties and other worldly contacts and closely bound
in a religious tie which made them an unbreakable power in the hands of the
Sultans.
The plan to recruit a part of an Islamic army from Christian prisoners of war
and later, systematically, from Christian children was a crafty thought which
showed an understanding of human nature, although it was inhumanly hard and
cruel. While religious fanaticism probably played a certain part in originating
the plan to use the Christian population for purposes of war -- thousands of
souls were gained for Islam -- yet, it was mainly a clever calculation designed
to serve the Turkish State. In the first place, by limiting the troops to
European Christians, a population largely agricultural in character, they were
getting a group of people accustomed to a regular and routine way of life,
hence easily organized in a military and disciplined. Secondly, the non-Turkish
origin of the members of the troop made it difficult for them to unite in
conspiracy, as had the pyade, with the Turks. Finally, the exploitation of the
Christian subjects through the levy upon their children weakened Christians by
robbing them of their strongest and most gifted young men, and strengthened
simultaneously the Turks.
RECRUITING FOR THE CORPS: EUROPEAN CHRISTIANS ONLY
But this attempt to create a military organization, which for centuries
maintained a superiority over that of the Christian armies, would never have
succeeded to the extent that it actually did, had not, in addition to the
intimate affiliation with a religious association, their recruiting and
training hammered the Janizaries into an extraordinarily efficient warrior
society. The recruiting (devsirme), as was pointed out, evolved from the
impressing of adult Christian war prisoners to a levy on children of the
subject Christian peoples within the Ottoman Empire. These children became the
slaves of the Sultan. Now, while Muslim law permitted the conscription of
prisoners of war and their enslavement, the impressing of Christian children to
recruit the corps of the Janizaries was contrary to the common law which
forbade a sovereign to force the dimmi to give their children into slavery. The
disregard of the common law was justified, however, by appealing to a remark of
the Prophet that every human being carries from his birth a desire to embrace
Islam.
Conscription was practiced in the European provinces of the Empire only,
namely, in Albania, Greece, and later in Hungary. Some privileged places, as
Constantinople and Galata, which protected themselves against it in their
original treaties with the Osmanli conquerors, as well as the Islands of Chios
and Rhodes, were exempted from the levy. At first the levy took place every
seventh or fifth year; then it varied in accordance with the needs and took
place at shorter intervals.
Whenever conscription was ordered, small groups of soldiers, each under a
Janizary captain and armed with a special firman, made their rounds in the
assigned Christian localities. Upon their order, the head of each community,
the protegeros, submitted the official register of the Christian
families and assembled the fathers with all their sons. From these the captain
selected one-fifth of their number and between the ages of 7 and 14. Later,
however, as many were taken as were needed, the exceptions as to only sons from
one family were done away with, and many of a higher age were conscripted. All
those who were of good appearance and strong, or who displayed certain skill or
had some talent were taken away and sent to Constantinople as the rightful part
(besinci) of the Sultan.
This levy, which in reality was a blood tax to be remitted in the persons of
Christian boys and for the evasion of which heavy penalties were imposed on the
Christians, produced sad consequences for the oppressed peoples. From time
immemorial there has been a tendency towards tax evasion. But in this case it
was only natural that every and all stratagems would be employed to evade so
inhuman a tax. As the law provided that only unmarried boys should be
recruited, children were married off when they were still in their cradles.
When this could not be continued, because young married men were conscripted,
the children were made to accept Islam, for only Christian children were
subject to this levy. But soon the Turks, fearing a shortage of boys, refused,
contrary to their religious precepts, permission for conversion. The result was
that many Christians, particularly in the border provinces, fled with their
children, leaving their homes and goods behind. Often Christian families would
betray each other in order to save their own children. And very often there
were uprisings against this method of recruiting, which were usually suppressed
with much bloodshed.
Moreover, grave abuses grew up with this recruiting. The recruiting officers
would often disregard the Sultan's firman and would take away a greater number
of boys than required by law. But the excess number of boys would be delivered
at Constantinople. The officers usually offered to sell back to the parents
their children at high prices; otherwise, they threatened, they would be sold
into slavery. The wealthy Christians, of course, would ransom their children,
many of them sacrificing everything to save their sons from this fate. But the
poor were the chief victims of this rapacious system. The position of
recruiting officers thus became a source of considerable income. Such positions
were monopolized by the Grand Viziers, who auctioned them off to the highest
bidder. By the 17th century, the system, which had come to resemble the African
slave trade, fell into disrepute with both rulers and subjects; the executors
of the levy frequently atoned for their extortions with the loss of their rank
and sometimes even with death.
But there was also another side to the system of recruiting. Owing to the
severe oppression and the great poverty which prevailed in the Christian
communities, many a boy, in order to escape this misery, was only too glad to
volunteer for the corps, and many parents, to secure a better future for their
children, encouraged their sons to enlist. Even from countries outside the
Ottoman Empire hordes of youngsters sought admission into the ranks of the
Janizaries. The escape from poverty and the riches and great honors which this
service offered were great attractions. Turkish officials never failed to hold
out these advantages before the starved Christian boys. Indeed, these benefits
led the Turkish people to complain against the monopolization of the highest
positions in the State by men of Christian birth. Gradually, Turkish boys began
to be smuggled into the corps, their parents turning them over to Christians to
be delivered to recruiting officers in place of their own children. With this,
as will be seen later, the cancerous germ was planted which gnawed away the
body of the corps and finally destroyed it.
THE ACEMI OGLAN, PREPARATORY SCHOOL OF THE JANIZARIES
From the beginning the boys impressed into the service were subjected to a
well planned system of education through which they were fashioned into the
most ardent defenders of Islam and of the Sultans. The system was distinguished
by the strict and careful examination of the physical and mental qualities of
boys for the purpose of choosing an occupation for them, an occupation serving
the interest of the totality, and diligence in the development of the boys for
the duties of this position. In Constantinople, the boys, who through
circumcision were immediately accepted into the Islamic faith, were again
examined by the public authorities, in the presence of the Sultan. The best fit
physically and the most talented among them were assigned to the Sultan's
school for pages. Here they were educated by young jurists and trained, under
the supervision of white eunuchs and military experts, for services at the
palace, state administration and army, chiefly the Sipahi (paid cavalry).
