Janissaries began as an elite corps made up through thedevşirme system ofchild levy enslavement,[8][9][10] by whichChristian boys, chiefly from theBalkans, were taken, levied, subjected toforced circumcision andforced conversion to Islam,[8][9][10] and incorporated into theOttoman army.[8][9][10] They became famed for internal cohesion cemented by strict discipline and order. Unlike typicalslaves, they were paid regular salaries. Forbidden to marry before the age of 40 or engage in trade, their complete loyalty to theOttoman sultan was expected.[11] By the 17th century, due to a dramatic increase in the size of the Ottoman standing army, the corps' initially strict recruitment policy was relaxed. Civilians bought their way into it in order to benefit from the improved socio-economic status it conferred upon them. Consequently, the corps gradually lost its military character, undergoing a process that has been described as "civilianization".[12]
The Janissary Corps were a formidable military unit in the early centuries, but as Western Europemodernized its military organization and technology, the Janissaries became areactionary force that resisted all change within the Ottoman army. Steadily the Ottoman military power became outdated, but when the Janissaries felt their privileges were being threatened, or outsiders wanted to modernize them, or they might be superseded by theircavalry rivals, they would rise in rebellion. By the time the Janissaries were suppressed, it was too late for Ottoman military power to catch up with the West.[13] The Janissary Corps was abolished byMahmud II in 1826 in theAuspicious Incident, in which 6,000 or more Janissaries wereexecuted.[14]
The Janissaries werekapıkulları (sing.kapıkulu), "door servants" or "slaves of thePorte", neither freedmen nor ordinary slaves (köle).[24] They were subjected to strict discipline, but were paid salaries and pensions upon retirement and formed their own distinctive social class.[25] As such, they became one of the ruling classes of the Ottoman Empire, rivalling theOttoman Turkish aristocracy. The brightest of the Janissaries were sent to the palace institution,Enderun. Through a system ofmeritocracy, the Janissaries held enormous power, stopping all efforts to reform the military.[19]
It was a similar system to the IranianSafavid,Afsharid, andQajar-eraghilman, who were drawn from convertedCircassians,Georgians, andArmenians, and in the same way as with the Ottoman Janissaries, who had to replace the unreliableghazi. They were initially created as a counterbalance to the tribal, ethnic, and favoured interests theQizilbash gave, which make a system imbalanced.[26][27]
In the late 16th century, a sultan gave in to the pressures of the Corps and permitted Janissary children to become members of the Corps, a practice strictly forbidden for the previous 300 years. According to paintings of the era, they were also permitted to grow beards. Consequently, the formerly strict rules of succession became open to interpretation. While they advanced their own power, the Janissaries also helped to keep the system from changing in other progressive ways, and according to some scholars the corps shared responsibility for the political stagnation of Istanbul.[19]
Greek historianDimitri Kitsikis in his bookTürk Yunan İmparatorluğu ("Turco-Greek Empire")[28][page needed] states that many Bosnian Christian families were willing to comply with thedevşirme because it offered a possibility of social advancement. Conscripts could one day become Janissary colonels, statesmen who might one day return to their home region as governors, or evenGrand Viziers orbeylerbey ("governor generals"). Some of the most famous Janissaries includeGeorge Kastrioti Skanderbeg, anAlbanian feudal lord who defected and led a 25‑yearAlbanian revolt against the Ottomans. Another wasSokollu Mehmed Paşa, aBosnian Serb who became aGrand Vizier, served three sultans, and was the de facto ruler of the Ottoman Empire for more than 14 years.[29][page needed]
