The Janissaries: The Ottoman Sultan’s Slave Soldiers

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In this video, we explore how the Janissaries became the Sultan’s elite, why they were recruited from enslaved Christians, how they fought, and why they were different from western pike and shot armies.
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Ambrose, S. E., Band of Brothers: E Company, 2001. amzn.to/438ltvZ
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Bevoor, A., Stalingrad: The Fateful Siege: 1942-1943, 1999. amzn.to/4a4rqwe
Beevor, A., The Second World War, 2013. amzn.to/3wNFITu
Brennan, P+D., Gettysburg in Color, 2022. amzn.to/48LGldG
Clausewitz, C., On War, 2010. amzn.to/3Vblf5
Kaushik, R., A Global History of Pre-Modern Warfare: 10,000 BCE-1500 CE, 2021. amzn.to/49Mtqt7
McPherson, J., Battle Cry of Freedom, The Civil War Era, 2021. amzn.to/3TseYAW
Tsu, S., The Art of War, 2007, amzn.to/3TuknHA
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Pomerantsev, P., How to Win an Information War, 2024. amzn.to/3Ts0YqQ
Video sources:
Agoston, Gabor, Firearms and Military Adaptation: The Ottomans and the European Military Revolution, 1450-1800, in: Journal of World History (2014), pp. 85-124.
Aksan, Virginia H., s.v. Janissaries, in: Holmes, Singleton, Jones (eds.), The Oxford Companion to Military History, Oxford 2001.
Finkel, C., Osman's Dream: The History of the Ottoman Empire, 2007. amzn.to/3Pg5V3l
Nicole, D., The Janissaries, 1995, amzn.to/4ckaJ1M
Goodwin, Godfrey, The Janissaries, London, 1997. amzn.to/3Tu04tS
Hechelhammer, Bodo, The Corps of Janissaries. Eine militärische Elite im Spannungsfeld von Gesellschaft, Militär und Obrigkeit im Osmanischen Reich, in: Militär und Gesellschaft in der frühen Neuzeit 14 (2010), p. 33-58.
Huart, C., s.v. Janissaries, in: Encyclopedia of Islam, Leiden, 1987.
Stiles, Andrina, The Ottoman Empire, 1450-1700, London, 1989.
Veinstein, Gilles, On the Ottoman janissaries, in: Zürcher, Erik-Jan, Fighting for a Living. A Comparative Study of Military Labor 1500-2000, Amsterdam 2013, pp. 115-134.
#history #documentary #education

[@SandRhomanHistory]

Hey, thanks for watching! Start with InVideo AI for free and create up to 4 videos for free but with a watermark. If you want to publish videos without a watermark consider upgrading to a paid plan which starts at as low as $20/month. invideo.io/i/SandRohmanHistory Check out our video on the Barbary Corsairs which complements this video well here: kzbin.info/www/bejne/hH7aaJZubd2Ig6s We also recently updated our book recommendations. Below are some of our personal favorites which are relevant to everybody looking to read anything related to military history. Ambrose, S. E., Band of Brothers: E Company, 2001. amzn.to/438ltvZ Baime, A. J., The Accidental President: Harry S. Truman, 2017. amzn.to/3TcDGUj Beard, M., Emperor of Rome: Ruling the Ancient Roman World, 2023. amzn.to/49L2olR Bevoor, A., Stalingrad: The Fateful Siege: 1942-1943, 1999. amzn.to/4a4rqwe Beevor, A., The Second World War, 2013. amzn.to/3wNFITu Brennan, P+D., Gettysburg in Color, 2022. amzn.to/48LGldG Clausewitz, C., On War, 2010. amzn.to/3Vblf5 Kaushik, R., A Global History of Pre-Modern Warfare: 10,000 BCE-1500 CE, 2021. amzn.to/49Mtqt7 McPherson, J., Battle Cry of Freedom, The Civil War Era, 2021. amzn.to/3TseYAW Tsu, S., The Art of War, 2007, amzn.to/3TuknHA Sledge. E. B., With the Old Breed: At Peleliu and Okinawa, 2008. amzn.to/439olIK Pomerantsev, P., How to Win an Information War, 2024. amzn.to/3Ts0YqQ

[@Wakobear.]

Could you cover the training system and army of the Mamluk Sultanate. Since it was one of the most professional and effective militaries in the entire medieval world, besting both Mongols and crusaders (Until the chaos after anNasir Muhammad, afterwhich it became a failed state...)

