The Institute of History Belgrade

Collection of Works, vol. 35

Yunus Emre Enstitüsü

Turkish Cultural Centre Belgrade

STATE AND SOCIETY

IN THE BALKANS
BEFORE AND AFTER
ESTABLISHMENT
OF OTTOMAN RULE

Editors in chief

Srđan Rudić
Selim Aslantaş

Belgrade 2017.
 TABLE OF CONTENTS

Marko Šuica
EFFECTS OF THE EARLY OTTOMAN CONQUESTS
ON THE STATE AND SOCIAL STRUCTURE
OF THE LAZAREVIĆ PRINCIPALITY 7

Neven Isailović
LEGISLATION CONCERNING THE VLACHS OF THE BALKANS
BEFORE AND AFTER OTTOMAN CONQUEST: AN OVERVIEW 25

Miloš Ivanović
CYRILLIC CORRESPONDENCE BETWEEN THE COMMUNE
OF RAGUSA AND OTTOMANS FROM 1396 TO 1458 43

Adrian Magina
IN THE HANDS OF THE TURKS. CAPTIVES FROM SOUTHERN
HUNGARY IN THE OTTOMAN EMPIRE (14–16TH CENTURIES) 65

Emir O. Filipović
THE OTTOMAN CONQUEST AND THE DEPOPULATION
OF BOSNIA IN THE FIFTEENTH CENTURY 79

Srdjan Rudić
BOSNIAN NOBILITY AFTER THE FALL
OF THE KINGDOM OF BOSNIA IN 1463 103

Aleksandar Krstić
“WHICH REALM WILL YOU OPT FOR?” –
THE SERBIAN NOBILITY BETWEEN THE OTTOMANS
AND THE HUNGARIANS IN THE 15TH CENTURY 129

Machiel Kiel
THE OTTOMAN CASTLE OF RAM (HARAM) IN SERBIA
AND THE ACCOUNTS OF ITS CONSTRUCTION, 1491 165
Hatice Oruç
THE CITY OF VIŠEGRAD BASED ON FIFTEENTH
AND SIXTEENTH CENTURY TAHRIR DEFTERS 191

Ayşe Kayapinar, Levent Kayapinar

APPLICATION OF DERBEND ORGANIZATION IN THE BALKANS:
AN EXAMPLE OF CONTINUITY OF BALKAN INSTITUTIONS
IN THE OTTOMAN SYSTEM 205

Dragi Gjorgiev
SOME ASPECTS OF SPREADING OF ISLAM
IN MACEDONIA (XV–XVI C.) 223

Dragana Amedoski
INTRODUCTION OF RICE CULTURE
IN THE CENTRAL BALKANS (15TH AND 16TH CENTURY) 235

Güneş Işiksel
MANAGING COHABITATION AND CONFLICT:
FRONTIER DIPLOMACY IN THE DALMATIAN FRONTIER
(1540–1646) 256

Aşkın Koyuncu
KAVÂNIN­I YENIÇERIYÂN AND THE RECRUITMENT OF
BOSNIAN MUSLIM BOYS AS DEVSHIRME RECONSIDERED 283

Nenad Moačanin
DIVISION OF CIZYE­PAYERS INTO THREE CLASSES
AS FORESHADOWED IN THE PRE­REFORM 17TH CENTURY
“PSEUDO­MUFASSALS“ 319

Ema Miljković
FROM “DHIMMITUDE“ TO TURKISM – CONFESSIONAL
AND ETHNIC POLICY IN THE OTTOMAN EMPIRE 331

LIST OF AUTHORS 351

 UDC: 355.087.2(560:497.6)”14/16”:340.13

Aşkın KOYUNCU

KAVÂNIN­I YENIÇERIYÂN AND THE

RECRUITMENT OF BOSNIAN MUSLIM BOYS
AS DEVSHIRME RECONSIDERED*

Abstract: Kavânin­i Yeniçeriyân (Janissary Law) is one of the most important

sources on the history of devshirme and the Janissary Corps. It was written originally
in 1606, but only several copies of it have remained today. In this study, I used seven
copies of Kavânin­i Yeniçeriyân preserved in Istanbul, St. Petersburg and Bratislava.
Although Muslims were exempted from devshirme in the classical period, Bosnian
Muslim boys, called Poturnakoğulları or mostly Poturoğulları in the Ottoman
documents, were exceptionally collected as acemioglan. Kavânin­i Yeniçeriyân has a
unique narrative about the reason for their recruitment and its starting time. According
to Kavânin­i Yeniçeriyân, only Muslim boys were recruited from Bosnia because the
Bosnian population embraced Islam massively upon the Ottoman conquest in 1463, but
requested from Sultan Mehmed the Conqueror that their children be collected as
devshirme. The Sultan then ordered Bosnian Muslim boys to be recruited as
acemioglan. This claim created a myth of a special privilege bestowed by the Ottomans
only on Bosnian Muslims. Some historians used the narrative of Kavânin­i Yeniçeriyân
to back up the Bogomil theory asserting that as the Bosnian Church was Bogomil,
Bosnians at once converted to Islam en masse. Besides, they claimed that Bosnian
Muslims gave their children voluntarily as devshirme. However, historical facts refute
the narrative of Kavânin­i Yeniçeriyân. First, both Muslim and non­Muslim boys were
collected as acemioglan in the sandjaks of Bosnia, Herzegovina and Klis. Second, the
tahrir defters show that the Islamization of Bosnia was not in fact an instantaneous, but
a gradual process. Moreover, Islamization was a common phenomenon among

*
This paper is mainly extracted from an article of the author on the Islamization of
Bosnia and the meaning of the terms of Potur and Potur sons in Ottoman
terminology, but this is a revised and extended version of the related parts with the
new findings. A. Koyuncu, Devşirme Tarihine Bir Derkenar: Bosna’nın İslamlaşması
ve Osmanlı Terminolojisinde Potur ve Potur Oğulları Terimlerinin Anlamı, Türk
Sosyal Tarihçiliğinde Bir “Yalnız” İsim Bahaeddin Yediyıldız’a Armağan, еd. Y.
Koç, S. Küçük, Türk Kültürünü Araştırma Enstitüsü, Ankara 2015, 213–259.

283
 Aşkın Koyuncu

Catholic and Orthodox people too. Therefore, it is unlikely that there would be such
an agreement between Mehmed II and the Bosnian people. However, the narrative of
Kavânin­i Yeniçeriyân is still popular among Turkish historians. I am going to compare
the passage about Bosnia in the copies of Kavânin­i Yeniçeriyân and reconsider its
narrative in the light of other Ottoman sources. Finally, I will try to explain why the
Ottomans collected Bosnian Muslim boys as devshirme and when this started.
Keywords: Janissary Law, Bosnia, Islamization, Devshirme, Janissaries, Poturs.

