Who Were the Janissaries? Founding, Duties and the End in 1826

The Janissaries were the salaried, standing infantry of the Ottoman state, attached directly to the sultan. Most of them were raised from Christian boys gathered through the devshirme. In war they guarded the sultan at the centre of the army; in peace they kept order in Istanbul and the fortresses. The corps was founded in the 14th century, served as the backbone of the army for about five centuries and was abolished by Mahmud II in 1826.

Quick Summary

“Yeniçeri” means “new soldier”, and the corps was the largest unit of the kapıkulu infantry.
The first soldiers were gathered through the pencik practice, which set aside one-fifth of prisoners of war for the state.
Devshirme boys were first trained in the Acemi Corps and then passed into the Janissary Corps.
Under Suleiman the Magnificent the corps consisted of 165 ortas, later of 196.
The Janissary Corps was abolished in 1826 in the Auspicious Incident.

Definition and the kapıkulu system
The founding of the corps
The devshirme and the Acemi Corps
The organization of the corps
Their duties
The strength of the corps
Discipline and daily life
Decline and revolts
The abolition of the corps
Frequently asked questions

Who Were the Janissaries?

These soldiers made up the infantry part of the military class called kapıkulu, attached directly to the sultan. Unlike the timariot sipahis, they did not live on land revenue but on salaries paid by the treasury. The name comes from “yeni çeri”, meaning “new soldier”.

According to the TDV Encyclopedia of Islam, the kapıkulu corps were divided into infantry and cavalry. The cavalry part was called the “Six Divisions” to distinguish it from the timariot sipahis. The Acemi Corps, in turn, trained soldiers for the other kapıkulu corps, above all for the Janissary Corps. We described the overall structure of the Ottoman army in our article on the Ottoman military organization.

The Founding of the Corps

According to the TDV Encyclopedia of Islam, the first soldiers were gathered by setting aside one-fifth of the prisoners of war for the state. This practice was called “pencik”. According to the encyclopedia, it is generally accepted that the practice began after the conquest of Edirne (1361). The prisoners were collected by officials such as akıncı judges, pencikçis and pencik commissioners.

According to the encyclopedia, in the early period the prisoners gathered at Gallipoli were put to work on the ships carrying troops across the Dardanelles. After a certain time they joined the ranks of the “new soldiers”. Because most accounts of the corps’ founding rely on late chronicles, it is hard to give a precise date. We discussed the first regular Ottoman military units in our article on the first regular army.

The Devshirme and the Acemi Corps

When the number of prisoners proved insufficient, soldiers began to be levied from the sons of Christian families in the Balkans. This practice is called the devshirme. According to the TDV Encyclopedia of Islam, the devshirme was carried out every three, five or seven years, depending on need. The person primarily responsible for it was the agha of the Janissaries.

The boys who were gathered were brought to Istanbul and checked against the register of physical descriptions. According to the encyclopedia, the boys were first placed with Turkish villagers in Anatolia. Through this practice, called “giving to the Turk”, they both worked in agriculture and learned Turkish and Islamic customs. They were then enrolled in the Acemi Corps and became known as acemi oğlans, or novice boys.

The age of the boys gathered varied from period to period. According to the encyclopedia, a decree dated 1622 specifies an age between fifteen and twenty.

According to the encyclopedia, novice boys were first given a daily wage of one akçe, later two. After several years of training, they passed into the Janissary Corps as places became vacant. We described in detail how the devshirme worked in our article on the devshirme system.

The Organization of the Corps

The Janissary Corps consisted of units called “ortas”. According to the TDV Encyclopedia of Islam, the commander of an orta was generally called the “çorbacı”. The number of ortas rose to 165 under Suleiman the Magnificent and later settled at 196. The ortas were divided into three main branches: the cemaat, the bölük and the sekban.

At the head of the corps stood the agha of the Janissaries. According to the encyclopedia, in the early periods the aghas were generally chosen from among the sekbanbaşıs. The corps also had many other officials, such as the scribe of the Janissaries, the corps imam, the solakbaşı, the bölükbaşı and the kul kethüdası. Each orta had its own barracks, cauldron and banner.

What Did the Janissaries Do?

In war, the soldiers of the corps stood at the centre of the army, around the sultan. According to the TDV Encyclopedia of Islam, at Chaldiran, too, the Janissary, artillery and armourer units stood at the centre of the army. Their early adoption of firearms gave them a great advantage on the battlefield. They were also the most important infantry force in sieges.

In peacetime they served as guards in the fortresses. Keeping order in Istanbul was also their task. According to the encyclopedia, in later periods duties such as pursuing criminals in Anatolia were also assigned to Janissary yasakçıs.

The soldiers received their pay under the name “ulufe”. According to the encyclopedia, payments were made every three months, in four instalments a year. When sultans came to the throne they distributed an accession bonus to the troops, and over time this custom became a heavy burden on the treasury.