[@Mr_St_Lazarus-1099]

Thx so much

[@Mr_St_Lazarus-1099]

Veneto

[@DrKarmo]

The video was great, do you guys plan on covering the Italian Wars or portuguese history? They had some stuff going on in india and also their war of independence from spain

[@user-wj1kg8qo3p]

Garbage AI sponsor

[@dzpower9156]

The janissaries were a double-edged weapon. This is what gave the Ottoman a superiority against European and Middle Eastern mamluk, Safavid, and aq qoyunlu but after it was the janissaries and their corruption who blocked any change to modernization and Ottomans found themselves bypassed by European

[@aether3697]

Agreed, but I think they're more like a chef's knife: effective, wieldy and safe when sharp, but can cut you when otherwise From what I've read so far, by the time they became less effective is when they were more corrupted. They lowered the standards for recruitment to keep recruiting, became traders and married(which is forbidden, but they did later on anyway), they don't have much wars to loot and pillage from, so they started extorting money and bullying anyone beneath them. I've read that some higher status janissaries refuse to go to war(this was around 18th to early 19th century)

[@RehanQawai-rj7vm]

what modernization ??? 😅 This is simply a systematic imitation of Western tyranny, classism, and extravagance Keep in mind that this time was not during the reign of Sultan Mahmoud II, but rather a century earlier during the reign of Ahmed I, when he began to exhaust the state treasury by building French-style palaces and amusement parks... This is what will lead to popular anger and the movement of the elites and the army, and about decades later, the outbreak of the french revolution. and out on the royal family

[@ivanivanovic5586]

Sultans, at least some of them, saw the corruption and tried to reform/disband them, like sultan selim III, who was quickly deposed, and mahmoud II, who succeeded to disband them. Some fled to then-Bosnian eyalet, which was sort-of attempting to gain autonomy(under husein-bey captain of gradačac) and reinstate at least some of the privileges the former/retired jannisaries had. Ofc sultan was having none of either and put a swift end on that bit of bosnian history.

[@shergy1000]

It was always an archaic system of governance. Just look at how a new Sultan came to power. Lots of brothers and family members were quickly disposed of before any opposition could compete for control. They were a very efficient war machine with vast numbers and used the most modern equipment. Give credit where credits due. Like every great empire before and after they began to rest on their laurels, IMO. The rot always comes from within.

[@gustavosanches3454]

The problem was that the Ottomans decided to expand and bloat the Janissaries instead of being a niche elite force indocrinated since childhood to be completely subservient to the sultan.

[@barbarianremover2463]

*Elite guards become corrupted and start threatening emperor Roman : Hey, I seen this one before.

[@taylannurlu7430]

Memluks were also the same

[@lolasdm6959]

The house of Ottoman is the last dynasty of the Roman empire.

[@Althemor]

After the acclaimed Kingmakers: Praetorian Guard, comes another smash hit from Empires That Ruled Over Constantinople: Kingmakers 2: Janissaries. Watch as yet another elite group of soldiers morphs from royal guards into a royal pain in the ass.

[@user-rt6jj8lj6g]

laughed hard on this one.

[@majorkalashinikov1277]

Kingmakers 3, the Varangian guard crowned and uncrowned any Byzantine emperor who didnt go along with their whims

[@user-rt6jj8lj6g]

@@majorkalashinikov1277 nice effort but doesnt pack the punch of the OC

[@lolasdm6959]

Roman empire new DLC, Kingmaker pass season 3

[@kaztarihtanu]

In kazakh they are called jana seri, which means "new knight", because seri in our language means elite soldier or knight in medieval analogy.

[@osmanerdogdu7868]

And in Turkish they are called Yeniçeri, Yeni is Jana, and Çeri is Seri. Anatolian Turkish to Kazakh

[@lolasdm6959]

In Chinese it's translated as "new army".

[@juniorjames7076]

Its very interesting how both the Janissaries and the Knights Templar in Europe were both destroyed when their respective leaders saw them as threats. The Knights Templar were massacred by the orders of King Philip IV (France) & Pope Clement V.

[@osmanerdogdu7868]

Except, Templars were never a part of palace coup :) An actual similar situation was Russian Streltsy

[@ufem2159]

And janissaries were massacred by the orders of Mahmud the Second in 1826 and their order was abolished. Search "Auspicious Incident" for more details.

[@vorynrosethorn903]

The Templars were wealthy bankers, what happened to them followed that model. The popes predecessor have been beaten resulting in injuries leading to death by the King's men for refusing to go along with the plan, so he decided to make good on it, and then secretly pardoned the Templars afterwards. The Templars were never corrupted even if the mystery has fuelled rumours and fiction of that sort, they went to death martyrs to the avarice of a king of France.

[@juniorjames7076]

@vorynrosethorn903 There were levels of corruption among the Templars just like any institution. Drop your sunday school Catholic propaganda! Lol

[@MyVanir]

@@juniorjames7076 Yes, but they were not a satanic cult of goatee-wearing, cackling villains with goat legs, like propaganda painted them as. There was not much difference between them and the Italian banking families by that time.

[@Spaceplayzsfs]

Ottomans to Christian boys:Want some candy kid?

[@lolasdm6959]

Pisst.... Kid, want to fight for the sultan?

[@CypherDVoid]

Hey little boy, would you like some Turkish delights?

[@willfakaroni5808]

Ottoman:I will let you drink two cups of Uludağ

[@antokarman2064]

"Hey kids, wanna be a part of the shadow government?"

