Devshirme
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Devshirme was the Ottoman practice of forcibly recruiting soldiers and bureaucrats from among the children of their Balkan Christian subjects and raising them in the religion of Islam. Those coming fr
Illustration of an Ottoman official and his assistant registering Christian boys for the devshirme. The official takes a tax to cover the price of the boys' new red clothes and the cost of transport from their home, while the assistant records their village, district and province, parentage, date of birth and physical appearance. Ottoman miniature painting, 1558.
Enderûn pyramid
Rayah
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The rayah or reaya was a member of the tax-paying lower class of Ottoman society, in contrast to the askeri and kul. Ottoman subjects were initially divided into roughly two taxable classes, the milit
Devshirme
…their Balkan Christian subjects and raising them in the religion of Islam. Those coming from the Balkans came primarily from noble Balkan families and rayah classes. It is first mentioned in written records in 1438, but probably started earlier. It created a faction of soldiers and officials loyal to the…
Serb rayah discussing with an Ayan.
Bosnian rayah paying tribute.