Introduction

It is certain that one of the most important and contested institutions

in Ottoman history is the devshirme system or child­levy practice.
Although the Muslim reaya were exempted from devshirme in the
classical period, Bosnian Muslim boys, called Poturnakoğulları,
Poturoğulları (sons of Poturnak and Potur) or sünnetlioğlan (circumcised
sons) in the Ottoman sources, were exceptionally recruited into the
Janissary Corps as acemioglan (candidate janissaries). Kavânin­i
Yeniçeriyân (Janissary Law or Janissary Codex), which is one of the
basic sources on the history of the Janissary Corps, has a unique
narrative about the reason for recruitment of Bosnian Muslim boys and
its starting time. In this paper, I will focus on the passage about Bosnia
in Kavânin­i Yeniçeriyân and examine whether the narrative of
recruitment of Bosnian Muslim boys into the Janissary Corps is
compatible with the historical facts or not. Besides, I am going to show
the differences among the copies of Kavânin­i Yeniçeriyân on this issue.
Finally, I will try to explain why the Ottomans collected Bosnian
Muslim boys as devshirme.
Before criticizing the passage about Bosnia, I have to pay attention
that despite its name, Kavânin­i Yeniçeriyân is not a kanunnâme (law
book), but a risale (pamphlet), written as a kind of nasihatnâme (advice
book), as Pál Fodor pointed out.1 The anonymous author, who was also

1
P. Fodor, Bir Nasihat­name Olarak Ḳavānīn­i Yeniçeriyan, Beşinci Milletlerarası
Türkoloji Kongresi, İstanbul, 23–28 Eylül 1985, Tebliğler, III. Türk Tarihi, Cilt 1,
İstanbul Üniversitesi Edebiyat Fakültesi Yayınları, İstanbul 1986, 217–224. See also
V. Kopčan, Mebde­i Kanun­ı Yeniçeri Ocağı Tarihi (Istoriya proiskhozhdeniya

284
Kavânin­i Yeniçeriyân and the Recruitment of Bosnian Muslim Boys as Devshirme Reconsidered

an old and experienced janissary, stated that he wrote this risale to

present it to the Sultan (Ahmed I). It was written in 1606, when Derviş
Mehmed Pasha was grand­vizier (21 June – 9 December 1606). It is a
well­known fact that the classical order of the Ottoman Empire had been
shaken as a result of administrative, military and financial crises in the
second half of the 16th century and the early 17th century. Long wars
with the Habsburg Empire and Safavids undermined the Ottoman
military and economic power. Besides, the innovations of the firearms
technology made infantry troops more important in battles and the sipahi
(cavalryman) forces lost in their importance. These developments gave
rise to an increase in the number of janissaries and ethnic Turks started
to be enrolled into the Janissary Corps under the names of ağaçırağı
(apprentice of aga) or kuloğlu (son of soldier, son of janissary). In other
words, the new circumstances forced Ottoman statesmen to change or
transform the classical institutions to the new order. It seems that the
corruption of the devshirme regime and the changes that occurred in the
order of the Janissary Corps irritated the anonymous author of Kavânin­
i Yeniçeriyân. Thus, he might have intended to show to the Sultan the
laws, old rules, customs and bidats (novelties) of the Janissary Corps in
detail. Therefore, the date of writing of Kavânin­i Yeniçeriyân was not
accidental. The text clearly shows that the author’s main concern was the
infiltration of ethnic Turks into the Janissary Army. For this reason, it is
not incidental that the first novelty which the author advised to be given
up is to stop the recruitment of Turks into the Janissary Army.2 Although
Kavânin­i Yeniçeriyân certainly contains very important information
about the history and organization of the Janissary Corps and of
acemioglans, it does not say more than what the anonymous author
actually knew and heard or supposed about our topic.
zakonov yanicharskogo korpusa), Izdanie teksta, perevod s turetskogo, vvedenie,
kommentarii i ukazateli I. Ye. Petrosyan. Pamyatniki pismennosti Vostoka, LXXIX,
Nauka, Moscow 1987, 283 + 315 pp, Asian and African Studies, Slovak Academy
of Sciences 1/1 (1992) 103–105; N. Moačanin, Mass Islamization of Peasants in
Bosnia: Demystifications, Mélanges Prof. Machiel Kiel, ed. A. Temimi, Fondation
Temimi pour la Recherche Scientifique et l’Information, Zaghouan 1999, 354.
2
P. Fodor, op.cit., 217–219; V. Kopčan, op.cit., 103, 104; N. Moačanin, Mass
Islamization of Peasants in Bosnia, 354. See also A. Handžić, O Janičarskom
zakonu, Prilozi za orijentalnu filologiju 46 (1996) 1997, 141–143.

285
 Aşkın Koyuncu

I Reason for the recruitment of Bosnian Muslim boys

as devshirme according to Kavânin­i Yeniçeriyân
and the critique of its narrative

The reason for the conscription of Bosnian Muslim boys as acemioglan

and its starting time is a very controversial issue among historians. In fact,
the information in literature on this question has been mostly based on
Kavânin­i Yeniçeriyân and Şemdanizâde Fındıklılı Süleyman Efendi’s (d.
1779) Müri’t­Tevârih, which apparently followed the former. The narrative
of Kavânin­i Yeniçeriyân is very important as it was used for a long time
to support the Bogomil theory claiming that as the Bosnian Church was
Bogomil and Bosnian people had a separate identity, they massively
converted to Islam after the conquest of Bosnia in 1463.
The original manuscript of Kavânin­i Yeniçeriyân has not survived.
However, there are several copies of it under different names. In this
study, I used seven copies of it preserved in the libraries in Istanbul,
Bratislava and Saint Petersburg:
1. Kavânin­i Zümre­i Bektaşiyân, Topkapı Palace Museum Library in
Istanbul, Revan Section (est. 1642–1643)3 (hereafter Revan 1320)
2. Mebde­i Kānûn­ı Yeniçerî Ocâğı Târihi, Russian Academy of
Sciences in Saint Petersburg (est. 1705).4 (hereafter St. Petersburg)

3
Kavânin­i Zümre­i Bektaşiyân, Topkapı Sarayı Müzesi Kütüphanesi, Revan
Kitaplığı, No. 1320. There is a list of janissary agas in this copy in which Bektaş
Ağa is the last recorded janissary aga (f. 105a). It is obvious that this copy was
reproduced during his serving time, i.e. between February 1642 and June 1643.
4
Mebde­i Kānûn­ı Yeniçerî Ocâğı Târihi, The Institute of Oriental Manuscripts, the
Russian Academy of Sciences, No. A 249. This copy was translated into Russian,
with an introduction, commentaries and indices by I. E. Petrosyan. See Мебде­и
канун­и йеничери оджагы тарихи (История происхождения законов
янычарского корпуса), Издание текста, перевод с турецкого, введение,
комментарии и указатели И. Е. Петросян, Ответственный редактор А. Н.
Кононов, Издательство “Наука”, Главная редакция восточной литературы,
Москва 1987. I used facsimiles in this book. Adem Handžić also used the St.
Petersburg copy. Op.cit., 141–150. The St. Petersburg copy was also translated into
modern Turkish by Orhan Sakin. See Yeniçeri Ocağı: Tarihi ve Yasaları, Doğu
Kütüphanesi, İstanbul 2011.

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Kavânin­i Yeniçeriyân and the Recruitment of Bosnian Muslim Boys as Devshirme Reconsidered

