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The Janissaries

30 minutes

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Color illustration of the Ottoman-era Turkish army marching in rows along a road past the sultan in his tent.

Fifteenth-century Christian Europe feared the Muslim Ottoman Turks and their Janissaries, an army of slaves serving only the sultan. Uses reenactments, artifacts, and paintings to relate the army life of these warriors; describes their conscription, loyalty, training, and weapons. Details the Ottomans' defeat of Constantinople in 1452. Three hundred seventy-four years later, the sultan had the Janissaries killed when they plotted and revolted against him.

Media Details

Runtime: 30 minutes

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