An Example of the Rumeli Eskinci Musellem Corps: The Ergene Musellems in the 15th-16th Centuries

Authors : Hacer ATEŞ

Pages : 13-43

Doi:10.26650/gaad.1292188

View : 54 | Download : 54

Publication Date : 2023-08-03

Article Type : Research Paper

Abstract :During the founding years of the Ottoman principalities, the first military units consisted of infantryman insert ignore into journalissuearticles values(yaya); and cavalryman insert ignore into journalissuearticles values(müsellem);. Infantrymen participated in the war on foot, while the cavalryman participated on horseback. As a result of restructuring in the army, the positions of the cavalrymen changed over time, and they started to take on more background roles. The cavalrymen fulfilled certain duties such as road construction, cannonball production, mining, and castle restoration in return for their tax-exempt states. The Çirmen Sanjak was the most important musellem center in Rumelia, with the towns of Çirmen, Akça Kıznalık, Ergene, Hasköy, Tekfurdağı, Yenice-i Zağra, and Inecik being affiliated with Çirmen Sanjak. This study has been conducted by referring to various archive documents, especially the cadastral registers, and discusses the Ergene musellems, a branch of the Çirmen sanjak musellems. Ergene’s location is important due to being among the first conquered regions of Rumelia. For this reason, this study is thought to be able to contribute to the formation and structure of the early Ottoman military organization in Rumelia.
Keywords : Rumeli, Çirmen, Ergene, Müsellem, Osmanlı Ordusu