Memoirs of a Janissary

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The Memoirs of a Janissary or Turkish Chronicle is a work that has been widespread in the Slavic region since the 16th century and contains an account of the experiences of a Serbian Janissary of the Ottoman Army .

Text history

Konstantin from Ostrovitza , full name Konstantin Mihajlović from Ostrovitza (* around 1435 in Ostrovitza, probably in Kosovo ; † after 1481), was a Serb who was brought to the Janissaries by the Ottoman boy harvest . He is said to be the (main) author of the memoirs of a Janissary , also known as the Turkish Chronicle . The original manuscript has been lost, so the language in which it was written is uncertain. In general, the Czech version is considered to be the oldest available today ; Polish editions were translated according to their text . During the editing of the various versions, the latest news was incorporated for the target audience, only the memoir part remained largely unedited.

According to the orientalist Franz Babinger , the chronicle is one of the most important and long-overlooked works on the Ottomans:

“The fact that these records, which are full of oddities and details nowhere else, were not used more extensively by research, is probably due to the fact that they have so far only been made available in the Polish version. They provide a very lively, colorful and vivid picture of the life and goings-on of the Turkish war people and camp life in the age of conquerors and deserve to be opened up to a wider group of users soon. "

Babinger, Jorga , Runciman and other historians have repeatedly referred to Constantine's Chronicle in their work.

content

In 49 chapters Konstantin von Ostrovitza first describes the genealogy of the Osman dynasty , then his own experiences and finally the government and the construction of the Sultan's empire. In this third section he deals in particular with the organization and combat tactics of the Ottoman army. The historical statements of the Janissaries are often greatly shortened and imprecise in their chronological order, while the reports on the deployment of his troops are essentially precise and verifiable.

After an introductory sentence quoted in the following, Constantine follows a preface in which he expresses his belief in the Holy Trinity and asks for the conversion of the "cursed heathen" .

“This is how Konstantin, the son of Mihail Konstantinović, a Raitze from Ostrovica whom the Turks have made into a Janissary, begins his Turkish chronicle. "

This is structured as follows:

  • Chapters 1–8: Religion, Customs and Character of the “Gentiles”, the Ottoman Muslims
  • Chapters 9-14: Genealogy of the House of Osman from Osman I to Murad II.
  • Chapters 15-18: The situation in the Balkans and in the West
  • Chapters 19–24: The wars of Sultan Murad II with King Władysław III. and Emperor Sigismund
  • Chapters 25–34: Constantine's personal experiences; Mehmed II , siege of Constantinople (1453) , siege of Belgrade (1456) , war on the Peloponnese , against the empire of Trebizond , against Uzun Hasan , against Vlad III. Drăculea , conquest of Bosnia , appointed as fortress commander in Zvečaj on the Vrbas ; Recapture of Bosnia by Matthias Corvinus and the release of Constantine; End of the memoir part
  • Chapters 35–37: Further acts and death of Mehmed II, his sons quarrel about the succession
  • Chapters 38–48: Organization of the Sultan's court, structure, war tactics and branches of the Ottoman army, organization of the empire
  • Chapter 49: The Future of Poland and Hungary
  • Closing words: Τέλος "This chronicle was first written in Russian letters in the year of the Lord 1400."

Manuscripts

  • In Polish - Pamietniki Janczara [Polish. ("Memoirs of a Janissary")]:
    • Z - Warsaw , Zamoyski Library , oldest and most complete version, mid-16th century, now in Biblioteka Narodowa
    • K - Kórnik , Library of Władysław Zamoyski , younger version, 16th century
    • W - Vilnius , City Museum, 17th century, contains 13 chapters of the text published in print in Vilnius in 1864
    • C - Krakow , Czartoryski Library , 16th century, printed in Warsaw in 1828, in Sanok in 1857 and 1868
    • S - St. Petersburg , former Publičnaja Biblioteka (Smogulecki manuscript), 16th century
    • P - St. Petersburg, Publičnaja Biblioteka, end of the 16th century, today in the Biblioteka Narodowa in Warsaw
    • N - St. Petersburg, Publičnaja Biblioteka, first half of the 17th century
    • J - Krakow, Jagiellonian Library , 17th century
    • A - Krakow, City Archives, first half of the 17th century, largely corresponds to the manuscript P
  • In Czech - Kronika turecká ("Turkish Chronicle"):
  • Unknown language:

literature

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b Renate Lachmann: Memoirs of a Janissary or Turkish Chronicle. Styria Verlag, Graz / Vienna / Cologne 1975, ISBN 3-222-105529 , p. 22 f.
  2. ^ Franz Babinger: The records of the Genoese Iacopo de Promontorio de Campis on the Ottoman state around 1475. In: Meeting reports of the Bayer. Akad. D. Wiss., Phil.-Hist. Kl., Born 1956, issue 8, Munich 1957, p. 12.
  3. ↑ Raitze is derived from the Serbian core landscape Raška with the capital of the same name.
  4. ^ Renate Lachmann: Memoirs of a Janissary or Turkish Chronicle. Styria Verlag, Graz / Vienna / Cologne 1975, ISBN 3-222-105529 , p. 53.
  5. ↑ therein in Chapter 41 about the Sultan's Schanze
  6. ↑ Greek: "Finally"; Side note from a translator: Τελλος, maybe "Finis"
  7. ↑ The year 1400 was given due to an incorrect transfer of the number originally written in Cyrillic to the Christian Orthodox world year 6990 (= September 1481 to August 1482). The work was created soon after the death of Mehmed II, who died in 1481. Renate Lachmann: Memoirs of a Janissary or Turkish Chronicle. Ferdinand Schöningh Verlag, Paderborn u. a. 2010, p. 180, note 429.