The Janissary corps were distinctive in a number of ways. They wore uniqueuniforms, were paid regular salaries (including bonuses) for their service,[30] marched to music (themehter), lived inbarracks, andwere the first military corps to make extensive use of firearms. A Janissary battalion was a close-knit community, effectively the soldier's family. By tradition, theOttoman sultan himself, after authorizing the payments to the Janissaries, visited the barracks dressed as a Janissary trooper, and received his pay alongside the other men of the First Division.[31] They also served as policemen, palace guards, and firefighters during peacetime.[6] The Janissaries also enjoyed far better support on campaign than other armies of the time. They were part of a well-organized military machine, in which one support corps prepared the roads while others pitched tents and baked the bread. Their weapons and ammunition were transported and re-supplied by thecebeci corps. They campaigned with their own medical teams of Muslim andJewish surgeons and their sick and wounded were evacuated to dedicated mobile hospitals set up behind the lines.[31] By the mid-18th century, they had taken up many trades and gained the right to marry and enroll their children in the corps and very few continued to live in the barracks.[6] Many of them became administrators and scholars inother branches of government service.[9]
In response to foreign threats, theOttoman government chose to rapidly expand the size of the corps after the 1570s. Janissaries spent shorter periods of time in training asacemi oğlan, as the average age of recruitment increased from 13.5 in the 1490s to 16.6 in 1603. This reflected not only the Ottomans' greater need for manpower but also the shorter training time necessary to produce skilled musketeers in comparison with archers. However, this change alone was not enough to produce the necessary manpower, and consequently the traditional limitation of recruitment to boys conscripted in thedevşirme was lifted. Membership was opened up to free-born Muslims, both recruits hand-picked by the commander of the Janissaries, as well as the sons of current members of the Ottoman standing army.[49] By the middle of the seventeenth century, thedevşirme had largely been abandoned as a method of recruitment.[50] The prescribed daily rate of pay for entry-level Janissaries in the time ofAhmet I was threeAkçes. Promotion to a cavalry regiment implied a minimum salary of 10 Akçes.[51] Janissaries received a sum of 12 Akçes every three months for clothing incidentals and 30 Akçes for weaponry, with an additional allowance for ammunition as well.[52]
For all practical purposes, the Janissary Corps belonged to theOttoman sultan and they were regarded as the protectors of the throne and the sultan. Janissaries were taught to consider the corps their home and family, and the sultan as their father. Only those who proved strong enough earned the rank of true Janissary at the age of 24 or 25. TheOdjak inherited the property of dead Janissaries, thus acquiring wealth. Janissaries also learned to follow the dictates of thedervish andSufi saintHaji Bektash Veli, disciples of whom had blessed the first troops. TheBektashi Order served as a kind ofchaplaincy for the Janissaries.[23] In this and in their secluded life, Janissaries resembled Christianmilitary orders like theKnights Hospitaller. As a symbol of their devotion to the order, Janissaries wore special hats calledbörk. These hats also had a holding place in front, called thekaşıklık, for a spoon. This symbolized thekaşık kardeşliği, or the "brotherhood of the spoon", which reflected a sense of comradeship among the Janissaries who ate, slept, fought, and died together.[19]
When anon-Muslim boy was recruited under thedevşirme system ofchild levy enslavement,[8][9][10] he would first be sent to selectedOttoman Turkish families in the provinces to learnTurkish, subjected toforced circumcision andforced conversion to Islam,[8][9][10] and to learn the customs and culture ofOttoman society. After completing this period,acemi ("new recruit") boys were gathered for training at the Enderunacemi oğlan ("rookie" or "cadet") school in the capital city. There, young cadets would be selected for their talents in different areas to train as engineers, artisans, riflemen, clerics, archers, artillery, and so forth.
