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The Sultan's Christian-Born
Fighters |
First published in
Military History:
April 1992 |
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by Michael
Antonucci |
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Formed as a counterpart to Christendom's religious orders of crusading
knights, the Turkish yeniçeri,
or "new army," followed the traditions set earlier in history by elite units
such as the Persian Immortals and the Roman Praetorian Guard. The
Janissaries, as the Turkish fighters were called, underwent tough, unique
training that distinguished them from ordinary soldiers.
Not a
single Janissary had been born a Muslim. Instead, every five years, Turkish
administrators would scour their regions for the strongest sons of the
sultan's Christian subjects. These boys, usually between the ages of 10 and
12, were then forcibly taken from their parents and enrolled in Janissary
training.
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a Janissary |
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The recruit was
immediately indoctrinated into the ways of Islam. He was supervised 24 hours
a day and subjected to severe discipline. He was prohibited from growing a
beard, taking up a skill other than war, or marrying. His only personal
possession was a small cooking pot, and the loss of this was an offense
serious enough to expel a Janissary from his division.
His mind and body were
tested for six years before he could call himself a Janissary.
As with any specially
trained troops, the Janissaries were extremely well-disciplined (a rarity in
the Middle Ages), and they followed unusual rituals. They wore long, white
headdresses that represented the sleeve of their religious patron, the
dervish Hajji Bektash. Their officers had culinary titles that reflected the
importance of the cooking pot as their symbol. The commander of the
Janissaries was the First Soup Maker. His deputy was the First Cook; then
came the Water Carrier, and so on.
A Janissary was equally
deadly with a bow, lance or scimitar. For his own protection, he carried
only a small wooden shield.
An array of formidable
warriors was certainly advantageous during hostilities, but in peacetime the
Janissaries could be troublesome. Sultan Murad II, for instance, was
hard-pressed to put down a Janissary revolt in 1444. The sultans, in fact,
purposely made discipline among the Janissaries stricter during peacetime
than when they were at war. This had the dual effect of keeping them in
check and making them extraordinarily eager to go to war. |
Perhaps the most famous Janissary was
George Castriot, son of the despot of northern Albania. His companions gave
him the nickname of Iskander Bey - "Lord Alexander" - after Alexander the
Great.Not completely broken to
Islam, Iskander Bey deserted the Janissaries along with 600 partisans and
returned to Albania. He immediately seized the city of Croia and destroyed
its Turkish garrison. In less than a month, "Scanderbeg" (as the Europeans
pronounced it) was master of Albania.
Between 1443 and 1468, Scanderbeg
defeated five separate Turkish armies. During the siege of Constantinople,
Mehmet II sent a huge force into Albania simply to keep Scanderbeg from
attempting to relieve the city. |
George Castriot Scanderbeg |
In 1468, George Castriot Scanderbeg died
-- the legend is that the Janissaries gathered up his bones and wore them as
amulets. It is indeed ironic that of the estimated 5 million Christian
children who became Janissaries over a 300-year period, the most venerated
would be one who renounced his Islamic training and fought for Christendom. |
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