Ottoman Janissary Corps (late 17th century)

Type Object Region Ottoman Empire Time 1300–1826

The late-17th-century Janissaries were elite Ottoman standing infantry armed with matchlock and bayonet, recruited via devshirme, whose growth and lo…

Timeline

1660–1680Ottoman Empire-wide · Ottoman EmpireIn the 1670s Janissary strength exceeded 100,000, the devshirme recruitment system gradually lapsed, members took up commerce and hereditary military status, combat effectiveness declined, yet they remained the empire's core field force against the Holy Roman Empire and Persia.
1683Vienna · AustriaAt the 1683 Second Siege of Vienna, the Janissary corps took part as the main infantry in the assault, suffering heavy losses under the charge of the Polish-Lithuanian combined cavalry; the battle became the historical turning point ending Ottoman expansion in Europe.

Sources

Armies of the Ottoman Turks 1300–1774 — David Nicolle (1983)
The Ottoman Empire 1700–1922 — Donald Quataert (2005)