The Janissaries

The sultan ordered a tax to be paid by every Christian family: a son. The sons that would go on to form the elite unit known as the Janissaries.
The idea to raise a corps of Christian soldiers – from the same stock as those who had manned the elite units of the Roman Foreign Legion – was the brainchild of Sultan Murad I. The name Janissaries comes from an expression used by a Muslim Holy Man of that era, who called the converted Christian boys "Yeni Ceri" or the "New Troops."

Azziz told WorldNetDaily that the sultan set careful guidelines in choosing recruits for the Janissaries. He explained that the Islamic Empire was expanding faster than the capability of the Muslim troops to hold the ground they had taken.

"Every five years, the sultan sent in his representatives to take a slave tax. Only one Christian boy could be taken from any one family in the Balkans. The boys would be between the ages of 8 and 18. An only son could not be taken. There is also some evidence that if the parents were ill, the sultan would not take a son from that particular family."

The Imperial scribe would record the names of the families and the boys taken. He then gave each boy five gold pieces, which would help them survive a march hundreds of miles long back to Turkey.

Into the Islamic world

And so, as is the case today in Sudan, the Islamic invaders took the Christian boys to a world totally foreign from their upbringing.

The new Christian boys were immediately turned over to the sultan. He was to be their king. They were his property – destined to form the sultan’s elite infantry units.

"Islamic law forbids that other Muslims be sold into slavery," Azziz told WorldNetDaily. "But not infidels."


A Turkish mosque in North Cyprus

Once the Janissaries had recovered from their long trek from the Balkans, they were put under both mental and physical tests by the Turks.

They were trained for eight years in archery, swordsmanship, horsemanship, wrestling and weightlifting. Some would go on to work on the estates of Turkish nobles as farmhands. Others learned skills like blacksmithing, masonry and carpentry.

The very best Janissaries were sent on to the sultan’s palace, where they would form his elite bodyguards. Presiding over this entire training process was the chief eunuch, who served the sultan with unwavering loyalty. The sultan called the Janissaries "my children." In the back of his mind, the sultan also knew that he was depleting the strength of his subjects in the Balkans and their ability to resist Ottoman occupation.

In time, some of these European Christian converts to Islam became leaders in the government and the military of the Ottoman Empire. Yet how was this possible?

Azziz believes he has the answer: "Constantine the Great and Diocletian were from Illyria in the Balkans and became great leaders in Roman times. As such, it is not surprising that the Janissaries carried on that intellectual tradition."

Another peripheral point is that, historically, the Crusaders were considered enemies of the Eastern Church in the Balkans – a rift the pope apologized for only this year. The ancestors of the families of the Balkan-born Janissaries hated the Romans from ancient times and directed that historical hatred at the pope, the Crusaders and even the Roman alphabet. It is also a phenomenon that has lasted into the present day.

In the year 1444, the pope called for a Holy War and a New Crusade. The pope was alarmed at the Muslim encroachment into Eastern Europe from Asia Minor.

The forces of Christendom were to soon have their first showdown with the Janissaries at the Battle of Varna. It was here that the sultan’s Janissaries faced off with the King of Hungary, French knights, a collection of European mercenaries and Vlad II – father of Vlad Tepes, who stood as a model for Bram Stoker's fictional "Dracula."

Riding and shooting accurately with bows and arrows on their camels and horses, the Janissaries won the battle of Varna. The King of Hungary was killed. Yet the victory came at great cost in blood and treasure to the Turks.

"May Allah never again grant me such a victory!" exclaimed the sultan.

About nine years after their victory at Varna, Memet II set his sights on Constantinople – the jewel of all Christian outposts in the Western world. He took up residence in a special castle six miles outside of Constantinople to prepare for the siege. The rulers of the city had set an iron chain across the "Golden Horn," which protected the harbor around Constantinople from invasion.

At the time, Constantinople was occupied by the remnant of the Byzantine (Eastern Roman) Empire. The last emperor, Michael Paleologus, died fighting the Turks on the great city walls – which had been constructed a thousand years earlier by the Roman emperor Theodosius II. The Crusaders had taken the city by ruse in 1204 during what is sometimes referred to as the "businessman's crusade" and looted numerous items – many of which grace the city of Venice to this day. They were finally expelled by the Byzantine Greeks about 80 years later.

On April 2, 1453, the Islamic troops began their attack on the city, assaulting the walls around Constantinople. On the maritime front, Christian galleys burned Turk ships and killed 12,000 Islamic men. The Islamic admiral who presided over this debacle was whipped in pubic and all his money divided up amongst the Janissaries.

