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Post by todhrimencuri on Sept 27, 2009 14:01:02 GMT -5
No, the Albanians under Mehmet Ali Pasha were not Janissaries in anyway, they were mostly mercenary recruits. As the Janissary system began to die down, the Ottomans became more and more reliant upon Albanian mercenaries, who came with their caprico. These mercenaries came mostly from southern Albania and less so from the north. Because of the fact that they were mercenaries, these groups were, unlike the Janissaries, largely undisciplined, unorganized and unruly. Turkish generals commanding these Albanians were usually in fear of their own lives since any attempt to discipline them could be met with blood feud declaration. These Albanian recruits were very much honor and tribal minded and guarded their own independent character very closely. In northern Albania they were recruited in tribal units.
By the 19th century the Janissaries were a military unit in name only. There were about 100,000 of them or so simply draining the system by claiming money for it yet never doing anything. Most did other trades or were merchants of owned businesses and collected the wage of being a Janissary without actually doing anything.
I would still link them with how unions in America have become today. Where people in them just make extra cash while usually doing less work.
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Post by srbobran on Sept 27, 2009 15:30:06 GMT -5
Well, I know for a fact Serbs and Bulgarians comprised a significant part of the Jannisaries. For example, according to "The Fall of Constantinople", Sultan Bayezid used Serbian jannisaries in particular for his campaigns in Europe and Anatolia. As you said, during the 15th and 16th century and part of the 17th when the Blood tax was in full effect, it was primarily Balkan Christians (largely Slavs, but by no means constricted to them) that were taken and in these two centuries, it was estimated about 200,000 children went through this system. Indeed it is the 15th, 16th, and mid 17th centuries that Ottoman Empire reached its zenith of power (largely due to these Christian converts).
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Kanaris
Amicus
This just in>>>> Nobody gives a crap!
Posts: 9,587
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Post by Kanaris on Sept 27, 2009 21:10:51 GMT -5
Just like Al-Aqaida brainwashes young men to go blow themselves up..no different.... Very interesting that an Albanian opened up this thread.... this is your history good to see your getting it straight finally.
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donnie
Senior Moderator
Nike Leka i Kelmendit
Posts: 3,389
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Post by donnie on Sept 28, 2009 5:12:24 GMT -5
Finally? You mean that we, until now, categorically denied that we were included within the Ottoman military apparatus?
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Kanaris
Amicus
This just in>>>> Nobody gives a crap!
Posts: 9,587
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Post by Kanaris on Sept 28, 2009 5:41:09 GMT -5
No, that we know since the middle ages.... Ottoman history is Albanian history.... can't you admit it? Albanian members salivate when they talk about it. What do you want when the Albanian youth looks for the history of thier people and can't go further than 800 years ago?
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donnie
Senior Moderator
Nike Leka i Kelmendit
Posts: 3,389
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Post by donnie on Sept 28, 2009 6:31:15 GMT -5
And Greek history wasn't? And we're the ones in denial ...
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Post by todhrimencuri on Sept 28, 2009 19:11:14 GMT -5
A Kaur is a non-Muslim, principally an Orthodox Christian. Nobody would call a Bektashi Muslim in southern Albania, who is a descendant of Janissaries, a kaur... he would laugh at the mistake.
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Post by Vizier of Oz on Sept 30, 2009 5:55:00 GMT -5
Indeed it is the 15th, 16th, and mid 17th centuries that Ottoman Empire reached its zenith of power (largely due to these Christian converts). In fact, it was not only the success of the Christian converts. The real Ottoman heroes were only the Serbs who helped us to rule our other European/Christian subjects for centuries. ;D
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Post by Vizier of Oz on Sept 30, 2009 6:09:59 GMT -5
And Greek history wasn't? And we're the ones in denial ... Do you also deny that the Albanians even served for Imperial Japan as the kamikaze pilots and specifically targeted the American Greeks during the WWII?
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Post by thracian08 on Nov 23, 2009 12:33:45 GMT -5
I always wonder why the conquered peoples say the Ottomans kidnapped their children. This is untrue. They took orphans, or kids whose parents that couldn't care for them as Janissaries. In fact, Muslim parents wanted to let their kids to join the Janissaries but couldn't.
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