Ottoman Military

Militarily, the Ottomans had a massive power force. They dominated during its peak days. The first military of the Ottoman Empire was an army that was organized by Osman I. This group was organized from the collection of Turks that inhabited western Anatolia in the late 13th century. These horsemen became an irregular force of raiders whom were armed with simple weapons like bows and spears.

In 1389 a system of conscription was introduced in the Ottoman military. In times of need every town, quarter, and village should present a man to be drafted at the recruiting office. The new force of irregular infantrymen was called Azabs and they were used in many different ways. These men were generally the front-line; they dug roads and built bridges. On rare occasions they were used as cannon fodder to keep the opposing army from advancing. They became notorious for being brutal and undisciplined and were recruited through the homeless and corrupt criminals.
The Ottomans began using guns sometime between 1444 and 1448. Following that, other troop types began to appear, such as the regular rifle infantry. For all practical purposes, Janissaries belonged to the Sultan, carrying the title “the gate keepers” hence their strong bond with the Sultan. Janissaries were taught to consider the corps as their home and family, and the Sultan as their father. Only those who proved strong enough earned the rank of true Janissary at the age of twenty four or twenty five. This brigade inherited the property of dead Janissaries, which explained the mass amount of wealth they collected.

The Ottomans were the first state to maintain a standing army in Europe since the Roman Empire. The janissary troop was effectively the soldier's family. They lived in their barracks and served as policemen and firefighters during peacetime. In 1321 the Ottoman fleet made its first landings on Thrace in southeastern Europe, and vastly contributed to the expansion of the Empire's territories on the European continent. The Ottoman navy was one of the first to use cannons, and the Battle of Zonchio in 1499 went down in history as the first naval battle where cannons were used on ships. It was also the Ottoman navy which initiated the conquest of North Africa, with the addition of Algeria and Egypt to the Ottoman Empire in 1517. The Battle of Preveza in 1538 and the Battle of Djerba in 1560 marked the apex of Ottoman naval domination in the Mediterranean Sea.