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The Auspicious Incident
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Auspicious Incident (or Event[1]) (in Turkish Vaka-i Hayriye) was the forced disbandment of the centuries-old Janissary corps by Ottoman sultan Mahmud II shortly before the French invasion of Ottoman Algeria.
By the early 17th century, the Janissary corps had ceased to function as an elite military unit. Many Janissaries were not soldiers and simply extorted money off the Turkish state and dictated its government, adding to the steady decline of the Ottoman Empire. Any sultan who attempted to modernize the Ottoman military structure and replace the Janissaries was either immediately killed or deposed. See also: Praetorian Guard.
By 1826, the Janissaries were almost universally hated throughout Turkey. When they noticed that the Sultan Mahmud II was forming a new army and hiring European gunners, they mutinied, but the Sipahis forced them to retreat to their barracks in the Greek city of Thessaloniki. In the ensuing fight the Janissary barracks were set in flames by artillery fire resulting in a massive number of casualties. Survivors were either exiled or executed and their possessions confiscated by the Sultan.
- ^ Goodwin, Jason: "Lords of the Horizons", Chapter 24: The Auspicious Event, 1998
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