Janissaries: The Strength and Weakness of the Ottoman Empire

Abstract

Researchers who wrote about the history of the Ottoman Empire agree that their original homeland was Central Asia, in a wide area that included the Himalayas in the south, the Altai Mountains in the north, the Kangan and Koktur Mountains in the east, and the Tian Shan Mountains in the west. They quickly spread westward, establishing several states that numbered approximately eleven ruling clans, the most important of which were the Seljuks, on whose ruins the Ottoman Empire was soon established.Historians have emphasized the assistance provided by the tribal leader Ertugrul to the army of Alaeddin Seljuk, the Seljuk Sultan, in his war against the Byzantines. Ertugrul's army turned a defeat into a victory, forcing the Seljuk Sultan to reward Ertugrul by granting him a piece of land adjacent to the lands of the Romans, to the west of the Seljuk lands. This would serve as a buffer zone between him and his Byzantine enemies, giving him the upper hand in confronting them.