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The Officer Corps in Sultan Mahmud II's New Ottoman Army, 1826–39*

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  29 January 2009

Avigdor Levy
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Extract

On 15 June 1826, after some fierce though brief fighting in the streets of Istanbul, Sultan Mahmud II effectively crushed the last serious Janissary uprising in the history of the Ottoman Empire. Two days later the five-centuries-old Janissary corps, which had long resisted change and modernization, was declared legally abolished. In its place there was to be organized a modern army called the Trained Victorious Muslim Troops (Muallem Asâkir-i Mansâre-yi Muhammadiye), or the Victorious (Mansûre) for short.

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Articles
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International Journal of Middle East Studies , Volume 2 , Issue 1 , January 1971 , pp. 21 - 39
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Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1971

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References

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page 23 note 1 Baş Vekalet Arşivi (Archives of the Prime Minister's Office, Istanbul, hereafter referred to as BVA); Hatt-i Hűmâunlar collection (hereafter HH), 48338 A (1254?).

page 24 note 1 SirAdoiphus, Slade, Records of Travels in Turkey, Greece, etc., in Years 1829, 1830 and 1831 (2 vols., Philadelphia, 1833), vol. I, p. 159.Google Scholar

page 24 note 2 Ibid. pp. 64–5.

page 24 note 3 Although there is no evidence that he actually converted to Islam, he was known also as Rustem Bey. Cevad, , book IV, pp. 18–19;Google ScholarAhmed, Ata Tayyarzade, Tarih-i Ata (5 vols., Istanbul, 1291–1293/1874–1876), vol. III, pp. 109–10.Google Scholar

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page 24 note 7 AG, MR 1619, p. 39, op. cit.

page 25 note 1 Official copies of the Regulation are: BVA, HH 48112 (1); HH 17708; Topkapi Saray Arşivi (Archives of the Topkapi Palace Museum, Istanbul, hereafter referred to as TKS), E 4286. A draft of this document is BVA, HH 24038. Other copies are found in the following registers: BVA, Kanunnâme-i Askerî Defterleri (hereafter KAD), vol. 1, pp. 3–12;Google Scholar KAD vol. VI, 2a-9b; Mâliyeden Műdevver Defterleri (hereafter Mal. Műd.) 9002, pp. 1–7; IUL, TY 5824, fol. 2a-16a. Summaries and lengthy excerpts are found in Mehmed Esad Efendi, Tarih-i Esad Efendi (2 vols., unpublished manuscript. IUL, TY 6002, TY 6003 and TY 6004 make up the first volume covering the period 1237–1240/ 1821–1825. TY 6005 is the second volume covering the year 1241/16 Aug. 1825–4 Aug. 1826. Sűleymaniye Library, Istanbul, Esad Efendi collection, Y 2084, is another copy of vol. 1. References are made to the IUL MS.), vol. II, fol. 180b–188b; Lutfi, vol. 1, pp. 191–3; Cevdet, vol. XII, pp. 215–16, 316–22; Cevad, book IV, pp. 21–4.Google Scholar

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page 25 note 3 BVA, KAD, vol. I, pp. 15–22 (end Zithicce 1241).

page 25 note 4 AG, MR 1619, p. 39, op. cit.; Charles, MacFarlane, Constantinople in 1828 (London, 1829), p. 25.Google Scholar

page 25 note 5 MacFarlane, Ibid. p. 341.

page 26 note 1 Ibid. p. 26.

page 26 note 2 Public Record Office, London, Foreign Office Archives (hereafter FO), 78/356, Ponsonby to Palmerston, no. 141 of 12 June 1839; repeated also in no. 169 of 8 July 1839.

