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Kapıkulu Troops
''Kapıkulu'' (, ''Kapıkulu Ocağı'', "Slaves of the Sublime Porte") was the collective name for the household division of the Ottoman Sultans. They included the Janissary infantry corps as well as the Six Divisions of Cavalry. Unlike provincial levies such as the timariots and irregular forces ('' levend''), the ''kapıkulu'' were professional, standing troops, mostly drawn through the devshirme system. They formed the backbone of the military of the Ottoman Empire during its "classical period", from the 15th century until the Auspicious Incident of 15 June 1826 that led to the abolition of the kapıkulu during the Tanzimat. See also * Ottoman Army The Military of the Ottoman Empire () was the armed forces of the Ottoman Empire. It was founded in 1299 and dissolved in 1922. Army The Military of the Ottoman Empire can be divided in five main periods. The foundation era covers the years ... References * Turkish words and phrases {{Ottoman-stub ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Battle Of Vienna
The Battle of Vienna took place at Kahlenberg Mountain near Vienna on 1683 after the city had been besieged by the Ottoman Empire for two months. The battle was fought by the Holy Roman Empire (led by the Habsburg monarchy) and the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, both under the command of King John III Sobieski, against the Ottomans and their vassal and tributary states. The battle marked the first time the Commonwealth and the Holy Roman Empire had cooperated militarily against the Ottomans. The defeat was a turning point for Ottoman expansion into Europe, after which they would gain no further ground. In the ensuing war that lasted until 1699, the Ottomans would cede most of Ottoman Hungary to Leopold I, Holy Roman Emperor. The battle was won by the combined forces of the Holy Roman Empire and the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, the latter represented only by the forces of the Crown of the Kingdom of Poland (the march of the Lithuanian army was delayed, and they reached ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sublime Porte
The Sublime Porte, also known as the Ottoman Porte or High Porte ( or ''Babıali''; ), was a synecdoche or metaphor used to refer collectively to the central government of the Ottoman Empire in Istanbul. It is particularly referred to the building which housed the office of the Grand Vizier, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of the Interior, and the Supreme Council of Judicial Ordinances. Today it houses the office of the Istanbul governerate. History The name has its origins in the old practice in which the ruler announced his official decisions and judgements at the gate of his palace. This was the practice in the Byzantine Empire and it was also adopted by Ottoman Turk sultans since Orhan I. The palace of the sultan, or the gate leading to it, therefore became known as the "High Gate". This name referred first to a palace in Bursa, Turkey. After the Ottomans had conquered Constantinople, now Istanbul, the gate now known as the Imperial Gate (), leading to the outerm ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ottoman Sultan
The sultans of the Ottoman Empire (), who were all members of the Ottoman dynasty (House of Osman), ruled over the Boundaries between the continents, transcontinental empire from its perceived inception in 1299 to Dissolution of the Ottoman Empire, its dissolution in 1922. At its height, the Ottoman Empire spanned an area from Budin Eyalet, Hungary in the north to Yemen Eyalet, Yemen in the south and from Ottoman Algeria, Algeria in the west to Ottoman Iraq, Iraq in the east. Administered at first from the city of Söğüt since before 1280 and then from the city of Bursa since 1323 or 1324, the empire's capital was moved to Adrianople (now known as Edirne in English) in 1363 following Ottoman conquest of Adrianople, its conquest by Murad I and then to Constantinople (present-day Istanbul) in 1453 following Fall of Constantinople, its conquest by Mehmed the Conqueror, Mehmed II. The Rise of the Ottoman Empire, Ottoman Empire's early years have been the subject of varying narrat ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Janissary
