Janissary Corps

The appearance of the corps dates back to the middle of the 14th century, and specifically immediately after the conquest of Edirne by the Ottomans in the years 1356-1359. However, its origin comes with its own history. A number of Ottomanists made a connection between the janissary corps and the guards of the Arab caliph, the Seljuk Iç oğlans and the Mamluks. In this context, the establishment of the Janissary Corps is attributed to the reign of Sultan Murad I and in particular to his Grand Vizier — Çandarlı Kara Halil Hayreddin Pasha. At first, the janissary corps consisted of 10 orts or 1,000 recruits. At the lowest command level were the ″corporals″ — one in ten.

Later Ottoman sources from the 16th century define the beginning of the formation of the infantry corps during the reign of Orhan and more precisely after the conquest of the Byzantine territories in Bithynia (1326-1331). After this conquest, Orhan, on the advice of his brother and vizier Alaeddin and of the Karamanian Çandarlı Kara Halil Hayreddin Pasha, who was the Qadi of the Ottoman beylik, set about organizing an infantry corps, as it became clear that the Muselem tribal cavalry was too unfit for combat, which refers to the siege of fortresses for which he besieged, he had to use mercenaries, which were expensive. This is how the yaya infantry corps appeared. However, the yaya wars proved to be unreliable and greedy. That is why Orhan adopted the idea that the new army should be recruited from the children of the Christians, not without connection with Köse Mihal.

Simultaneously with these two versions, a third point of view appears, which does not reject the claims of the first two, but considers the formation of the janissary corps as a complex process that began in the time of Orhan and continued under Murad, with the introduction of the penjik tax, that is to say that one in five Christian prisoners was recruited forcibly or not into a fighting corps. In connection with the creation of the janissary corps, recruitment in the yaya was stopped.

The first major battle involving the corps was the Battle of Maritsa, as a result of which the fate of the Balkans was decided. The Battle of Kosovo followed and the Battle of Nikopol marked the beginning of the European establishment of the Janissaries as the first world military power in the next two centuries.

The appearance of the Janissary Corps in the Battle of Varna was decisive for its establishment as a first-class military force. At that time, the number of janissaries in the corps was about 6,000, and their commanders — 150.

The decisive role of the Janissaries in the capture of Constantinople made them the first military force of the Modern era. After the fall of Constantinople, the janissary odjak moved from Edirne to the new Ottoman capital, and with the reforms of Mehmed II, one could already speak of a janissary corps as the first-class organized military force in the world at that time.

Before the capture of Constantinople, Mehmed II introduced an incentive that remained proverbial until the end of the corps — an incentive of 3000 akçe per kalpak as a "gift for a happy ascension to the throne". Always with each new sultan, the janissaries demanded their traditionally due gift. Under Mehmed II, who finally imposed the principle of centralism in the administration of the Ottoman Empire, the janissary corps established itself as a leading military force and support of the central government. In this sense, the janissary corps must be distinguished from the provincial army of the Sipahis, although various janissary units (Odjaks) were scattered throughout the Ottoman province.

At first, the janissary corps was only an infantry force, but in the second half of the 15th century, with the development of armaments and military work, the separation of other types of janissary troops began as well — artillery divisions and court cavalry. During the time of Suleiman the Magnificent, the janissary corps acquired its final classical form, consisting of three main divisions and two additional parts:

1. Jamaat;
2. Sekban;
3. Bylyuk (Bulgarian: Бюлюк; Turkish: Bölük) led by Bölükbaşı;
4. Dervish Tariqa (not earlier than 1591);
5. Acemi oğlan.

At the time of Suleiman the Magnificent, the Janissary corps numbered 13,000 new warriors. At the end of the 17th century, the number of janissaries exceeded 70,000. Already at the beginning of the 16th century, the janissary odjak united 196 ortas. Тне Оrta is the main combat and organizational unit of the janissary corps. At the head of the janissary corps is the janissary agha who depends directly on the Ottoman sultan and is his confidant.

The main purpose of the janissaries was to participate in the wars of conquest of the Ottoman Empire. In addition, they have the duty to protect the imperial border as an active element of the fortress garrisons created in place of the ″Udzh system″. In 1547, out of 12,131 registered janissaries, 4,648 were located in 18 fortresses located along the borders of the empire. Janissary presence in the Ottoman Navy is also common during hostilities. 1,500 Janissaries took part in the Mediterranean campaign in the summer of 1552. The Ottoman state attached great importance to the repressive police functions of the Janissary Corps. Janissaries are responsible for order and peace in the capital. They are the most reliable tool of the central government in the merciless struggle against any movement that destabilizes the Ottoman Empire internally.