The others, usually the greater number, were assigned to serve in the corps of
the Janizaries. However, they had to go through a hard "preparatory"
schooling. The preparatory period comprised two stages: (1) the apprenticing of
the boys throughout the country, and (2) their training at the institute of the
acemi oglan. The boys were turned over to the special agas of the institute.
The agas apprenticed them for a number of years to Turkish peasants and
artisans, chiefly in Anatolia, where they learned the Turkish language and were
indured to all kinds of hard labor, physical exertion and privations. Their new
masters had to pay a small sum, and willingly did so, into the treasury of the
corps. For this long apprenticeship was of great benefit to the peasants and
the mechanics, particularly the former, in that they were subsidized with
labor, so to speak, by the State. And the agas soon turned the system into a
profitable business for themselves, for the artisans and peasants would gladly
pay something additional to obtain more apprentices or to retain them for a
longer period.
At the end of their first preparatory period, when they had become hardened
physically and proficient in Islamic practices and the Turkish tongue, the agas
returned as many of the boys as were needed to Constantinople. There they
entered the institute of the acemi oglan (inexperienced boys), the nursery of
the Janizaries, and began the second phase of their education under the
supervision of officers.
The acemi oglan was a division of the Janizaries corps, and the number of
recruits increased and decreased with the needs of the service for which they
were designated. In the early period their number was always small; in the
period of decay, however, the situation changed completely.
According to the law established by Sultan Murad I, the acemi oglan were
obliged to spend seven years at the institute before they might by promoted to
the corps of the Janizaries. At the institute the recruits were subjected to
severe discipline, received their training in arms and, in addition, performed
all kinds of hard labor on State works. Thus, the State derived considerable
direct and indirect economic advantages from the exploitation of this supply of
cheap labor.
During this period the recruits lived and slept in special barracks, where
under the command of their own aga (Istanbul agasi), they were divided up into
sections of 20-30 boys, each with its own section leader (boluk-basi). They
received a small payment from which they maintained themselves by contributing
every month a specified amount to the common household. They also had to
provide themselves with their own footwear, although outer clothing was
distributed annually by the State. But life in the barracks was hard and the
discipline compared in severity with that of a cloister. Blind obedience to
their superiors was inculcated in them, as well as a fanatical subservience to
the Sultan, to whom they belonged in body and soul. They slept in lighted rooms
under the watchful eyes of eunuchs who punished severely every noise or other
impropriety on their part. All individuality and freedom was suppressed in the
acemi oglan, and as a reaction to this, they sought relaxation in excesses
against Christian and Jews. Particularly did they display a fanatical hatred of
Christians, proof that Islamization had been thorough. These excesses,
surprisingly enough, were tolerated and even encouraged, especially, during the
two Bayram festivities. Perhaps it was desired through this official tolerance
to tie the acemi oglan closer to their new law and to the person of the Sultan.
In the beginning, owing to their cruelties these young recruits were more
feared by the oppressed population than were the Janizaries.
The acemi oglan never left Constantinople and were not employed in service.
They were, however, as pointed out, utilized on all kinds of public works, as
well as in the police force at Constantinople.
At the age of 24 or 25 those of the acemi oglan who were in perfect physical
condition and thoroughly skilled in the use of arms were advanced from the
institute to the corps of the Janizaries. Those of weak constitution, on the
other hand, were assigned to various occupations, receiving the title cikme
(rejected one).
The system of training of the acemi oglan shows the Osmanli Turks'
understanding of how best to exploit foreign strength in the Empire's interest.
Essentially Spartan in character, it was a perfect creation of the military
spirit: a common esprit de corps was developed, a perfect discipline, and
absolute subservience to superiors.
This same spirit also animated the Janizaries, and made them, as long as it
remained alive within them, the backbone of the Turkish forces, the support of
the Sultans and the guardians of the Ottoman Empire.
THE CORPS: AN ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL UNIT
During the early period, the corps of the Janizaries replenished its ranks
only from the acemi oglan. As long as this continued, the Janizaries remained
an elite troop, and commanded respect not so much through their strength as
through the character of their organization and their behavior. For a period of
about two hundred years, that is up to the time of Sulaiman I, the lives of the
Janizaries were regulated minutely by the fundamental law of the corps (Kanun),
promulgated by Sultan Murad I, and embodied in fourteen articles, which
included the following provisions: (1) Janizaries owe absolute submission and
obedience to their superior chiefs and to commanding officers; (2) there must
prevail among the Janizaries perfect unity and accord; their barracks and the
living conditions of all of them shall be the same; (3) Janzaries shall abstain
from everything which is not becoming to a warrior, such as luxuries in dress,
as well in arms, etc.; (4) with regard to the duties which religion imposes,
they shall never deviate from the sacred teachings of the venerable Haci
Bektas; (5) only men raised by virtue of the law of devsirme, i.e., those who
have completed their classes at the institute of acemi oglan shall be admitted
into the oda; (6) the punishments which carry with them the death penalty
shall, by privilege, be carried out in a special manner; (7) Janizaries can
only be admonished and punished by their own officers; (8) promotion shall be
rigorously observed by order of seniority; (9) invalided Janizaries shall be
retired and shall receive a pension; (10) Janizaries shall not let their beards
grow; (11) they cannot get married before they have quit the active service;
(12) Janizaries shall sleep in the barracks and shall not leave without
authorization; (13) they shall perform the necessary exercises and maneuvers
for their military instruction.
Murad's successors augmented the law by a great number of additional articles.
After two centuries, however, the law became almost a dead letter owing to the
affection which the Sultans lavished on the Janizaries, the privileges which
the latter claimed and obtained for themselves, and their unruliness.
The ocak (hearth) or corps of the Janizaries was divided into tactical units
called orta (also hearth -- regiment). These ortas were lodged in barracks
called oda (chamber). According to their names, both the ocak and the orta
would signify a feeding community, while the oda designates a group of men
living and sleeping in common.