3. Kavânin­i Zümre­i Bektaşiyân, Topkapı Palace Museum Library in

Istanbul, Revan Section (est. 1713­1715).5 (hereafter Revan 1319)
4. Yeniçeri Kanunnamesi, University Library in Bratislava, Bašagić
Collection of Islamic Manuscripts (H. 1137/1724­1725).6 (hereafter BC)
5. Yeniçeri Ocağı Kanun ve Kaideleri, Atatürk Library in Istanbul,
Belediye Yazmaları Section (Municipality Manuscripts Section)
(H.1210/1795­1796).7 (hereafter BY)
6. Kavânin­i Yeniçeriyân, Süleymaniye Library in Istanbul, Esad
Efendi Collection.8 (hereafter EE)
7. Kavânin­i Yeniçeriyân, Beyazıt State Library in Istanbul,
Veliyüddin Efendi Library Section.9 (hereafter VEL)
All copies of Kavânin­i Yeniçeriyân are almost identical in the
passage about Bosnia and they repeat the same story about the reason
and the starting time for the collection of Bosnian Muslim boys as
devshirme. However, Revan 1320 and St. Petersburg copies say a
different thing about the legal status of their collection from the others
5
Kavânin­i Zümre­i Bektaşiyân, Topkapı Sarayı Müzesi Kütüphanesi, Revan Kitaplığı,
No. 1319. There is a list of janissary agas at the end of this copy, in which the last
janissary aga is Kürt Hasan Ağa (f. 173a). Thus, the reproducing date of this copy
must be during his serving time, i.e. between September 1713 and October 1715.
6
Yeniçeri Kanunnamesi, Univerzitná knižnica v Bratislave, Bašagićova zbierka
islamských rukopisov (University Library in Bratislava, Bašagić collection of
Islamic Manuscripts), No. TE 47, Poradové číslo: 439. This is the copy of Safvet Beg
Bašagić and was first used by him. Safvet Beg Bašagić­Redžepašić, Kratka uputa u
prošlost Bosne i Hercegovine: od 1463 do 1850 godine, Vlastita naklada, Sarajevo
1900. For Turkish translation of this book, see Safvet Beg Başagiç (Recepaşiç)
(Mirza Safvet), Bosna Hersek Tarihi: 1463–1850, Tr. by S. Atalay, Kastaş Yayınevi,
İstanbul [2015].
7
Yeniçeri Ocağı Kanun ve Kaideleri, İ.B.B. Atatürk Kitaplığı, Belediye Yazmaları,
Demirbaş No. BEL_Yz_O.97. This copy was published with the title of Kavânin­i
Yeniçeriyân­ı Dergâh­ı Âli, A. Akgündüz, Osmanlı Kanunnâmeleri ve Hukukî
Tahlilleri, 9/I. Kitap, I. Ahmed Devri Kanunnâmeleri, 9/II. Kitap, II. Osman Devri
Kanunnâmeleri, FEY Vakfı Yayınları, İstanbul 1996, 127–367.
8
Kavânin­i Yeniçeriyân, Süleymaniye Kütüphanesi, Esad Efendi Koleksiyonu, No.
2068.
9
Kavânin­i Yeniçeriyân, Beyazıt Devlet Kütüphanesi, Veliyüddin Efendi Kütüphanesi
Bölümü, No. 1973. This copy was published in modern Turkish by Tayfun Toroser.
Kavânin­i Yeniçeriyân: Yeniçeri Kanunları, Yay. Haz. T. Toroser, İş Bankası Kültür
Yayınları, İstanbul 2011.

287
 Aşkın Koyuncu

and this nuance is very important to evaluate the recruitment question.

The passage on Bosnia in Kavânin­i Yeniçeriyân is as follows:10
“While it was prohibited to collect the boys except the sons of
infidels in the aforementioned imperial orders, all of the boys
collected in the land of Bosnia are Muslims and sons of Muslims,
while collecting them was ordered by the law11 / while there is no
law not to collect them.12 Besides, the majority of them are sent to
the Imperial Palace and Imperial Gardens. The reason for so much
reputation given to these people is that when His Excellency,
Sultan Mehmed Khan, the Conqueror of Constantinople, may
God’s blessing and mercy be upon him, turned his victorious army
to the Bosnian land, having learned about the power and might of
the noble Padishah, the Protector of the world, the whole people of
that land massively came in front of him, touched with their faces
his imperial stirrups, and at once converted to Islam. When His
Excellency, the Padishah, the Protector of the world, saw that these
people at once converted to Islam, he realized that they were not
evil people. Having seen that they were honored with the glory of
Islam, His Majesty, the Padishah, the Protector of the world, told
them, ‘Ask from me whatever you wish.’ Thereupon, they wanted
the boys of their land to be collected. He accepted their wish and
made the collecting of their boys a law. So, their boys are recruited
regardless of whether they are circumcised or not. There is no law
which requires examining them. But, they should be examined as
a precaution to avoid the outsiders mixing among them. In fact,
when the flocks of these people come, they must be firmly
examined to prevent the Turks to infiltrate within them by means
10
Revan 1320, f. 8b, 9a; St. Petersburg (Petrosyan), facsimiles 12b–13b, original f.
11b–12b; BC, f. 8a, 8b (pp. 15, 16); Revan 1319, f. 12a, 12b; BY, f. 7b, 8a; EE, f. 8a,
8b; VEL, f. 10b, 11a; A. Akgündüz, Osmanlı Kanunnâmeleri ve Hukukî Tahlilleri,
141; T. Toroser, op.cit., 16, 17; D. Bašić, The Roots of the Religious, Ethnic, and
National Identity of the Bosnian­Herzegovinan [sic.] Muslims, Ph.D. Dissertation,
UMI Number: 3356598, University of Washington 2009, 269, 307.
11
cemʻ olunmak kanun olduğundan: Revan 1319, f. 12a; BC, f. 8a, 8b (pp. 15,16); BY,
f. 7b; EE, f. 8a; VEL, f. 10b.
12
cemʻ olunmamak kanun değil iken: Revan 1320, f. 8b; St. Petersburg (Petrosyan),
facsimiles 12b, 13a, original f. 11b, 12a.

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Kavânin­i Yeniçeriyân and the Recruitment of Bosnian Muslim Boys as Devshirme Reconsidered

of bribery. The çorbaci to be sent to the land of Bosnia must be more

honest from all devshirme officers. As these people are Muslim, it is
easier for outsiders to mix among them. Most of the collected boys
from that people up to now, whether they were sent to the Palace or
Garden or other places, were bright, so they acquired high positions
and became learned. Therefore, they are sent to the Imperial Palace
or the Garden and they are not given to the Turks.”

Şemdanizâde Fındıklılı Süleyman Efendi in his Müri’t­Tevârih

recounted a similar story of Kavânin­i Yeniçeriyân:
“When Bosnia was conquered, all of the people at once converted
to Islam, but requested from the Padishah that their boys be collected
as devshirme. Namely, one thousand boys among the sons of
dhimmi (zimmi) reayas were levied every year. After being
circumcised, they were trained as acemioglan. Afterwards, the more
handsome of them were sent to Enderun­u Hümayun (the Imperial
School) and more powerful ones were enrolled as Bostancı
(Gardener), while the others were written down as Janissary troops
and lived in the Janissary barracks. Muslim boys were not collected
(as devshirme). Even the sons of dhimmis born circumcised were
not levied as being suspicious. Muslim boys were not accepted due
to the fact that they knew gaining and profit, that they might escape
to their parents in the time of trouble and that they could not endure
hardships. But, the sons of reaya could not run away from the battle;
if they fled, they would be punished and they could not have escaped
from the punishment. So the law was made. After Bosnians become
Muslim, their boys could not have been collected (anymore).
Therefore, they requested their sons to be taken, and so the Padishah
permitted Bosnian Muslim boys to be collected as devshirme.” 13

According to these two sources, Bosnian people embraced Islam en

masse after the conquest in 1463. In addition, they voluntarily requested

13
Şemdanizâde Fındıklılı Süleyman Efendi, Müri’t­Tevârih, Vol. I, Maarif Nezareti,
İstanbul 1338, 454; A. Refik, Devşirme Usûlü, Acemi Oğlanlar, Dârülfünûn
Edebiyat Fakültesi Mecmuası 5/1–2 (1926) 1, 2.

