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| Military of the Ottoman Empire |
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This is a List of wars involving the Ottoman Empire ordered chronologically, including civil wars within the empire.
The earliest form of the Ottoman military was a nomadic steppe cavalry force.[1] This was centralized by Osman I from Turkoman tribesmen inhabiting western Anatolia in the late 13th century. Orhan I organized a standing army paid by salary rather than looting or fiefs. The Ottomans began using guns in the late 14th century.
The Ottoman Empire was the first of the three Islamic Gunpowder Empires, followed by Safavid Persia and Mughal India. By the 14th century, the Ottomans had adopted gunpowder artillery.[2] By the time of Sultan Mehmed II, they had been drilled with firearms and became "perhaps the first standing infantry force equipped with firearms in the world."[3] The Janissaries are thus considered the first modern standing army.[4][5]
The Ottoman Classical Army was the military structure established by Mehmed II. The classical Ottoman army was the most disciplined and feared military force of its time, mainly due to its high level of organization, logistical capabilities and its elite troops. Following a century long reform efforts, this army was forced to disbandment by Sultan Mahmud II on 15 June 1826 by what is known as Auspicious Incident. By the reign of Mahmud the Second, the elite Janissaries had become corrupt and an obstacle in the way of modernization efforts, meaning they were more of a liability than an asset.
- ^ Mesut Uyar, Edward J. Erickson, A Military History of the Ottomans: From Osman to Atatürk, Pleager Security International, ISBN 978-0-275-98876-0, 2009, p. 1.
- ^ Nicolle, David (1980). Armies of the Ottoman Turks 1300–1774. Osprey Publishing, ISBN 9780850455113.
- ^ Streusand 2011, p. 83.
- ^ Lord Kinross (1977). Ottoman Centuries: The Rise and Fall of the Turkish Empire. New York: Morrow Quill Paperbacks, 52. ISBN 0-688-08093-6.
- ^ Goodwin, Jason (1998). Lords of the Horizons: A History of the Ottoman Empire. New York: H. Holt, 59,179–181. ISBN 0-8050-4081-1.