page 26 note 3 Helmuth, von Moltke, Briefe űber Zustände und Begebenheiten in der Tűrkei aus den Jahren 1835 bis 1839 (Berlin, 1841), pp. 384–397;Google Scholar cf. also: FO 78/374, enclosure from Suleyman Paşa (Colonel Sève) of 25 June 1839 in Campbell to Palmerston, no. 54 of 13 July 1839; Cevad, , book IV, pp. 114–18.Google Scholar

page 26 note 4 Cf., B. Miller, The Palace School of Muhammad the Conqueror (Cambridge, Mass., 1941).Google Scholar

page 27 note 1 Ibid. pp. 181–3.

page 27 note 2 İlyas, , pp. 375–6, 387–9, 394–6, 406–8;Google ScholarCevad, , book IV, pp. 18–19;Google ScholarMehmed, Sűreyya, Sicill-i Osmani (4 vols., Istanbul, 1308–1311/1890–1893; hereafter referred to as SO), vol. I, pp. 300–1; Ata, vol. III, pp. 109–10.Google Scholar The author of the last work, Tayyarzade Ahmed Ata, and his brother Halil Edib were among the first to be enrolled in the Court Battalion. In the above numbered and subsequent pages, the author proudly relates his personal experiences at first with the infantry and later with the cavalry. His brother served with the music band. At times Ata's work reads like a personal memoir, an Ottoman source of information which is painfully scarce for this period. Giuseppe Donizetti, who was subsequently awarded the title of Paşa, served the Porte for twenty-eight years until his death in February 1856. See: Mahmut, R. Gazimihal, Tűrk Askeri Muzikalari Tarihi (Istanbul, 1955), pp. 41–42.Google Scholar

page 27 note 3 İlyas, , pp. 376–77.Google Scholar

page 27 note 4 Ata, , vol. III, pp. 109, 113;Google ScholarMacFarlane, , Constantinople, p. 351.Google Scholar

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page 28 note 1 AG, MR 1619, p. 39, op. cit.; Rev. Robert, Walsh, A Residence at Constantinople (2 vols., London, 1836), vol. II, pp. 278–9.Google Scholar

page 28 note 2 Journal des Débats, 7 05 1828.Google Scholar

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page 28 note 6 BVA, KAD, vol. I, pp. 109–11 (3 Ramazan 1242); Mal. Műd. 9002, p. 30.Google Scholar

page 28 note 7 BVA, KAD, vol. I, p. 118 (23 Zilhicce 1244).

page 29 note 1 İlyas, , p. 401;Google ScholarAta, , vol. III, p. 110.Google Scholar

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page 29 note 4 They were Iskender, Sa'dullah and Hayruddin Mehmed Ağas. All subsequently rose to higher ranks. The fourth colonel, Ali Ağa, cannot be traced. See: BVA, KAD, vol. II, p. 31 a-b (15 Rebîűlevvel 1244), p. 32 a (beginning Cemâzie1âhir 1244); Mustafa, Nuri Paşa, Netâic ul-Vukûât (4 vols., Istanbul, 1294–1327/1877–1909), vol. IV, p. 109;Google ScholarSO, vol. I, p. 348; vol. II, p. 317; vol. III, p. 24.Google Scholar

page 29 note 5 He held this post from June 1826 until May 1827. See: SO, vol. II, p. 226; Walsh, , Residence, vol. II, pp. 502–18.Google Scholar

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page 30 note 4 Cevad, , book IV, pp. 36–8;Google ScholarTakvîm-i Vakâi (Istanbul; hereafter Tak. Vak.), nos. 1 (25 Cemâzielevvel 1247), 3 (14 Cemâzzelâhir 1247).Google Scholar

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page 30 note 6 Cf., Tak. Vak. nos. 1 (25 Cemâzzelevvel 1247), 10 (4 şaban 1247), 11 (11 şaban 1247), 26 (17 Zilhicce 1247), 34 (5 Rebîűlevvel 1248), 181 (28 Rebîűlâhir 1255); Mon Ott. no. 12 (21 January 1832); BVA, Cevdet-Askeri, 15649 (end Muharrem 1254).Google Scholar

page 31 note 1 Karal, E. Z., ‘Zarif Paşa'nin Hatirati, 1816–1862’, Belleten, vol. 4 (1940), p. 444. Also see: AG, MR 1619, P. 52, anonymous report of 29 July 1834.Google Scholar

