At a glance
- Era
- The Mongol and Post-Mongol Era
- Region
- Anatolia
- Review
- Draft Completeness 2/5 · Help complete it
Contested: This record includes matters on which scholars differ. The speaker's views are labelled as his, and other views are marked where no cited source yet exists.
Summary
The Janissary corps (Yeniçeri) — the standing 'new army' that al-Sallabi says Orhan founded on his brother Alaeddin's proposal: captives and prisoners reared on Islamic training and sent to the army's van 2. The book describes Orhan organizing the force in tens, hundreds and thousands, reserving a fifth of spoils for it, and building dedicated training centres 1.
The author insists that the familiar devşirme picture — Christian boys forcibly levied and converted — is 'a lie planted in Orhan's and Murad's history', and that Orhan never took a single Christian boy from his father's house; this is the author's stated defence, not a consensus of historians 1.
Opinions on the question
The question: How was the Janissary corps founded, and what is the truth of the devşirme (child-levy) system?
First opinion · Sunni tradition (the museum's frame)Main reference
More opinions (1)
Academic viewSecondary opinion
Connections
- Founded by
- أورخان بن عثمان
- Related to
- Alaeddin Pasha
People and things also explored
عثمان بن أرطغرل· Alaeddin Pasha· أورخان بن عثمان· Dawud al-Qaysari· مراد الأول· Suleiman Pasha, son of Orhan
Sources
- al-Dawla al-Uthmaniyya — Ali Muhammad al-Salabi (2001) , p. 53-55
- al-Dawla al-Uthmaniyya — Ali Muhammad al-Salabi (2001) , p. 54-55
Cite this page
islam.museum contributors. “The Janissary corps (Yeniçeri)”. islam.museum, https://islam.museum/en/group/janissaries/. CC BY-SA 4.0. Last updated 2026-10-22.