Janissaries were trained under strict discipline with hard labour and in practicallymonastic conditions inacemi oğlan ("rookie" or "cadet") schools, where they were expected to remaincelibate. Unlike otherMuslims, they were expressly forbidden to wear beards, only a moustache. These rules were obeyed by Janissaries at least until the 18th century, when they also began to engage in other crafts and trades, breaking another of the original rules. In the late 16th century, anOttoman sultan gave in to the pressures of the Janissary Corps and permitted Janissary children to become members of the Corps, a practice strictly forbidden for 200 years. Consequently, succession rules, formerly strict, became open to interpretation. They gained their own power but kept the system from changing in other progressive ways.[19]
Even after the rapid expansion of the corps at the end of the 16th century, the Janissaries continued to undergo strict training and discipline. They experimented with new battlefield tactics and, in 1605, became one of the first armies in Europe to implement rotating lines ofvolley fire in battle.[54]
Giovanni Antonio Menavino, a Genoese who was enslaved in the Ottoman Empire from 1504 to around 1514, spent five years (until 1509 or 1510) as a page to the Sultan in theSeraglio of Constantinople.[55] in chapter XXIIIDelli novitii Giannizzeri Agiami Schiavi del gran Turco (On the novice Janissaries Agiami Slaves of the Great Turk) from his bookTrattato de costumi et vita de Turchi (1548), he describes what he observed about the Agiami (novice Janissaries):[56]
The novice Janissaries, numbering around five hundred, are kept and trained to become full members of the corps. Taken from their fathers and mothers in Greece, they do not speak Turkish. They receive a daily wage of twoaspers. Their captain, called the Agiander agasi[a], receives a stipend of thirty aspers and is issued a uniform. They are tasked with sweeping the entire Seraglio once a week, and when the Sultan orders construction, they carry lime, stones, water, and similar materials. In winter, they collect snow and store it underground in a place where it is preserved throughout the summer and used to cool the drinks of the Great Turk. When the Sultan goes to war, these novices remain in Constantinople.
Solaks, the Janissary archer bodyguard of the Sultan byLambert de Vos, c. 1574
The Janissary Corps was organized intoorta ("centers").[57] Anorta (equivalent to abattalion) was headed by açorbaci. Allorta together comprised the Janissary corps proper and its organization, namedocak ("hearth").Suleiman I had 165orta and the number increased over time to 196. While the Sultan was the supreme commander of the Ottoman Army and of the Janissaries in particular, the corps was organized and led by a commander, theağa. The corps was divided into three sub-corps:
thecemaat (frontier troops; also spelledjemaat in old sources), with 101orta
thebölük orbeylik (the Sultan's own bodyguard), with 61orta
thesekban orseymen, with 34orta
In addition there were also 34orta of theajemi ("cadets"). A semi-autonomous Janissary corps was permanently based inAlgiers, called theOdjak of Algiers.
Originally Janissaries could be promoted only through seniority and within their ownorta. They could leave the unit only to assume command of another. Only Janissaries' own commanding officers could punish them. The rank names were based on positions in the kitchen staff or Sultan's royal hunters; 64th and 65th Orta 'Greyhound Keepers' comprised as the only Janissary cavalry,[58] perhaps to emphasise that Janissaries were servants of the Sultan. Local Janissaries, stationed in a town or city for a long time, were known asyerliyyas.[59]
Even though the Janissaries were part of the royal army and personal guards of the sultan, the corps was not the main force of the Ottoman military. In the classical period, Janissaries were only one-tenth of the overall Ottoman army, while the traditional Turkish cavalry made up the rest of the main battle force. According toDavid Nicolle, the number of Janissaries in the 14th century was 1,000 and about 6,000 in 1475. The same source estimates the number ofTimarli Sipahi, the provincial cavalry which constituted the main force of the army at 40,000.[1]
Beginning in the 1530s, the size of the Janissary corps began to dramatically expand, a result of the rapid conquests the Ottomans were carrying out during those years. Janissaries were used extensively to garrison fortresses and for siege warfare, which was becoming increasingly important for the Ottoman military. The pace of expansion increased after the 1570s, due to the initiation of a series of wars with theSafavid Empire and, after 1593, with theHabsburg monarchy. By 1609, the size of the corps had stabilized at approximately 40,000 men, but increased again later in the century, during the period of theCretan War (1645–1669) and particularly theWar of the Holy League (1683–1699).[60]
During the initial period of formation, Janissaries were expertarchers, but they began adoptingfirearms as soon as such became available during the 1440s. Thesiege of Vienna in 1529 confirmed the reputation of their engineers, e.g.sappers, andminers. In melee combat, they usedaxes andkilijs. Originally in peacetime, they could carry only clubs ordaggers, unless they served as border troops. Turkishyatagan swords were the signature weapon of the Janissaries, almost a symbol of the corps.