289
 Aşkın Koyuncu

from the Padishah to have their children taken as devshirme and Sultan
Mehmed the Conqueror made it a law or permitted Bosnian Muslim
boys to be recruited as devshirme. Therefore, the collecting of Bosnian
Muslim boys or Poturoğulları as acemioglan started after the conquest.
In other words, Kavânin­i Yeniçeriyân and Müri’t­Tevârih claim that
the recruitment of Bosnian Muslim boys resulted at once and massively
from Islamization of the Bosnians and it was a reward or privilege given
by the Sultan himself. However, we should keep in mind that both of the
sources belong to quite later periods and their stories did not correspond
to the historical facts. First, I am going to evaluate who actually was
collected from Bosnia and then examine the reason for the so­called
privilege, i.e. Islamization question.
In the five copies of Kavânin­i Yeniçeriyân (Revan 1319, BC, BY,
EE and VEL), we read that “While it was prohibited to collect the boys
except the sons of infidels in the aforementioned imperial orders, all of
the boys collected in the land of Bosnia are Muslims and sons of
Muslims, while the collection of them was ordered by the law. Besides,
the majority of them are sent to the Imperial Palace and Imperial
Gardens...”14 On the other hand, Revan 1320 and St. Petersburg copies
say that “While it was prohibited to collect the boys except the sons of
infidels in the aforementioned imperial orders, all of the boys collected
in the land of Bosnia are Muslims and sons of Muslims, while there is no
law not to collect them. Besides, the majority of them are sent to the
Imperial Palace and Imperial Gardens...”15 So, all copies of Kavânin­i
14
“Yukarıda oğlan cemʻi içün virilen emr­i şerife evâmir­i şerif(e)de kâfir evlâdından
gayrisin cemʻ eylemeği nehy eylemişken Bosna diyarından cemʻ olunan oğlanların
cümlesi Müslüman oğlu Müslüman iken, cemʻ olunmak kanun olduğundan mâʻadâ
anların ekseri(ni)/ekserinden Saray­ı Âmire’ye ve Has Bağçe’ye virdiklerine…”
Revan 1319, f. 12a; BC, f. 8a, 8b; BY, f. 7b; VEL, f. 10b; EE, f. 8a.
15
“Yukarıda oğlan cemʻi içün virilan emr­i şerifde kâfir evlâdından gayrisin cemʻ
eylemeği nehy eylemişken Bosna diyarında cemʻ olunan oğlanların cümlesin
Müslüman oğlu Müslüman iken ve cemʻ olunmamak kanun değil iken andan mâʻadâ
anların ekserini Saray­ı Âmire’ye ve Has Bağçe’ye virdiklerine…” Revan 1320, f.
8b; St. Petersburg (Petrosyan), facsimiles 12b, 13a. Orhan Sakin, who could not grasp
the importance of the introduction sentence, completely omitted some statements:
“Devşirme için verilen emr­i şerifte kâfir oğlanlarından başkasını toplamak
yasaklanmışken, Bosna diyarından toplanan oğlanların tamamını müslüman çocukları

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Kavânin­i Yeniçeriyân and the Recruitment of Bosnian Muslim Boys as Devshirme Reconsidered

Yeniçeriyân claim that only Muslim boys were collected from Bosnia as
acemioglan. But, the legal status of their collection is not clear.
According to the five copies (Revan 1319, BC, BY, EE and VEL), it
was ordered literally by the law that sons of Muslims be collected,
whereas Revan 1320 and St. Petersburg copies state that “There is no
legal obstacle to collect them” or “The law does not prevent to collect
them.”16 On the other hand, the ambiguous legal status and differences
among the copies were detected by a meticulous reader of the Revan
1319 copy or more presumably by another müstensih (copyist) who was
obviously aware of the other copies of Kavânin­i Yeniçeriyân.17 Namely,

oluştururur.(13a) Bunların çoğunluğu da ya saraya, ya da Hasbahçe’ye verilir.” O.

Sakin, op.cit., 171.
16
Nenad Moačanin blames Bosnian historians Safvet Beg Bašagić and Adem Handžić to
have distorted or misinterpreted the text of Kavânin­i Yeniçeriyân with the intention to give
more historical support to their national goals. See N. Moačanin, Mass Islamization of
Peasants in Bosnia, 354; Idem, Osmanlı Bosnası, Tr. by. Osman Sinkaya, Türkler, Vol.
10, Yeni Türkiye Yayınları, Ankara 2002, 400; Idem, Defterology and Mythology:
Ottoman Bosnia up to the Tanzîmât, International Journal of Turkish Studies 10/1–2 (2004)
190. According to him, while the original text says only that there be no law which prevents
the practise of devshirme in Bosnia, both authors translated it as if it was saying that it was
ordered by the law that only sons of Muslims be taken. I have to remind that while Safvet
Beg Bašagić used his own copy (i.e. BC) dated H. 1137 (1724–1725), Adem Handžić
used the St. Petersburg copy (est. 1705). In my opinion, Safvet Beg Bašagić stated exactly
what his own copy says or means. Cf. Safvet Beg Bašagić­Redžepašić, Kratka uputa u
prošlost Bosne i Hercegovine: od 1463 do 1850 godine, 19; Safvet Beg Başagiç, Bosna
Hersek Tarihi, 47. But, it seems that Adem Handžić poorly translated or intentionally
misinterpreted the introduction of the passage. Here is Handžić’s translation: “U to
vrijeme, kako je sultanskim ukazom o kupljenju gore navedenih dječaka (oglan) bilo
zabranjeno uzimati kakve bilo dječake, (kao) dječake nevjernika, nego je naređeno da se
dječaci uzimaju iz Bosne od samih muslimanskih porodica. Nije samo naređeno da se
dječaci kupe nego je, štaviše, većina njih (iz Bosne) upućivana u sultanski dvor ili u
dvorske bašče.” (At that time, as the Sultan’s decree about collecting of the above
mentioned boys (oglan) prohibited the collection of any boys, (as) infidel boys, it was
rather ordered that the boys should be taken from Bosnia, only from Muslim families. It
was not only ordered for the boys to be collected, but, furthermore, the majority of them
(from Bosnia) were sent to the court of the Sultan or to the palace gardens.) A. Handžić,
op. cit., 148. I am grateful to Fahd Kasumović, Emir O. Filipović and Amir Duranović for
their precious contribution and translation of Handžić’s text into English.
17
Besides, there are numerous corrections and supplements as marginal notes in the
copy of Revan 1319.

291
 Aşkın Koyuncu

he marked the words “olunmak” and “olduğundan” in the statement,

i.e.“cemʻ olunmak kanun olduğundan (collection of them was ordered by
the law)”, and instead of them added “olunmamak” and “değil iken”
phrases into the text as derkenar (marginal note) and then he wrote
“sahh” (i.e. correct, true). So, he pointed out that the statement should
be read as “cemʻ olunmamak kanun değil iken (there is no law not to
collect them)”, just like in Revan 1320 and St. Petersburg copies (see
appendix 2). Indeed, whether the anonymous author knew the legal
status or not is uncertain. It is obvious that the assertion of Kavânin­i
Yeniçeriyân about those who were collected from Bosnia is not
compatible with the historical truths. The records in Mühimme Defters
and other examples definitely refute its claims. For instance, an Esame
Defteri (name book) (est. d. 1565) shows that 60 boys were levied from
Yenipazar (Novipazar) kaza and 45 of them were Muslim sons and the
others were Christian sons.18 In addition, it can be seen from another
Esame Defteri dated 5 Rebiülevvel 973 (30 September 1565) that out
of 12 boys collected as acemioglan from the Bosnian sandjak, ten boys
were sons of Muslims and two of them were sons of non­Muslims.19
Besides, according to an Eşkal Defteri (register of levied children) of
1603–4, of the groups sent from Bosnia, 410 boys were Muslims, and 82
of them were Christians.20 Furthermore, there are numerous examples in
Mühimme Defters about the recruitment of Bosnian Muslim boys as
well as kefere evladı (sons of infidels). For example, it was ordered to
the kadis in the sandjaks of Bosnia, Herzegovina and Klis in 1565,21
18
Başbakanlık Osmanlı Arşivi (Hereafter BOA), Topkapı Sarayı Müzesi Arşivi
Defterleri (Hereafter TSMA.d.), No. 9451, pp. 1–4. This defter was first used by
Rıfkı Melûl Meriç in his Birkaç Mühim Arşiv Vesikası, İstanbul Enstitüsü Dergisi,
No. III, 1957, 35–40. Although Meriç estimated that this defter was written before
H. 940 (1533), the defter was sealed by Müezzinzade (Miralem) Ali Ağa who served
as the Janissary Aga between H. 973–975 (1565–1567).
19
BOA, TSMA.d. No. 10177, pp. 1, 2.
20
G. Yılmaz, The Economic and Social Roles of Janissaries in a 17th Century
Ottoman City: The Case of Istanbul, McGill University, Institute of Islamic Studies,
Ph.D. Dissertation, Montreal 2011, 46; Eadem, Son Kalan Eşkal Defterlerine Göre
Devşirmeliğin Bilinmeyenleri, Atlas Tarih, Nisan 2014, 39.
21
BOA, Mühimme Defteri. (Hereafter A.DVNS.MHM.d.), No. 5, Order 220, p. 96,
13 Safer 973 (9 September 1565). This document was first used by Ahmed Refik in his

