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The early success of Ottoman Sultanate
The Ottoman Empire was born in 1299 in the Asia Minor. During the first half of the century after its birth, it was merely a small state. This went on to change in the coming centuries, as the small state went on to become one of the most powerful and largest state of its time. There were many things that contributed to this success of the empire, but what drove the early expansion of the empire and transformed it from a regional power into a superpower was due to the Janissaries.
The Janissaries came into being during the 14th century. They went on to become the elite corps of the empire due to their success. They were selected from the Balkan region as tributaries, under a system called the Devsirme (Nafziger 153). Due to Islam forbidding slavery, the Ottoman Empire resorted to using Christians as slaves. In this way, there was less backlash for their practice of slavery. They became part of the Ottoman Empire upon selection and went on to become Muslims, studying the Qu’ran and combat, among other skills. The yeniceri agasi, or the chief of Janissaries, would issue a decree permitting the selection “every three to four years, indicating the numbers of boys needed and the places of recruitment.” (Campbell 121)[ii] The suitable candidates were chosen at a young age, such as around the age of ten. In addition, only one boy was taken from every forty households. This was done to ensure there was no depletion of humans in the region, as well as there being other offspring to support the parents in cultivating farms and so forth. Nonetheless, some parents still refused to hand over their children through numerous excuses. On the other hand, some parents actually wanted for their children to join the army, so as to save themselves from taxes (Campbell 122)[iii]. This also ensured that the future combatants would not turn against the state for being taken away from the parents forcibly.
The students went on to become full time combatants. They were not merely just soldiers ready to take the first bow, as the successful students went on to hold high positions in the military, politics and other fields. Likewise, the students upon graduation would petition for the position they wished (Campbell 123)[iv]. Hence, they were excellent in combat, as they were raised as combatants and got to choose what they felt best being good at. This reduced the chances of, in an event of war, a good swordsman is given a bow and a good cavalry person being a foot soldier. In addition, the Janissaries would remain unmarried until retirement (Tucker)[v]. Moreover, religion became part of their life and soon they become part of the Bektashi group (Campbell 124)[vi]. In addition, their salary had a small cut which then could be used to support the families of the dead Janissaries (Campbell 125)[vii].
The religion, loyalty and readiness played the key role for making the Janissaries a fearful group[viii]. The Sultan knew the standing and well prepared army that could be called upon at any given time to control an uprising, to fight off an invasion or even attacking another empire. As the group would be training all year long, they did not need time to prepare or warm up. This was very important as during the Middle Ages period, timing was important. If an army showed up to the gates of an empire, it’d take many days or weeks to bring in troops from other areas. Meanwhile the opposing army would quickly breach the gates. It was what the Janissaries themselves practiced, as their goal was to rush an army as soon as it was breached. They were well disciplined as a result of growing up under the state. Thus, there was no retreating due to fear of facing an overwhelming force. As an example, during the Battle of Mohacs, the Ottoman Empire suffered a loss of only 1,500, whereas the other 7 combined kingdoms suffered a loss of over 20,000, despite having near equal strength (Minahan 311)[ix]. They also had no families or business to worry for. As such, this reduced their fear during combats and increased the loyalty to the state. Hence, their ultimate goal became to serve the state. When not in combat, the Janissaries were employed in various state place, such as the police[x]. This allowed the state to continue to make use of the paid Janissaries, as well as keeping them active.
The Janissaries were successful, but it changed as time went on. As it was easier to train fire bearing soldiers than full time warriors, the Ottoman Empire allowed anyone to become a Janissary. Prior to this, there were about 12,000 Janissaries over the decades. However, after the change in recruitment, the numbers increased over to 50,000 personal. This meant that the state would now collect less tax, as it was one of the perk for being part of military. It also became very common and acceptable for any to belief when one would say they’re from the Janissaries corps. Furthermore, when a war was imminent and the sultan would call upon the enlisted, not many showed up. As such, what played a key role in the rise and expansion of the empire also went on to become the decline and contraction of it.
Throughout the late middle ages and early modern era, timing and disciplined mattered much. Having an army ready for an offense or defense was very important. An army would not give time to the enemy to gather around its troops and allow them to get ready. Similarly, they would take advantage of the retreatment or to try various tactics to weaken the moral of the army. Both of these notable features of the Janissaries later played a role in the downfall of the empire, as army became larger. They were no longer vigorously trained, a very large number to be moved around or prepare, and the discipline was vastly reduced due to being able to have family or businesses.
Nafziger, F. George. Historical Dictionary of the Napolenic Era. Maryland: Scarecrow Press, INC, 2002.
Google Book. Search. Web. 5 October 2014.
[ii] Campbell, Gwyn, Suzanne Miers, and Joseph C. Miller. Children in Slavery Through the Middle Ages. Athens: Ohio
University Press Books, 2009. Print
[iii] Campbell, Gwyn, Suzanne Miers, and Joseph C. Miller. Children in Slavery Through the Middle Ages. Athens: Ohio University Press Books, 2009. Print
[iv] Campbell, Gwyn, Suzanne Miers, and Joseph C. Miller. Children in Slavery Through the Middle Ages. Athens: Ohio University Press Books, 2009. Print
[v] Tucker, Ernest. "Janissary."Europe, 1450 to 1789: Encyclopedia of the Early Modern World. 2004.Encyclopedia.com.6 October, 2014).http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1G2-3404900568.html
[vi] Campbell, Gwyn, Suzanne Miers, and Joseph C. Miller. Children in Slavery Through the Middle Ages. Athens: Ohio University Press Books, 2009. Print
[vii] Campbell, Gwyn, Suzanne Miers, and Joseph C. Miller. Children in Slavery Through the Middle Ages. Athens: Ohio University Press Books, 2009. Print
[viii] Bowles, A. Edmund. The impact of Turkish Military Bands on European Court Festivals in the 17th and 18th
Centuries. Early Music, Vol. 34, no 4 (Nov., 2006), pp. 533-559. JSTOR. Web. 7 October 2014.
[ix] Minahan, James. One Europe, Many Nations: A Historical Dictionary of European National Groups. Westport: Greenwood Press, 2000. Web. 7 October 2014.
[x] Swanson, W. Glen. The Ottoman Police. Journal of Contemporary History, Vol. 7, No. ½ (Jan. – Apr., 1972),
pp. 243-260. JSTOR. Web. 7 October 2014.
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This work was written by a PDF member who does not wish to be named but wished to share this on the forum, this is not my own work.
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