A janissary (, , ) was a member of the elite infantry units that formed the Ottoman sultan's household troops. They were the first modern standing army, and perhaps the first infantry force in the world to be equipped with firearms, adopted during the reign of Murad II (r. 1421–1444, 1446–1451). The corps was established under either Orhan or Murad I, and dismantled by Mahmud II in 1826. Janissaries began as elite corps made up through the ''devşirme'' system of Ghilman, child levy enslavement, by which Ethnic groups in Europe, indigenous European Christians, Christian boys, chiefly from the Balkans, were taken, levied, subjected to forced circumcision and Forced conversion#Islam, forced conversion to Islam, and incorporated into the Ottoman army in the 15th–19th centuries, Ottoman army. They became famed for internal cohesion cemented by strict discipline and order. Unlike typical History of slavery in the Muslim world, slaves, they were paid regular salaries. Forbidden ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Six Divisions Of Cavalry
The Six Divisions of Cavalry (), also known as the Kapıkulu Süvarileri (" Household Slave Cavalry"), was a corps of elite cavalry soldiers in the army of the Ottoman Empire (Sipahi). There were not really six, but four, divisions in the corps. Two of the six were sub-divisions. The divisions were: * Sipāhiyān (, roughly, "Armymen") * Silah-dārān (From Persian, translated roughly as "weaponbearers") * Ulufeciyān (; translated as " stipendiaries"), organised into two sub-divisions: ** () ** () * Garibān (; translated roughly as "strangers"), organised into two sub-divisions: ** Garips of the Left ** The elite cavalry was the mounted counterpart to the Janissaries and played an important part in the Ottoman army. The Six Divisions were probably founded during the reign of Sultan Mehmed II (r. 1451–1481), but the Sipahis had existed since 1326. Sources * See also * Military of the Ottoman Empire The Military of the Ottoman Empire () was the armed forces of the Ot ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Timariots
Timariot (or ''tımar'' holder; ''tımarlı'' in Turkish language, Turkish) was the name given to a Sipahi cavalryman in the Ottoman army. In return for service, each timariot received a parcel of revenue called a timar, a fief, which were usually recently conquered plots of agricultural land in the countryside. Far less commonly, the sultan would grant a civil servant or member of the imperial family a timar. Also non-military timar holders were obliged to supply the imperial army with soldiers and provisions. The timariots provided the backbone of the Ottoman cavalry force and the army as a whole. They were obligated to fight as cavalrymen in the Ottoman military when called upon. The timariots had to assemble with the army when at war, and had to take care of the land entrusted to him in times of peace. When at war, the timariot had to bring his own equipment and in addition a number of armed retainers (''cebelu''). The timariot was granted feudatory with the obligation to go ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Levend
Levend or levendi (Arabic ''lawend'') was a name for irregular soldiers. The term originated with the Ottoman Navy, but eventually spread to encompass most irregular troops. The origin of the term is probably from Italian ''levanti'', and was used by the Venetians for the various local troops they raised in the coasts of the Balkans, i.e. Christian Greeks, Albanians, and Dalmatians, to serve in the Venetian navy or as auxiliary troops. The Ottomans, who relied on the same manpower pool (eventually along with Muslim Anatolian Turks), borrowed the name. Gradually, as the Ottoman navy became more professional, the undisciplined ''levends'' started to be replaced by regular troops. The name however survived as a generic name for naval troops, particularly the riflemen (''tüfekdji''). Thus the Imperial Arsenal in Constantinople contained two barracks for ''levends''. Thus in the 17th and 18th centuries, ''levend'' came to refer to irregular mercenaries, mostly infantry but also ca ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Devshirme
Devshirme (, usually translated as "child levy" or "blood tax", , .) was the Ottoman practice of forcibly recruiting soldiers and bureaucrats from among the children of their Balkan Christian subjects and raising them in the religion of Islam. Those coming from the Balkans came primarily from noble Balkan families and rayah classes. It is first mentioned in written records in 1438, but probably started earlier. It created a faction of soldiers and officials loyal to the Sultan. It counterbalanced the Turkish nobility, who sometimes opposed the Sultan. The system produced a considerable number of grand viziers from the 15th century to the 17th century. This was the second most powerful position in the Ottoman Empire, after the sultan. Initially, the grand viziers were exclusively of Turk origin, but after there were troubles between Sultan Mehmed II and the Turkish grand vizier Çandarlı Halil Pasha the Younger, who was the first grand vizier to be executed, there was a ris ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Military Of The Ottoman Empire