page 31 note 2 Cf., Tak. Vak. no. 51 (20 Ramazan 1248).Google Scholar

page 31 note 3 Cf., Tak. Vak. no. 27 (27 Zilhicce 1247).Google Scholar Western observers were greatly amazed at the sight of Negro eunuchs serving as senior officers. In 1834 Marshal Marmont met one of these officers, Reşid Paşa, a cavalry brigadier, and commented the following: ‘A black eunuch as a general of brigade! In Turkey it does not seem contrary to reason to invest with a military dignity requiring strength, energy, and courage, a degraded being whose condition implies weakness and pusillanimity, and who can never be supposed to acquire an ascendancy over the minds of other men.’ Marshal, Marmont, Duc, de Raguse, The Present State of the Ottoman Empire (translated and annotated by Lieut. Col. SirFrederic, Smith; London, 1839), p. 67.Google Scholar

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page 31 note 5 Ami, Boué, vol. III, p. 331.Google Scholar

page 31 note 6 Cf., Mon. Ott. nos. 19 (24 03 1832), 24 (28 April 1832), 66 (8 June 1833).Google Scholar

page 31 note 7 Cf., Tak. Vak. nos. 2 (Cemâzzelâhir 1247), 4 (21 Cemâzielâhir 1247), 72 (20 Receb 1249), 180 (6 Rebîű1âhir 1255); Mon. Ott. nos. 51 (10 November 1832), 91 (28 February 1835).Google Scholar

page 31 note 8 AG, MR 1619, p. 52, op. cit.

page 32 note 1 Ata, , vol. I, p. 158;Google ScholarAdnan-Adivar, A., Osmani Tűrklerinde İlim (Istanbul, 1943), pp. 161–2.Google Scholar

page 32 note 2 Mehmed, Esad, Mir'at-i Műhendishane (Istanbul, 1896), pp. 46–7Google Scholar and ff.; Çağatay, UluÇay and Enver, Kartekin, Yűksek Muhendis Okulu (Istanbul, 1958), pp. 27–9, 75–6 and ff.;Google ScholarLevy, , pp. 617–23.Google Scholar

page 32 note 3 Riza, Tahsin Gencer, Mir'at-i Mekteb-i Tibbiye (2 vols., Istanbul, 1328–1330/1910–1912), vol. I, p. 4 and ff.;Google ScholarOsman, Ergin, Tűrkiye Maarif Tarihi (5 vols., Istanbul, 1939-1943), vol. II, pp. 280–5 and ff.;Google ScholarLevy, pp. 623–32.Google Scholar

page 32 note 4 Cevad, , book IV, p. 42.Google Scholar

page 32 note 5 Ibid.

page 33 note 1 Ibid. p. 43.

page 33 note 2 Ibid. pp. 43–4.

page 33 note 3 Lutfi, , vol. IV, pp. 168–9; AG, MR 1619, p. 52 op. cit.;Google ScholarMarmont, , pp. 78–9.Google Scholar

page 33 note 4 BVA, Cevdet-Askeri, 182 (Şevvâl, Zilkade, 1251). The total expenses of repair and construction amounted to 790,650 kuruş. The Sultan laid out 250,000 kuruş from his Privy Purse and the remainder was paid by the Army Treasury. Cf. BVA, Cevdet-Askeri, 54466 (22 Cemâzielevvel 1251).Google Scholar

page 34 note 1 AG, MR 1619, p. 69, report by Captain Anselme of 12 June 1838.

page 34 note 2 BVA, Mal. Műd. 9002, p. 145 (21 şaban 1252), 150 (beginning Zilkade 1252).Google Scholar

page 34 note 3 BVA, Mal. Műd. 9002, pp. 155–7 (27 Zilkade 1252); Cevdet-Askeri, 15455 (1252), 885 (20 Muharrem 1253), 378 (12 Safer 1253).Google Scholar

page 34 note 4 BVA, Kepeci, 6962 (end Şaban 1255).