Since every Janizary belonged to one orta during his entire period of service,
the orta, consequently, represented a sort of great family, whose members stood
in closest connection with one another.
Under Sulaiman the Great, the corps consisted of 165 ortas; these soon
increased to 196, the number which existed in the last days of the Janizaries.
Since the records give different numbers at different times, it may be assumed
that in the continuous wars some of the ortas were completely destroyed but
later reconstituted. Only one orta, destroyed as a result of its rebellion, was
never reestablished.
The ortas were grouped in three divisions. Sixty-two were in the boluk
(companies) comprising the Janizaries--ortas proper; thirty-three were in the
segban ortas (hound keepers, hunters, popularly called seymen); and 100 were in
the yaya (or cemaat) ortas (assemblies). Besides these ortas there were the 34
ortas of acemi oglan. The effective strength of the individual orta varied
according to the period and the place. In Constantinople the number of
effectives in an orta was usually 100, while in the provinces it ranged from
200 to 300 men. In war time the effectives in each orta totaled 500 men. The
orta was subdivided into smaller groups composed of 10 to 25 men. In the field,
these groups formed, so-called tent associations. Each group had its own small
caldron, and was consequently also a feeding association. In war each group had
its own pack horse for the transport of impedimenta, tents and weapons.
Thus the corps was a community of men, embodying within themselves the
advantages of a closely-knit and disciplined military body and the economic
benefits of the household, but in which the family instinct was artificially
suppressed in favor of the communal instinct.
It is evident from the foregoing that the Janizaries placed great value on the
system of food supply, a recognition that it was at least as important to feed
troops properly as keeping them ready for war and in good physical condition.
Nevertheless always the greatest moderation was practiced in food and drink in
order to keep the men healthy and in good temper. Furthermore, it is noteworthy
that even in the field the prescribed fasts were observed strictly. In all
cases the most scrupulous equality was observed in the distribution of rations,
which were consumed by the men at definite periods "in their respective
refectories like monks in convents, or scholars in their colleges." In
respect to the food supply system the Janizaries were far in advance as
compared with the armies of other nations. Herein also lies a cause of the
military superiority of the corps.
THE OFFICERS OF THE CORPS
The importance of the supply and feeding system in the minds of the Turks
is indicated not only by the organization of the orta but also by the titles of
the officers. Almost all designations of officers were taken from the kitchen
and the menial activities connected with it. Particularly was this true in the
early days of the corps. The very name of the corps, ocak, signifying
"hearth," indicates the importance which was attached to the communal
economy and division of labor pertaining to it. At the head of each orta stood
a colonel, called corbaci basi, "the distributor of soup," or
"chief soup maker"; in addition each orta had a number of other
officers, the most important of whom was the oda-basi who kept order on parade
and saw that the rules were obeyed; the asci basi, or chief cook, who was the
quartermaster of the orta, and also occasionally acted as goaler and
executioner; and the vekilharc, or controller of expenditure, who obtained
food. The noncommissioned officers bore similar unmilitary designations, such
as the sakka basi, or chief water-carrier, and the leader of camels. The
officers were thus more supervisors of the food supply than leaders in war.
But, above the officers of the orta there was a staff of higher officers, which
included the seymen basi ("chief of the hunters"), who was the aga,
or head of the corps, and the zagarci basi ("chief of the bloodhound
keepers").
The aga alone had the power of life and death over the Janizaries. He ranked
before all other military chiefs and ministers and had a seat and vote in the
war council. But while his position was vested with such great authority, it
was also a very dangerous one. The aga stood as an intermediary between the
Sultan and the Janizaries and answered with his head for the crimes of his
soldiers. Moreover, he had to be very careful not to show the slightest
disposition of favoring the interests of one side or the other. Either party
was ready to mete out its vengeance. Originally, like all other officers the
aga came from the ranks of the Janizaries and was advanced according to the
principle of seniority. Since his path to leadership was free of the Sultan it
was always dangerous to the throne.
However, in 1515, to curb the unruly spirit of the Janizaries, Sultan Selim I
reorganized the staff of officers and placed at the head of the whole corps an
aga of his own choice. This met with great opposition from the Janizaries. The
position of the aga became more dangerous than before, since to the members of
the corps the aga was no longer "their man" but an outsider, and even
an enemy. It could hardly be expected that a closely-knit and self-conscious
mass of warriors would tolerate one imposed from above and who represented the
Sultan's rather than their own interest. The lot of many agas bears ample
testimony to this; there were only a few agas who died peacefully in possession
of their office. In times of disturbance he was the first victim, and strung up
on a particular tree on the et meydani (the meat square, meat market) near the
main barracks, which was reserved to the Janizaries for this purpose. As a
result of these conditions, Muhammad II was forced in 1582 to restore to the
Janizaries the right to elect their aga. Sultan Selim's efforts to safeguard
the throne and to preserve the proper behavior of the Janizaries, which alone
could have prevented their decay, failed completely because concurrently other
conditions developed which contributed to the material and moral degeneration
of the corps.
THE SACRED CALDRON
The military insignia of the Janizaries likewise indicated the importance
of the kitchen economy. The most sacred object in the orta was the great meat
caldron (kazan), the ancient object of veneration of the nomads of Central
Asia. Each group, as was pointed out, had its own small kettle, but each orta
had a large caldron made of bronze. To the Janizaries the caldrons were more
important than the flags and standards to other armies. Around these caldrons
the Janizaries assembled not only for their meals but also for important
deliberations. A superstitious veneration surrounded these utensils. Daily, in
solemn procession two Janizaries carried the caldron from their barracks to the
men on duty in the city, while a third one followed them with a huge scoop.
Every Friday, however, the ortas stationed at Constantinople marched with their
caldrons to the serai of the Sultan and there received the food pilaf (rice and
mutton) from the kitchen of the Grand Signor. This was always a tense occasion.
