Concept in Definition ABC

There was a time when the mere mention of his name caused fear among his enemies and a reverent respect (not without fear) among his own. They were the quintessential elite unit of the Ottoman Empire, and are part of the right typical of the imperishable military legend of any era.

The Janissaries' corps was the elite infantry of the Ottoman army, professional soldiers recruited from non-Muslim prisoners.

The body was created in 1330 by the bey Ottoman Orhan I. This monarch needed a force high-quality, permanent battlefield protection to protect his fledgling empire, giving him the safety that the tribal chiefs did not give him, of doubtful loyalty if the enemy paid them better, and also more likely to question their power.

The inspiration for this could have come to Orhan of the Mamluks, a troop made up of Turks (among other peoples) slaves in the service first of Persia, and then of Egypt from the ninth century, and who in 1250 came to establish their own sultanate.

The starting premise was the same: take slaves or prisoners of war who did not belong to the people that formed them. militarily, and create with them a permanent and highly trained warrior corps, which would become the current troops of Elite.

The Janissaries did not replace the levies in time of war, but rather they complemented them, forming a combat corps that could decide a battle by intervening at a key moment in it.

Most of the Janissaries were Christians, whether they were prisoners of war, slaves, or youths from Christian regions under Turkish rule, especially in Europe (such as the Balkans).

Although the Janissaries came from slaves and prisoners, as a troop they were paid, and not bad.

It is something logical: think than adult men, armed, trained, and with a combat effectiveness superior to the rest of the troop, could be brought under control if they remained slaves, it would have been little less than delirious.

By rewarding them to the point that more than a few enriched themselves and their families as well, the Ottoman rulers succeeded in giving prestige to the body and fostering vocations. That is why the selection was also strict to be able to enter the body of the Janissaries.

Another attraction of service in the Janissaries was careful cultural instruction, which led them to be not only perfect fighting machines, if not also people who could move freely in environments such as diplomacy international.

In an age that education it was scarce and very expensive, to be given training and, on top of that, to be paid, it was something of a real luxury.

But despite their privileges, the Janissaries were still not free men; were owned by the sultan, and suffered certain restrictions such as movement or to relate freely with the rest of the population Turkish.

The very body of Janissaries was his family and, thus, when they died, their goods passed to the body.

The Janissaries intervened in battles such as the taking of Constantinople, the two sieges of Vienna, the Siege of Castelnuovo, or that of Lepanto, and although the Turks suffered defeats, they were architects of the expansion of the Empire through North Africa, Eastern Europe, the Arabian Peninsula, and the East Half.

In addition to being a corps that marched with the army when it went to fight in some distant place, the Janissary corps also constituted the Constantinople / Istanbul garrison.

Their power increased as the Empire expanded and grew stronger, but towards the 16th century it began a slow decline that would lead to their extinction.

This decline came, as has been historically customary in warrior elites that are involved in power. politician, for their corruption and laxity, abandoning the iron discipline and austere life that had made them powerful.

There came a time when the Janissaries realized that they could enthrone and overthrow sultans, while their great power, training and aggressiveness in combat, made it almost impossible for anyone to organize a resistance that would plant them expensive.

Thus, they began to "squeeze" the sultan on duty and, at the same time, to sell themselves to the highest bidder to the throne in exchange for perks, wealth, titles and privileges. They also staged several revolts, which the rulers could only stop by surrendering to their requests.

Obviously, whoever has wealth and privilege, the last thing he wants is to gamble them on a battlefield, so the Janissaries began to neglect their military duties and training.

Its ferocity and effectiveness was declining, at the same time that the Ottoman Empire also began to decline.

In 1826, Sultan Mahmud II saw an opportunity to dissolve the body and did so.

Two centuries earlier, in 1622, Osman II had already tried, but this attempt ended like the rosary of dawn, with the sultan imprisoned by the Janissaries to be later assassinated.

What Mahmud II did, once his power was secured, was to communicate that he wanted to reorganize the army in the European way. Faced with the expected revolt of the Janissaries, Mahmud had secretly prepared himself, and by the time this guard advanced on Topkapi Palace, cannons fired at their barracks.

The body of Janissaries was violently disbanded in the middle of a fight in the streets of Constantinople.

It was what was called the "Lucky incident"A curious name that cannot hide what the sultan was looking for, knowing what was going to happen.

The one who had started out as a warrior caste of extraordinary worth, ended her days down the hill as an elite. politics corrupt, which, however, does not take away their place in the pantheon of great armed forces in history.

They have not been the only ones whose slow decline has been marked by corruption and the loss of values, as was the Praetorian Guard in Rome, or the Russian Streltsy.

Photo Fotolia: Mannaggia

Themes in Janissaries