Under the Devshirme system, Christian boys, primarily from the Balkans, were taken from their families by force to serve the Ottoman state. These boys were converted to Islam and trained to become soldiers, administrators, or other state officials. The most famous among these were the Janissaries, an elite military corps loyal to the Sultan.
Devshirme was essentially a form of child levy or human taxation, targeting non-Muslim populations in Ottoman-controlled regions. It was considered both a privilege and a burden: while it offered a path to high status in the Ottoman government or military, it also tore children away from their families and communities.
To resist this practice, some families would go to great lengths to make their children unfit for recruitment, such as injuring them or maiming them by cutting off a finger. Since the Ottomans preferred boys who were physically capable for military service, a physical defect could exempt a child from being taken. Families saw this as a way to protect their children from a life of forced conversion and separation from their roots.
Suspicious-Capital12 on
You know what they say “grandma knows best”.
John_the_sock65 on
“Listen kid, i know this trick, you are going with me”
ConsciousPatroller on
There’s a story from my village in Greece where the priest’s wife would gather the kids in the church basement every time the Turks would came to take them. She then systematically cut off a toe from each of the kids, one by one starting with the elder ones who were more likely to be recruited while the men of the village stalled the troopers outside. By the time they made it to the church, the basement would be filled with bloodied children and severed toes, and the priest’s wife would be waiting for them with a razor in her hand.
Needless to say, (according to the story) no children were ever taken from the village.
Mountbatten-Ottawa on
Stupid Grandma. We all know Blood tax only means +10% national manpower modifier and +10% loyalty for Janissaries. There is nothing bad about it!
5 Comments
context:
Under the Devshirme system, Christian boys, primarily from the Balkans, were taken from their families by force to serve the Ottoman state. These boys were converted to Islam and trained to become soldiers, administrators, or other state officials. The most famous among these were the Janissaries, an elite military corps loyal to the Sultan.
Devshirme was essentially a form of child levy or human taxation, targeting non-Muslim populations in Ottoman-controlled regions. It was considered both a privilege and a burden: while it offered a path to high status in the Ottoman government or military, it also tore children away from their families and communities.
To resist this practice, some families would go to great lengths to make their children unfit for recruitment, such as injuring them or maiming them by cutting off a finger. Since the Ottomans preferred boys who were physically capable for military service, a physical defect could exempt a child from being taken. Families saw this as a way to protect their children from a life of forced conversion and separation from their roots.
You know what they say “grandma knows best”.
“Listen kid, i know this trick, you are going with me”
There’s a story from my village in Greece where the priest’s wife would gather the kids in the church basement every time the Turks would came to take them. She then systematically cut off a toe from each of the kids, one by one starting with the elder ones who were more likely to be recruited while the men of the village stalled the troopers outside. By the time they made it to the church, the basement would be filled with bloodied children and severed toes, and the priest’s wife would be waiting for them with a razor in her hand.
Needless to say, (according to the story) no children were ever taken from the village.
Stupid Grandma. We all know Blood tax only means +10% national manpower modifier and +10% loyalty for Janissaries. There is nothing bad about it!
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