 Albanian Bashi-Bazouk Chieftain by Jean-Léon Gérôme, 1881. | |
| Founded | 17th century |
|---|---|
| Named after | Turkish word for crazy-head |
| Founding location | Istanbul, Ottoman Empire |
| Years active | Unknown |
| Territory | Balkans, Eastern Europe |
| Allies | |
| Rivals | |
A bashi-bazouk (Ottoman Turkish: باشی بوزوق başıbozuk, IPA: [baʃɯboˈzuk], lit. 'one whose head is turned, damaged head, crazy-head', roughly "leaderless" or "disorderly") was an irregular soldier of the Ottoman army, raised in times of war. The army chiefly enlisted Albanians and Circassians as bashi-bazouks,[1] but recruits came from all ethnic groups of the Ottoman Empire, including slaves from Europe or Africa.[2] Bashi-bazouks had a reputation for being undisciplined and brutal, notorious for looting and preying on civilians as a result of a lack of regulation and of the expectation that they would support themselves off the land.[1][3]
- ^ a b Houtsma 1993, p. 670.
- ^ Vizetelly 1897, p. 83.
- ^ Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). . Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press.