New Soldier: The Janissaries
For the Janissaries series of novels by Jerry Pournelle, see Janissaries series.
Janissary
New Soldier
Battle of Vienna.SultanMurads with janissaries.jpg
The Janissaries were chosen before they reached adulthood from among the Christian population living in Anatolia and the Balkan peninsula to become the elite fighting force of the Ottoman Empire. A portion of these selected children, as they were considered to be more talented, received a higher standard of education to become the ruling class of viziers as well as engineers, architects, physicians and scientists.
Active
1363–1826 (1830 for Algier)
Allegiance Ottoman Empire
Type
Infantry
Size
1400-1,000[1]
1564-13,502[2]
1609-37,627[2]
1680-54,222[2] …show more content…
kapıkulu), "door servants" or "slaves of the Porte", neither freemen nor ordinary slaves (Turkish: köle).[10] They were subjected to strict discipline and were the first army to wear a uniform, but were paid salaries and pensions upon retirement and formed their own distinctive social class.[11] As such, they became one of the ruling classes of the Ottoman Empire, rivaling the Turkish aristocracy. The brightest of the Janissaries were sent to the palace institution, Enderun. Through a system of meritocracy, the Janissaries held enormous power, stopping all efforts at reform of the …show more content…
An orta (equivalent to a battalion) was headed by a çorbaci. All ortas together comprised the Janissary corps proper and its organization, named ocak (literally "hearth"). Suleiman I had 165 ortas and the number increased over time to 196. While the Sultan was the supreme commander of the Ottoman Army and of the Janissaries in particular, the corps was organized and led by a commander, the ağa. The corps was divided into three sub-corps: the cemaat (frontier troops; also spelled jemaat), with 101 ortas the beyliks or beuluks (the Sultan 's own bodyguard), with 61 ortas the sekban or seirnen, with 34 ortas
In addition there were also 34 ortas of the ajemi (cadets). A semi-autonomous Janissary corps was permanently based in Algiers.
Originally Janissaries could be promoted only through seniority and within their own orta. They could leave the unit only to assume command of another. Only Janissaries ' own commanding officers could punish them. The rank names were based on positions in the kitchen staff or the royal hunters, perhaps to emphasise that Janissaries were servants of the Sultan. Local Janissaries, stationed in a town or city for a long time, were known as yerliyyas.[citation
Janissary
New Soldier
Battle of Vienna.SultanMurads with janissaries.jpg
The Janissaries were chosen before they reached adulthood from among the Christian population living in Anatolia and the Balkan peninsula to become the elite fighting force of the Ottoman Empire. A portion of these selected children, as they were considered to be more talented, received a higher standard of education to become the ruling class of viziers as well as engineers, architects, physicians and scientists.
Active
1363–1826 (1830 for Algier)
Allegiance Ottoman Empire
Type
Infantry
Size
1400-1,000[1]
1564-13,502[2]
1609-37,627[2]
1680-54,222[2] …show more content…
kapıkulu), "door servants" or "slaves of the Porte", neither freemen nor ordinary slaves (Turkish: köle).[10] They were subjected to strict discipline and were the first army to wear a uniform, but were paid salaries and pensions upon retirement and formed their own distinctive social class.[11] As such, they became one of the ruling classes of the Ottoman Empire, rivaling the Turkish aristocracy. The brightest of the Janissaries were sent to the palace institution, Enderun. Through a system of meritocracy, the Janissaries held enormous power, stopping all efforts at reform of the …show more content…
An orta (equivalent to a battalion) was headed by a çorbaci. All ortas together comprised the Janissary corps proper and its organization, named ocak (literally "hearth"). Suleiman I had 165 ortas and the number increased over time to 196. While the Sultan was the supreme commander of the Ottoman Army and of the Janissaries in particular, the corps was organized and led by a commander, the ağa. The corps was divided into three sub-corps: the cemaat (frontier troops; also spelled jemaat), with 101 ortas the beyliks or beuluks (the Sultan 's own bodyguard), with 61 ortas the sekban or seirnen, with 34 ortas
In addition there were also 34 ortas of the ajemi (cadets). A semi-autonomous Janissary corps was permanently based in Algiers.
Originally Janissaries could be promoted only through seniority and within their own orta. They could leave the unit only to assume command of another. Only Janissaries ' own commanding officers could punish them. The rank names were based on positions in the kitchen staff or the royal hunters, perhaps to emphasise that Janissaries were servants of the Sultan. Local Janissaries, stationed in a town or city for a long time, were known as yerliyyas.[citation