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Ottoman Army In The 15th–19th Centuries
The Ottoman army was the military structure established by Mehmed II, during his reorganization of the state and the military. This was the major reorganization following Orhan's standing army of janissaries that were paid by salary rather than booty or fiefs. This army was the force during the rise of the Ottoman Empire. The organization was twofold, central (''Kapıkulu'') and peripheral (''Eyalet''). This army was forced to disband by Sultan Mahmud II on 15 June 1826 in what is known as Auspicious Incident, which followed a century-long reform effort. The Ottomans were one of the first states to maintain a standing army in Europe since the Roman Empire. The force originated in the 14th century. Units Infantry Janissaries The Janissaries were elite infantry units created by Sultan Murad I. They formed the Ottoman Sultan's household troops and bodyguards and became a famed force in 1383. They began as an elite corps of Slavs, Bulgarian and other Christian ethnic boys, r ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mehmed II
Mehmed II ( ota, محمد ثانى, translit=Meḥmed-i s̱ānī; tr, II. Mehmed, ; 30 March 14323 May 1481), commonly known as Mehmed the Conqueror ( ota, ابو الفتح, Ebū'l-fetḥ, lit=the Father of Conquest, links=no; tr, Fâtih Sultan Mehmed, links=no), was an Ottoman sultan who ruled from August 1444 to September 1446, and then later from February 1451 to May 1481. In Mehmed II's first reign, he defeated the crusade led by John Hunyadi after the Hungarian incursions into his country broke the conditions of the truce Peace of Szeged. When Mehmed II ascended the throne again in 1451, he strengthened the Ottoman navy and made preparations to attack Constantinople. At the age of 21, he Fall of Constantinople, conquered Constantinople (modern-day Istanbul) and brought an end to the Byzantine Empire. After the conquest Mehmed claimed the title Caesar (title), Caesar of the Roman Empire ( ota, قیصر روم, Qayser-i Rûm, links=no), based on the fact that Constanti ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mehter
Ottoman military bands are the oldest recorded military marching band in the world. Though they are often known by the word ''Mehter'' ( ota, مهتر, plural: مهتران ''mehterân''; from "senior" in Persian) in West Europe, that word, properly speaking, refers only to a single musician in the band. In Ottoman, the band was generally known as ''mehterân'' (مهتران seniors), though those bands used in the retinue of a vizier or prince were generally known as ''mehterhane'' (Persian: مهترخانه, meaning "house of seniors"), the band as a whole is often termed ''mehter bölüğü'' ("''mehter'' company roop), ''mehter takımı'' ("''mehter'' platoon"). In West Europe, the band's music is also often called Janissary music because the janissaries formed the core of the bands. History Such military bands as the ''mehter''s, were not definitively mentioned until the 13th century. It is believed that the first "mehter" was sent to Osman I by the Seljuk Sultan Alaeddin Ka ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Capture Of Baghdad (1638)
The recapture of Baghdad was the second conquest of the city by the Ottoman Empire as a part of the Ottoman–Safavid War of 1623–1639. Background Baghdad, once the capital of Arab Abbasid Caliphate, was one of the most important cities of the medieval Muslim World. In the second half of the Medieval age, the Turkic dynasties (Seljuks, Kara Koyunlu, Ak Koyunlu) and others tried to gain control over this prestigious city. From 1508 till 1534 it was ruled by the emerging Safavid dynasty of Iran, between that time led by shah Ismail I and shah Tahmasp I respectively. In 1534, the Ottoman sultan Süleyman I ( tr, Kanuni Sultan Süleyman) captured the city without any serious combat during the Ottoman–Safavid War (1532–55), which was confirmed in the resulting Peace of Amasya. However, 90 years later it was recaptured by Abbas I of Persia. Attempts of several Ottoman commanders ( tr, serdar) to retake the city following 1624, were fruitless. In 1638 Ottoman Sultan Mura ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Battle Of Kosovo (1448)
