Early Janissary Corps

Timeline

1. 1351–1356Bursa · TurkeyIn the early 1350s, as Ottoman Sultan Orhan I expanded into the Balkans, he began organizing war captives and converted youths into guard infantry units directly under the sultan. Unlike the azap conscripts under timar fiefs, these troops were directly supplied with pay and equipment by the palace, garrisoned in the capital Bursa, and performed palace guard and vanguard assault duties, laying the foundation for the formal establishment of the Janissaries.
2. 1357–1360Thrace · Balkan PeninsulaAfter Orhan I died in 1357 and Murad I succeeded him, the guard infantry played an increasing role in the Thracian campaigns. Traditional historiography holds that Murad I around the 1360s named this force Yeniçeri (Yeniçeri, "new army") and initially established the devshirme recruitment system, regularly taking boys from Balkan Christian families into barracks training. The early Janissary formation numbered roughly several hundred to a thousand men, excelling in archery and close combat.