If the Janizaries hesitated to accept the food, if they upset the caldrons, or
if they refused to come altogether and assembled instead around their upset
caldrons on the at meydani (Hippodrome) this was a sign that trouble was
brewing. The upset caldron brought into the open by the ortas was a sign of
revolt. Indeed, a mutinous orta had only through trickery to possess itself of
the caldrons of the other ortas in order to draw them into rebellion. But the
caldron also served as a refuge -- a sanctuary -- and one could save his life
by hiding under it. The upsetting of the caldron as a sign of revolt became
frequent when the Turkish element became dominant in the corps.
On marches the caldrons were carried in front of each regiment, while in camp
they were constantly placed in front of the tents of each orta. The greatest
disgrace to the Janizaries was to abandon the caldron and, particularly, to
lose it on the battlefield. In such cases all officers were expelled from the
orta, and the unit was not allowed to carry its caldron on public occasions.
THE PAY OF THE JANIZARIES
As a professional standing army the Janizaries were naturally entitled to
food, pay, and uniforms from the State. However, the Government provided,
except for the Friday meal of the pilaf which came from the kitchen of the
serai, bread and mutton only. All other provisions had to be supplied by the
chief cook of each orta. In time of war great care was taken to keep the
soldiers well fed.
In peacetime, three years of service was required of the Janizary before he
received pay, but henceforth he was entitled to it during the remainder of his
life. In the later period tardiness in pay engendered revolts. The pay rose
with the years of service and varied according to the rank of the individual.
Special service or distinction in war was rewarded by an increase in pay.
The pay of the Janizaries varied with different periods. Originally, the pay of
the Janizary was 1/2 asper per day, but increased until under Selim I, it was 5
aspers. Further increases followed, usually due to revolts, but the pay largely
became stationary under Sulaiman the Great, who introduced a definite system of
payment.
From the time of Sulaiman there were a number of pay classes. The most
important classes were: the eskinci, or men in actual service, who received
from 3 to 7 aspers daily; the amelmande, or veterans who lived in the barracks
and the koruncu, or sentries were entitled to receive 8 to 29 aspers daily; and
oturak, or invalids were paid 30 to 40, and later up to 120 aspers daily, which
was also the highest pay that an ordinary Janizary ever could earn. Into the
last group Janizaries occasionally were admitted as a reward for distinguished
service, or through high favor.
The pay of the acemi oglan varied between 2 and 39 1/2 aspers for recruits and
officers. The highest pay and the highest pension of an officer up to the grade
of corbaci basi was 120 aspers, the pension of the higher officers 150 aspers
and that of the aga 300 aspers daily.
Payments were made every quarter and a deduction of 12 percent was retained in
the general treasury of the corps. The treasury also received payments from
peasants and artisans for the services of the boys who were apprenticed to
them, as well as the entire property of the deceased members of the corps. Into
the treasury was transfered not only the property of the deceased Janizaries
but also the return on the capital at the rate of 10 to 12 percent. All those
receipts served as reserve funds for ordinary meliorations, for the decoration
of the barracks, for the purchase of parade uniforms, for the relief of sick
and needy comrades, and for ransoming prisoners of war.
The policy of depreciating the currency, which was frequently resorted to
because of financial difficulties, was energetically opposed by the Janizaries,
who, when such changes were made, often rebelled, demanding an increase in pay
in order to compensate for the loss occasioned by the depreciation. In the
early period, at least, the money was not counted, but was weighed, so no one
would complain of being defrauded.
From their pay the Janizaries generally had to clothe and arm themselves. In
general, greater care was given to the clothing of the Janizaries than to their
weapons. Their uniforms, simple and purposeful, consisted of a long coat
(dolarma) which was of the same cut for all, and may be considered as the first
infantry uniform of modern times. It was designed to protect the body against
all changes in weather during all seasons of the year. On the march and in
attack, in order not to hamper movement, the tails of the coat were turned up
on both sides and fastened to the belt. The cloth for the coats was supplied
annually by the government, but only 12,000 men received it. The others had to
provide themselves with coats, and in this case the choice of color was left to
the individual. The same principles of equality and justice, which was revealed
in the matter of rations and pay, prevailed in the distribution of the cloth,
which was wrapped in equal-sized packages, the total number of which was the
same as that of the members of the orta. At the time of distribution, every
member of the orta rushed into the hall at the same moment and seized whatever
package came into his hands in the darkness. Though they had to be purchased by
the individual Janizary, the cap, with the wooden rice spoon attached to its
front--a further indication of the importance of the food economy--the
trousers, the knees of which were cut out, and the boots were standardized. The
arms, too, had to be purchased by the men themselves, but for want of
regulations to the contrary, there existed a great diversity in the kind and
quality of weapons. In war time, those who had no arms received them from the
State arsenal.
DISCIPLINE
The discipline was severe and the drill was hard in the corps of the
Janizaries during this period. Military drill had to be performed daily. It was
limited, however, to the development of the individual's skill in the use of
arms; there were never any common exercises in military tactics. On marches
full individual freedom was allowed and no particular order had to be
maintained. Notwithstanding these seeming disciplinary deficiencies, the men
gathered very quickly before the approaching enemy, each one of them in his
designated place, and stood ready as a massive wall for attack and defense.
In the barracks, where the Janizaries were obliged to live, there was perfect
cleanliness and complete order. No woman was ever allowed to enter these
quarters. There, as well as in the camp, all Muslim rites and rules were
strictly observed. The excesses which were tolerated in the acemi oglan were
forbidden.
Obedience and discipline, the two supporting pillars of every efficient
military organization, have their roots in religion. The Janizaries, members of
an organization with religious characteristics, and living a monastic life,
were completely animated and thoroughly imbued by this religious spirit. Strict
obedience and subjection to superiors and older soldiers was the first duty of
the acemi oglan when he entered the corps and was assigned to an orta. Each one
of them was a serving brother who was obligated to render the older Janizaries
all the small services occasioned by the communal life in the field or at the
table. Each one of them had to secure his position and advancements through his
own ability and efforts. In the early days of the corps, all of its members
willingly submitted to this discipline.