[@nicbahtin4774]

Hay kid do you love my hat ? Do you want wear one ?

[@somemeansfish8987]

As a bulgarian fan of your channel I can't express my gratitude for you stopping to mention our viewpoint on the jannisaries,I have seen no other historian do so.My deepest thanks

[@endplanets]

Slavers rolling into town, forcing a tithe of children for future soldiers.... Damn. Warhammer 40k strikes again.

[@karlsussan8454]

Another great video! The only part I wish you included was about the intense rivalry between the Ottoman Sipahis and the Janissary Corps.

[@lolasdm6959]

by design, I imagine.

[@tatarcavalry2342]

It started later and I also wonder why not anybody thinking Janissaries were infantry because it's harder to flee as infantry and it's less prestigious to be infantry in most of the cultures so that prestige went to mostly ethnic Turk Sipahis

[@tatarcavalry2342]

There is a Turkish proverb goes as: Atlı er baş kaldırmaz. Meaning cavalry don't rebel that is also a diss to Janissaries

[@stehfreejesseah7893]

@@tatarcavalry2342 Cause one had horses and one didn’t.

[@gurkeschurke6667]

It would distract from the intention of the video, which is to appeal to the turkophobic audience.

[@belakovdoj]

It looks like the Russian 16th-century tactic was a copy of the Ottoman's one. Especially the use of wagons and the absence of pikes (which sometimes led to catastrophes of musketeers vs cavalry massacre)

[@christophernoneya4635]

I imagine both were designed to fight well in the Russian steppe lmao

[@howdoyouturnthison7827]

They might converently evolve to deal with similar enemies. Turks and Russian had regularly fought against both European knights and Eastern Turkmen/Tatar hordes. Pikeman or pike and shot would not suit these variaty of enemies and both Russian and Turks lack plate armor tech to make infantry fisible.

[@ZS-rw4qq]

Gulyay gorod?

[@ahmedjama1755]

This Channel has the best Military History content with extensive primary sources many history channels just use Wikipedia and never sight their sources

[@coreyjblakey]

Yet they shill for ai tools to make more ai trash channels?

[@AHersheyHere]

It is so interesting seeing kingdoms early attempts at professional armies, and how eventually these establishments become powerful political forces. Varangians, Praetorian Guards, Mamaluks, and Janissaries.

[@carlustin4034]

Thank you for mentioning that '''janisarry'' is the most humaliting way to call someone in Bulgarian

[@jacopoarmini7889]

the times of the janissaries were very cruel, but man, the Ottoman empire, for all its glory and ingenuity, made cruelty a substantial part of its system.

[@gurkeschurke6667]

For you it’s cruel for others it’s pragmatic.

[@VigilantGuardian6750]

if they were that cruel they wouldn't last over 5 centuries, the cruleler and more unjust system the less it will last as shown by history, Ottomans obviously weren't that bad unless you are some softie westerner seeing turks as monsters cause they arent white

[@gustavosanches3454]

@@gurkeschurke6667those are not mutually exclusive

[@elguerojusticiero]

for sure cruelty and terror were pillars of the empire. the mongol influence was strong. also western culture is heavily influenced by jesus christ so our tolerance for straight up evil is much lower than other places. when you read how the comanche killed and tortured jesuit missionsries, sometimes over years, makes you wonder if Godless heathen was more warning than insult

[@matthewbutts2062]

​@@VigilantGuardian6750 I suppose you're one of these people who excuse and brush off Imperiaism and war crimes when the perpeturater isn't white? The Ottomans were just cruel and evil as any European Empire.

[@thcdreams654]

Great content as usual. Thanks for the informative and entertaining videos that are consistently top quality.

[@WhiteFalcon_EA]

Amazing research and very good summarization, thank you.

[@mjs24]

This was a long awaited one! Awesome work

[@Albion1631]

I think that polearms used by the Janissaries are heavily underappreciated. Maybe the iconography or some weird western concept of lightly armored ottomans played into this. In fact, Janissaries were heavy infantry, up armored and equipped with spears (mizrak) and axes (baltadji). Especially their "stormtroopers" such as serdengeçti or zirhli nefer. Janissaries also fought behind war wagons, often using guns, while heavily armored cavalry such as the sipahi would storm enemy units. There is no other way they would have won so many battles against heavily armored european knights.

[@icenarsin5283]

Excellent documentary... Thank you!

[@wiktorberski9272]

Really interesting video. So thank you very much for this movie

[@bigsarge2085]

Always learn something new, thank you!

[@nyktal]

Hope you dont use your sponsor too much, your unique art is what makes your channel special

[@manswitnohans7618]

Love learning about the 17th and 16th century thanks for the vids. :)

[@SARodriguez-kw7wl]

Love this video BTW. Very insightful.❤️💯

[@theepicone1264]

Contrary to common knowledge, Devshirme (Ottomans making high staff governors and well-paid soldiers out of farmer children) was very desired by minority parents for their children, for instance Bosnians were severely complaining to sultans about their children not being taken for Devshirme, because they were muslim.

