Janissary

Janissary, member of an elite corps in the standing army of the Ottoman Empire from the late 14th century to 1826. Highly respected for their military prowess in the 15th and 16th centuries, the Janissaries became a powerful political force within the Ottoman state. During peacetime they were used to garrison frontier towns and police the capital, Istanbul. They constituted the first modern standing army in Europe.

The Janissary corps was originally staffed through devşirme, a system of tribute by which Christian youths were taken from the Balkan provinces, converted to Islam, and drafted into Ottoman service. Subject to strict rules, including celibacy, they were organized into three unequal divisions (cemaat, bölükhalkı, and segban) and commanded by an ağā. In the late 16th century the celibacy rule and other restrictions were relaxed, and by the early 18th century the original method of recruitment had been abandoned, opening the ranks to Muslim Turks. The Janissaries were known particularly for their archery, but by the 16th century they had also become a formidable firepower contingent.

The supreme prowess and discipline of the Janissaries allowed them to become increasingly powerful in the palace. From the reign of Bayezid II (1481–1512), they regularly required sultans to provide extra pay in exchange for the support of the corps. The maintenance costs of the armed forces proved increasingly unaffordable for the empire, however, and augmented the growing tensions between the Janissaries and the sultan. An attempt by Osman II (1618–22) to discipline them and cut their pay led to his execution at their hands. They frequently engineered palace coups thereafter. In one instance, they conspired with court officials and overthrew İbrahim for his sheer incompetence in governance.

In the early 19th century the Janissaries resisted the adoption of European reforms by the Ottoman army. Their end came in June 1826 in the so-called Auspicious Incident. On learning of the formation of new, Westernized troops, the Janissaries revolted. Sultan Mahmud II declared war on the rebels and, on their refusal to surrender, had cannon fire directed on their barracks. Most of the Janissaries were killed, and those who were taken prisoner were executed.