The Second Battle of Kosovo ( Hungarian: ''második rigómezei csata'', Turkish: ''İkinci Kosova Muharebesi'') (17–20 October 1448) was a land battle between a Hungarian-led Crusader army and the Ottoman Empire at Kosovo Polje. It was the culmination of a Hungarian offensive to avenge the defeat at Varna four years earlier. In the three-day battle the Ottoman army under the command of Sultan Murad II defeated the Crusader army of regent John Hunyadi. After that battle, the path was clear for the Turks to conquer Serbia and the other Balkan States, it also ended any hopes of saving Constantinople. The Hungarian kingdom no longer had the military and financial resources to mount an offensive against the Ottomans. With the end of the half-century-long Crusader threat to their European frontier, Murad's son Mehmed II was free to lay siege to Constantinople in 1453. Background In 1444, the Hungarian king, Władysław III of Poland, in breach of a ten-year truce that ex ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Battle Of Varna
The Battle of Varna took place on 10 November 1444 near Varna in eastern Bulgaria. The Ottoman Army under Sultan Murad II (who did not actually rule the sultanate at the time) defeated the Hungarian–Polish and Wallachian armies commanded by Władysław III of Poland (also King of Hungary), John Hunyadi (acting as commander of the combined Christian forces) and Mircea II of Wallachia. It was the final battle of the Crusade of Varna. Background The Hungarian Kingdom fell into crisis after the death of King Sigismund in 1437. His son-in-law and successor, King Albert, ruled for only two years and died in 1439, leaving his widow Elizabeth with an unborn child, Ladislaus the Posthumous. The Hungarian noblemen then called the young King Władysław III of Poland to the throne of Hungary, expecting his aid in defense against the Ottomans. After his Hungarian coronation, he never went back to his homeland again, assuming rule of the Hungarian Kingdom next to the influential noblem ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Battle Of Nukap
A battle is an occurrence of combat in warfare between opposing military units of any number or size. A war usually consists of multiple battles. In general, a battle is a military engagement that is well defined in duration, area, and force commitment. An engagement with only limited commitment between the forces and without decisive results is sometimes called a skirmish. The word "battle" can also be used infrequently to refer to an entire operational campaign, although this usage greatly diverges from its conventional or customary meaning. Generally, the word "battle" is used for such campaigns if referring to a protracted combat encounter in which either one or both of the combatants had the same methods, resources, and strategic objectives throughout the encounter. Some prominent examples of this would be the Battle of the Atlantic, Battle of Britain, and Battle of Stalingrad, all in World War II. Wars and military campaigns are guided by military strategy, whereas bat ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Battle Of Kosovo
The Battle of Kosovo ( tr, Kosova Savaşı; sr, Косовска битка) took place on 15 June 1389 between an army led by the Serbian Prince Lazar Hrebeljanović and an invading army of the Ottoman Empire under the command of Sultan Murad Hüdavendigâr. The battle was fought on the Kosovo field in the territory ruled by Serbian nobleman Vuk Branković, in what is today Kosovo, about northwest of the modern city of Pristina. The army under Prince Lazar consisted of his own troops, a contingent led by Branković, and a contingent sent from Bosnia by King Tvrtko I, commanded by Vlatko Vuković. Prince Lazar was the ruler of Moravian Serbia and the most powerful among the Serbian regional lords of the time, while Branković ruled the District of Branković and other areas, recognizing Lazar as his overlord. Reliable historical accounts of the battle are scarce. The bulk of both armies were wiped out, and Lazar and Murad were killed. However, Serbian manpower was dep ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cebeci (corps)
Djebedji (from Turkish ''Cebeci'', ) was a military subunit of Ottoman Army's artillery corps. Foundation Foundation date of the unit ( tr, ocak) () is not known, but it appears that the Djebedji unit was founded in the 15th century. It was one of the privileged units of the Ottoman army.Nicolae Iorga:''Geschiste des Osmanischen Reiches'' II (translated by Nilüfer Epçeli) Yeditepe yayınevi, İstanbul, p.296, 376 They were considered as a part of the Janissary and based on devshirme system. Their commander was called ''Cebecibaşı''. The unit was small and selected, numbering no more than 625 men in 1574.Stanford Shaw :History of the Ottoman Empire and Modern Tu rkey Vol I Cambridge p.139 Duties The Djebedji unit was in charge of maintenance and keeping the weaponry. They were also responsible in transporting weapons to where they were needed. During peace times, they kept the weaponry in arsenals named ''cephane''. The Djebedji unit participated in all campaigns commanded ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Akinji