[@nvelsen1975]

Imagine being ultra-nationalistic and brainwashed you justify stealing children from their parents and slave-driving....

[@isuckatleague745]

@@nvelsen1975 if you think its anything less than a lottery win for the kid you are brain damaged. For the family however its cruel but it is what it is.

[@fortunemaster668]

Video: tells about the change of status from slaves to the shadow government, those slaves having many privileges(though, honestly, maybe it would be better not to use the term slave due to negative connotations), praising their military skill and how their discipline made them the elite who made foreign soldiers tremble. Comments: "you're biased, showing the ottomans in negative light, undermining their achievements" 🤦‍♂️

[@Vhite]

They were still slaves though, at least the ones recruited trough devshirme which had to go trough years of indoctrination.

[@fortunemaster668]

@@Vhite well, probably should have said that people are needed to be more frequently reminded that slavery, although was a status of direct subjigation, didn't necessarily involve mistreatment or lack of content of the enslaved person and that it was a very deep topic back in the day

[@yuzemir]

@@Vhite What is the difference between them and the temple knights who were converted from paganism to Christianity and were drafted into the army? Were the people fighting for the king in the West fighting for themselves? Were they slaves of the king or the feudal lord? Also, they weren't slaves, that's your lie. Janissaries ruled the Ottoman Empire rather than the sultan, and the sultan was only the final approval authority. Janissaries rise in rank and become pasha. Pashas were related to the families of many Ottoman sultans. Which slave can marry the sultan's daughters or siblings?

[@endrien22]

⁠​⁠@@yuzemir the difference is that janissaries were the direct property of the sultan, so they were slaves. Pretty simple logic and your paragraph of nuance doesnt change that fact.

[@ExperiencePlayers]

well produced and exciting to watch.

[@sarahsidney1988]

Very nice video. Love your animations

[@shawnbeckett1370]

Awesome as always

[@ningen8719]

They were basically spartans of early modern times. Recruited at young age, raped, tortured, brainwashed, overworked, and when they ready for their first battle they either become a high ranked statesman or a rotten corpse in battlefield.

[@nosotrosloslobosestamosreg4115]

At the least they were not serving white supremacy /s

[@grandadmiralzaarin4962]

Excellent video on a great topic

[@tadsklallamn8v]

this is my favorite history channel

[@Wakobear.]

Could you cover the training system and army of the Mamluk Sultanate. Since it was one of the most professional and effective militaries in the entire medieval world, besting both Mongols and crusaders (Until the chaos after anNasir Muhammad, afterwhich it became a failed state...)

[@nickzaichuk7457]

Yes please

[@Spaceplayzsfs]

Serbian boy:Exists Ottomans:And I took that -Personally-

[@lolasdm6959]

Ottoman sultan: gets skewed by Serbian knights His descendents: "That's a talent we could use."

[@Tyrach.]

@@lolasdm6959 Serbian tsars and despots are slain one by one by Turkish soldiers the same Serbs after losing all the battles: Oh man, we give up to our new Masters

[@tatarcavalry2342]

@@lolasdm6959 Most of the time Serbians were loyal vassals of Ottomans.

[@lolasdm6959]

@@tatarcavalry2342 most of the time Serbians were in no position to choose.

[@tatarcavalry2342]

@@lolasdm6959 Yeah and this is human experience in short well said

[@mikailkalashnikov1448]

Love this channel

[@jotaro2690]

Can you do the mamluks next?

[@a.m928]

There are numerous non-ottoman accounts that families were happy to give their son because the chance of getting a much better life. The Ottomans wanted farmers or peasant boys not middle (merchant o priest sons) or upper class (nobles). And being a peasant was not a nice life. Still for some it was very painful. There were rules as well. No more than one son from each family. And none were taken if the family only had one son. Interesting enough devicherme was forbidden according to Sharia (u cant enslave ur own Christian subjects) but Sultan pulled theological loophole that he was not enslaving rather it was preaching the good word.

[@ivanivanovic5586]

If bosnian historiographers are to be believed, after it was conquered and later established as a border province of the ottoman empire, bosnian muslims requested that their boys too be part of devshirme system(which was granted), and many of them found their way both into the court and the jannisary corps. Sokollu Mehmed Pasha(or Mehmed-paša Sokolović, as he's usually called) was one of those bosnian boys.

[@esoterra8050]

Bosnian and Ottoman relations were always profitable.

[@ivanivanovic5586]

@@esoterra8050 There are also the stories of their involvement as part of ottoman army, like how they got majority of hungarian nobility killed in one battle that favored the ottoman cavalry(1492), or in already mentioned mohacs, they would have been at vienna gates the second time(when suleiman the magnificent died at sziget, and sokollu mehmed pasha suppressed the news of it to save army morale), the fall of majority of bosnian muslim sepahi in 1593, whose relatives gained the right of inheritance of land and service(usually was for life only), list goes on. Profitable indeed.