By the early 16th century, the Janissaries were equipped with and were skilled withmuskets.[61] In particular, they used a massive "trench gun", firing an 80-millimetre (3.1 in) ball, which was "feared by their enemies".[61] Janissaries also made extensive use of earlygrenades andhand cannons, such as theabus gun.[31]Pistols were not initially popular, but they became so after theCretan War (1645–1669).[62]
The Ottoman Empire used Janissaries in all its major campaigns, including the 1453 capture ofConstantinople, the defeat of theMamluk Sultanate of Cairo and wars againstHungary andAustria. Janissary troops were always led to the battle by the Sultan himself, and always had a share of theloot. The Janissary corps was the only infantry division of the Ottoman army. In battle the Janissaries' main mission was to protect the Sultan, using cannon and smaller firearms, and holding the centre of the army against enemy attack during the strategic fake forfeit of Turkish cavalry. The Janissary corps also included smaller expert teams: explosive experts, engineers and technicians, sharpshooters (with arrow and rifle) and sappers who dug tunnels under fortresses, etc.[citation needed]
Banquet (Safranpilav) for the Janissaries, given by the Sultan. If they refused the meal, they signaled their disapproval of the Sultan. In this case they accept the meal. Ottoman miniature painting, from theSurname-i Vehbi (1720) at theTopkapı Palace Museum inIstanbul.
As Janissaries became aware of their own importance, they began to desire a better life. By the early 17th century, Janissaries had such prestige and influence that they dominated the government. They could mutiny, dictate policy, and hinder efforts to modernize the army structure. Additionally, the Janissaries found they could change Sultans as they wished throughpalace coups. New rules allowed them to own land and establish businesses. They would also limit the enlistment of new Janissaries to their own sons who did not have to go through the original training period in theacemi oğlan, as well as avoiding the physical selection, thereby reducing their military value. When Janissaries could practically extort money from the Sultan and business and family life replaced martial fervour, their effectiveness as combat troops decreased.
In 1449, they revolted for the first time, demanding higher wages, which they obtained. The stage was set for a decadent evolution, like that of theStreltsy of TsarPeter's Russia or that of thePraetorian Guard which proved the greatest threat to Roman emperors, rather than effective protection. After 1451, every new Sultan felt obligated to pay each Janissary a reward and raise his pay rank (although since early Ottoman times, every other member of the Topkapi court received a pay raise as well). SultanSelim II gave Janissaries permission to marry in 1566, undermining the exclusivity of loyalty to the dynasty. By 1622, the Janissaries were a "serious threat" to the stability of the Empire.[65] Through their "greed and indiscipline", they were now a law unto themselves and, against modern European armies, ineffective on the battlefield as a fighting force.[65] In 1622, the teenage SultanOsman II, after a defeat during war against Poland, determined to curb Janissaries' excesses. Outraged at becoming "subject to his own slaves", he tried to disband the Janissary corps, blaming it for the disaster during the Polish war.[65] In the spring, hearing rumours that the Sultan was preparing to move against them, the Janissaries revolted and took the Sultan captive, imprisoning him in the notoriousSeven Towers: he was murdered shortly afterward.[65]
Patrona Halil with some of his supporters, painting byJean Baptiste Vanmour, c. 1730–1737.A 15th-century Janissary, drawing byGentile Bellini, who also painted the renowned portrait of SultanMehmed II
The extravagant parties of the Ottoman ruling classes during theTulip Period caused a lot of unrest among the Ottoman population. In September 1730, janissaries headed byPatrona Halil backed in Istanbul a rebellion by 12,000Albanian troops which caused the abdication of SultanAhmed III and the death of the Grand VizierDamad Ibrahim. The rebellion was crushed in three weeks with the massacre of 7,000 rebels, but it marked the end of the Tulip Era and the beginning of SultanMahmud I's reign.[66][67] In 1804, the Dahias, the Janissary junta that ruled Serbia at the time, having taken power in theSanjak of Smederevo in defiance of the Sultan, feared that the Sultan would make use of the Serbs to oust them. To forestall this they decided to execute all prominent nobles throughout Central Serbia, a move known as theSlaughter of the Knezes. According to historical sources of the city ofValjevo, the heads of the murdered men were put on public display in the central square to serve as an example to those who might plot against the rule of the Janissaries. The event triggered the start of theSerbian Revolution with theFirst Serbian Uprising aimed at putting an end to the 370 years of Ottoman occupation of modernSerbia.[68]
