The Janissaries Of The Ottoman/Turkish Empire Essay

The Janissaries of the Ottoman/Turkish Empire nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;The Janissaries was an elite corp. 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 force to be reckoned with on the battlefield, and in government administrations. The janissaries were organized into three unequal divisions: the cemaat, bà ¶là ¼khalki, and segban. The Janissary corps was originally staffed by Christian youths from the Balkan provinces who were converted to Islam on being drafted into the Ottoman service. Another way the Janissaries found new soldiers was by enslaving their enemies and forcing them into service.†¦show more content†¦The boys he takes in his own land are called cilik. Then they take those who are physically built for battle on ships and there they study and train to fight in battles. There the emperor provides for them and gives them a wage. From there he chooses for his own cou rt of those who are to train him. The younger soldier must serve the older, and those who come of age and attain manhood, the sultan assigns to the fortress for further training. To better visualize and understand a battle involving the Janissaries we must look through the eyes of one of these elite soldiers. We do this through the memoirs of a janissaries solider named Konstantin Mihailovic. Mihailovic was a Serb who was captured by Mehmed II in 1455 where he was â€Å"drafted† into the Janissaries Corps. During his long career as a soldier he fought in many epic battles. In one of these battles he actually fought Vlad Tsepes, also known as Dracula. He was finally captured, given back his freedom and reconverted to Christianity. After these experiences, he settled in Poland where he wrote his memoirs. In this brief description, he tells of a Janissary siege. â€Å"The Turkish emperor storms and captures cities and also fortresses at great expense in order not to remain there long with the army. First having battered the city or fortress walls until it seems sufficient to him, and seeing that it is the moment to launch a general assault, he then order s it to be cried throughout the army.† AShow MoreRelatedThe Ottoman Empire Essay1146 Words   |  5 PagesThe Ottoman Empire Around 1293 the chieftain of a nomadic Turkish tribe named Osman, founded an empire that would endure almost six hundred years. As this empire grew by conquering lands of the Byzantine Empire and beyond, it came to include, at its height, all of Asia Minor, Albania, Greece, Bulgaria, Yugoslavia, Romania, Egypt, Crete, Cyprus, Palestine, and North Africa through Algeria; parts of Hungry, Austria, Russia, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Oman, U.A.E., and Syria. 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