The discipline in the corps resembled that of a cloister. It was maintained by
various penalties which had to be borne without murmur. Penalties varied with
the seriousness of the breach of discipline. Disobedience, neglect of duty, and
infraction of rules, such as unauthorized absence from barracks at night, were
punished with the whip. Punishment was inflicted after the evening prayer,
under the supervision of the quartermaster. According to custom, the offender
was required not only to kiss the hand of his beater but also to pay him for
his efforts. The least severe penalty was imprisonment in a cell which was
located in the kitchen. Some crimes were punished by imprisonment for life,
dismissal or removal to a border fortress; the latter was considered by the
Janizaries more severe than the death penalty. In peacetime the penalty for
desertion was both imprisonment and whipping. In time of war this offense was
punishable by mutilation as well as by strangulation. Strangulation, the most
honorable form of execution according to Turkish custom, was carried out by the
chief cook in the execution tent which stood in the center of the camp. In
peacetime, the penalty was inflicted in the cell in the kitchen. Cowardice was
not tolerated and "any man convicted of cowardice was dismissed and never
permitted thenceforth to lay claim to the title of Janizary."
Since the idea prevailed that no Janizary could under any circumstances be
executed, it was customary to expel the intended victim from his orta. Only
after he was thus degraded to the position of an ordinary subject could justice
take its course. But even then he might be executed only in secret. This
practice originated in the fear that a public execution, in view of the close
comradeship which existed among the men, might occasion an uprising of the
entire corps. Eventually it became a right of the Janizaries inscribed in the
Kanun. This right was respected carefully. After sunset, the offender was
strangled, and the body, weighted with stones in a sack, was thrown into the
sea. One shot from a cannon at the Serai announced that the execution was
carried out. The death penalty was imposed very rarely.
In the case of higher officers, the most frequent penalty was degradation and
banishment, combined with confiscation of property.
PEACETIME ACTIVITIES OF THE JANIZARIES
In peacetime, the great mass of the Janizaries was stationed at
Constantinople, where their main barracks were located on the at meydani. Here
they had their own mosque, which in the later period often formed the center of
disturbances and conspiracies. Many of the ortas were garrisoned in the more
important cities and border fortresses. The key to a border fortress might be
held only by an officer of the Janizaries. Usually, these ortas would return
after some years to Constantinople and other ortas would be sent to occupy
their places.
As the number of Janizaries increased they were given, in addition to their
purely military functions, various other duties, a practice by which the State,
as in the case of the acemi oglan, gained considerable benefit without further
expense. It was their duty to protect the subject population as well as foreign
traders throughout the Empire. This duty they performed admirably. In
Constantinople, they and the adcemi oglan served as street cleaners, firemen,
and as police under the command of the yeniceri agasi who was responsible for
the maintenance of order in the capital.
The inactive Janizaries were employed at manual labor around the gardens of the
Sultans and at the Serai. Many were employed on construction and maintenance of
public roads, while others served as boatmen, as collectors of wood, and
artisans. Some inactive men served as scribes of the corps; others as the
guards and mail carriers of foreign embassies. The latter were highly
profitable honorary positions, and were given to veterans as rewards for
distinguished service, or were secured by them through special favor. Many of
the distinguished veterans were assigned to positions with the Turkish fleet
for the rest of their lives. Most of the older Janizaries were not pensioned or
rewarded and were forced to engage in trade in order to subsist.
TRANSFORMATION OF THE CORPS: - GROWTH OF POLITICAL CONSCIOUSNESS
With the passage of time, the corps of the Janizaries was transformed
first into a mercenary army and later into a militia, membership in which was
inherited. Side by side with this metamorphosis evil propensities developed
within the corps which completely undermined it. Therewith the role and the
significance of the Janizaries changed, and this in turn reflected itself in
the growing weakness of the Turkish State, and the ultimate relegation of a
world power to the position of a third-rate state.
The growth of political consciousness of the Janizaries was a major factor in
their decline. Although this political consciousness manifested itself before
the transformation in the composition of the corps, it became more intense as
the process of change continued.
Quite early in their history the Janizaries began to enjoy certain rights and
privileges: they were exempted from ecclesiastical and secular jurisdictions;
in their barracks they had the right of asylum; they had the precedence before
all other military groups in the Ottoman armed forces; according to the Kanun,
they could be punished only by their own officers; they were exempt from
taxation, and only rarely was their property confiscated. This growth of
privileges was paralleled by an increasingly close relationship between the
Janizaries and the Sultan, who from the time of Sulaiman I were registered in
their lists and drew the pay of a veteran. Furthermore, there was the
prerogative that the Janizaries marched to war only with the Sultan at their
head. This was a highly beneficial arrangement both constantly fostered. But to
safeguard this spirit, the Janizaries on one or two occasions forced a change
in the throne in the interest of a more energetic man, and early in the reign
of Sulaiman I, they forced that ruler to devote more attention to the affairs
of state than to hunting.
It was not long, however, before the Janizaries became conscious of their role
in the Ottoman State and utilized it for their own advantage. They exerted an
ever-growing influence and eventually became the arbiters of the fate of
Sultans and the Empire. Concurrently, traces of decay began to appear in the
corps.
Unbridled greed was an evil force which pushed the Janizaries along the road to
their downfall. In 1449, the Janizaries stationed at Adrianople revolted for
the first time, demanding an increase in pay. Subsequently, there developed the
practice according to which every Sultan, upon accession to the throne,
advanced each Janizary to the next higher pay class. This custom had originated
in the voluntary liberality of certain Sultans, but once something was granted
to the Janizaries it never could be withheld from them again; they believed
that they had legal and prescriptive claims to such favors.
Even more ominous was the monetary gift that was due to every man upon the
coming of a new ruler to the throne. This custom, which attained legal
sanction, originated in 1451, when Sultan Muhammad II, to allay the discontent
of the Janizaries, saw himself compelled to distribute a gift. It was abolished
in 1774, by Sultan Abdul Hamid I. The amount of this gift had increased
continuously until it had emptied the public treasury.
But the practice had even more fatal consequences because it had stirred the
lust for change in the throne; for then a higher gift had to be distributed.
