Auspicious Incident

Auspicious Incident a bloody repression during which thousands of Istanbul’s Janissaries were massacred and their barracks demolished. It was the forced disbandment of the centuries-old Janissary corps by Sultan Mahmud II on 15 June 1826. The so-called Auspicious Incident of 1826 was a true massacre, a bloody annihilation of thousands of men who were literally blasted away by the forces of modernism.

The Janissaries were first created by the Ottoman Sultans in the late 14th century and the creation of the Janissary Corps in the fourteenth century represented the establishment of one of the first standing armies in Europe.

The Janissaries boasted, and not without considerable cause, that they never turned their backs upon an enemy. Indeed, they passed from victory to victory, transforming a small frontier principality into the last great medieval Islamic empire. The supreme prowess and discipline of the Janissaries allowed them to become increasingly powerful in the palace. From the reign of Bayezid II (1481–1512), they regularly required sultans to provide extra pay in exchange for the support of the corps.

According to historian, Janissaries had begun to present a serious threat to the Empire. On the battlefield they were gaining a reputation among the modern foreign armies for ineptitude and even cowardice under arms and in the capital, they came to be a dominant power and a focus of sedition.

One of Sultan Mahmud II’s major goals for his reign was to modernize and westernize the Ottoman Empire, which was bad news for historical relics like the Janissaries. On learning of the formation of new, Westernized troops, the Janissaries revolted. After Mahmud II received news of the Janissary rebellion, he ordered his barge launched and immediately started for the palace.

Sultan Mahmud II declared war on the rebels and, on their refusal to surrender, had cannon fire directed on their barracks. The Sultan ordered criers sent to all corners of the Istanbul, Galata, Pera and Scutari to encourage all Muslims to join him in defeating the Janissary rebels.

Driven back from the barracks’ gate, the Janissaries broke rank and fled. Gunfire from the Sultan’s troops cut down most of the fleeing rebels, but some managed to reach the temporary safety of their immense wooden barracks. Most of the Janissaries were killed, and those who were taken prisoner were executed.

With a military action that lasted less than six hours from start to finish, the Ottoman Porte destroyed the Janissaries.
Auspicious Incident