Sultan Selim I allowed janissaries to marry, and in 1568 Selim II was forced to allow the children of janissaries to succeed their fathers in the janissary corps.

On 16 September, 1666, from the last window of the Tower of Justice, Sabbatai Zevi announced to the world that he was not the long-awaited messiah. Above his head is the sword of Osman held by the Janissary Agha.

After the Battle of Lepanto and the end of the reign of Selim II, the Janissaries with their corps of slaves of the Ottoman Sultan became the Praetorian Guard of the throne. From the hanging of Michael Kantakouzenos Şeytanoğlu to the Küprülü era in the administration of the empire, the exact opposite happened — the Ottoman sultan became a kind of slave to the mood of the janissary corps. Ottoman politics began to be forged in the Ottoman coffeehouse. This public atmosphere of the Ottoman 17th century is very clearly captured in the Risales of Koçi Bey.

The Long Turkish War was a turning point for the two main pillars of the classical Ottoman army. The Akinji disappeared, but the Janissaries continued their existence. The time of the so-called "Sultanate of Women" also degraded the fighting ability and discipline of the janissary corps. This crisis was overcome during the Köprülü era.

The Great Turkish War is a kind of Rubicon from which the Janissary Corps is a pale copy of its former military glory. The reasons for this phenomenon are complex and determined by foreign political and internal factors.

The Kirdzhalis are janissaries who have gone beyond the control of the central government.

The loss in the Battle of Vienna was a turning point in the history of the Janissary Corps as well. Janissary indignation at the poorly planned and, above all, poorly conducted march to Vienna cost Mehmed IV supreme power. The duration and intensity of the war drained the Ottoman economy, and in 1695 a new system of ″Malikâne″ ransom was introduced. The subsequent loss at the Battle of Zenta unleashed the final collapse of Ottoman power leading to the Peace of Karlovci.

The Edirne event is the event that marks the final rift and divorce between the institution of the Padishah and that of the Janissaries. The rule of Mahmud I only temporarily quelled the mutual institutional blockade, which after the Treaty of Küçük Kaynarca and especially after the Treaty of Jassy grew into a confrontation with the creation of Nizam-i Djedid Army.

• The emergence of the Janissary Corps coincided with the time of the Black Death. There are numerous thematic studies of the plague pandemic and the Janissary Corps, but there is still no specialized study of the relationship between the two events;
• The first garrison of the Janissary Corps was in Edirne, a city named after the Roman Emperor Hadrian, where the Roman Empire reached its greatest territorial expansion in history;
• The wars that preceded the "Piyade" janissaries are indicated in Bulgarian by the word combination "drinks" and "eat", which means that initially they did not receive remuneration;
• In order to be a Janissary, you had to be a former Christian convert to Islam. After the conquest of Bosnia, the Bosnian Church disappeared, and the local Serbs converted to Islam. This forced the recruitment of Muslim children into the corps;
• The Janissary Corps rescuing after the Pruth River Campaign from captivity Tsar Peter I practically saved the reforms of Peter I and ensured the emergence of the Russian Empire. Numerous legends are created about what happened;
• In the 18th century, janissary practically became a paid profession, and tickets for the state-guaranteed janissary salary began to be traded as if on a stock exchange;
• 1806 Edirne incident shows the world who is the real ruler of the Ottoman Empire. That is why, under the pressure of France and Great Britain, during the Greek revolution, the "Auspicious Incident" was reached;
• Until the liquidation of the Janissary Corps, the new Ottoman Sultan was always girded with the Sword of Osman by the Janissary Agha;
• The liquidation of the janissary corps slightly preceded the appearance of photography, which is why the original janissary images are sealed only in drawings;

Mehmed VI departing from the back door of the Dolmabahçe Palace.

• Immediately after the Russian invasion of Ukraine, from 28 February 2022, Channel One Russia begins broadcasting the Russian 12-episode film "Janissar";
• 15 June 2026 marks the 200th anniversary of the liquidation of the Janissary Corps, which is the first significant event in military history since the end of the Napoleonic Wars. This happens half a year after the death of Emperor Alexander I and the Decembrist revolt;
• After the liquidation of the janissary institute and corps, the Ottoman Empire did not survive for even 100 years.

• Janissary revolt
• Deep state

• The Janissaries in the Bulgarian lands, Tsvetana Georgieva; SUMMARY
• The Janissary Corps - article in Bulgarian in an online encyclopedia ″zpolezno.com″