Thus the weak Bayazid II was forced to abdicate because his successor Selim I
had promised to pay the Janizaries a gift of 3,000 aspers per man, as well as
an increase in daily pay of 6 to 8 aspers. Faced by an every increasing number
of Janizaries, the Sultans found it necessary to satisfy their greed and in
order to do so, often had no other choice than to execute their richest
subjects and confiscate their property, a practice which became increasingly
more frequent as the decline of the Empire proceeded.
Upon the occasion of the Sultan's first departure for war, yet another gift
ranging up to 2,000 aspers per man had to be paid to the Janizaries. In wars,
the Sultans would often be forced to pay to each Janizary, in addition to a
share in the booty, special attack money to rouse the valor of the troops in
important battles. And so in this greed there manifested itself the amazing
power of the Janizaries which, while indeed it was the main support of the
Ottoman Empire, yet, with the weakening of the sovereign power, became an
important cause of its decline.
CHANGES IN THE SOCIAL STRUCTURE OF THE CORPS:
THE ADMISSION OF TURKS
The admission of men of Turkish nativity, the grant to members of
permission to marry, and the replenishment of the force with sons of Janizaries
brought about structural changes and, in conjunction with the preceding
factors, led to the decay of the corps. It is not possible to specify when the
changes actually began, nor to trace in detail how the changes came about. It
is clear, however, that the observance of regulations on which the vigor and
the very existence of the Janizaries had rested had begun to weaken before the
time of Sulaiman I.
The first break in the system was the infiltration of Turks into the ranks of
the Janizaries through the acemi oglan. Owing to the great privileges of the
corps and the excellent opportunities which existed for gifted boys, many
Osmanli turned over their sons to Christians in order that in the guise of
Christians they might be accepted into the corps. However, by the middle of the
16th century Turks were no longer a rarity among the Janizaries. They were
being admitted to the acemi oglan, or directly into the corps without resort to
any subterfuge.
The development of this practice was occasioned by the great losses sustained
by the corps in a series of disastrous wars, which could not be replaced by the
existing supply of acemi oglan. Later it was stimulated by the abrogation of
the child tribute on Christian subjects in 1638, in consequence of the
realization that the recruiting long had constituted a mere pretext for
extortions. Free enlistment now took the place of conscription, and the corps
of the Janizaries became a mercenary troop.
With the appearance of Turkish elements among the acemi oglan the institution
lost its ancient spirit and customs. In place of the iron characters formerly
produced, an effeminate generation was brought up which could not withstand the
rigors and exertions of war, many of the new recruits even succumbed during the
training. Moreover, the healthier element, which was still secured through
annual recruiting of Christian boys, became weaker in the same proportion in
which the Turkish effeminacy grew. The acemi oglan sank rapidly to the status
of a simple recruiting station for the Janizaries. In the end it became an
educational institution for Turks who sought employment in the service of the
Sultan outside of the corps. The more the Turks forced their sons into the
acemi oglan the more their number grew, and by the middle of the 16th century
the number of acemi oglan was estimated between 8-16,000, as compared with an
average of about 3,000 in the beginning of Sulaiman's reign. How fatal this
change was is demonstrated clearly by the rioting of acemi oglan in 1647 and
1649 in protest against the extension of the period of service at the
institute--something unimaginable in the earlier days.
Those Janizaries who through the influence of friends or bribery had not gone
through the school of the acemi oglan showed themselves to be a weak and
cowardly group. While they had none of the stubbornness and wild defiance of
the old acemi oglan, yet they did not possess either the bravery, its
consciousness for military discipline, or its proud and absolute devotion to
the Sultan. Those of the good old stock refused to associate or serve with the
intruders whom they thoroughly despised. Very often bloody clashes occurred
between the two groups. Dissension in the ranks broke the spirit of unity in
the corps.
THE PERMISSION OF MARRIAGE: DISORGANIZATION OF THE CORPS
The admission of Turks into the corps of the Janizaries was only the first
step to ruin. As alluded to above, according to the laws of the corps, no
Janizary had the right to marry and raise a family; at least as long as he was
in the active service.
The whole situation changed completely with the admission of Turks, for soon
marriage had to be permitted. The Turks, in contrast to the early Janizaries,
came from homes and had families. Many entered the corps at mature ages, and
many were probably married. Their desire to return to their families and to
maintain their other relations was therefore natural, a desire which had become
foreign to the acemi oglan. The Janizaries now demanded permission to marry. At
first, such permission was granted by the aga to old and deserving veterans and
to others under special circumstances, subject to the condition that they would
serve as garrison troops in the border fortresses. But in 1566, Selim II, upon
his succession to the throne, was forced to grant to all Janizaries the
unrestricted right to wed. With this development the close-knit organization
began to break asunder. Not only did married Janizaries live in their own
households, but eventually unmarried members of the corps refused to live in
the barracks and submit to the discipline prescribed by the law of the corps.
THE JANIZARY CHILDREN: DECAY OF MILITARY EFFICIENCY
Hence the Janizaries now demanded, what was only natural, that the State
care for their children. Their demand was granted. It was provided that the
children should receive a bread ration from the day of their birth, with the
result that they came to be known as the "bread eaters." Then, to
secure the future of their sons, the Janizaries demanded that their sons be
made Janizaries. At the time of the disturbance which accompanied the accession
of Selim II to the throne the Janizaries obtained the formal right to register
their sons on the lists of the orta, thus avoiding the requirement that the
latter serve in the acemi oglan. They also secured the support of the orphaned
children of the Janizaries. The sons were entitled to rations and a small pay
which increased with the years. The corps was now transformed into an
inheritable institution.
Naturally, the acceptance of Janizary children was an abuse which debased and
destroyed the original character of the corps. The old discipline broke down
completely, as the fathers would hardly subject their own sons to the rigorous
treatment of the acemi oglan. A new generation of Janizaries grew up which no
longer compared in military efficiency, courage and valor with the once
most-renowned infantry in the world. The consequence of the right to marry was
the question of the support of the Janizaries' children. While the pay received
by the individual Janizary was ample for himself, he could not support a family
on it.
