Ottoman Empire notes and classes

Ottoman Empire – the persistent invaders of the Balkans and Eastern Europe!

Having tried and failed to conquer mainland Europe many times, the Ottomans continue to send invaders, raiders, slavers and marauders whenever they can, especially in Eastern Europe. Despite having vast numbers and brave men, the Ottomans have been unable to secure a foothold within any European power for quite a long time.

Nevertheless, the Ottomans have a fearsome reputation, but this also means they are hated by almost all Europeans, with Wallachians, Bosnians and Tartars being some of the few allies they have in Europe. The Ottomans are now mockingly labelled as “the sick man of Europe” now that their once-mighty empire burns only as ashes and embers, gradually diminishing as the nationalism of various Slavic and Greek peoples rebel and fight for freedom.



Ottoman classes – classes exclusively for the Ottoman Empire



Azzar
refers to a Middle Eastern irregular warrior, bandit or raider armed with a firelock musket, who lacks training, but good at hiding, ambushes, and skirmishes.



Panduk
a Muslim Balkan Slav, often Bosniaks/Bosnians, who once fought for the Austrians or Russians, who now fights for the Ottoman Empire. Panduks also serve as bandits, hunters and poachers when necessary, and tend to be brutal and aggressive with both gun and sword. Bosnians are one of the few European Muslim peoples, and like the Lipka Tartars, kept their own cultural identity.



Nizam I Credit
refers to modernized Ottoman soldiers, based on the “new model” to make them disciplined soldiers, shooting with Western-style rifles or carbines and having bayonets, trained by French advisors. Unfortunately, they are hated by almost all traditional warriors of the Ottoman Empire.

The Nizami-I Credit reforms were meant to replace the old-fashioned traditionalist warriors, but never truly succeeded. Some of them ride horses or camels to fight as dragoons or mounted gunners.



Janissary
meaning “new soldier” in Greek, janissaries usually consist of a levy of boys from the Balkans or Eastern Europe, but some are enlisted from within the Ottoman Empire. Generally, janissaries were taken as children away from their homes and potentiality brainwashed, then ordered to fight against the sultan's enemies.

They fight with good ol' fashioned muskets and swords, but some are quite traditional, and go into battle with composite bows, medieval armour, halberds, or battleaxes. Some modern jannisaries wield hand mortars, a kind of primitive grenade launcher resembling a short, thick musket (its weight makes it a useful club).

Historically, janissaries were forcefully abolished in 1826 by Mahmud II, known as the Auspicious Incident, of which around six thousand janissaries were executed.



Bashibazouk
ferocious warrior, open to committing atrocities and cruelty, often recruited from the indomitable mountainmen, but they also come from parts throughout the Islamic world. Generally they are equipped with whatever they can get their hands on, sometimes even just swords, axes or the iconic Khyber knife, and then sent into the direction of the enemy as dangerous and fearless fodder.

They have no problem slaughtering women, children and pregnant women. As such, they are nearly immune to fear and dread even against the supernatural, but also tend to be brainless and witless. Ottoman forces would forcibly disarm bashibazouks in their ranks after a battle to prevent bad behaviour.



Ghazi
A Muslim who, inspired by Islam in some way, has chosen to fight in the hopes of achieving Paradise after death, potentially somewhat the Islamic equivalent of a crusader or Viking warrior. Ghazi warriors tend to be of low quality but high bravery, and will willingly sacrifice their lives for their faith, for whatever reason. They tend to be armed with whatever they can get their hands on, however some ghazis are nobles, soldiers, militas, or mercenaries, or anyone else, and so may be equipped with good war gear and have military training. Historically, during the Middle Ages, ghazis would fight invaders, especially crusaders, Byzantines and Mongols, and even today, some Muslim surnames are a clear reference to the word ghazi in some way.



Hashashin (plural, hashashim)
an assassin working for the Ottoman Empire, but some work independently for religious reasons or to be hired killers. Currently, some have joined forces with Wallachian boyars to try and kill Vlad Tepes once again, or wander alone or in small groups to get the job done.

The hashashim are a sect of highly-trained murderers, terrorists or insurgents, thought to have originated in Persia, but were destroyed by the Mongols during the Middle Ages. However, their legacy lived on, and the title continued to refer to assassins, or agents of murder and sabotage.

Ferociously devout and dutiful, they will use any means necessary to kill their ancient foe they once beheaded so long ago. Having no fear of death or consequences of their actions makes these men especially brutal and deadly. A hashashin is usually equipped with a curved sword, dagger, and flintlock pistol, and ropes with grapplers on the ends to climb walls or mountains. They have an uncanny ability to seemingly blend in with darkness, moving unnoticed like shadows.



Mameluke
a slave soldier often of Turkic descent, bought young and then trained in the art of medieval warfare at the master's expense. Some fight wearing mail or splinted mail sometimes for the horse as well, sometimes armed with composite bows, shields, and maces or swords, but most fight as courageous light horsemen with just swords. Mamelukes have not gone beyond firelock guns.

Historically, the mamelukes replaced the ghilmans during the early Middle Ages, and for the next several hundred years were feared as elite warriors who sometimes formed their own sultanates, but were defeated by Napoleon at the Battle of the Pyramids in 1798, and then the survivors massacred at the Cairo citadel by Albanian mercenaries serving Muhammad Ali, with only a single mameluke surviving after he forced his horse to leap off the walls of the citadel.



Sipahi
feudal fief-holders, landowners, or palace guards, often fighting as cavalry. Some are old-fashioned and fight in medieval style, wearing mail or splinted mail armour sometimes for their horses as well, and armed with bows, lances, shields and swords. They sometimes wear a kind of plate armour, known as “box armour”, which consists of four plates, each plate protecting the front, back, and both sides under the armpit, but worn over mail armour.

Unlike mamelukes, sipahi are not slaves, and unlike janissaries, sipahi are not levies: sipahi are upper class troops who view themselves as higher-ranking than all other Ottoman forces, as they are pure-blooded and can afford their own military equipment and retinue. As such, there are bitter rivalries between the sipahis and the mamelukes and janissaries. Modern sipahi bring up to several firelock pistols into battle, a sword, and a lance. Elite horsemen, even when armoured they are fast on their steeds.



Vizier
somewhat the equivalent of a prime minister, Ottoman viziers at times form armies of up to thousands of troops, essentially becoming warlords who invade Eastern Europe. Although they can amass the largest armies, viziers are not true generals, and so their armies tend to suffer high casualties. Perhaps a true warlord will bring the Ottoman Empire back to glory, even if it means beating the Russians, the Austrians, the Hungarians, and the Poles to the draw.