Akinji or akindji ( ota, آقنجى, aḳıncı, lit=raider, ; plural: ''akıncılar'') were irregular light cavalry, scout divisions (deli) and advance troops of the Ottoman Empire's military. When the pre-existing Turkish ghazis were incorporated into the Ottoman Empire's military they became known as "akıncı." Unpaid, they lived and operated as raiders on the frontiers of the Ottoman Empire, subsisting on plunder. There is a distinction made between "akıncı" and "deli" cavalry. History In war their main role was to act as advance troops on the front lines and demoralise the marching opposing army by using guerrilla tactics, and to put them in a state of confusion and shock. They could be likened to a scythe in a wheat field. They would basically hit the enemy with arrows. When attacked in melee, they would retreat while still shooting backwards. They could easily outrun heavy cavalry because they were lightly armed and their horses were bred for speed as opposed to str ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sipahi
''Sipahi'' ( ota, سپاهی, translit=sipâhi, label=Persian, ) were professional cavalrymen deployed by the Seljuk dynasty, Seljuks, and later the Ottoman Empire, including the land grant-holding (''timar'') provincial ''Timariots, timarli sipahi'', which constituted most of the army, and the salaried regular army, regular ''Kapıkulu, kapikulu sipahi'', or palace troops. However, the irregular military, irregular light cavalry ("raiders") were not considered to be . The ''sipahi'' formed their own distinctive social classes and were rivals to the Janissaries, the elite infantry corps of the Sultan. It was also the title given to several cavalry units serving in the French and Italian colonial armies during the 19th and 20th centuries (see ). Name The word is derived from fa, سپاهی, translit=sepāhī, meaning "soldier". The term is also transliteration, transliterated as and ; rendered in other languages as: in Albanian language, Albanian and Romanian language, Roma ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Silahdar Agha
The Silahdar Agha was a palace office of the Ottoman Empire, denoting the principal page of the Ottoman Sultan. As such its holders were persons of great influence, and provided many senior officials and even Grand Viziers. The title derives from the Persian ''silahdar'', meaning "arms-bearer", a title originally adopted by the Great Seljuks to denote one of the Sultan's principal aides, who bore his weapon and was responsible for the army's arsenal. The Ottomans inherited this title and elevated it further: by the time of Mehmed II () the Silahdar Agha was the second-in-command of the Sultan's Privy Chamber (''Hass Oda'') underneath the ''hass oda bashi''. The Privy Chamber in turn was the senior of the four chambers making up the palace's Inner Service (''Enderûn'') under the Kapi Agha. The Silahdar Agha's duties in the palace involved handling all communications to and from the Sultan, as well as assisting him in all public ceremonies or travels, where the Agha accompanied the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Silahdar
The Silahdar Agha was a palace office of the Ottoman Empire, denoting the principal page of the Ottoman Sultan. As such its holders were persons of great influence, and provided many senior officials and even Grand Viziers. The title derives from the Persian ''silahdar'', meaning "arms-bearer", a title originally adopted by the Great Seljuks to denote one of the Sultan's principal aides, who bore his weapon and was responsible for the army's arsenal. The Ottomans inherited this title and elevated it further: by the time of Mehmed II () the Silahdar Agha was the second-in-command of the Sultan's Privy Chamber (''Hass Oda'') underneath the ''hass oda bashi''. The Privy Chamber in turn was the senior of the four chambers making up the palace's Inner Service (''Enderûn'') under the Kapi Agha. The Silahdar Agha's duties in the palace involved handling all communications to and from the Sultan, as well as assisting him in all public ceremonies or travels, where the Agha accompanied th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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