Martolos

Martolos , plural Martolosen (from Gr. Amartolos , "corrupt, gone wrong "; or rather armatolos , "armed") denoted from the 15th century paid Ottoman security forces who were made up of Orthodox Christians of the Balkans (often Wallachians or Slavs at the borders of the empire Mauro Wallachians - both groups lived after the Jus Valachicum - but also other southern Slavs or Greeks, cf. Armatolen ) were recruited.

Martolos were organized in jamaats (communities) and were led by Muslims ( martolos ağa , martolos başı ). The Ottomans used them for various police tasks, e.g. B. as a border guard in peacetime, to guard fortresses, mines and roads (Turkish coarse ), as well as spies and tax collectors .

As members of the Askerî class , Martolos were allowed to own hereditary Tımars , kept their Christian faith, received a daily wage and were exempt from the jizya obligation and other taxes. However, most of them were only paid recipients, and only a few owned Tımars.

In the 16th and 17th centuries, Martolos took part in looting in Croatia and Dalmatia, and occasionally served as the vanguard . Because of better pay, many were also in Austrian service. In the 17th century they were used by the Ottomans to fight rebellious Heiducken , some of which overflowed to the rebels. In 1692 the Porte Christians forbade service in Martolos units, in 1722 the unit type was incorporated into the Pandur Office .

In northern Macedonia, a few Martolos continued to exist until the Tanzimat reforms in the 19th century. In addition to sticking , they have become a subject of Greek epic-romantic poetry.

In the literature

The Serbian Janissary Konstantin from Ostrovitza writes in his memoirs of a Janissary in Chapter 44:

About the martoloz and the voynuk

The martoloz are Christians and live particularly in the border areas. You will receive one gold piece for each horse every eight days. They too are paid their wages for a month, as is the case with the cerahor [mercenaries] . But they can stay on duty as long as they like. Their armor is like that of the cerahor. If someone wants more, it's up to him. There are also a number of free Christians who neither give nor accept any payment. They are called voynuk. They serve the Sultan and lead the single sultan's horses wherever necessary. There are several hundred martoloz and voynuk.

literature

• E. Rossi - WJ Griswold: Martolos. In: Encyclopaedia of Islam, new edition, 1991, VI, 613.
• D. Joksimović: Martolozi. In: Vojna enciklopedija, 1973, V, 318.
• GF Abbott: Songs of modern Greece (1900) , 10-11.
• Renate Lachmann (translation, introduction): Memoirs of a Janissary or Turkish Chronicle. In: Günther Stökl (Ed.): Slavic Historians, Volume VIII. Styria Verlag, Graz / Vienna / Cologne 1975, ISBN 3-222-10552-9 .

Individual evidence

1. ^ Renate Lachmann: Memoirs of a Janissary or Turkish Chronicle. Styria Verlag, Graz / Vienna / Cologne 1975, ISBN 3-222-10552-9 , p. 167.