THE JANIZARIES BECOME "A NATION OF SHOPKEEPERS:"
ECONOMIC INTERESTS PREDOMINATE
A further step on the road of transformation and decay of the corps was
the spread of business occupations among the Janizaries. This was a consequence
of the structural metamorphosis and stood in close connection with the new
method of recruiting. The embarkation of the Janizaries upon peaceful business
pursuits reacted unfavorably upon the military aspects of their lives. Their
business and economic interests began more and more to shape their thoughts,
their actions and their lives; they now received the call to arms with the most
mixed feelings.
In earlier days, only superannuated Janizaries, neither in active service in
the corps nor in the service of the fleet, nor invalided, were authorized to
engage in trade. With the development of family life among them, however, many
Janizaries began to devote themselves to business and handicrafts, for
notwithstanding their pay, the special gifts and the support of their sons by
the State, they otherwise could not make ends meet. The engagement in civil
occupations was in disregard of the provision in the Kanun; but then the
institution which this law regulated was no longer the same. Indeed, the
government fostered peaceful occupations among the Janizaries in order to break
their wanton spirit.
Various civil occupations began to spread in the corps. Usually, the same trade
was practiced by the members of an orta, and ultimately some guilds such as the
butchers in the year 1634, consisted in good part of Janizaries. In
Constantinople, the Janizaries controlled completely the fruit and vegetable
and coffee-roasting businesses, and other important articles of consumption,
with accompanying evils of monopolistic practices. Since the Janizaries were
granted the privilege of importing goods duty free into the country, a large
part of foreign commerce, particularly the coastal trade to Syria and Egypt,
was in their hands.
As long as the old system of recruiting prevailed, as long as the profession of
the Janizary was hard and dangerous, no other elements of the population, on
the whole, were attracted to the corps. As a result of the increase in their
business activities and their gradual monopolization of many branches of
industry, however, the Janizaries attained a very important economic position
and became the envy of other classes in society. The economic security, the
protection of a powerful corporate body, and the political and social influence
of the Janizaries began to attract the Turkish element in ever larger numbers.
Hence, all classes and all kinds of people crowded into the corps. Many sought
entrance not for the pay nor with intention of rendering military service, but
in order to benefit from the many advantages and privileges which membership in
the corps afforded. Corruption made such enlistment easy. Anyone who paid an
annual fee to the Janizary officers had his name entered on the registers of
the orta and thus enjoyed complete freedom from taxation. Any relative of the
Janizaries would be accepted when a number of men of a given orta could verify
such relationship. Classes formerly held in contempt, such as the water
carriers and porters, were entered in the lists; so too, brigands and
vagabonds, and Christian and Jewish renegades. Although many attempts were made
to weed out the undesirable elements and to exclude the unfit for service, the
corps increasingly became a conglomeration of riffraff.
THE CORPS AS A PRAETORIAN GUARD: REVOLTS OF THE JANIZARIES
With the influx of unfit men the military skill of the Janizaries
declined. But since they were interested merely in maintaining their rights and
influence, any attempt by the authorities to bring about reforms, particularly
in the military sphere, was met by strenuous opposition, accompanied by charges
that the proposed changes were anti-Turkish and in violation of the established
rules of the Empire. They thus became the greatest internal obstacle to
transformation of Turkey into a modern state.
Simultaneously, another factor manifested itself which had dangerous
consequences for the Sultans and for the State: the revolts of the Janizaries.
While revolts of Janizaries had taken place in the early period, these had
been, perhaps, justifiable, since they had sought to prevent usurpation of the
throne by treachery, or to replace a weak sultan by one more energetic. Now,
however, the Janizaries considered it their right to choose the Sultans, to
demand accounting from them, and when they fell into disfavor, to dethrone them
and even to murder them. In revolts of Janizaries four Sultans lost their lives
and four were dethroned. The highest dignitaries of the State as well as the
favorites of the Sultan also paid with their lives. Indeed, to save himself, a
Sultan would allow the victims demanded by the Janizaries to be murdered and
throw their bodies to them. Rape, fire and destruction accompanied these
revolts.
The effect of these developments on the military efficiency and valor of the
Janizaries has been referred to already and need not be restated here. Suffice
it to point out that with the social transformation the virtue which singled
out the corps of the Janizaries among the armies of the world disappeared and
the once powerful support of the Empire became its worst cancerous affliction.
Usurpation of power increased with the decay of the corps.
FUTILE ATTEMPTS TO REORGANIZE THE CORPS:
THE RULE OF THE MOB
Hand-in-hand with this degeneration went the political disorganization of
the Ottoman Empire. Just as in the early period the Empire owed its greatness
to the Janizaries, so now the Janizaries were largely responsible for the
breaking up of the vast imperium of the Osmanli Sultans. Successive Sultans
realized that if a complete disintegration was to be avoided a thorough
reorganization of the army was necessary to bring it up to the level of
European armies which by that time had made considerable advances in military
technique, tactics and armaments. Some attempted to do it through reform of the
corps, others could see no other way out but through the destruction of the
Janizaries. As early as 1622 Sultan Othman II planned their destruction, but he
was betrayed to the Janizaries and paid for his scheme with his head. His fate
deterred his immediate successors from undertaking further reforms, with the
result that the Ottoman Empire was no longer ruled by the Sultans and the
viziers but by the hordes of Janizaries, and the condition of the army and
State was at its lowest. More than 100 years elapsed before Mahmud I undertook
without result to introduce certain reforms through peaceful means. Selim III,
who actually organized a new troop on the model of European armies, was
dethroned and murdered.
Throughout the entire period, the Janizaries were supported in their opposition
to reorganization and reform by the clergy, especially the dervishes of the
order of Bektasie, who derived great prestige and power from their ancient
affiliation with the corps, and the powerful caste of the learned, the ulema,
the staunchest defenders of old Turkish laws, customs and traditions, who
openly expressed their sympathy for the corps and always supported the
Janizaries in their demands on the Sultans. Among the lower classes, the
Janizaries, who were spread throughout the whole Empire, were considered a
sanctified institution, and with their name were connected the dearest
recollections of Muslims of former glory and victories. On their part, the
Janizaries throughout the whole of their existence sympathized with the masses
and at all times constituted a counterbalance against the arbitrariness of the
Sultan in favor of the people. They always knew well how to exploit their
sympathy for their own ends.
