JANISSARIES

Janissaries were member of an elite corps in the army of the Ottoman Empire from the late 14th century to 19th century. Highly respected for their military prowess in the 15th and 16th centuries, the Janissaries became a powerful political force within the Ottoman state.

The Janissary corps was originally created by Christian youths from the Balkan provinces who were converted to Islam on being drafted into the Ottoman service. Subject to strict rules, including celibacy.

In the late 16th century the celibacy rule and other restrictions were relaxed, and by the early 18th century the original method of recruitment was abandoned. The Janissaries frequently engineered palace coups in the 17th and 18th centuries. In 1826, on learning of the formation of new, westernized troops, the Janissaries revolted: Mahmud II, the Sultan, disbanded the corp and executed all the Janissaries.