The Ottoman slave gathering system: The "Devsirme"

A Devsirme slave collecting officer with new "conscript" slaves gathered from christian conquered nations, especially in the Balkans. The girl probably ended up in a Harem and the boys trained as Janissary soldiers or civil servants somewhere in the Ottoman Empire.

One of the most misunderstood and controversial aspects of the Ottoman Empire was its disproportionate reliance on Orthodox Christian slaves forcibly gathered as "Blood Tax", mostly from various communities in the the Balkans under the control of the Sultan.

This forced slavery system of young Christian boys from conquered peoples was institutionalized, ruthlessly efficient and lasted for centuries. It was called Devsirme (pronounced devshirm'eh, Տեւշիրմէ), which means "gathering" in Turkish, as in gathering fruits and vegetables! A very imaginative word to describe the forced enslaving of tens of thousands of future soldiers and servants to their absolute owner, the Ottoman Sultan ! Devsirme became the "lubrication" process and the "oxygenation" of the of the Ottoman engine for centuries and was as cruelly effective at the service of Topkapi Palace and the Sublime Porte.

A Janissary officer recruiting devsirme for Sultan Suleyman I (1495-1566), (painter Ali Amir Beg, 1558), Topkapi Palace archives: This is probably be the best classical devsirme miniature. Note the fearful young christian boys (front) in red robes watched by the recruiting Ottoman officer (seated) and guards.

A young Devsirme slave in the "safe hands" Ottoman personnel. The very unhappy and insecure look of the young boy is worth a thousand words!

Some of the most enduring images generally associated with the Ottoman Empire can be surprisingly "romantic" in nature, when not talking about the human tragedies that occurred under their long rule. Loads of gorgeous women in the Harems, odalisques, backroom intrigues, hot Turkish baths and massages, eunuchs, colourful oriental rugs and costumes, the Orient Express, waterpipes with tobacco and other "exotic" smokes and noisy bazaars.

Orientalist painters like Eugene Delacroix and Ingres, writers such as Pierre Loti helped present the Ottoman lifestyle in the most mysterious and exotic way to the general public in the West. Beyond its undoubted exotic charm, life was not a paradise for the subjects and minorities under Ottoman rule. Nor was it particularly kind to the tens of thousands of christian families who had to surrender their child to the Blood Tax collector knocking on the door for a round of Devsirme!

Mehter military band is thought to be the oldest military marching band in the world. The band's music is known as Janissary music, as most of the band members belonged to that group of Devsirme soldiers. It is believed that the Band "Mehter" was sent to the founder of the Ottoman empire Osman Gazi by a Seljuk Sultan. It is said the band have played every day after the afternoon prayers for the Ottoman ruler. The music of the Mehter lost its appeal after Sultan Mahmud II got fed up with their abusive power of the Janissary army units and massacred them by cannons and swords in 1826!

Janissary army standard bearers and Mehter musicians spearheading another attack of the Ottoman army. The Janissaries were undoubtedly the most famous of all the devsirme slaves. Fiercely militant and increasingly rebellious with time, the Janissaries became like a State within the State and rioted on many occasions. They are also known to be responsible for deposing several Sultans until they met their fate.

Devsirme originated with the very fast and scary pace with which the Ottoman expanded their territories and built the Empire starting 14th century. It was the direct result of the military needs of their very fast growing empire: They lacked human resources to maintain and build a mightier military to cope with new realities. They needed devoted and trained administrators to run various government tasks throughout the territories. In one word they needed highly motivated, trained and loyal soldiers to serve the Sultan as well as scribes and civil servants to the Court.

The rules and regulations of the Devsirme were introduced under Sultan Murad II, about three decades before the fall of Constantinople (1453): The system was cruel in essence but very efficient and well designed. The Sultans and their advisers developed a system avoiding any hereditary Turkish aristocracy that could threaten their position on the long run. Therefore targeting only non-Muslims for the devsirme was easy, safe and convenient.

