janissaries

The janissaries were the Ottoman Empire’s elite infantry corps, also serving as the sultan’s household guard at times. The name derives from the Turkish Yeniçeri, meaning “new troops.” They formed the backbone of the empire’s standing army for several centuries and were renowned for their discipline, organisation, and loyalty to the sultan.

Recruitment and training were central to their identity. They were recruited through the devshirme system, a levy of Christian boys from the empire’s Balkan territories. Selected youths were taken from their families, converted to Islam, and educated in military arts, religion, and governance. They were trained as soldiers in the janissary corps, given salaries, and raised separately from ordinary subjects. Over time they developed a distinctive identity, wore specific uniforms, and became among the empire’s earliest adopters of gunpowder weapons, including muskets.

Organization and duties varied over time, but the janissaries generally served as the sultan’s main infantry and a mobile reserve for campaigns and sieges. They also functioned as palace guards and could wield considerable political influence. Commanded by the Agha of the Janissaries, the corps was a centralized, hereditary-like force that often enjoyed a privileged position within the empire’s administration. Their proximity to political power meant they could be both a stabilizing force for the throne and a source of instability when factional rivalries emerged.

Decline and dissolution occurred in the 18th and early 19th centuries as the empire modernized its army along European lines. The Auspicious Incident of 1826, when Mahmud II disbanded the corps, marked the end of the janissaries as a distinct institution. Their dissolution paved the way for a new regular army and altered the Ottoman military and political landscape.