Jenízaros: la definición social de la élite militar del Imperio Otomano (ss. XIV-XVII)

The janissaries were the base of the military innovation for the Ottoman expansion; on the contrary, they do not merely constitute a warlike elite. Their origin, their creation, their functions and their relation with the Turkish society are the axes of this study, resulting in that the above mentioned military body did not limit itself to a merely military character. In addition, we will give special attention to the change in the Janissaries’ logic of behaviour throughout the 17th century.