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Kavânin­i Yeniçeriyân and the Recruitment of Bosnian Muslim Boys as Devshirme Reconsidered

1573,22 157823 and 160924 and to the Beylerbey of Bosnia in 158925 and
159526 not to oppose the collection of the Muslim boys apart from kefere
oglans (sons of infidels). In these documents, Bosnian Muslim boys
were called Potur sons, circumcised sons (sünnetlioğlan) and boys of
the Muslim reaya. It can be seen from Mühimme Defters that the Sultans
warned the kadis in the sandjaks of Bosnia, Herzegovina and Klis to be
careful while collecting boys and to recruit only native Potur sons as
acemioglan, whether they were circumcised or not. Besides, Sultan
Murad III ordered to the Beylerbey of Bosnia to collect only those who
were circumcised but ignorant of Turkish as usual and warned him
against recruiting Türkleşmiş boys, i.e. Turkish­speaking ones in 1589.27
We should emphasize that none of these documents contains any
information about giving priority to volunteers or the willingness of
Bosnian people to give their children as acemioglan. On the contrary, the
warning of the kadis in the sandjaks of Bosnia, Herzegovina and Klis not
to hinder yayabaşı or Anadolu Ağası to recruit Potur sons and sons of
infidels given several times by the Sultans shows that there was no
privilege, law or regular application about the collection of Bosnian
Muslim boys.28 Finally, the fact that Sultan Ahmed I ordered again the

Devşirme Usûlü, Acemi Oğlanlar, Dârülfünûn Edebiyat Fakültesi Mecmuası 5/1–2

(1926) 2. See also İ. H. Uzunçarşılı, Osmanlı Devleti Teşkilâtından Kapıkulu
Ocakları, I, Acemi Ocağı ve Yeniçeri Ocağı, Türk Tarih Kurumu Basımevi, 2nd ed.,
Ankara 1984, 108 (first published in 1943) and E. Kovačević, Jedan dokumenat o
devširmi, Prilozi za orijentalnu filologiju 22–23 (1972–73) 1976, 203–209.
22
BOA, A.DVNSMHM.d. No.22, Order 590, p. 299, 26 Rebiülahir 981 (25 August
1573). This document was first used by İ. H. Uzunçarşılı in his Kapıkulu Ocakları,
103; See also A. Özcan, Devşirme, DİA, Vol. 9, İstanbul 1994, 255.
23
BOA, A.DVNSMHM.d. No. 35, Order 49, p. 24, 19 Rebiülahir 986 (25 June 1578).
This document was first used by İ. H. Uzunçarşılı in his Kapıkulu Ocakları, 106.
24
BOA, A.DVNS.MHM.d, No. 78, Order 1470, p. 572, 17 Ramazan 1018 (14
December 1609).
25
İ. H. Uzunçarşılı, Kapıkulu Ocakları, 108, 109.
26
BOA, A.DVNSMHM.d. No. 73, Order 815, p. 371, 20 Zilhicce 1003 (26 August
1595). This document was first used by Murat Yıldız in his Osmanlı Devlet
Teşkilâtında Bostancı Ocağı, Marmara Üniversitesi, Türkiyat Araştırmaları
Enstitüsü, (Unpublished PhD. Dissertation), İstanbul 2008, 15 note 87.
27
İ. H. Uzunçarşılı, Kapıkulu Ocakları, 108, 109; V. L. Ménage, Devshirme, EI2,
Vol. II, E. J. Brill, Leiden 1991, 211.
28
A. Koyuncu, op.cit., 217.
293
 Aşkın Koyuncu

kadis in the sandjaks of Bosnia, Herzegovina and Klis in 1609, i.e. three
years after the original text of Kavânin­i Yeniçeriyân was written, not to
impede the recruitment of circumcised Potur sons and the collection of kefere
evladı (sons of infidels), denies the narrative of Kavânin­i Yeniçeriyân.29
The more contested issue in Kavânin­i Yeniçeriyân (and of course in
the Müri’t­ Tevârih) is the assertion that the Bosnians at once embraced
Islam voluntarily, but requested from Sultan Mehmed the Conqueror
that their children may still be eligible for devshirme and thereupon the
Sultan ordered or permitted the recruitment of Muslim boys. This claim
created the myth of a special privilege bestowed by the Sultan on
Bosnian Muslims in modern times, combined with the Bogomil theory.
After Croatian historian Franjo Rački suggested in 1869–1870 that the
Bosnian Church may have incorporated elements of Bogomilism, his
theory enjoyed wide acclaim to explain how enthusiastically and swiftly
many Bosnians converted to Islam following the Ottoman conquest.30
Therefore, the narrative of Kavânin­i Yeniçeriyân was used in the
international literature for a long time to back up the thesis asserting that
because the Bosnians were Bogomils, they converted to Islam en masse.
Starting from Safvet Beg Bašagić, numerous Bosnian historians
zealously championed the Bogomil theory as a basis for their arguments
to prove that Bosnians had a separate entity and differed from the local
Catholic and Orthodox people, i.e. Croats and Serbs, before the Ottoman
conquest and they used the narrative of Kavânin­i Yeniçeriyân as a
powerful proof for their claims.31 This theory was commonly accepted
by Turkish historiography too. At first, İsmail Hakkı Uzunçarşılı uncritically
accepted and repeated the narrative of Kavânin­i Yeniçeriyân and of
Müri’t­Tevârih in his famous work Kapıkulu Ocakları in 1943.32

29
BOA, A.DVNS.MHM.d, No. 78, Order 1470, p. 572, 17 Ramazan 1018 (14
December 1609).
30
N. Malcolm, Bosna’nın Kısa Tarihi, Tr. by Aşkım Karadağlı, Om Yayınevi,
İstanbul 1999, 65–68.
31
S. Başagiç, Bosna Hersek Tarihi, 46, 47; N. Malcolm, op.cit., 66–68. See also A.
Koyuncu, op.cit., 227–229.
32
İ. H. Uzunçarşılı, Kapıkulu Ocakları, 18, 19; Idem, Devşirme , İslam Ansiklopedisi,
Vol. 3, Milli Eğitim Basımevi, İstanbul 1963, 564; G.Yılmaz, The Economic and
Social Roles of Janissaries, 35.

