The Janissaries (in Turkish yeniceri , “ new militia ”) Were originally recruited from men taken prisoner that became the sultan's spoils of war.
With the expansion in the Balkan Peninsula between the 14th and 15th centuries , started by Muhammad II the Conqueror (1432-1481) which ended under the sultanate Suleiman I the Magnificent (1520-1566), which caused the annexation of Hungary a form of recruitment called devşirme was introduced into the Ottoman orbit “ Collection "Or" tribute of children ”:This consisted in taking Christian children , coming from the villages of the Balkan territories, who would have served for the sultan and for the empire.
Once these young people were recruited, recognizable for being dressed in red with bags on their shoulders for the journey, they had a different destiny from those who would have held state positions, in fact the young people who would become Janissaries went to the countryside to learn Turkish and to convert to Islam ; once the period of work with farmers in the various areas of Anatolia is over , these children were returning to Constantinople where they served in the ranks of the militia.
The Janissaries they were a well-equipped elite corps: white weapons such as the saber (kilij), the dagger (yatagan) and the first rifles (tüfek) constituted the basic armory. The hierarchy consisted of an agha commander who sat in the imperial government, the divan, made up of the Grand Vizier, equivalent to the prime minister, the ministers of the sultan, the governors of the districts and the Qapudan Pasha (grand admiral of the fleet).
Definable as a military caste, they had their own rules, their own symbology and religiosity, their own privileges.
Until the sixteenth century, the members who were still in service were forced to celibacy and could not marry until had not taken their leave, as the sultan's slaves were obliged to celibacy.
The simple Janissary couldn't grow a beard, he could only have a mustache and only once he became an officer could he grow it.
The spirit of the body was represented:by the barracks, home of the Janissary, inside which Turkish was rarely spoken but Serbo-Croatian more frequently and by its symbol which was a pot, equivalent to the eagle in the Roman insignia.
But why the muffler? Because inside it contained the ration that was distributed to the members and which symbolized the spirit of aggregation of the militia and when it was overthrown it was a sign of discontent among the ranks.
The body was divided into companies called orte led by a company commander çorba “ ciorba ", Which in the Balkan areas means" the soup "because the commander of the company distributed the soup.
As for the privileges since the Janissaries were one of the pillars of the empire, did not pay taxes and in legal sphere were judged by their commanders. Their main job was to fight in military campaigns, but there was a beuluk company , which took care of the security of the sultan .
The nineteenth century, a period of military modernization in the empire, represented the beginning of the decline of the Janissaries:Selim III (1789-1804) formed a modern militia trained by Europeans which took the name of "New Order", which caused a rebellion of the body that saw its privileges threatened.
So in 1804 the sultan was captured and the Janissaries placed Mustafa IV on the throne (1807-1808), cousin of Selim III , but the reign of the new sultan was very short as he was deposed in 1808 and replaced by Selim's brother, Mahamud II (1808-1839 ).
With the latter, the concept of the Empire " hostage of Europe spread ", The influence of the ulema (Ottoman jurists) faded and in 1826 there was the end of the Janissary Corps with the massacre of the militia , who since their formation had faithfully served the sultan.