The Auspicious Incident 1826

The Janissaries had a long and glorious military history in the Ottoman Empire. However, by the nineteenth century, most Janissaries were craftsmen or shop keepers whose primary distinction was their tax exempt status and the pay they received for their supposed military service. Very few Janissaries actually participated in campaigns and their performance in combat was generally poor. Even so, for more than a century, the Janissaries were the kingmakers of the Ottoman Empire, overthrowing any sultan who dared to threaten them. In 1807, the Janissaries overthrew and later killed Sultan Selim III after he attempted to make military reforms affecting their interests. By 1825, Sultan Mahmud II seemed committed to eliminating the Janissaries but, before provoking them, he set about building alliances with the religious and other military establishments within the empire; he gained the support of the grand mufti and quietly concentrated on strengthening a special corps of 12,000 artillery troops. Thus, Mahmud II became strong enough to challenge the power of this traditional military caste.

During the Greek War of Independence, contingents of Janissaries were among the imperial troops that failed to put down the revolt and their performance was blamed for the empire having to seek military help from the Egyptians. In this context, in May 1826, Mahmud II declared a new order by which the Janissaries would be distributed throughout the military rather than concentrated in their own units. On June 14, 1826, the Janissaries in Constantinople challenged the sultan by assembling in the Hippodrome and demanding an audience with Mahmud II to express their grievances. The sultan had ordered the artillery to assemble and they opened fire on the Janissaries. The Janissaries were driven back to their barracks where most of them were surrounded and massacred by the artillery. Turkish mobs killed the survivors in Constantinople.

Many more Janissaries, living outside of Constantinople, were eventually killed by the local populations in spontaneous risings sanctioned while the government officially disbanded the Janissary corps and eliminated the hereditary privileges. The destruction of the Janissaries was popularly regarded as a form of liberation from tyranny. Eliminating the Janissaries also created the conditions for substantive military reform to proceed as well as removing the burden on the treasury. However, the Auspicious Incident (as the day became known in Ottoman history) temporarily left Ottoman military forces in disarray and prey to Russian demands for recognition as the protector of Serbian and Romanian lands, parts of the empire, in the Convention of Akkerman, signed on October 7, 1826.

Notes

[1] Estimates of the number of Janissary battle deaths on the day vary from 4,000 to 10,000. Most sources settle near the low estimate (4,000 to 6,000) and it is believed thousands more were killed elsewhere in the empire. Ottoman casualties are unknown but assumed to be low.

References

Agoston and Masters, 296-7; Clodfelter, 364-5; COW508; Dixon and Sarkees, 323-4; EB - Janissary; Jelavich and Jelavich, 48-9; Kohn, 242; Turkey - A Country Study.

Gabor Agoston; Bruce Masters. Encyclopedia of the Ottoman Empire. Facts On File. 2009.

Charles Jelavich; Barbara Jelavich. The Establishment of the Balkan National States, 1804-1920. University of Washington Press. 1986.

Category

Intra-State War

Region

West Asia

Belligerents

Ottoman Empire, Janissaries

Dispute

Interests

Initiation Date

June 14, 1826

Termination Date

June 15, 1826

Duration

1 day

Outcome

Imposed Settlement
(Ottoman victory)

Fatalities

Total: 7,0000^[1]
Janissaries: 7,000
Ottoman: unknown

Magnitude

3.8