Each of our readers has probably heard about the spiritual knightly orders of the West. But the information that similar structures existed in the East will be a revelation for many. Although we will talk about warriors, the name of which has long become a household name. These are the janissaries - the guard of the Turkish sultans, who for several centuries were considered the best infantry in the world.
Blood tax
It is believed that the founder of the janissary corps was Sultan Orhan, but only in 1365 Sultan Murad I ordered from the children of his Christian subjects to form a "new army" from the children of his Christian subjects. In Turkish, "new warrior" is "enicheri". Hence the name - Janissaries.
Why did Sultan Murad decide to create a corps of people alien to him by faith? The fact is that the then Turkish army consisted of detachments of infantry and cavalry, which were brought with them by the rulers of the provinces subject to the sultan. The combat effectiveness of such units was rather low, moreover, the commanders of these detachments often wove conspiracies against the padishah, which was mortally dangerous in wartime.
Sultan Murad wanted to be directly subordinate to professional soldiers, personally loyal to him, perfectly trained and skillfully wielding all types of firearms and knives of that time. For a model, Murad took the European orders of knighthood, famous for their iron discipline and combat training.
The Janissaries received dervishes from the Sufi Bektashi order as spiritual mentors. According to legend, the head of the Haji Bektashi order tore off his sleeve from his white robe at the ceremony of founding the detachment, put it on the head of one of the warriors (and so that part of it hung on the back of the head). Since that time, the janissary corps was formally considered part of the Bektashi order, and Hadji Bektashi was its patron saint. The sheikh (abbot) of the order became the honorary commander of the 99th company of the Janissary corps. The members of the order served as military priests, and the headdress of the janissaries became a hat with a piece of cloth hanging from the back.
The Turks collected many taxes from the conquered Christian peoples. Among them was such a tax as devshirme - “blood tax”. Its essence was as follows. Every fifth or seventh year (later - even more often), special Sultan officials selected in each Christian community one of five boys between the ages of seven and fourteen to serve in the janissary corps.
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All those selected were sent to Istanbul, where they were converted to Islam. Then, in the presence of the Sultan, the "bride" took place. The most capable and physically strong were enrolled in the Sultan's school, which was the forge of personnel for the palace services, state administration and the equestrian army. Most of the children were sent to the Janissary corps.
At the first stage, they were sent to be raised in Turkish families, who paid a small fee for them. There they learned the Turkish language and Muslim customs, accustomed to hard physical labor and got used to endure hunger and hardship. A few years later they were returned to Istanbul and enrolled in the achemi oglan ("inexperienced youths") - the preparatory detachment of the janissary corps.
This stage of training lasted seven years and consisted of military training and hard physical work. Achemi oglan lived in barracks in units of twenty to thirty people, were subject to severe discipline and received a small salary. They did not leave the borders of Istanbul and did not participate in hostilities. They cultivated Islamic fanaticism, absolute loyalty to the Sultan, blind obedience to commanders. They gave an outlet for their energy during religious holidays, when they committed violence against Istanbul Christians and Jews, which their commanders turned a blind eye to.
Upon reaching twenty-five years of age, the most physically strong youths, who proved their skill in handling weapons, became janissaries. The rest - chikme (“rejected”) - were sent to auxiliary public services.
Under the roar of boilers
The main combat unit of the Janissary corps was the regiment (ort). Their number reached 196. The shelves varied in origin and functions. The number of soldiers in the Orta was not constant. In peacetime, it varied from 100 in the capital to 200-300 soldiers in the provinces, during the war it increased to 500.
The sultan himself was considered the supreme commander of the janissary corps, but in fact he commanded aha. In his rank, he surpassed the commanders of all other branches of the army and civilian dignitaries and was a member of the divan (state council). Aga had absolute power over the Janissaries.
Within the regiment-ort, the following ranks existed: sakabashi ("chief of water supply"), bash karakulukchu (literally - "senior assistant cook"), ashchi usta ("senior cook") and chorbaji (literally - "supovar"). The abundance of terms related to food preparation is not accidental. The banner in the Janissary corps replaced the sacred cauldron. Each ort had a large bronze cauldron (cauldron) for cooking meat. Each unit of the Janissaries had their own small cauldron.
During the campaign, the cauldron was carried in front of the ort, while in the camp it was placed in front of the tents. Losing the cauldron, especially on the battlefield, was considered the greatest shame for the Janissaries - in this case, all officers were expelled from the ort, and ordinary soldiers were forbidden to participate in official ceremonies. In peacetime, every Friday the orts stationed in the capital went with cauldrons to the Sultan's palace, where they received food pilaf (rice and lamb).
If the Orth refused to accept the pilaf, overturned the cauldron and gathered around it at the hippodrome, this meant refusing to obey the authorities and the beginning of a rebellion. The kazan was also considered a holy place and refuge: by hiding under it, the guilty person could save his life.
In peacetime, the Janissaries did not conduct general military exercises, each of them practiced with his weapon independently. On the march, the janissaries did not adhere to any particular order, but in battle, each warrior took his place in the ranks.
In the barracks of the janissaries, severe discipline reigned, absolute cleanliness was maintained in them, women were not allowed there (by the way, janissaries were also forbidden to marry). Discipline was provided by a harsh system of punishments: from corporal and punishment cells to dismissal, exile to the border fortress, life imprisonment and the death penalty. The most serious offenses were considered desertion and cowardice on the battlefield. The Janissary cannot be executed; therefore, the culprit was first expelled from the corps and only then deprived of life.
During the battle, the Janissaries lined up in a wedge and, firing from their guns, went on the attack. Among the janissaries were special shock units called serdenghetchi (literally, "risking their heads"), numbering up to 100 volunteers.
At the beginning of the 17th century, the Janissaries became the leading political force of the Ottoman Empire, the main source of revolts and conspiracies, in fact arrogating to themselves the right to depose and enthrone the sultans. Osman II's attempt in 1622 to reform the corps cost him his life. In 1623, the Janissaries overthrew Mustafa 1, in 1648 - Ibrahim, in 1703 - Mustafa II, in 1730 - Ahmed II, in 1807 - Selim III. Even more often, their victims were the highest dignitaries of the state.
Only Sultan Mahmud II was able to carry out military reform. On May 28, 1826, he issued a decree on the creation of regular army formations from a part of the Janissary corps. In response, on June 15, the Janissaries raised an uprising, which was brutally suppressed. The Janissaries were shot from cannons with grapeshot, the corps was abolished, the barracks were destroyed, the sacred cauldrons were destroyed, and the name of the Janissaries was eternal damnation.
Janissaries are considered the inventors of the famous scimitars
According to legend, the sultan forbade the janissaries to wear sabers in peacetime. Janissaries circumvented this ban by ordering arm-length combat knives. Another type of weapon associated with the Janissaries is the long, long-range flintlock rifles, from which the Janissaries accurately hit their opponents. In Russia they were called so - "janissaries". And further. Janissaries in Istanbul served as firefighters. Often they themselves set fire to the houses of rich townspeople, so that later, during the extinguishing of the fire, they would have the opportunity to loot the property of the victims.
Magazine: Mysteries of history, №6 / С
