Janissaries
This is an old revision of this page, as edited by Aschlafly (talk | contribs) at 06:30, December 28, 2006. It may differ significantly from current revision.
The Janissaries were new troops formed by boys taken from Christian families in order to protect the Ottoman Sultan's household as part of the human taxation known as the devshirmeh. The Janissaries began in the 14th century, and were massacred and abolished by Sultan Mahmud II in 1826.