Initially devsirme appeared to be against the unwritten and written laws of Islam and had always its critics even within the inner circles of the Ottoman state. But the temptation for quick results was impossible to resist. The immediate needs of the empire were more important than any ethical and religious considerations. Devsirme slaves were collected by the thousands, the established quotas were enforced, the rules applied with no hesitation. Under the Muslim law a conquered people was at the mercy of the Sultan, and the Ottoman could kill or enslave anyway. Therefore enslaving young boys was promoted as a noble way to pledge total allegiance and serve the Sultan and a fast way to climb the social ladder.

Jean Auguste Dominique Ingres: "The Turkish Bath/ Le Bain Turc," 1862 . These concubines and odalisques were mostly devsirme female slaves in an Ottoman Imperial Serail (seraglio), commonly known as Harem (from the Arabic word word "Haram" as in forbidden quarters of a palace).




"Manicure in the Harem in a Seraglio" (serail). The most famous Harem was at the Topkapi palace, Istanbul.

Jean-Léon Gérôme (1824-1904) "Harem Pool" -Oil on canvas/ Hermitage museum, St Petersburg, Russia

The Blood Tax collectors would therefore visit each taxed Christian community and would gather approximately one in 10 to 14 young boys. Bulgaria, Serbs, Montenegrin, Albanians, Bosnian and others were all taxed. The Jews were practically excluded, while there have been reports of some Armenian conscripts into the system.

The age of the young conscripts was normally between 8 and 10, but it could be much older. The devsirme collection was performed by a higher officer (typically himself of devsirme origin!) who travelled from region to with with a secretary and soldiers. The boys collected through devsirme, were called either kul, ghilmán or oglan. They were immediately considered the exclusive properties (i.e. slaves) of the Sultan, and mostly lost contact with their families: They became quasi robotic Ottoman Androids, programmed to serve the Sultan and the Sultan only. The girls, much smaller in numbers, followed a supposedly lesser "training" and served in the Harem and the palaces as concubines, odalisques and assistants.

The boys were sorted into different groups according to their fitness etc and sent either to train as soldiers or other tasks in special institution, palaces or even farming families. The initial training took 3 to 7 years, and during this time the boys learned Turkish and Ottoman lifestyles.

The most famous army troops of the devsirme were of course the Janissary (yeni-çeri means new-troops, Ենիչերի). The name "new" indicates very well what they were the beginning: An alternative to the old regular army which was becoming not too reliable. The Sultan needed to have new troops and formed the Janissary corps, because the old army put together by free men from many different tribes and allegiances was difficult to keep under control.

The Janissary soon became famous for their military skills, their successes and abuses on the battle fronts and above all their absolute allegiance to the Sublime Porte. They were still subject to strict rules, limiting their freedom and demanding from them higher moral standards than usual in the Ottoman society. With time their reputation grew and they became almost synonymous with "cold blooded murdering soldier" in many nations under Ottoman rule.

A yeniceri (Janissary) band ready to spread fear and intimidate the conquered people.

Initially for around two hundred years the Janissary and other devsirme could not marry and they were not even allowed to grow beards, a privilege which was granted only to free men in the society. Those who were not destined to be soldiers followed a different path. After the initial round of training, some of these chosen acemi oglanlar, "foreign boys," were sent to Istanbul, where they worked in one of the sultan's gardens, shipyard or in the palace. In the palace they followed another round of education, normally extending beyond 14 years. 

The palace school educational system was the the main source for higher officials, scribes, administrators and future leaders in the Ottoman Empire. They were however restricted to the palace and could not leave the perimeter or be in touch with the outside world. Their training included languages (Arabic, Persian etc), religion (Koran, Sharia, Hadith), calligraphy etc. The children of any marriage involving devsirme were necessarily Muslim like their converted parent(s), and therefore they were excluded from the devsirme system and would join the "normal" population at large.

Some of these devsirme students ended up as viziers and grand viziers (the highest administrative position). The famous Grand Vizier Sokollu Mehmet Pasha (1506-1573) was a devsirme of Serbian origin. Nevertheless, most devsirmeh were always practically considered as slaves to the Sultan despite their very high ranks. The Sultan could punish or even execute them without trial for an error or intrigue, real or perceived.
 
