Busbecq, a Fleming, was the ambassador of the Holy Roman Emperor at the Sublime
Porte (the Turkish Sultan's court in Constantinople) from 1555-62. His letters provide
important foreign accounts of the Ottoman state. Because Busbecq was trying to bring about
reform at home, he did not dwell on the very real problems with Ottoman government.
At Buda I made my first acquaintance with the Janissaries; this is the name by
which the Turks call the infantry of the royal guard. The Turkish state has 12,000 of
these troops when the corps is at its full strength. They are scattered through every part
of the empire, either to garrison the forts against the enemy, or to protect the
Christians and Jews from the violence of the mob. There is no district with any
considerable amount of population, no borough or city, which has not a detachment of
Janissaries to protect the Christians, Jews, and other helpless people from outrage and
wrong.
A garrison of Janissaries is always stationed in the citadel of Buda. The dress of
these men consists of a robe reaching down to the ankles, while, to cover their heads,
they employ a cowl which, by their account, was originally a cloak sleeve, part of which
contains the head, while the remainder hangs down and flaps against the neck. On their
forehead is placed a silver gilt cone of considerable height, studded with stones of no
great value.
These Janissaries generally came to me in pairs. When they were admitted to my dining
room they first made a bow, and then came quickly up to me, all but running, and touched
my dress or hand, as if they intended to kiss it. After this they would thrust into my
hand a nosegay of' the hyacinth or narcissus; then they would run back to the door almost
as quickly as they came, taking care not to turn their backs, for this, according to their
code, would be a serious breach of etiquette. After reaching the door, they would stand
respectfully with their arms crossed, and their eyes bent on the ground, looking more like
monks than warriors. On receiving a few small coins (which was what they wanted) they
bowed again, thanked me in loud tones, and went off blessing me for my kindness. To tell
you the truth, if I had not been told beforehand that they were Janissaries, I should,
without hesitation, have taken them for members of some order of Turkish monks, or
brethren of some Moslem college. Yet these are the famous Janissaries, whose approach
inspires terror everywhere.
The Turkish monarch going to war takes with him over 400 camels and nearly as many
baggage mules, of which a great part are loaded with rice and other kinds of' grain. These
mules and camels also serve to carry tents and armour, and likewise tools and munitions
for the campaign. . . . The invading army carefully abstains from encroaching on its
magazines at the outset; as they are well aware that when the season for campaigning draws
to a close, they will have to retreat over districts wasted by the enemy, or scraped bare
by countless hordes of men and droves of hungry animals, as if they had been devastated by
locusts; accordingly they reserve their stores as much as possible for this emergency.
Then the Sultan's magazines are opened, and a ration just sufficient to sustain life is
daily weighed out to the Janissaries and other troops of the royal household. The rest of
the army is badly off, unless they have provided some supplies at their own expense. . . .
On such occasions they take out a few spoonfuls of flour and put them into water, adding
some butter, and seasoning the mess with salt and spices; these ingredients are boiled,
and a large bowl of gruel is thus obtained. Of this they eat once or twice a day,
according to the quantity they have, without any bread, unless they have brought some
biscuit with them.... Sometimes they have recourse to horseflesh; dead horses are of
course plentiful in their great hosts, and such beasts as are in good condition when they
die furnish a meal not to be despised by famished soldiers.
From this you will see that it is the patience, self-denial and thrift of the Turkish
soldier that enable him to face the most trying circumstances and come safely out of' the
dangers that surround him. What a contrast to our men! Christian soldiers on a campaign
refuse to put up with their ordinary food, and call for thrushes, becaficos [a small bird
esteemed a dainty, as it feeds on figs and grapes], and suchlike dainty dishes! ... It
makes me shudder to think of what the result of a struggle between such different systems
must be; one of us must prevail and the other be destroyed, at any rate we cannot both
exist ]in safety. On their side is the vast wealth of their empire, unimpaired resources,
experience and practice in arms, a veteran soldiery, an uninterrupted series of victories,
readiness to endure hardships, union, order, discipline, thrift and watchfulness. On ours
are found an empty exchequer, luxurious habits, exhausted resources, broken spirits, a raw
and insubordinate soldiery, and greedy quarrels; there is no regard for discipline,
license runs riot, the men indulge in drunkenness and debauchery, and worst of all, the
enemy are accustomed to victory, we to defeat. Can we doubt what the result must be? The
only obstacle is Persia, whose position on his rear forces the invader to take
precautions. The fear of Persia gives us a respite, but it is only for a time.
No distinction is attached to birth among the Turks; the deference to be paid to a man
is measured by the position he holds in the public service. There is no fighting for
precedence; a man's place is marked out by the duties he discharges. In making his
appointments the Sultan pays no regard to any pretensions on the score of wealth or rank,
nor does he take into consideration recommendations or popularity, he considers each case
on its own merits, and examines carefully into the character, ability, and disposition of
the man whose promotion is in question. It is by merit that men rise in the service, a
system which ensures that posts should only be assigned to the competent. Each man in
Turkey carries in his own hand his ancestry and his position in life, which he may make or
mar as he will. Those who receive the highest offices from the Sultan are for the most
part the sons of shepherds or herdsmen, and so far from being ashamed of their parentage,
they actually glory in it, and consider it a matter of boasting that they owe nothing to
the accident of birth; for they do not believe that high qualities are either natural or
hereditary, nor do they think that they can be handed down from father to son, but that
they are partly the gift of' God, and partly the result of good training, great industry,
and unwearied zeal; arguing that high qualities do not descend from a father to his son or
heir, any more than a talent for music, mathematics, or the like; and that the mind does
not derive its origin from the father, so that the son should necessarily be like the
father in character, our emanates from heaven, and is thence infused into the human body.
Among the Turks, therefore, honours, high posts, and judgeships are the rewards of great
ability and good service. If a man be dishonest, or lazy, or careless, he remains at the
bottom of the ladder, an object of contempt; for such qualities there are no honours in
Turkey!
This is the reason that they are successful in their undertakings, that they lord it
over others, and are daily extending the bounds of their empire. These are not our ideas,
with us there is no opening left for merit; birth is the standard for everything; the
prestige of birth is the sole key to advancement in the public service.
