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At the close of the 18th century the Ottoman Empire still had huge military potential. It was a complex structure of military provinces, autonomous regions and virtually independent 'regencies'. Each province had a governor or pagh, the Ottoman Empire had a larger population than its land could actually support which resulted in bloated cities, migration to under-populated mountainous areas, widespread banditry and piracy. It also meant that Ottoman armies had a ready pool of military manpower. Ottoman armies consisted of salaried kapikulu regulars, toprakli regional irregulars, short-term levies called miri-askeris, yerli neferats consisting of the entire Muslim population of a town called up for local defence, and the gönüllüyan, a general mass of tribal irregulars. Most officers lacked formal training and many had simply purchased their ranks. Western visitors were astonished that a man could buy weapons and simply declare himself to be a soldier with a Janissary regiment, attaching himself to senior officers, or joining the armed following of a provincial leader. David Nicolle explores the armies of the Ottoman empire from 1775-1820 accompanied by plenty of illustrations, including eight full page colour plates by Angus McBride.
Contents
- Introduction
- The People of the Ottoman Empire
- Chronology
- Recruitment and Ranking
- Traditional Forces
- The New Armies
- The Navy
- Glossary
- Further Reading
- The Plates
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