In 1807, a Janissary revolt deposed SultanSelim III, who had tried to modernize the army along Western European lines.[69] This modern army that Selim III created was calledNizam-ı Cedid. His supporters failed to recapture power beforeMustafa IV had him killed, but elevatedMahmud II to the throne in 1808.[69] When the Janissaries threatened to oust Mahmud II, he had the captured Mustafa executed and eventually came to a compromise with the Janissaries.[69] Ever mindful of the threat that the Janissaries posed, the sultan spent the next years discreetly securing his position. The Janissaries' abuse of power, military ineffectiveness, resistance to reform, and the cost of salaries to 135,000 men, many of whom were not actually serving soldiers, had all become intolerable.[70]
By 1826, the sultan was ready to move against the Janissaries in favour of a more modern military. The sultan informed them, through afatwa, that he was forming a new army, organised and trained along modern European lines.[71] As predicted, they mutinied, advancing on the sultan's palace.[71] In the ensuing fight, the Janissaries' barracks were set aflame byartillery fire, resulting in 4,000 Janissary fatalities.[71] The survivors were either exiled or executed, and their possessions were confiscated by the Sultan.[71] This event is now called theAuspicious Incident. The last of the Janissaries were then put to death by decapitation in what was later called theTower of Blood, inThessaloniki.
After the Janissaries were disbanded by Mahmud II, he then created a new army soon after recruiting 12,000 troops. This new army was formally named the Trained Victorious Soldiers of Muhammad, the Mansure Army for short. By 1830, the army expanded to 27,000 troops and included the Sipahi cavalry. By 1838, all Ottoman fighting corps were included and the army changed its name to the Ordered troops. This military corps lasted until the end of the empire's history.[72]
Janissaries marching toMehter martial tunes played by theMehterân military band. Ottoman miniature painting, from theSurname-i Vehbi (1720) at theTopkapı Palace Museum inIstanbul.
The military music of the Janissaries was noted for its powerful percussion and shrill winds combiningkös (gianttimpani),davul (bass drum),zurna (a loudshawm),naffir, orboru (natural trumpet),çevganbells,triangle (a borrowing from Europe), andcymbals (zil), among others.[73] Janissary music influenced European classical musicians such asWolfgang Amadeus Mozart andLudwig van Beethoven, both of whom composed music in theTurkish style. Examples include Mozart'sPiano Sonata No. 11 (c. 1783), Beethoven's incidental music forThe Ruins of Athens (1811), and the final movement of Beethoven'sSymphony No. 9, although the Beethoven example is now considered a march rather than Alla turca.[74]
Sultan Mahmud II abolished themehter band in 1826 along with the Janissary corps. Mahmud replaced the mehter band in 1828 with a European style military band trained byGiuseppe Donizetti. In modern times, although the Janissary corps no longer exists as a professional fighting force, the tradition ofMehter music is carried on as a cultural and tourist attraction.
In 1952, the Janissarymilitary band,Mehterân, was organized again under the auspices of theIstanbul Military Museum. They hold performances during some national holidays as well as in some parades during days of historical importance. For more details, seeTurkish music (style) andMehter.
InBulgaria and elsewhere, and for centuries inUkraine, the word Janissar (яничар) is used as a synonym of the word renegade.
The Janissary Tree, a novel by Jason Goodwin set in 19th-century Istanbul
The Sultan's Helmsman, a historical novel of the Ottoman Navy and Renaissance Italy
Salman Rushdie's novelThe Enchantress of Florence details the life, organization, and origins of the Janissaries. One of the lead characters of the novel, Antonio Argalia, is the head of the Ottoman Janissaries.[75]
Muhteşem Yüzyıl (The Magnificent Century) is a 2011–2012Turkish historical fiction television series. Written byMeral Okay and Yılmaz Şahin. The Janissaries are portrayed throughout the series as part of the Sultan's royal bodyguard. The First Oath of their military order is recited in Season 1 at the Ceremony of Payment.