There is archival information about this. Similar case we find in Albania too. Ottoman Turnacibashi was informed not to take children who were overly enthusiastic or not to accept bribes from people who wanted to put their children into the Janissary Order. This video should have used accurate Ottoman Archival Data which are public. But then again its not always his agenda to inform people of the facts. Take a look at this: belleten.gov.tr/tam-metin/248/eng

[@juniorjames7076]

My ex-girlfriend's family were Turk/Bosnian Bektaşi (Bektashi) sect. They are a really laid back Sufi sect and NOT strict at all. I drank beer and rakı all the time with the father.

[@aleksakuljanin2442]

Bosnian wasn't a nationality until the late 20th century. Go and learn something for once in your life. Those were muslim Serbs and Croats

[@panchemist]

First of all, thank you for your educating videos. Second, as I grew up amidst the books, one of my favourite way back when was "Stars of Eger" ("Eger csillagok" by Gardonyi Geza). The story itself falls into the same timeline as many of your videos do- middle period of 16th century. Would you be willing to make a video of siege of Eger aswell ?! :) I do appologise, if you have already covered it in your previous videos, however, it was (in my teens) the most epic tales of all time! :)

[@Mehmet-yp1kv]

nice video

[@manatarmsfittness8874]

Once again you are one of the only KZbinrs to talk about early modern non English history with quality. 👏bravo

[@darknation6174]

The Sardaukar in Dune are based on the Janissaries.

[@Bakarost]

Dont talk to strangers or else youll end up a part of the islamic janissary guard of the ottoman empire

[@jackhazardous4008]

Sweep it up, Janissaries! They do it for free.

[@brainblox5629]

The Slave part is partially true, they were slaves, kul, to the Sultans, but kul is rather something like the relationship of a peasant to an European king, like serf. They were more like the Praetorian Guard, killing and setting up kings and terrorizing peasants. The system was adopted by Turks from the Persians and Arabs, who bought up enslaved Turks from the markets because they were deemed warriors since birth and turned them into elite guards who had no kinship to the locals, supposingly preventing revolts, called Ghulams and Mamlukes.

[@cenktuneygok8986]

7:40 The reason for this huge spike in numbers is because by the 17th century the devshirme system was abandoned and replaced with voluntary recruitment.

[@stanbatakarata6081]

For Turks children 100 true 👍

[@k.constantine]

Awesome video. Learned a lot about the public school system, thank you 😊

[@johnnyjoestar6405]

Turks when the boys they forced to serve them become highly disloyal and often kill the sultan: 😱😱😱😱😰

[@rodrigorafael.9645]

Say you didn't watch the video without, saying you didn't watch the video:

[@tatarcavalry2342]

Boys were loyal late era Janissaries were mostly not devshirme

[@johnnyjoestar6405]

@@rodrigorafael.9645 Sem tempo, irmão.

[@chancelloryusuf]

The boys who were taken stayed as loyal bodyguards, but when the Janissaries started letting other people join without the same training then they became rebellious

[@medievalist8441]

I heard in somewhere that christian families would actually be okay with this? As there sons could achieve higher social status and mobility when serving rather than them just being a Christian family

[@iondu655]

Depends on the families. The devout one would raise hell. Others would move mountains for one of their children to be levied as Janissaries. They, the Janissaries', become so powerful that they become political clout 'representing' their homeland in the Ottoman court.

[@Adsper2000]

Well, there have always been parents willing to sell their own children into slavery.

[@sebastienhardinger4149]

Yes, was varied. Some christian families rightly saw the Janissary corps as a mechanism for social advancement. And muslim families also recognized this and got upset that their sons were denied this power, to the point that in the 1600s as the Janissaries became more of a praetorian guard, muslim families demanded and got the right to have their children inducted

[@iondu655]

@sebastienhardinger4149 Yep, 18-19th century Janissaries are wild. They can change sultans at will.

[@VigilantGuardian6750]

ottomans were at some point more of a euro-balkan empire than anatolian/asian one exactly cause of this, too many white balkan peeps got into places of power in the government

[@KOBALT124]

I showed my video to my Albanian friend he turned into a Janissary.

[@TheDoctorwannabe]

Excellent video! Just one thing: jataGan The g is like in Aga ;)

[@arda213]

People wrongfully assume Ottomans did this devshirme practice to access to a new pool of manpower. The real aim was to create an elite soldier that had no tribal ties. You cant enslave Turks because they are Muslim and therefore you cant break their tribal ties. While other Turkish beys had to please all the chiefs in their lands to gather an army, Ottomans had a centralised elite core. For a very long time janissaries had very anectodal numbers. 500, 1000, 6000 and so on. The backbone of the army was the provincial cavalry. It grew in time because of the military revolution in Europe that required Ottomans to deploy more riflemen. As the video stated they couldnt sustain the numbers merely with devshirme anymore so sons of janissaries and Turks were taken into the corps. After that point the number of the corps dramatically increased 30.000 40.000 etc. Of course the old discipline was gone when the number was this high. They also created a new army called sekban from Turks who were also riflemen later on.

