The Janissaries: Slaves of the Sultan

The Janissaries: Slaves of the Sultan

Alan Greenspan once said, “Corruption, embezzlement, fraud, these are all characteristics which exist everywhere. It is regrettably the way human nature functions, whether we like it or not. What successful economies do is keep it to a minimum. No one has ever eliminated any of that stuff.” Political corruption is not a new concept, it has existed for thousands of years. Kings, rulers and pharaohs, exerting their power over people under their rule. Political corruption was evident during the Ottoman Empire through the creation of the Janissary Corps, a unit of the Ottoman armed forces.

In his book, David Nicolle defines the Janissaries as “an élite corps in the service of the Ottoman Empire. It was composed of war captives and Christian youths pressed into service; all of whom were converted to Islam and trained under the strictest discipline.” (Nicolle, 1995) The Janissaries, meaning new soldiers, was a branch of the Ottoman armed forces. They were slaves of the sultan. Members were educated and trained, becoming the private army of the Ottoman Sultan. Pre-Ottoman rulers built their military using slaves and war prisoners. Similarly, Ottoman rulers recruited slaves as well as war prisoners. In addition to that, they also recruited Christian adolescent boys. The rulers created a school system that educated and trained these slaves, boys and war prisoners. This system was named the kul-slave-system.

The Janissary Corps were organized by Sultan Murad after 1377. He wanted to be prepared for the struggles against the Byzantines. All the members of the corps were forced to convert to Islam in order to ensure their loyalty to the sultan. As an army unit, the Janissaries were outstanding, numbering 8,000 in 1527. In order to further ensure loyalty and commitment to the sultan, the Janissaries created its own system of symbols and flags, bringing them closer and binding them as one force committed to serving the sultan. The main Janissary banner was made of white silk and had an inscription with the following words, “We give you victory and a sparking victory. It is God who helps us and His help is effective. Oh Muhammad you have brought joyful news to True Believers.” (Ducharme, 2001)

The Janissaries was considered the most outstanding, effective and successful military unit in Europe during the fourteenth to mid-sixteenth centuries. Members of the corps were highly skilled in several areas including archery, bowman ship, sword fighting, artillery, musketry and others. Moreover, they were also able to build bridges and roads. In the 15th century, members of the Janissaries were given duty in the Ottoman navy. According to the book Slaves of the Sultan: The Janissaries “The Janissary Corps played a vital role in many battles as the borders of Ottoman territory expanded from the south-eastern Europe to the Arab lands, where Islam had originated, over to Egypt and along the coast of North Africa to present day Algeria. One of the most important battles was their role in capturing the Byzantine city of Constantinople., the Janissaries also served as the key force used in centralizing the Ottoman administrative apparatus and they were extremely important in maintaining the Ottoman flexible practices that accommodated the needs of different regions and cultures. Janissaries were named as provincial governors in such cities as Aleppo, Damascus, Baghdad and Cairo.” (Ducharme, 2001) Bertrandon de la Broquière wrote on the Janissary Corps following his observation of them in the 15th century. He described them as diligent and frugal, living only on minimum food.

Political corruption during the Ottoman Empire is what allowed rulers to extort and take advantage of slaves, war prisoners and Christian adolescents, training them and transforming them into the Sultan’s own, personal slaves. The Janissary Corps were the epitome of corruption, constantly rebelling and revolting. According to the book Slaves of the Sultan: The Janissaries “Although Janissaries had rebelled during the years of raising stardom, their revolts became more frequent by the mid-eighteenth century usually rising out of Ottoman financial and economic (and sometimes political) problems. Wars, the costs of armies and other swelling expenses, along with fiscal policies, increasing decentralization of the Ottoman administration and within the territories, damaging commercial treaties with the Europeans and the impact of their free trade system (mercantilism) put a tremendous strain on the imperial treasury. Imperial land policies also resulted in lowering the tax-base and resulting in decreased revenue needed to support the Janissaries and to meet other expenses. Inflation was also a problem. The debasement of the currency and increased devaluation affected the pays of the Janissaries. Pays also became irregular. As a result there occurred numerous revolts, which were frequently acted out by starting fires in Istanbul even though the Janissaries were its fireman. The shortage in revenue created an atmosphere that fostered bribery and other forms of corruption. People were robbed and assaulted and sometimes murdered. In the provinces, the Janissaries collected ad hoc taxes from the villagers to support themselves.”(Ducharme, 2001)

According to the book Cauldron of Dissent: A study of the Janissary Corps, 1807-1826 “From the first half of the eighteenth century until 1826, the capital of the Ottoman Empire witnessed five major political upheavals in which urban crowds posed direct challenges to the Ottoman central authority. During this period, as unprecedented in Ottoman history, four out of nine reigning sultans were forced to abdicate the throne while numerous government ministers and advisors lost their lives as a direct result of the actions of urban crowds. Although janissaries played a key role by initiating and leading the crowds against the established authority in all of these incidents, it would be misleading to categorize these events simply as military mutinies or coup d’états.” (Sunar, 2006)

The Janissary Corps’ downfall came in 1826 when Sultan Mahmud II decided to make changes which lead to the disbandment of the unit due to non-cooperation. During the eighteenth and early nineteenth century, changes needed to be made in order to modernize the corps. The widespread and commonality of corruption is what made the Janissaries resist reform as they feared their own privileges would be taken away. The abolition of the Janissary corps allowed for a new reform program which focused on the modernization, development and reorganization of the administrative infrastructure. However, the Janissaries were not to go down without a fight, attempting one last uprising in 1826 before their downfall.

In conclusion, the political corruption seen nowadays, whether in Egypt or Libya, or any other country in the Middle East has had a long precedent. Corruption was evident during the Ancient Egyptian era when pharaohs exerted their power and status over their followers. Corruption continued all the way up to the Ottoman Empire when sultans recruited war prisoners, slaves and Christian adolescents, forming the Janissary Corps; in other words, the sultan’s slaves. Members of the corps were fuelled by their successes in winning wars and battles, which further added to their greed and corruption. When pays became irregular, members of the corps retaliated by starting fires and rebelling. As with every corrupt political party, downfall was inevitable, such was the case with the ousting of Hosni Mubarak. The Janissaries was no exception. The corps was disbanded in 1826 and years of corruption finally came to an end.

References

• Ducharme, S. (2001).Slaves of the Sultan: The Janissaries. Cambridge: Middle East Resources.
• Janissary - New World Encyclopaedia (2014). In Info: Main Page – New World Encyclopaedia. Retrieved from http://www.newworldecncylopedia.org/entry/Janissary#cite_note-0
• Nicolle, D. (1995).The Janissaries. Oxford: Osprey Publishing.
• 
  
• Sunar, M. (2006).Cauldron of Dissent: A study of the Janissary Corps, 1807-1826. New York: State University of New York.