In the song "Winged Hussars" bySabaton about theBattle of Vienna 1683 the question is asked if "Janissaries are you ready to die?" to illustrate the impact of the arrival of the Winged Hussars in the battle.
^Streusand, Douglas E. (2011).Islamic Gunpowder Empires: Ottomans, Safavids, and Mughals.Philadelphia:Westview Press. p. 83.ISBN978-0813313597.The word "Janissary" derives from the Turkishyeni cheri (yeni çeri, new army). They were originally an infantry bodyguard of a few hundred men using the bow and edged weapons. They adopted firearms during the reign of Murad II and were perhaps the first standing infantry force equipped with firearms in the world.
^abcdefghijklmnopqrstGlassé, Cyril, ed. (2008)."Devşirme".The New Encyclopedia of Islam (3rd ed.).Lanham, Maryland:Rowman & Littlefield. p. 115.ISBN978-1-4422-2348-6.Devshirme. Theconscription system used by theOttomans. It consisted of taking male children fromsubjectChristian populations, chiefly in theBalkans,forcibly converting them to Islam, and raising them to join the ranks of an elite military corps, the Janissaries, or to enterother branches of government service. Theboy-levy (devshirme) was carried out largely by force, but to be taken by it held out such promise of a brilliant future that Ottomans sometimes tried to slip their own children into it.Many of the Viziers came from the higher levels of the pageboy training. At first every fifth boy was drafted in a levy carried out every four or five years, but later every able-bodied boy between the ages of ten and fifteen was liable to be taken in a draft carried out annually. Thedevshirme system became obsolete in the 17th century.
^Cook, Michael (7 May 2024). "The Ottoman Empire".A History of the Muslim World: From Its Origins to the Dawn of Modernity. Princeton, New Jersey: Princeton University Press. p. 457.ISBN9780691236575. Retrieved21 November 2024.In 1402 [...] the core of Bayezid's forces [...] consisted of infantry. These were the famous Janissaries, the 'New Army' (Ottoman Turkish:Yeni Cheri ,Ottoman Turkish:yeni being the Turkish for 'new' andOttoman Turkish:cherīk a word of Mongol origin for 'army'). This force had come into existence at some point in the fourteenth century, most likely under Murad. [...] The third significant feature of the Janissaries was the way they were recruited: they were Christians enslaved and converted to Islam [...] Their enslavement happened in either of two ways. One was through capture in the course of warfare against the infidel. Ottoman soldiers took large numbers of prisoners when they raided the Balkans, and the ruler would take his cut of them. The fifteenth-century Ottoman chroniclers date the beginning of this practice to the reign of Murad and associate it with the origin of the Janissaries. [...] But already in the fourteenth century an alternative and unprecedented form of recruitment had developed: collecting children from the subject peasant population, again particularly in the Balkans.
^Akgunduz, Ahmed; Ozturk, Said (1 January 2011). "The reign of Sultan Murad Hudavendigar".Ottoman History – Misperceptions and Truths. Ottoman History, volume 1. Translated by Ercan, Ismail. Rotterdam: IUR Press. p. 51.ISBN9789090261089. Retrieved21 November 2024.[...] Murad was loved by everyone, friends and foes alike. Although the Janissary Corps had been established during his father's reign, it was he who really became the driving force behind it and improved the Janissary Corps and the Acemi Oglans (Novices) Corps.
^abcdefgHubbard, Glenn and Tim Kane. (2013) (2013).Balance: The Economics of Great Powers From Ancient Rome to Modern America. Simon & Schuster. pp. 151–154.ISBN978-1-4767-0025-0.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
^Shaw, Stanford; Ezel Kural Shaw (1976).History of the Ottoman Empire and Modern Turkey, Volume I. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. p. 27.ISBN0-521-21280-4.
^Zürcher, Erik (1999).Arming the State. United States of America: LB Tauris and Co Ltd. pp. 5.ISBN1-86064-404-X.