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Kavânin­i Yeniçeriyân and the Recruitment of Bosnian Muslim Boys as Devshirme Reconsidered

Besides, he asserted that Bosnians accepted Islam en masse, because

they were Bogomils and literally put forward the idea that the Potur term
was a distorted form of Pataren which was the other name of
Bogomils.33 Afterwards, the Islamization theory spread extensively
among Turkish historians.34 Moreover, the exceptional recruitment of
Muslim boys as acemioglan from Bosnia has been interpreted as their
willingness and a special reward or privilege given only to the Bosnians
for embracing Islam en masse.35 Most Turkish historians still believe
33
İ. H. Uzunçarşılı, Osmanlı Tarihi, Vol. II, Türk Tarih Kurumu Basımevi, 5th ed.,
Ankara 1988, 84, 85, 551, 554 (First published in 1943).
34
K. Kepeci, Tarih Lûgati, Tan Matbaası, İstanbul 1952, 104; M. Cezar, Mufassal
Osmanlı Tarihi: Resimli­Haritalı, Vol. I, İskit Yayınevi, İstanbul 1957, 365, 499; M.
İlgürel, Acemi Oğlanı, Türkiye Diyanet Vakfı İslam Ansiklopedisi (Hereafter DİA),
Vol. 1, İstanbul 1988, 324; Y. Halaçoğlu, XIV–XVII. Yüzyıllarda Osmanlılarda Devlet
Teşkilatı ve Sosyal Yapı, Türk Tarih Kurumu Basımevi, Ankara 1991, 39; Idem,
Klâsik Dönemde Osmanlı Devlet Teşkilâtı, Genel Türk Tarihi, Vol. 6, Yeni Türkiye
Yayınları, Ankara 2002, 184; A. Özcan, Bostancı, DİA, Vol. 6, İstanbul 1992, 308,
309; Idem, Devşirme, DİA, Vol. 9, İstanbul 1994, 255; M. Z. Pakalın, Osmanlı Tarih
Deyimleri ve Terimleri Sözlüğü, Vol. II, Milli Eğitim Bakanlığı Yayınları, İstanbul
1993, 780; A. Akgündüz, Osmanlı Kanunnâmeleri ve Hukukî Tahlilleri, 141; A.
Akgündüz, İslam Hukukunda Kölelik­Câriyelik Müessesesi ve Osmanlı’da Harem,
Osmanlı Araştırmaları Vakfı, İstanbul 1995, 187, 189; A. Akgündüz – S. Öztürk,
700. Yılında Bilinmeyen Osmanlı, Osmanlı Araştırmaları Vakfı, İstanbul 1999, 46,
47; M. Akgündüz, Osmanlı İdaresi Döneminde Bosna Hersek, Dokuz Eylül
Üniversitesi İlahiyat Fakültesi Dergisi, No. 18, 2003, 125; K. Albayrak, Bogomilizm
ve Bosna Kilisesi, Emre Yayınları, İstanbul 2005, 273; S. Özdemir, Osmanlı
Devleti’nde Devşirme Sistemi, Rağbet Yayınları, İstanbul 2008, 110, 122, 213; M.
Yıldız, Osmanlı Devlet Teşkilâtında Bostancı Ocağı, 7, 15; Idem, Bahçıvanlıktan
Saray Muhafızlığına: Bostancı Ocağı, Yitik Hazine Yayınları, İstanbul 2011, 22,
28; Idem, 15.–19. Yüzyıllarda Edirne’de Asayişi Sağlayan Bir Kurum: Edirne
Bostancı Ocağı, History Studies 3/3 (2011) 386; M. A. Ünal, Osmanlı Tarih Sözlüğü,
Paradigma Yayıncılık, İstanbul 2011, 195, 196, 550; G. Çağ, Osmanlıların
Balkanları Fethinde İslam Kimliğinin Etkisi/Katkısı, Çankırı Karatekin Üniversitesi
Sosyal Bilimler Enstitüsü Dergisi 3/2 (2012) 135–137.
35
A. Refik, op.cit., 1, 2; İ. H. Uzunçarşılı, Kapıkulu Ocakları, 18, 19; Idem, Osmanlı
Tarihi, 84, 85; M Cezar, op.cit., 365, 499; Y. Ercan, Devşirme Sorunu, Devşirmenin
Anadolu ve Balkanlardaki Türkleşme ve İslâmlaşmaya Etkisi, Belleten 50/198 (1986)
700–703, 715; Bosna­Hersek ile İlgili Arşiv Belgeleri (1516–1919), T. C. Başbakanlık
Devlet Arşivleri Genel Müdürlügü, Osmanlı Arşivi Daire Başkanlığı, Yayın Nu: 7,
Ankara 1992, XI, 9, 10, 37, 38; Y. Halaçoğlu, op.cit., 39; M. İlgürel, Acemi Oğlanı, 324;

295
 Aşkın Koyuncu

and repeat this tale. However, all of these claims are invalid and it is
about high time to reconsider the story.
Contrary to Kavânin­i Yeniçeriyân (and of course to the Müri’t­
Tevârih), the Ottoman sources of that period are absolutely silent about
the so­called massive Islamization. Even Tursun Bey, who took part in
the Bosnian expedition and was an eyewitness of the surrender of Jajce,
does not mention any single conversion event of either nobles or the
common people.36 Moreover, the tahrir defters (cadastral surveys) prove
that the spreading of Islam in Bosnia was not in fact an instantaneous,
but a gradual process, as numerous historians starting from Nedim
Filipović revealed. According to the 1469 İcmal Tahrir Defteri (Synoptic
Cadastral Survey), in the sandjak of Bosnia (including the Herzegovina
region), there were literally 332 Islamized households (264 in the
villages and 68 in the towns) and 37,125 Christian households, 8,770

A. Özcan, Devşirme, 255; M. A. Ünal, op.cit., 195, 196; M. Yıldız, Osmanlı Devlet
Teşkilâtında Bostancı Ocağı, 15; Idem, Bahçıvanlıktan Saray Muhafızlığına, 28;
Idem, Edirne Bostancı Ocağı, 386; H. Selçuk, Tapu Tahrir ve Maliyeden Müdevver
Defterlere Göre Rumeli’de İhtida Hareketleri (1432–1482), Erciyes Üniversitesi Sosyal
Bilimler Enstitüsü Dergisi 12 (2002) 93, 94; M. Akgündüz, op.cit., 124, 125; G. Yılmaz,
Becoming a Devshirme: The Training of Conscripted Children in the Ottoman Empire,
Children in Slavery Through the Ages, eds. G. Campbell, S. Miers, and J. C. Miller,
Ohio University Press, Ohio 2009, 122; Eadem, The Economic and Social Roles of
Janissaries, 32, 35, 46; M. E. Yardımcı, 15. ve 16. Yüzyılda Bir Osmanlı Livası: Bosna,
Kitapyayınevi, İstanbul 2006, op.cit., 13; Z. Gölen, Tanzîmât Döneminde Bosna Hersek,
Türk Tarih Kurumu Basımevi, Ankara 2010, 46; M. G. Akmaz, Evliya Çelebi in Bosnia,
2nd International Symposium on Sustainable Development, June 8–9 2010, Sarajevo
2010, 386; A. Çetin – G. Çağ, Bosna’nın Osmanlı İdaresine Geçişinde Bogomilliğin
Etkisi, Tarih Okulu, No. IX, Ocak–Nisan 2011, 30–32; A. Akgündüz, İslam Hukukunda
Kölelik­Câriyelik Müessesesi, 187; A. Akgündüz – S. Öztürk, op.cit., 46, 47. Akgündüz
and Öztürk persistently claim that Bosnian Muslim boys were willingly recruited by the
Ottomans on the request of Bosnian people themselves: “Even relying on this law (i.e.
Kavânin­i Yeniçeriyân, AK), Muslim Bosniaks insistently demanded that their children
should be collected as acemioglan, because their boys would not have been recruited
for being Muslim. Upon their persistent desire, only Bosniaks were subjected to the
devshirme law among Muslims. They were called Poturoğulları (sons of Potur).” See
A. Akgündüz, İslam Hukukunda Kölelik­Câriyelik Müessesesi, 187; A. Akgündüz – S.
Öztürk, op.cit., 46.
36
Tursun Bey, Târîh­i Ebü’l­Feth, ed. M. Tulum, Baha Matbaası, İstanbul 1977,128;
H. Oruç, 15. Yüzyılda Bosna Sancağı ve İdari Dağılımı, OTAM 18 (2005) 251.