The sultan then ordered the rest of the Islamic naval vessels to be carried over land past the aforementioned chain around the Golden Horn. Over 10,000 Turks attacked the city the next day. The Janissaries took the city and Memet II made Constantinople the new capitol of Islam. He then changed the name of the city to Istanbul.

The Janissaries continued to train for war. They were, as slaves, forbidden to drink any alcohol, gamble or even to get married.

"They lived like monks trapped – albeit willingly – in a monastery," said Azziz.

To ensure the loyalty of the Janissaries, the sultan paid them bonuses, gave them a salary paid every three months and new clothing once per year. The Janissaries also were able to purchase almost any military weapons they wished for. Also, these elite fighters maintained their own treasury and commissary.

As they marched into Belgrade and Budapest to the beat of cymbals and drums, all of Christiandom trembled before them. (Under the direction of Suleyman the Magnificent, the Janissaries made it all the way into Austria).

The end of the Janissaries

By the year 1600, the ruling sultan needed more soldiers and mercenaries and slaves than ever. Unable to keep up with this growing need with the quota from the Balkans, he allowed – for the first time – Turks and native-born Muslims to enter the ranks of the Janissaries.

"This immediately destroyed the esprit de corps that had forged the fighting ethos of this elite unit," said Azziz. "The Janissaries then became involved in sexual relations with the sultan’s harem and also planned and carried out assassinations of the sultans."

In the early 1800s, Sultan Selim III tried to bring European-style military reforms to the Janissaries. In fact, Selim wanted to bring Turkey into modern times by imitating all things European. The Janissaries rebelled and killed Selim. In 1826, the Janissaries attempted a coup. The ruling sultan, Mahmud II, was outraged.

Mahmud II turned his cannons on the Janissaries trapped in their barracks at the Hippodrome near the Topkapi Palace.

"Over 4,000 Janissaries perished, yet they were a far cry from the corps of the loyal Christian converts who had served the Ottoman Empire so well throughout the centuries," concluded Azziz.

"It was a sad ending to a romantic and mysterious group of men. Yes, the Janissaries were a tough breed. Acts of desertion, cowardice and disobedience in their corps were punishable by death. The closest thing to the Janissaries in modern times, in my opinion, is the French Foreign Legion or, perhaps, the Ghurkas. We may never see their kind again."

Martyr with eleven companions in Lebanon

Bl. Emmanuel Ruiz Feastday: July 10
1860

Martyr with eleven companions in Lebanon. A Spanish Franciscan, Emmanuel and the others were caught up in the rising of the Druses in Lebanon. The Franciscan community, eight in number, and three Maronite laymen were slain by the Islamic rebels. He was beatified in 1926.

Muslim Prayers

Five times a day a Muslim is bound to perform the Salaah, the fixed ritual of the Islamic prayer - worship.

He should properly go to the nearest mosque to offer his prayers together with the whole congregation. Each of the five periods is preceded by the adhaan (or azaan - ezan as it is more commonly called). The muezzin (mu'adh-dhin in Arabic) calls out on each occasion:

Allaabu Akbar (four times - "Allah is Most Great").
Ash'hadu an laa ilaaha illallaah (twice - "I bear witness that there is no god but Allah").
Ash'hadu anna Muhammadar-rasulullaah (twice - "I bear witness that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah").
Haya 'alas-salaah (twice - "Come to prayer").
Ilaya 'alal falaah (twice - "Come to the good;').
Allaaku Akbar (twice - "Allah is Most Great").
Laa ilaaha illallaah (once - "There is no god but Allah").

After the call to the good during the Fajr prayer (just before dawn), the crier calls out twice: "Prayer is better than sleep".

Then follows the actual performance of prayer itself in which anything between two or four rituals (each one known as a rak'ah - a "bowing") are performed.

In addition to the five daily prayers there are the tahajjud prayers, a late-night ritual practiced by Muhammad but not commanded by him, as well as tarawih prayers after the last prayer, salautal-isha, during the month of Ramadan.

Furthermore on Fridays the great congregational prayer just after midday, the Juma prayer, replaces the midday prayer. In all of these the ritualistic performance of raka'at continues but, apart from these prescribed prayers, Muslims also have a more extemporaneous form of prayer, the dua. This takes the form either of set Arabic phrases or of personal devotions which may also be in Arabic or in the worshipper's language.