History J4 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

History J4 - Essay Example During the period that Ogier wrote his letters, the Ottoman Empire was trying to expand its territory. The Janissaries were dressed in robes that went down to their ankles and cowls which they used to cover their heads. Their main role in the Ottoman Empire was to secure the empires borders and protect it against any invasion. Ogier also states in his letter that they were used to protect the Jews and the Christians from mob violence. They also helped maintain law and order in the empire as Ogier states that they protected people from outrage and wrong. The empire had 12,000 Janissaries. People in and without the empire are terrified of the Janissaries (Foster and Daniel, 1881). The Janissary was made up of Christian boys who were subjected to strict rules and discipline. In their empire expansion activities, the Ottoman Empire took slaves. These slaves were either sold or recruited into the elite army known as Janissaries. They were mostly chosen from Balkan and Anatolian Christians. Jews and boys of Turkish origin were not recruited into the Janissary. Janissaries were recruited from the children of Christians who had been enslaved by the Ottoman Empire. Since the empire was Islamic, the Sultan was not allowed to enslave Muslims hence their exclusion from recruitment into the Janissary. The Janissaries were recruited under strict conditions; they were not allowed to keep a beard, to marry and only be soldiers and nothing else. They were recruited every 5 years and were taken in by Turkish families and taught Turkish, its customs and the rules of the Islam faith. They were mainly sought because the Sultan could not enslave Muslims, so the Ottoman Empire so urced them from their Christian subjects. Due to their strict training, the Janissaries were disciplined. Ogier writes in his letter that patience, self-denial and thrift enabled the