296
Kavânin­i Yeniçeriyân and the Recruitment of Bosnian Muslim Boys as Devshirme Reconsidered

single men and 147 widows. These figures prove that six years after the
conquest, there was literally less than 1% of Islamized households in
the sandjak of Bosnia and Herzegovina and that mass conversion to
Islam was only a myth.37 We can suppose that if Bosnian people did not
massively convert to Islam immediately after the conquest, there would
not have been such an agreement between Sultan Mehmed the
Conqueror and the Bosnians or any permission or privilege given to
them as Kavânin­i Yeniçeriyân and Müri’t­Tevârih alleged. However,
the Islamization process stepped up rather considerably in the following
years.38 For example, there were 12.3% Muslims in the Bosnian sandjak
in 148539 and in 1489 the Muslim ratio reached 16%.40 According to
figures published by Ömer Lûtfi Barkan, the ratio of the Muslim
population reached 46.3% in the sandjak of Bosnia, 42.5% in the sandjak
of Herzegovina and 16.5% in the sandjak of Zvornik in the years 1520–
1535.41 These figures show that the Islamization process accelerated
after 1490 in the Bosnia and Herzegovina region. The low Islamization
ratio in the Zvornik sandjak resulted from the fact that Srebrenica and
Jajce were in the hands of Hungary until 1512 and 1527 respectively.
The Islamization process steadily increased in Bosnia and 71% of the
whole population of the Bosnian sandjak was Muslim in 1604.42 These
examples clearly show that the Islamization of the Bosnia and
Herzegovina region was a gradual and even slow process and that the
Bogomil theory itself is not sufficient to explain this process. In addition,
modern scholars demonstrated the weakness of the Bogomil theory and
revealed that Islamization was a common phenomenon among the local
37
D. Bašić, op.cit., 269, 271, 289; N. Malcolm, op.cit., 102, 103; A. Lopasic, Islamization
of the Balkans with Special Reference to Bosnia, Journal of Islamic Studies 5/2
(1994) 165.
38
D. Bašić, op.cit., 289.
39
N. Malcolm, op.cit., 103; D. Bašić, op.cit., 271.
40
D. Bašić, op.cit., 269, 271; A. Lopasic, op.cit., 166; B. Đurđev, Bosna­Hersek,
DİA, Vol. 6, İstanbul 1992, 300. See also. H. İnalcık, L’Empire Ottoman, Actes du
Premier Congrès International des Études Balcaniques, III, Sofia 1969, 75–103.
41
Ö. L. Barkan, Osmanlı İmparatorluğu’nda Bir İskân ve Kolonizasyon Metodu
Olarak Sürgünler”, İ. Ü. İktisat Fakültesi Mecmuası 15/1–4 (1953–1954) 235, 237.
42
A. Handzic, Population of Bosnia in the Ottoman Period: A Historical Overview,
IRCICA, İstanbul 1994, 31, 32.

297
 Aşkın Koyuncu

Catholic and Orthodox people and even among the Vlachs settled by the
Ottomans after the conquest.43 In conclusion, the mass conversion claim
of Kavânin­i Yeniçeriyân was nothing else but a romantic myth and
retrospective imagination, and of course the reason for the recruitment
of Bosnian Muslim boys is definitely fictitious. Probably, the
anonymous author was of Bosnian origin and he might have exaggerated
the effect of the glorious victory of Sultan Mehmed the Conqueror over
Bosnia with a religious zeal.

II Some considerations about the reason and starting time

of the recruitment of Bosnian Muslim boys

As already shown, neither the reason for the recruitment of Bosnian

Muslim boys nor the starting time narrated in Kavânin­i Yeniçeriyân and in
the Müri’t­Tevârih are acceptable. Their claims are completely invalid and
anachronistic. To be frank, we do not know exactly why the Ottomans
recruited only Bosnian Muslim boys as acemioglan in the classical period
and when this practice started. According to the available sources, the first
record about the collection of Bosnian Muslim boys as acemioglan goes
back as early as 1515. Nişancı Feridun Ahmet Bey (d. 1583) stated in his
Münşeâtü’s­Selâtîn that in 1515 “It was ordered to Bosnian Bey Mustafa
Paşa and to Herzegovina Bey İskender Bey son of Evrenos to collect one
thousand lads for Janissaries from the converted Poturnak sons.”44 Here we
43
J. V. A. Fine, The Medieval and Ottoman Roots of Modern Bosnian Society, The
Muslims of Bosnia­Herzegovina: Their Historic Development from the Middle Ages
to the Dissolution of Yugoslavia, ed. M. Pinson, Harvard University Press,
Cambridge, Massachusetts 1993, 12–19; N. Malcolm, op.cit., 104, 110; A. Lopasic,
op.cit., 164–168; A. Handzic, Population of Bosnia, 21–25; F. Bieber, Muslim
Identity in the Balkan States before the Establishment of Nation States, Nationalities
Papers 28/1 (2000) 19, 20; A. Aliçiç, Hersek’te İslâm’ın Yayılması, Tr. by H. Oruç,
Ankara Üniversitesi, Dil ve Tarih­Coğrafya Fakültesi Dergisi 46/2 (2006) 249–251;
D. Bašić, op.cit., 273, 285, 286; I. Aščerić­Todd, Dervishes and Islam in Bosnia:
Sufi Dimensions to the Formation of Bosnian Muslim Society, Brill, Leiden–Boston
2015, 11–21. For details, see A. Koyuncu, op.cit., 225–233.
44
“…Bosna Beği Mustafa Paşa’ya ve Hersek Beği Evrenos oğlu İskender Beğe bin yeniçeri
oğlanı cemʻ itmek emr olundu, Müslüman olan Poturnakoğullarından.” Feridun Bey,

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Kavânin­i Yeniçeriyân and the Recruitment of Bosnian Muslim Boys as Devshirme Reconsidered

have to pay attention that the converted Bosnians are called Poturnak.
This term was later replaced with Potur sons, Potur people and
circumcised sons (sünnetlioğlan) in the orders about the collection of
devshirme from Bosnia in Mühimme Defters in the second half of the
16th century. In fact, the meaning of these terms shows the weakness of
Bogomil theory and refutes the presence of a separate ethnic or heretic
religious entity and the so­called privilege given to them after their mass
conversion. There are different views about the origin and meaning of
the Potur term. Some scholars supporting the Bogomil thesis asserted
that it stemmed from the Patarin or Pataren term used by the Roman
Catholic Church and in the Latin sources to describe dualist, neo­
manichaeist heretics. As already mentioned, İsmail Hakkı Uzunçarşılı
asserted that the word Potur was a distorted form of the Pataren term and
after him this view was accepted by Turkish historiography. Some
scholars claimed that this word was derived from po­turçin or polu­
turçin which means half­Muslim (half Turk). Some others supposed that
the Potur term means peasant and rude people. Even some scholars tried
to make us believe that this word stemmed from the Turkish Potur word
(baggy pants). Finally, some scholars stated that Potur was a Slavic term
describing converts or those who accepted Islam or were Turkicized. I
agree with the last group of scholars. The Potur and Poturnak terms in
Ottoman documents are similar words, both of them of Slavic origin.
The Poturnak was a loan word from Bulgarian (i.e. poturnak/poturnyak),
meaning “Turkified oneself, turned Turk, a Christian who accepted
becoming a Turk” and was equivalent to the word Poturčenjak in the
Serbo­Croatian (or Bosnian) language. The term Potur is an abbreviation
of them. Besides, Potur, Poturci, Poturçin, Poturçen, Poturnak, Poturica
or Poturčenjak terms in the Slavic languages were all similar words
pejoratively used by Christian Slavs for the new converts. For example,
Pomaks and Torbeshes were also called Potur by their Christian
neighbors in later times. It is certain that the Ottomans adopted into
official usage these Slavic terms as early as the 16th century. After the

Mecmua­i Münşeât­ı Feridun Bey [Münşeâtü’s­Selâtin], Vol. I, Darüttıbati’l­Âmire,

[İstanbul] 1274, 472; İ. H. Uzunçarşılı, Kapıkulu Ocakları, 109; V. L. Ménage,
op.cit., 211.