THE DESTRUCTION OF THE CORPS OF THE JANIZARIES
Despite these conditions, Sultan Mahmud II from the very beginning of his
reign in 1808 planned the destruction of the Turkish armed forces. After 18
years of persistent effort he succeeded in gaining his objective.
First, he had won the ulema over to his side and had undermined the confidence
of the people in the Janizaries by accusing them of all kinds of superstitions
and heresy. Next he had drawn to himself one of the chief leaders of the
Janizaries and through him had appointed to the higher positions officers
favorable to reform. New troops had been organized in the provinces upon whom
the Sultan could depend in carrying out his plans. Care had been taken that at
the decisive moment masses of these troops should be on hand.
On May 29, 1826, the Sultan determined that a new troop should be organized. He
was supported in this by the Mufti, who ruled that the carrying out of the
military reform was a religious duty. Therefore, the Sultan ordered that each
of the 51 ortas stationed at Constantinople assign 150 men to the new troop.
The decision came so suddenly that the Janizaries were taken by surprise, and
the officers were actually able to draw upon the ortas for the required number
of men. By the 4th of June the new troops already had been formed, and on the
10th a parade took place before the Sultan. But meanwhile dissatisfaction and
the spirit of revolt arose among the Janizaries, although no leader appeared to
solidify the mass and lead the hordes towards rebellion. They began to plan
murder and destruction. Making preparations for the complete destruction of the
Janizaries, Mahmud saw his time approaching and through agents provocateurs
incited them to revolt.
On the night of June 14/15 the uprising occurred. Five ortas planted their
upset caldrons on the at meydani, and in the early morning about 20,000 men
were gathered there. The support, however, was not wholehearted, and a number
of ortas hesitated to participate in the revolt. When an attempt by the
Janizaries to storm the Serai failed, the Sultan had already given his command
for the suppression of the revolt. Artillery was put up on the Hippodrome and
the new troops were massed on all sides. The flag of the prophet was raised,
and the population of Constantinople began to arm itself for war against the
Janizaries. A real fury seized all, and a violent hatred moved all to the
destruction of the corps, which but recently had been regarded with veneration.
With this the fate of the Janizaries was sealed. Their delegates, who demanded
the dissolution of the troops and the execution of the reform leaders, were
turned back, and when the Janizaries refused to disperse and surrender their
arms the Sultan gave the order of attack. This was carried out with surprising
rapidity and with thoroughness. The artillery played havoc with the Janizaries.
Masses of them were slaughtered in the market square; others sought safety in
the barracks. But the barracks were shelled and many Janizaries perished in the
action. Those who tried to escape were shot down. A military tribunal was set
up, and made short shrift with the rebels. A man hunt spread throughout the
city, and Janizaries, easily recognized by the cut-out knees on their trousers,
were caught and unceremoniously courtmartialed and executed. The caldrons, the
sacred insignia of the Janizaries, the public exhibition of which so often
brought about rebellion, overthrew ministers and murdered Sultans, were covered
with dung by the furious populace and dragged through the streets; the flags
and caps of the Janizaries were made objects of derision.
Furthermore, every opposition to reform was destroyed in the capital and in the
provinces. The dervishes of Bektashiya atoned severely. Three of their chiefs
were executed, many of them killed and the rest expelled from Constantinople
and dispersed throughout the Empire. The barracks, mosques and other places of
the Janizaries were levelled, and the cloisters of the dervishes demolished.
And an eternal curse was pronounced on the name of the corps.
In this way, the one-time brilliant corps of the Janizaries, the model for the
Christian armies and the terror of the Christian world through long centuries,
met its end in the most bloody destruction on record.
CONCLUSION
The history of the corps of the Janizaries faithfully reflects within
itself the whole history of the Ottoman Empire, the secret of its power and its
subsequent irremediable weakness. The period from 1330 to the middle of the
16th century, the era of the highest glory of the Janizaries, saw the
establishment and extension of the Ottoman Empire, reaching the pinnacle of its
development as the leading world power under Sulaiman the Great. It was
actually the corps of the Janizaries to which the empire of the Osmanli Turks
owed its greatness. In all the great battles which were decisive for its
position as a world power the arms of the Janizaries carried the day, and the
reputation of invincibility which they had won for themselves was for hundreds
of years the best bulwark of the Ottoman Empire.
When from the middle of the 16th century onward the Turkish element began to
predominate in the corps, the Janizaries were transformed from an elite troop
into a corrupt and reactionary praetorian guard, devoid of all honor and
morality, and a menace to the Sultans as well as to the Turkish Empire. As a
result, the decline of the corps and with it that of the Empire became
inevitable.
Moreover, the Janizaries became the most dangerous enemy of the favorable
development of the military and political life of Turkey. They stood in the way
of the transformation of the Ottoman Empire into a modern state. All attempts
to bring order out of the chaos failed. Hence the corps of the Janizaries had
first to be destroyed before a reorganization of the Ottoman military forces
successfully could be undertaken and the disruption of the Empire through wars
and internal revolt of the oppressed Christian peoples as a result of rising
nationalism could be halted. While the reorganization of the army was carried
through by Mahmud II and his successors with the aid of European military
experts, nevertheless the reform was not sufficient to arrest the
disintegration of the Ottoman Empire which finally broke up following World War
I.
But despite its ultimate disgrace, the corps of the Janizaries is unique in the
history of military institutions. The singular position which the corps
occupies in military annals is derived from the fact that it was the first
regular infantry of modern times, that it had a continuous existence over a
period close to five centuries, and that the method of recruiting for the
troop, as well as its social organizations, were the most unusual which world
history knows. Perhaps nowhere else were the fortunes and the existence of a
state so closely bound up with those of an army as were those of the Ottoman
Empire with the corps of the Janizaries, which made possible its rise to a
world power and then brought about its disorganization and decay.
