Janissaries at the Beginning of the 19th Century

The illustration depicts a group of Janissaries at the beginning of the 19th century, shortly before their dissolution in 1826. As elite units in the Ottoman army, the Janissaries provided the bodyguard of the Sultan and also occupied influential positions within the Ottoman state. They were first formed in the 14th century. From 1438 onward, boys from conquered Christian peoples were systematically press-ganged into the Janissaries (the so-called "selection of boys"). They came primarily from the Balkans (particularly Serbia and Bosnia) and they were brought to the Ottoman Empire to be raised, trained and converted to Islam.

Janissaries at the Beginning of the 19th Century, brush drawing, before 1901, artist: Gyula Tury; image source: Österreichische Nationalbibliothek, public domain.