page 34 note 5 AG, MR 1619, p. 69, op. cit.

page 34 note 6 Cevad, , book IV, pp. 44–5.Google Scholar

page 34 note 7 AG, MR 1619, p. 69, op. cit.

page 35 note 1 BVA, Mal. Műd. 9002, pp. 155–7 (27 Zilkade 1252)Google Scholar

page 36 note 1 FO 78/356, Ponsonby, to Palmerston, , no. 129 of 27 05 1839.Google Scholar Another report is included in an earlier dispatch: FO 78/354, Ponsonby, to Palmerston, , no.29 of 12 02 1839.Google Scholar

page 36 note 2 AG, MR 1619, p. 69, op. cit.

page 36 note 3 Lutfi, , vol. II, pp. 29–30.Google Scholar

page 37 note 1 Lutfi, , vol. I, pp. 291–2, 299.Google Scholar

page 37 note 2 Lutfi, , vol. II, p. 65;Google ScholarRifat, Paşa, p. 11;Google Scholarİlyas, , p. 432.Google Scholar

page 37 note 3 Lutfi, , vol. II, pp. 34, 36–7.Google Scholar

page 37 note 4 AG, MR 1619, p. 54, Roussin, to de, Rigny of 28 07 1834.Google Scholar

page 37 note 5 Archives du Ministère des Affaires Étrangères, Paris (hereafter AMAE), Correspondance Politique, Turquie (hereafter Cor. Pol., Turkey), 275, Roussin, to Molé, ; of 28 03 1838;Google Scholar 277 Roussin to MolÉ, nos. 4 of 24 Jan.; 6 of 4 Feb.; 10 of 16 Feb; and 17 of s Mar. 1839; Roussin, to Lapierre, of 17 03 1839;Google Scholar FO 78/357, enclosure by General Chrzanovski of 18 July 1839, in Ponsonby, to Palmerston, , no. 183 of 20 07 1839.Google Scholar

page 38 note 1 Tak. Vak. no. 14 (3 Ramazan 1247); Bastelberger, J. M., Die Militärischen Reformen unter Mahmud II (Gotha, 1874), pp. 192–4.Google Scholar

page 38 note 2 AG, MR 1619, p. 54, op. cit.; Slade, , vol. II, pp. 3–5.Google Scholar

page 38 note 3 AMAE, Cor. Pol. Turkey 277, Vidal (from Mosul) to Roussin of 26 Mar. 1839; FO 78/373 Campbell (from Cairo) to Palmerston, no. 18 of 1 Apr. 1839; Moltke, , Briefe, p. 382.Google Scholar

page 38 note 4 BVA, Cevdet-Askeri, 480 (Safer 1250); Mon. Ott. nos. 18 (1 Mar. 1832); 21 (7 Apr. 1832); 74 ( Dec. 1833).

page 38 note 5 BVA, Kepeci, 6824 (15 Safer 1254 and subsequent dates); 4706 (21 Safer 1255); Cevdet-Askeri, 16424 (4 Receb 1255); Tak. Vak. no. 9 (26 Receb 1247); Mon Ott. No. 98 (18 July 1835); Cevad, , book IV, pp. 49–52.Google Scholar

page 38 note 6 BVA, KAD, pp. vol. II, 39b-40a ( Receb 1252); Mal. Műd. 9002, pp. 142–3(11 Receb 1252).Google Scholar

page 39 note 1 BVA, Kepeci, 6805 (16 şevvâl 1255).

page 39 note 2 BVA, Mal. Műd. 9002, 158–9 (19 Safer 1253), Kepeci, 6962 (Cemâzielâhir 1255).

page 39 note 3 Tak. Vak. no. 1 (25 Cemâzielevvel 1247).

page 39 note 4 Tak. Vak. no. 26 (17 Zilhicce 1247), see also: Karal, , ‘Zarif Paşa’, pp. 443–4.Google Scholar