[@tatarcavalry2342]

Discipline ruined mainly because they got right for normal people stuff like marrying, having other jobs etc.

[@shergy1000]

Just someone trying to justify the horrific practice of Devshirme. ONE or TWO guys were risen to high rang. Therefor the 100s of thousand others enslave them and fight wars constantly.

[@tatarcavalry2342]

@@shergy1000 he literally used the word enslave buddy what you on about

[@shergy1000]

@@tatarcavalry2342 Explain what you mean my friend?

[@tatarcavalry2342]

@@shergy1000 This is not a justification of devshirme system this is just an explanation of it and of course they were seen inferior that's why they got chosen for process just like the simple fact that they were founded as infantry because it's harder to flee as infantry and in many cultures it's more prestigious to be cavalry that applies for Turks too

[@johnmanole4779]

Please do the mamluks next

[@rafaelian478]

What is happening in the comment section, this must be a troll forum or group that is doing this shit in every video

[@angkhoa1216]

Turk being what turk do best Calling whatever history fact that make them look bad’s zionist propaganda

[@JosephSchmo]

Cool video, I always wanted to know more about the Jannissaries.

[@cov.teo.8131]

DO NOT ASK A TURK WHAT DID THE JANISSARIES DO TO LITTLE ALBANIAN BOYS IN THE 17TH CENTURY

[@_--Reaper--_]

why?

[@Dragoncam13]

😂😂😂

[@SultanBrokenClock]

It’s so cool and strange that they were obsessed with strict rules guidelines and regulations to their daily living and order… but in battle they were against formations such as strange ideal to the modern soldier… not wrong but strange

[@akshsehgal998]

Fun fact the loyal artillery men that would be the end of the jannssaries would another elite unit of the empire who were at the same rank as the jannssaries and were their rivals

[@absyahwa7698]

Nizam i cedit

An interesting fact that is not said is that the Janissaries were, in all likelihood, the first modern professional army to use uniforms in Europe, since other armies would not take this path until practically the middle of the 17th century. A question that I have always had with the Janissaries is: How much inspiration did they take from the Mamluks? And what are the most obvious differences in the way they were organized? I think it deserves a separate video to talk about a comparison between the two units, with many similarities, since one precedes the other and they were very successful at their respective times.

[@charlesiragui2473]

Great suggestion. Both were slave elite troops of Islamic empires. It seems that the Ottomans did a better job of training their elite slaves to be loyal, as the Janissaries only revolted when they lost their cohesion as enslaved Christians. I believe the Mamluks were Turkish slaves and already Muslim.

[@fakirsplace8464]

in Memlûk arabs took Turkish boys as slaves and maske them soldiers. İn ottomans Turks took slavic boys as slaves and make them soldiers.

[@gabrielcurraj3994]

How to design the perfect ww1 fortress

[@willfakaroni5808]

Go underground

[@polygonalfortress]

polygonal forts!

[@brokenbridge6316]

The Janissaries are hands down some of the most unique warriors n soldiers or world history. Great video.

[@SmokeyMountain0]

They were slaves before became Janissary,after being Janissary ; They became an elite legion.

[@sebastienhardinger4149]

I took a class with Gabor Agoston! fantastic historian

[@oriffel]

did your voice get deeper?

[@axhed]

almost sounds like critical drinker doing an accent.

[@perikliskagialaris1445]

Ottomans raised their empire like Seljuks. They had a numerical and body type disadvantage therefore they needed to incorporate and transform as many Christians to Othoman islam. Moreover as Turks they were capable riders and professional horse archers but lacked the body height and mass of Greeks, Bulgars and even taller Christians like Serbs or Montenegrians. Their new army had three purposes: To decrease the number of male Christians to the new conquered lands, to empower the Ottoman gene pool with taller and stronger body types in order to serve as heavy infantry and at last to frustrate Christian populations as they had less motivation to revolt and fight against their children and siblings. There is no coincidence that Janissaries transformed from a symbol of professional loyal first line foot soldiers to a symbol of corrupted palace bureaucrats and schemers from the first few decades after the massive entry of "true" Turks to the unit. It seems that kidnapping and training of Christian boys unrelated to Turkish mentality was the best ingredient for success. On the other hand from 16th century hey acted more as feudal lords and a union of state elite workers than a trusted elite military unit. This is also a sad and ironic mockup of the Roman elite legionaries who become a menace of every late emperor and gradually vanished or were replaced by mercenaries like Varyags.

[@Ozan-qr7hu]

One thing I'd like to point out from the start that "Tabur Cengi" literally means Battalion War. Are you sure It's not Something like Tabur-i Cengi which translates to Battalion of War. Tho I might be mistaken because as a turkish speaker it caught my attention as weird

[@pistoneteo]

Commentary as a sacrifice to the algorithm.