^Joseph von Hammer, Geschichte des osmanischen Reiches
^John V. A. Fine Jr., When Ethnicity Did Not Matter in the Balkans: A Study of Identity in Pre-Nationalist Croatia, Dalmatia, and Slavonia in the Medieval and Early-Modern Periods
^Shaw, Stanford (1976). History of the Ottoman Empire and Modern Turkey, Volume I
^Basgoz, I. & Wilson, H. E. (1989), The educational tradition of the Ottoman Empire and the development of the Turkish educational system of the republican era. Turkish Review 3(16), 15
^Kunt, Metin İ. (1983).The Sultan's Servants: The Transformation of Ottoman Provincial Government, 1550–1650. New York: Columbia University Press. p. 76.ISBN0-231-05578-1.
^Murphey, Rhoads (1999). Ottoman Warfare, 1500-1700, p. 225.
^Murphey, Rhoads (1999). Ottoman Warfare, 1500-1700, p. 234.
^Börekçi, Günhan (2006). "A Contribution to the Military Revolution Debate: The Janissaries' Use of Volley Fire During the Long Ottoman-Habsburg War of 1593–1606 and the Problem of Origins".Acta Orientalia Academiae Scientiarum Hungaricae.59 (4):407–438.doi:10.1556/AOrient.59.2006.4.2.
^"Orta".brillonline.com.Brill. 2012.Archived from the original on 1 February 2021. Retrieved14 September 2020."Orta" (t.), literally "centre", in Ottoman Turkish military terminology, the equivalent of a company of fighting men...
^Abdul-Karim Rafeq (2012)."Yerliyya".brillonline.com.Brill.Archived from the original on 9 February 2021. Retrieved14 September 2020."Yerliyya", colloquial Turkish-Arabic term derived from the Turkish yerlü "local".
^Osman, Nakkas (1597)."Expedition to Revan".Shahin-Shah-nama, Topkapi Sarai Museum, Ms B.200, folio 102a.Archived from the original on 2019-03-25. Retrieved2015-02-09.
^Clodfelter, M. (2017).Warfare and Armed Conflicts: A Statistical Encyclopedia of Casualty and Other Figures, 1492–2015 (4th ed.). Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland. pp. 649–650.ISBN978-0786474707.
^Sharkey, Heather (2017).A History of Muslims, Christians, and Jews in the Middle East. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. pp. 101–102.ISBN9780521186872.
Ágoston, Gábor (2014). "Firearms and Military Adaptation: The Ottomans and the European Military Revolution, 1450–1800".Journal of World History.25:85–124.doi:10.1353/jwh.2014.0005.S2CID143042353.
Aksan, Virginia H. "Whatever Happened to the Janissaries? Mobilization for the 1768–1774 Russo-Ottoman War."War in History (1998) 5#1 pp: 23–36.onlineArchived 2016-07-29 at theWayback Machine
Benesch, Oleg. "Comparing Warrior Traditions: How the Janissaries and Samurai Maintained Their Status and Privileges During Centuries of Peace."Comparative Civilizations Review 55.55 (2006): 6:37-55OnlineArchived 2019-11-09 at theWayback Machine.
Shaw, Stanford J. (1976).History of the Ottoman Empire and Modern Turkey (Vol. I). New York: Cambridge University Press.ISBN978-0-521-29163-7
Shaw, Stanford J. & Shaw, Ezel Kural (1977).History of the Ottoman Empire and Modern Turkey (Vol. II). New York: Cambridge University Press.ISBN978-0-521-29166-8
Uzunçarşılı, İsmail (1988).Osmanlı Devleti Teşkilatından Kapıkulu Ocakları: Acemi Ocağı ve Yeniçeri Ocağı. Ankara: Türk Tarih Kurumu.ISBN975-16-0056-1.
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![Battle of Mohács, 1526.[63]](/mt/?noimg=&dark=on&url=https%3a%2f%2fen.wikipedia.org%2fwiki%2fFile%3a1526_-_Battle_of_Moh%25C3%25A1cs.jpg)
![Sultan Murad III's expedition to Revan.[64]](/mt/?noimg=&dark=on&url=https%3a%2f%2fen.wikipedia.org%2fwiki%2fFile%3aExpedition_to_Revan-Shahin-Shah-nama.jpg)