It is estimated that from the 15 th to the 17 century, between 200,000 and 300,000 devsirme boys were gathered, mostly in the Balkan countryside. Normally every 4 years, young minor Orthodox boys from the taxed communities were to be given to the Ottoman throne. Devsirme was promoted as a somehow honorable thing for the parents and a fast way to have a better life to the young children they gave to the tax collector. Being the "slave" of the sultan was considered to be an honor, as some of these slaves would eventually fill prestigious positions in the Ottoman society. The idea of devsirme being "good" for the kids was promoted as a golden opportunity for these boys guaranteeing them a safe and bright future as Sultan's slave and to get out of poverty. Bribes and other means of persuasion were also common to let the Christians parents give their sons to devsirme.

Corruption and lax lifestyle: Janissary relaxing and enjoying life. The increasingly lavish lifestyle of theses units became a problem for the Sultans. Many, if not most, of these elite legions were devsirme and became too powerful, almost a State within the State. They were seen as liabilities to the Sultans rather than as major assets like before. Their extermination was just a matter of time and came in early 19th century.

The end of the devsirme is generally associated with the decline and eventual massacre of the Janissaries. Already by the 17th century the Janissary legions were becoming a liability: strong, independent, they were dictating Ottoman policy, deposing Sultans at will, acting as landholders, staging several coups and interfering with the very basic rules of the devsirme. At the same time they were becoming ineffective on the battlefield. After the second battle of Vienna in 1683 the Empire started to decline fast and the Janissaries were acting more and more like the real power brokers than fighters. They also revolted on several occasions to get higher wages or to set their rules and conditions.

The Greek war for Independence (1821-1830) proved once again that the Janissaries were no longer the infallible force as they had been historically. Their end was fast approaching. In 1826 news spread out that the Sultan Mahmud II was taking the necessary steps to form new European style army units. As expected or hoped, the Janissaries were furious and revolted one more time. But this time the Sultan had other plans and was well prepared. As the rioting Janissaries were advancing on the Palace in Istanbul, their barracks near the Hippodrome (Atmeydani) were set in fire by heavy artillery loyal to the Sultan and more than 4000 Janissaries were massacres. Survivors were arrested and executed in various other locations. It is reported that the last Janissary units were executed in Thessaloniki, modern day Greece. With that the final chapter the devsirme system broke beyond repair.


Modern Mehter band of the Janissary units. They are based at Istanbul's Military museum (Askeri Muze). They are now ceremonial in nature and perform to the public almost daily. They also go on tours around the world as the world's oldest known military marching band.

The devsirme was the feeding mechanism to a general system called the Kul, that is the military and administative servitude. Devsirme was not the only slave generating mechanism in the Empire. Slaves for domestic tasks, the harem and the forced labour (mostly agricultural) always existed. The Kul and devsirme underwent major changes during the 19th century. The concepts of slavery, freedom, ownership and social status of the slaves became extremely complex and ambiguous within the Empire trying to reform itself.

The innovative and liberal Tanzimat reform program put in place from 1839 until 1876 was designed to "reorganize" the Ottoman society and government, including the now obsolete devsirme and the Kut. It was initiated on changes started by sultan Mahmud II and executed under sultan Abdulmecid I. It was initiated by reformists who understood why their Empire was growing weaker while neighboring countries were growing stronger. The Tanzimat was indeed of the highest importance to the survival of Ottoman Empire but failed miserably.

Tanzimat was opposed by the conservative forces, who also vehemently rejected any major reforms of the thorny slavery issue. In any case Tanzimat came too little too late to save the crumbling Empire and it totally collapsed with sultan Abdülaziz' abusive politics. Finally there was even less hope left when Abdülhamid II ascended the sultan throne in 1876 and executed some of the worst atrocities of the era. The rest is history. 

The devsirme was finally dead after long centuries, but its very controversial legacy continued for a long time both in modern Turkey and the Balkans. The divisive Ottoman heritage in the Balkans and Thrace is still present today. People wondering about some of the root causes of the ethnic and religious tensions between say Albanians, Serbs, Kosovars, Bosnians can do some reading to understand the issues of domination, forced conversions, devsirme and the like. There is never any smoke without fire.

Janissary army war and massacre scene through the eyes of yet another romantic European painter.


"Occupation of Yerevan, Armenia by the Ottoman army under Ferhad Pasha"(miniature by Nakkas Osman,1597).

© Krikor Tersakian, October 26, 2009 Montreal Canada