[@godzilacarnivoro6292]

Always this Turkish keyboard warriors from Berlin trying to wash history

[@cookiedino1238]

The comment section is a mess

[@dennisbergkamp1553]

When you get the Turks and the Balkans involved it’s always a mess

[@ZS-rw4qq]

5:40 Fun fact, his brother became the Patriarch of the Serbian Church and I think somewhere in Bosnia They made a statue of the two of them hugging, holding hands or smth

[@hattorihaso2579]

Serbian propaganda they wjere in no way shape or form connected

[@ZS-rw4qq]

@@hattorihaso2579 Really? It seems this Serbian propaganda is accepted by not only Turks, but Bosnian Muslims as well: bs.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Makarije tr.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Makarije_Sokolovi%C4%87

[@hattorihaso2579]

@@ZS-rw4qq thats what decades of propaganda will do the men had the same last name but where not related in any way shape or form

[@ZS-rw4qq]

@@hattorihaso2579 Ok, from where did these two come? If they're not related but still have the same name, they would have to hundreds of miles apart, right?

[@ZS-rw4qq]

@@hattorihaso2579 Don't you think Turks would know this? After all, they very meticulous in writing, they wouldn't miss an opportunity to record it

[@onuscronus984]

I heard they all kept a spoon in their hats.

[@josipboban6976]

😅

[@unitor699industries]

every succesful empire needs a professional army

[@MysticChronicles712]

Uniforms were worn by the Janissaries before any other European army until the mid-seventeenth century, making them the first modern professional army in Europe. How much the Janissaries owed to the Mamluks is something I've frequently pondered. How did their respective organizations differ most notably? A separate video should compare the two units, which are similar, since one was successful in its time and came before the other.

[@Hasanbas-rv3vm]

They were the first standing army who didint disband

[@Kara-K38]

I think the main difference is that the Janisarries and the Devshirme in general are more centralised than the Mamluks, Ghulams that existed before. Mamluks/Ghulams were bought and sold by individual masters and also instructed by them or someone the master chose. This type of Mamluk still existed in the Ottoman empire through their vassals in the Mamluks of Egypt until the very end.

[@mamamia6513]

Ah yes the slaves that more well fed and rested than any king in the era

[@DirtyHippy420]

You can be treated well as a slave that doesn't make you free.

[@anti-nonsensecomments7512]

​@@DirtyHippy420 You can't be treated well when you are a slave, stop this stupidity

[@Justowner]

@@anti-nonsensecomments7512 Just because someone is treated well doesnt mean they arent slaves. They dont have a choice. They dont get a life of their own.

[@CosaNostra12342]

@@Justowner They had every opportunity to leave but they didn't. In any war they can just leave the battlefield without getting noticed they are the best armed so no one is going to stop them but they didn't because the wanted to be there, a life being an ottoman jannisary was far better then anything they could hope for.

[@Justowner]

@@CosaNostra12342 Does my guy not know that desertion has historically carried the death penalty around the world?

[@tzimisce1753]

There were so many Bosnian janissaries that Bosnian was a second language in Istanbul by the mid-17th century. Bosnia was the backbone of the conquest of Hungary, possibly also what would later become Romania.

[@tylerclayton6081]

Bosnia is such a tiny nation though

[@tzimisce1753]

​@@tylerclayton6081 Bosnia singlehandedly defeated Prince Hildburghausen's 150 000-man HRE army (Germans/Saxons & Austrians, Hungarians, Croats, Slavonan Serbs) with 5 000 regulars and 25 000 civilian volunteers in 1737-1739, while the whole Ottoman army was busy in Ukraine.

[@juniorjames7076]

I lived for one year in a suburb in Istanbul called Yeni Bosna (New Bosnia). I loved the neighborhood!

[@aleksakuljanin2442]

Bosnian wasn't a nationality until the late 20th century, what are you on?

[@tzimisce1753]

@@aleksakuljanin2442 You're lying because you're a Serb. Serbs are seething that they can't conquer other countries, and try to pathetically disprove genetics and history for the sake of expansion. Manuel Komnenos commissioned to have "Emperor of the Bosnians" etched into the Hagia Sophia in 1166. Bosnia was under Hungarian suzerainty at that time, so curb your stupid "it's just about a passport" - passports didn't even exist in the middle ages. Meanwhile, Ioannes Skylitzes wrote in the 11th century that Serbs are a little tribe of Croats who tried to steal Bulgarian land. Now go cry in a corner while Kosovo finishes its secession and your country falls apart.

[@rubz1390]

Why were Jewish families spared from recruitment?

[@qefucan7591]

We all know why the sons of judas were exempt, it would be anti sneitism for them to haft to server as anything less than a general.

[@R.Specktre]

Jews were mostly merchants at the time and notorious pacifists in accordance with Jewish Law. They paid, also, to remain autonomous.

[@delicavus7300]

The reason is that Jewish society is an urban society. One of the basic principles of the Devshirme institution is that city servants are not accepted into the hearth, because city servants have an open mind, they can belong to various movements and currents.

