Uploaded May 2023 | Updated September 2026, 2 hours ago
Janissaries (in Turkish "Yeni" means "new" and "Çeri" means "soldier"), standing Ottoman Turkish army, were organized either by the sultan Orhan Gazi or Murat I. Ottoman armies had previously been composed of Turcoman tribal levies, who were loyal to their clan leaders, but as the Ottoman Empire acquired the characteristics of a State, it became necessary to have paid troops loyal only to the sultan. Therefore, the system of impressing Christian kids taken during invasions of countries (known as "devşirme") was instituted and having been converted to Islam and given the finest training, they became the elite forces of the army and the most disciplined and dedicated fighting machine the world had seen up until that time.
Janissaries (in Turkish "Yeni" means "new" and "Çeri" means "soldier"), standing Ottoman Turkish army, were organized either by the sultan Orhan Gazi or Murat I. Ottoman armies had previously been composed of Turcoman tribal levies, who were loyal to their clan leaders, but as the Ottoman Empire acquired the characteristics of a State, it became necessary to have paid troops loyal only to the sultan. Therefore, the system of impressing Christian kids taken during invasions of countries (known as "devşirme") was instituted and having been converted to Islam and given the finest training, they became the elite forces of the army and the most disciplined and dedicated fighting machine the world had seen up until that time.
