The Janissaries were the elite warriors of the Ottoman Empire. They guarded the Sultan himself, the first to enter Constantinople. Janissaries were prepared for service from early childhood. Disciplined, fanatical and absolutely loyal to the Sultan, they lived in war.
Army of slaves
At the beginning of the 14th century, the young Ottoman state had an urgent need for high-quality infantry, since the capture of fortresses by siege was too long and resource-intensive (the siege of Brusy lasted more than 10 years).
In the Ottoman army of that time, the main striking force was cavalry, which was of little use for assault tactics. The infantry in the army was irregular, hired only for the duration of the war. Of course, the level of her training and loyalty to the Sultan left much to be desired.
Sultan Orhan, the son of the founder of the Ottoman Empire, began to form groups of janissaries from captured Christians, but this method began to fail by the middle of the 14th century - there were not enough prisoners, moreover, they were unreliable. Orhan's son, Murad I, in 1362 changed the principle of selecting janissaries - they began to be recruited from the children of Christians captured in military campaigns in the Balkans.
This practice has shown great results. By the 16th century, it had become a kind of duty imposed on Christian lands, primarily Albania, Hungary and Greece. It received the name "Sultan's share" and consisted in the fact that every fifth boy between the ages of five and fourteen was selected by a special commission for service in the Janissary corps.
Not all were taken. The selection was based on the then ideas of psychophysiognomy. Firstly, only children from noble families could be taken into the Janissaries. Secondly, they didn't take too talkative children (they will grow up stubborn). They also did not take children with delicate features (they are prone to rebellion, and their enemies will not be afraid of them). They didn't take too high and too small.
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Not all of the children were from Christian families. As a privilege, they could take children from Muslim families in Bosnia, but, what is important, Slavs.
The boys were ordered to forget about their past, were initiated into Islam and sent to training. From that time on, their whole life was subject to the strictest discipline, and the main virtue was absolute blind devotion to the Sultan and the interests of the empire.
Training
The preparation of the Janissaries was systematic and well thought out. Christian boys, having given up their past lives, went to the families of Turkish peasants or artisans, served as rowers on ships or became assistants to butchers. At this stage, newly converted Muslims learned Islam, learned the language, and got used to severe hardships. They deliberately did not stand on ceremony. It was a harsh school of physical and moral conditioning.
After several years, those who did not break down and survived were enrolled in the preparatory group of janissaries, the so-called achemi oglan (Russian “inexperienced youths”). From that time on, their training consisted of mastering special military skills and hard physical work. At this stage, the youths were already being raised to be devoted warriors of Islam, who unquestioningly carried out all the orders of the commanders. Any manifestations of free thinking or obstinacy were nipped in the bud. However, the young "cadets" of the janissary corps had their own outlet. During Muslim holidays, they could afford to show violence against Christians and Jews, to which the "elders" were more complacent than critical.
Only at the age of 25, the physically strongest of those who completed their training at Achemi Oglan, the best of the best, became janissaries. It had to be earned. Those who, for whatever reason, did not pass the test, became “rejected” (Turkish chikme) and were not allowed to serve in the corps.
Lions of Islam
How did it happen that children of predominantly Christian families became fanatical Muslims, ready to kill their former co-religionists who had become "unfaithful" to them?
The very foundation of the janissary corps was originally planned as a knightly religious order. The spiritual basis of the Janissaries' ideology was formed under the influence of the dervish order of Bektashi. Even now, in Turkish, the words Janissaries and Bektashi are often used synonymously. According to legend, even the headdress of the Janissaries - a hat with a piece of cloth attached to the back, appeared due to the fact that the head of the dervishes Khachi Bektash, blessing the warrior, tore off his sleeve from his clothes, applied it to the head of the neophyte and said: “Let these soldiers be called Janissaries. May their courage always be brilliant, their sword sharp, their hands victorious."
Why did the Bektashi order become the spiritual stronghold of the "new army"? Most likely, this is due to the fact that it was more convenient for the Janissaries to practice Islam in this simplified form in terms of rituals. Bektashi were exempt from the obligatory five-fold prayers, from the pilgrimage to Mecca and from fasting in the month of Ramadan. It was convenient for the "lions of Islam" living in war.
One family
The life of the janissaries was strictly declared by the charter of Murad I. Janissaries could not have families, they had to avoid excesses, observe discipline, obey the authorities, observe religious precepts.
They lived in barracks (usually located near the sultan's palace, since guarding them was one of their main duties), but their life could not be called ascetic. After three years of service, the Janissaries received a salary, the state provided them with food, clothing and weapons. Failure to comply with the obligations of the Sultan to supply his "new army" more than once led to janissary riots.
One of the main symbols of the Janissaries was a cauldron. He occupied such an important place in the life of the Janissaries that Europeans even took him for the banner of the Ottoman warriors. While the janissary corps was stationed in the city, once a week, every Friday, the orta of the janissaries went with their cauldron to the sultan's palace for pilaf (rice with lamb). This tradition was obligatory and symbolic. If there was discontent among the janissaries, they could abandon the pilaf and turn the cauldron, which served as a signal for the beginning of the uprising.
Kazan occupied a central place during military campaigns. He was usually carried in front of the ortha, and at a halt was placed in the center of the camp. The biggest "fail" was the loss of the cauldron. In this case, the officers were expelled from the detachment, and the rank and file janissaries were also punished.
It is interesting that during the unrest, the guilty person could hide under a cauldron. Only in this case could he be forgiven.
Decay
The privileged position of the janissaries, the constant increase in their number, as well as the departure from the basic installations of the corps, eventually led to its degradation. By the end of the 16th century, the number of janissaries reached 90 thousand, from an elite military unit they turned into an influential political force that undermined the empire from within, organized conspiracies and rebellions.
From the beginning of the 16th century, the recruiting system for selecting the janissaries began to undergo serious changes, more and more Turks appeared in the corps, there was a departure from the principle of celibacy, the janissaries began to acquire families that required more and more investments.
The children of the janissaries received the right to be enrolled in orts from birth, while they were endowed with appropriate benefits. The Janissaries began to turn into a hereditary institution, with all the ensuing disastrous consequences.
Of course, this situation did not suit many. Every now and then, after the riots, demonstrative executions of the Janissaries were arranged, but the issue was not fundamentally resolved. There was even a phenomenon of "dead souls", when anyone was registered as janissaries, just to receive additional rations and benefits. The corps was destroyed only in 1826 by Sultan Mahmud II. It was not for nothing that he was called "the Turkish Peter I".