[@rubz1390]

Why would the Ottomans care about anti-semitism at all...@@qefucan7591

[@shergy1000]

@@delicavus7300 So the Ottoman Empire was afraid of being subverted from within is what I'm getting from that answer.

[@Eendeebo]

The AI tool sponsor feels a lil dystopian IMO

[@coreyjblakey]

Its like hes giving people the tools they need to make more ai slop channels that he has to compete with. Seems silly

[@ygdmdx]

下一个三十年战争视频何时实现

[@andy313131313136]

The Turks are offering the Christian boys "Turkish Delight."

[@IbrahimMaisur]

In the end its the Artillery who are the kings of battles

[@robcanisto8635]

❤

[@Iason29]

what is the music used?

[@michaelbread5906]

Interesting that the Jannisarries kind of have a similar ending as the Knights Hospitilar.

[@ferrjuan]

Hide your kids Turks are reading the comments!

[@hasankiosmanka9211]

When you learn the history from the toilet

[@Fortress_mentality]

The only safe space left

[@cameroncarter6789]

cool.

[@alex_zetsu]

There are all sorts of interesting stories that you can make with slave soldiers besides the obvious "slave revolt" arc, so while these guys might not have had the best lives, at least they can inspired many writers to make entertaining fiction.

[@ZhangK71]

I wonder if the Janissaries inspired Star Wars?? “Some of them never manage to join the corps, instead working various trades, but the rest of them undergo military training” is almost spot-on for the Jedi Order, except its lightsaber/combat training more so than strictly military training.

[@numenoreaneternity6682]

The Janissaries were originally and primarily drawn from the conquered Medieval South Slavic states of Bulgaria, Serbia, and Bosnia and Herzegovina. They were not castrated and they were not slave-soldiers like the Saqaliba, the Ghulam, the Kul, and the Mamelukes, they had to perform a compulsory military service for a fixed period, and upon completing the said military service, they would be free to do as they see fit, the majority remained in the service of the Ottoman Porte due to its (originally) revolutionary meritocratic features.

[@commanderpaladin]

Hmmm

[@refiapinarergin719]

Not all Kids became soldiers, According to their capability, they May take important role in goverment, Even they became grand vezir ( prime minister), some of them, work as a officer or civil servant etc.

[@stanbatakarata6081]

Yes but for 10000 kids 1 is grand Vessir

[@batuhan3233]

​@@stanbatakarata6081exactly, like in this modern age

[@dennistokmak1219]

​@@stanbatakarata6081better than 10000 kids 0 being prime minister in western world of slavery

[@stanbatakarata6081]

@dennistokmak1219 and ? The must be happy that thier children being taken away right? Brother drink 💊!

[@harbinger200]

That grand vezir was a Serb Mehmed Pasa Sokolovic and he was assasinated by Sultan when he got to powerful. No Janissary was allowed to keep the wealth and power. Powerful ones where assassinated by Sultan.

[@ericponce8740]

Question: Did any Janissaries maintain ties with their former Christian families?

[@deathdefyingowl]

Yes. Most of them. The guy mentioned in video Sokollu Mehmet Pasha visited his family repeatedly. His brother was priest. He built a bridge his hometown. Also there is plenty of records about how janissaries sent money to their families.

[@RayshiaRoman]

Yes. Why wouldn't they?

[@Vorment]

I cant find anything about polish hussary on your channel... Defienetly something to think about

[@eldinfehric6717]

There is a guy called vildarodinson Bro is in every reply section Dude do somwthing else it is honestly so hilarious to see one person reply to nearly every comment that there is 😂😂😂

[@Sam-Lawry]

Thanks. In western occuped europe it s not a common knowledge sadly. Like bacha bazi too.. People think they are free from History and faith..a mistake to self destruction.

[@pinchevulpes]

Spain implemented their own version of Janissaries in the new world called ‘Genizaros’ notably from Apaches and Pueblos enslaving native boys and resettled them in buffer areas between settlements. it was ineffective because the Native fighters were better regarded, higher in number at that time and knew their land better but it was a neat idea.

[@VigilantGuardian6750]

they also had their own jizyah system called "Paria", worked pretty much same way as muslim one

[@rojvankoc7252]

Some of these Janissaries´s grand grand grandsons became rulers of todays modern Turkey. That is guaranteed

[@saemonno-suke9959]

except they were castrated

[@rojvankoc7252]

Do you think all of them were?@@saemonno-suke9959

[@fredflinstone6601]

@@saemonno-suke9959not true

[@tahiyattasdic]

@@saemonno-suke9959 No duh! The Janissaries were allowed to marry after retirement. The eunuch were castrated, and majority of the eunuch were Blacks brought from Africa.

[@artair70]

@@tahiyattasdic Never once heard that, any source? Almost all could never marry, the eunuchs were Black because it would easier to tell who the children belong to.

[@adamradziwill]

a like for the correct map, yes Muscovy !

[@theawesomeman9821]

What could possibly go wrong with people you enslaved?