Başı Bozuk
The Başı Bozuk ( Ottoman باشی بوﺯق, also Başıbozuk , Baschi-Bosuks ) were irregular troops of the Ottoman Empire , which were composed of different population groups. The term başıbozuk means loosely translated as much as "leaderless", "irregular (troops)," " irregulars ", but literally "broken head", "Disturbed", "Tangled."
They were the irregular soldiers of the Ottoman Sultan, who were not subject to any military regulation or regulation of the Ottoman army and were therefore free to punish and kill at their own discretion. They therefore had neither official uniforms nor other special badges. These troops were often used to quell riots; Accordingly, they were hated by the (rebellious) civilian population, where they were not infrequently extremely brutal by abusing and robbing them. The lack of discipline and their rebellious temperament sometimes made it necessary for them to be disarmed by the regular Ottoman troops.
The warriors numbered around 65,000 men included Tatars from Dobruja , Albanians , Circassians from the Caucasus, and Turkmen and Kurds from Eastern Anatolia . The Bashi Bosuks were privateers : they received weapons and provisions from the state, but no pay . They provided about robbery , looting and pillage what they were legitimized by the Sultan.
A similar phenomenon can be found among the Indian Pindari , who also received no pay and lived from looting.
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- ↑ http://en.wikisource.org/wiki/1911_Encyclop%C3%A6dia_Britannica/Bashi-Bazouk
- ^ Stanford J. Shaw, Ezel Kural Shaw: Reform, Revolution, and Republic: The Rise of Modern Turkey, 1808-1975. In: Stanford Jay Shaw: History of the Ottoman Empire and Modern Turkey. Volume 2, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge u. a. 1977, ISBN 0-521-21449-1 , pp. I-XXV + 1-518 and ISBN 0-521-29166-6 , pp. 86, 472.