According to the nature of tribute in conquered Christian lands under Turkish rule there were four types of taxes: tax in living children or tribute in blood, tax in people strength, tax in earthly goods and tax in coin. Tax in living children or tribute in blood was reserved for Christian population of four provinces, who were forced to give to the sultan 10.000 of the most beautiful, robust and healthy children aged between 10 and 12.
Devşirme, “Choosing” (Tribute in blood) was an Ottoman system for recruitment of children into service to the sultan, developed at the start of the XIV century: from rural areas populated by non-Muslims young boys were taken on regular bases after which they would be “reeducated”, converted into Islam, taught Turkish language and trained for different state services. Majority would be given over to the KapiKullari, especially to Janissaries, but some could have been chosen for service in Inner or Outer court.
During XV and XVI century an often and important part of the Ottoman military and political elite was composed from individuals which were collected through tribute in blood indicating it served as a system for advancement in society. Due to the ever increasing pressure which Muslims, eager for military and political career, placed upon sultan, but due to the increasing level of corruption among the Ottomans, Devşirme slowly began to fall out of practice during XVII century.
Captivated children were converted into Islam and with great care prepared for military service. These children would grow to become those well-known and fearsome Janissaries who fought as elite infantry. This tribute would put the parents of the unfortunate children through untold suffering and pain. In their desperation, parents would come to adopt different, equally desperate solutions for this situation. They would often cripple their stronger and healthy children while the weaker ones they would marry after tenth but before twelfth year as means of preserving them for Turks would not, under any circumstances, break the bonds of marriage.
These were some of the means used against tribute in blood and suffering it would cause with the parents. Devşirme lasted for almost two hundred years in Serbian lands. Ottomans kidnapped tens of thousands of children, raised them as Muslims and in Janissary units prepared them to kill their own kin and Christians.
Ex Janissary describes Devşirme
Whenever Ottomans attack a land and submit a people, imperial scrivener immediately arrives after the army and conscripts all the boys for the Janissaries and for each one, he pays five gold coins. Afterwards, they are sent over the seas in Anatolia where they are kept. Usually, they collect about two thousand boys.
Tribute in blood from Topkapi palace: engraving showing how the boys kidnapped from their families were taken into captivity and raised as the elite army of the Ottoman Empire. Christian critique of the Devşirme can be found in the Life of Georgije Novi from Sophia (1539)
If the imperial scrivener would not receive enough boys from the enemy population, then the boys would be taken from all of the Christians in every village of his land, clearly setting the number for every village so the proscribed quota of taken children would always be fulfilled.
Boys taken from his own land he calls cilik. After they die, these children can leave their estate and belongings to whomever they wish, but children taken from the enemy, called pvndzik, can’t leave anything to anyone except the sultan. In special cases, when one of them shows exemplary conduct and deserves his freedom, this rule is void and that individual can leave his belongings to whomever he wishes.
This happened during the reign of godless, unjust and evil Turkish sultan Selim. In secrecy, with cunning, in the third year of his rule, he sent his officials and heralds to all corners of his many kingdoms and ordered them to visit, escorted by soldiers, Christian houses and if they find three sons living under one roof, two are to be taken for the sultan and one left to the parents, but if a Christian house has only one son, he is to be taken by force for the sultan as well.
Officials acted as ordered and gathered the children. They circumcised them according to the heathen Saracen (Muslim) faith and taught them the verses from the imams lying book.
Afterwards, sultan ordered children should be taught military skills, fighting and horse riding. Once they reached adulthood, sultan would shower them with gifts and honors, calling them Janissaries.
They became so blinded and acted so obscenely, even towards their own parents, their mothers and fathers, and started killing Christians in most shameful ways thus becoming worse than the Saracens themselves.
(Ljubiša Malenica translate)
Донирајте или се рекламирајте на „Срби у Босни и Херцеговини кроз епохе и судбине“ једином сајту на свијету који описује живот нашег народа на просторима БиХ од насељавања Срба у 7. вијеку до одбрамбено-отаџбинског рата а кроз призме политичке, културне и духовне историје.