The Military of the Ottoman Empire () was the armed forces of the Ottoman Empire. It was founded in 1299 and dissolved in 1922. Army The Military of the Ottoman Empire can be divided in five main periods. The foundation era covers the years between 1300 (Byzantine expedition) and 1453 ( Conquest of Constantinople), the classical period covers the years between 1451 (second enthronement of Sultan Mehmed II) and 1606 ( Peace of Zsitvatorok), the reformation period covers the years between 1606 and 1826 ( Vaka-i Hayriye), the modernisation period covers the years between 1826 and 1858 and decline period covers the years between 1861 (enthronement of Sultan Abdülaziz) and 1918 ( Armistice of Mudros). The Ottoman army is the forerunner of the Turkish Armed Forces. Foundation period (1300–1453) The earliest form of the Ottoman military was a steppe-nomadic cavalry force.Mesut Uyar, Edward J. Erickson, ''A Military History of the Ottomans: From Osman to Atatürk'', Pleager Se ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ottoman Army In The 15th–19th Centuries
The Ottoman army was the military structure established by Mehmed II () during his reorganization of the Ottoman state and its military. It resulted from a major reorganization of the standing army dating from the time of Sultan Orhan (), which had centred on janissaries who were paid by salary rather than rewarded with booty or fiefs. The army built by Orhan had operated during the period of the rise of the Ottoman Empire (1299 to 1453). The organization introduced by Mehmed II was twofold, central (, the household division) and peripheral (, province-level). Sultan Mahmud II forced this army to disband on 15 June 1826 in what is known as Auspicious Incident, which followed a century-long reform effort. Predecessor force The medieval Ottoman Empire had become the first country to maintain a standing army in Europe since the days of the Roman Empire. The force originated in the 14th century. The Ottoman army may have also been the first to equip with firearms, which they acqu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Auspicious Incident
The Auspicious Incident or Auspicious EventGoodwin, pp. 296–299. ( in Constantinople; , "Event of Malignity" in the Balkans) was the forced disbandment of the centuries-old Janissary Corps by Ottoman Sultan Mahmud II on 15 June 1826.Kinross, pp. 456–457Shaw, pp. 19–20 Most of the 135,000 Janissaries revolted against Mahmud II, and after the rebellion was suppressed, most of them were executed, exiled or imprisoned. The disbanded Janissary corps was replaced with a more modern military force. Background The Janissaries were first created by the Ottoman Sultans in the late 14th century and were employed as household troops. Janissaries began as an elite corps made up through the devşirme system of child slavery, by which young Christian boys, notably Serbs, Albanians, Bulgarians, Croats, Greeks, Hungarians and Romanians were taken from the Balkans, circumcised, converted to Islam, and incorporated into the Ottoman army. During the 15th and 16th centuries they were reco ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tanzimat
The (, , lit. 'Reorganization') was a period of liberal reforms in the Ottoman Empire that began with the Edict of Gülhane of 1839 and ended with the First Constitutional Era in 1876. Driven by reformist statesmen such as Mustafa Reşid Pasha, Mehmed Emin Âli Pasha, and Fuad Pasha, under Sultans Abdülmecid I and Abdülaziz, the Tanzimat sought to reverse the empire's decline by modernizing legal, military, and administrative systems while promoting Ottomanism (equality for all subjects). Though it introduced secular courts, modern education, and infrastructure like railways, the reforms faced resistance from conservative clerics, exacerbated ethnic tensions in the Balkans, and saddled the empire with crippling foreign debt. The Tanzimat’s legacy remains contested: some historians credit it with establishing a powerful national government, while others argue it accelerated imperial fragmentation. Different functions of government received reform, were completely reor ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