Painting of a mounted Ottoman commander on the battlefield after the fighting, with armoured soldiers lying on the ground

The Strength of the Corps

The number of soldiers in the corps changed greatly over the centuries. According to the TDV Encyclopedia of Islam, the number of soldiers in the Acemi Corps was 4,000 in the mid-16th century and 9,000 at the end of the century. In the 17th century this number exceeded 12,000. According to the encyclopedia, by the end of the reign of Murad III, in 1595, the number of Janissaries had reached 25,000.

The rising numbers placed a heavy burden on the treasury. Together with the inflation of the period, ulufe payments caused great difficulties. According to the encyclopedia, a decree dated 1666 envisaged an annual devshirme of 300–320 boys in the western and central Balkans. This figure shows that the devshirme was steadily declining.

Discipline and Daily Life

In the early period members of the corps were forbidden to marry, and the soldiers lived in barracks. According to the TDV Encyclopedia of Islam, older Janissaries were first allowed to marry under Selim I. Under Murad III this permission was extended to younger men as well. Over time, married soldiers began to live outside the barracks.

The cauldron was the most important symbol of the corps. An orta’s cauldron represented the food that the state provided for the soldiers. Overturning the cauldron meant that the soldiers were rejecting the food given by the sultan and rising in revolt.

A close bond also formed between the Janissaries and the Bektashi order. According to the encyclopedia, this closeness became especially marked in the period of the corps’ decline. A Bektashi baba was attached to the 94th orta of the corps as the representative of Hacı Bektaş. According to the encyclopedia, at the end of the 15th century Aşıkpaşazade had felt obliged to deny the claim of such a connection. The corps and the order shared the same fate in 1826.

The headgear of the corps’ soldiers was called the “börk”. According to the encyclopedia, it is generally accepted that this headgear was peculiar to the Ahis, an organized group of the founding period. The story that the börk was given by Hacı Bektaş does not appear in the early sources.

Decline and Revolts

From the late 16th century onwards, soldiers from outside the devshirme also began to be admitted to the corps. Numbers rose rapidly and discipline weakened. According to the encyclopedia, some of the Janissaries turned to trade and crafts and became intertwined with the urban economy. Over time this weakened the military character of the corps.

In this period the Janissaries played a role in many revolts. According to the encyclopedia, the deposition and murder of Osman II in 1622 left a lasting stain on the corps. In the Edirne Incident of 1703, Mustafa II was deposed. The corps also fiercely opposed the Nizam-ı Cedid army founded by Selim III. We discussed the revolts of this period in our article on rebellions in the Ottoman Empire.

According to the encyclopedia, records from 1791–1793 show that about 40 per cent of 1,110 shops in Istanbul were linked to Janissaries. The corps was also sensitive to innovations. In 1805, a rumour that Nizam-ı Cedid soldiers would salute the sultan at the opening of the Selimiye Mosque caused great discontent. According to the encyclopedia, the opening was cancelled for this reason.

How Was the Corps Abolished?

Mahmud II prepared for a long time to establish a new army. In the spring of 1826 a new unit called the Eşkinci was formed. Opposing it, the Janissaries overturned their cauldrons on 15 June 1826. The people and the ulema, however, sided with the sultan, and the revolt was quickly suppressed.

The corps was abolished after this event, known as the Auspicious Incident (Vaka-i Hayriye). According to the TDV Encyclopedia of Islam, the Bektashi lodges were also closed in the same year. A new army called the Asakir-i Mansure-i Muhammediyye was founded in its place. According to the encyclopedia, the Rumelian and Anatolian aghas of the Acemi Corps were also exiled to Bursa. We described the details of the event in our article Why was the Janissary Corps abolished?

Frequently Asked Questions

Who were the Janissaries?

They were the salaried, standing infantry of the Ottoman state, attached to the sultan. Most of them were raised from boys gathered through the devshirme.

What did the Janissaries do?

In war they fought at the centre of the army and protected the sultan. In peace they served as guards in the fortresses and kept order in Istanbul.

When was the Janissary Corps founded?

The exact date is disputed. According to the TDV Encyclopedia of Islam, it is generally accepted that the pencik practice, through which the first soldiers were gathered, began after the conquest of Edirne in 1361.

What does “overturning the cauldron” mean?

It was the soldiers’ way of showing that they were in revolt by turning their orta’s cauldron upside down. The gesture meant rejecting the food given by the sultan.

Conclusion

For about five centuries the Janissaries were the most important infantry force of the Ottoman army. Their discipline and early use of firearms played a part in winning great victories. From the 17th century onwards, however, the corps declined and was frequently involved in revolts. By abolishing the corps in 1826, Mahmud II opened the way for a new army.