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 Aşkın Koyuncu

first appearance in 1515, the term poturnak disappeared from the

documents. According to available sources, the term Potur was literally
used for the first time in 1539 in the Kanunnâme of Bosnia, Herzegovina
and Zvornik sandjaks. Here the term Potur is a synonym of a Muslim and
was used to denote all Bosnian Muslims.45 Mustafa Ali of Gallipoli (d.
1600), who lived approximately eight years in Bosnia (1570–1577),
explained this term literally as follows: “The term Potur is used in
Bosnian terminology to describe the infidels who accept Islam.”46
Keeping in mind that among Bosnian Muslims there were numerous
people of Catholic and Orthodox origin, we can absolutely claim that
Poturnak, Poturs, Potur sons or Potur people found in the Ottoman
records related to devshirme define all Islamized people of Bosnia
regardless of their origin, i.e. Bogomil, Catholic or Orthodox.47
There is no consensus among scholars about the reason and starting
time of the recruitment of Bosnian Muslim boys. As already mentioned,
İsmail Hakkı Uzunçarşılı, relying on Kavânin­i Yeniçeriyân, claimed
that it began after the conquest on the request of Bosnians. Following
him, this view was widely accepted in Turkish historiography.48 Some
scholars supporting the Bogomil thesis asserted that it started
immediately after the conquest after mass conversion to Islam and that
Bosnian Muslims gave their children voluntarily as devshirme. Noel
Malcolm accepts that the Bosnian people were particularly prized: “One
Austrian­Slovenian writer Benedikt Kuripešić observed in 1530 that the
Sultan preferred to recruit Bosnians because he believed them to be ‘the best,
most pious and most loyal people’, differing from other ‘Turks’, because they
were much bigger, more handsome and more able.”49 Alexander Lopasic
45
“Ve ispençe dahi kâfirden yirmi beşer akçe alına. Ve Potur’dan ki evlidir, yirmi
ikişer akçe alına. Ve ergen Poturdan ki, baliğ ola, on ikişer akçe alına. Ve Müslüman
ve kâfir fevt olmış ola, ol kimesne geçen senenin mahsûlünden ahz eylediyse tamâm
ispençesin verür. Zira tedâhüldür; cizyeden ifrâzdır; anun ile amel oluna. Ve ispençe
vakti Martdır…” A. Akgündüz, Osmanlı Kanunnâmeleri ve Hukukî Tahlilleri, 6.
Kitap, Kanunî Devri Kanunnâmeleri, II. Kısım, Eyâlet Kanunnâmeleri (II), FEY
Vakfı Yayınları, İstanbul 1993, 437.
46
İ. H. Uzunçarşılı, Kapıkulu Ocakları, 18 not 3.
47
For detailed information and about literature, see A. Koyuncu, op.cit., 225–250.
48
İ. H. Uzunçarşılı, Kapıkulu Ocakları, 18, 19. See above notes 34 and 35.
49
N. Malcolm, op.cit.,122.

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Kavânin­i Yeniçeriyân and the Recruitment of Bosnian Muslim Boys as Devshirme Reconsidered

states that the role of Bosnia in the devshirme system seemed to have
been different and Bosnian Muslims enjoyed a special status. He states
that at an early stage, they were allowed to send their children into the
ranks of janissaries. He also says that the reason was not clear, but
according to him, Bosnia’s position as a frontier province must have
played a part.50 Antonina Zheliazkova is of the opinion that “the peasant
raya in Bosnia saw service in the janissary odjaks and the palace as the
only way to bring about some social change and prosperity for their
offspring, which is why they offered no resistance to devshirme, as did
the population in other Balkan provinces.”51 Relying on Jaroslav Sidak,
Slobodan Ilić asserts that the reason for the recruitment of Potur sons
into the Janissary Corps resulted from their superficial Islamization and
the statesmen were not convinced that they were true believers.52 Nenad
Moačanin denies that Bosnian Muslims had special prerogatives in the
case of devshirme and claims that the Ottoman statesmen mistrusted the
Turks or Turkmens and saw the Bosnians as reliable. He asserts that
when a strong movement of Islamization made rapid progress in Bosnia
after ca. 1500, the state might have easily started to worry how to
compensate for the loss of possible good soldiers and palace servants.53
Moačanin is also of the opinion that after the rapid Islamization in rural
areas, their recruitment was a good way of compensating for the losses
of poll­tax.54 According to Mustafa Imamović, Bosnians gave their
children voluntarily into the Janissary Corps as devshirme with the hope
of social and economic earnings, but it was not before the beginning of
the 16th century as the first example was seen in 1515. He also claims
that Bosnian Muslim boys were collected on condition that their parents

50
A. Lopasic, op.cit., 172.
51
A. Zheliazkova, The Penetration and Adaptation of Islam in Bosnia from the
Fifteenth to the Nineteenth Century, Journal of Islamic Studies 5/2 (1994) 197.
52
S. İlic, ‘Bosna Bogomilleri’ ve İslamlaşma: Bilimsel Bir Yanılgıdan Ulusal Bir
Mitos’a, I. Ulusal Tarih Kongresi: Tarih ve Milliyetçilik, 30 Nisan–2 Mayıs 1997,
Mersin Üniversitesi, Fen­Edebiyat Fakültesi, Mersin, Bildiriler, Mersin Üniversitesi,
[Mersin] 1997, 324.
53
N. Moačanin, Mass Islamization of Peasants in Bosnia, 354; Idem, Osmanlı
Bosnası, 400, 401. See also. N. Moačanin, Defterology and Mythology, 190.
54
N. Moačanin, Defterology and Mythology, 190.

301
 Aşkın Koyuncu

gave permission or they wanted to enrol as acemioglan.55 Denis Bašić

champions that Muslim boys of Bosnia­Herzegovina were collected
through devshirme on a voluntary basis. He tends to explain this
situation in two ways. The first one was the contract made between the
Sultan and the Bosnians. He apparently relies on the narrative of
Kavânin­i Yeniçeriyân. The second possible explanation, according to
him, was that the Bosnian Potur boys could have been levied because the
Bosnian Poturs were not at first considered to be true Muslims.56 Kemal
Beydilli is of the opinion that the levying of Christian boys was even an
infringement of sharia and also asserts that it was not acceptable to
consider Bosnian Muslims’ conversion the reason for their recruitment.57
Y. Hakan Erdem refutes the traditional explanation in the Ottoman
sources claiming that after accepting Islam, Bosnians wanted to have
their boys collected as devshirme. He tends to explain this phenomenon
by means of slavery institution in the Islamic law and implies that
Bosnian boys were forcefully levied.58 In my opinion, all of the
assertions based on Kavânin­i Yeniçeriyân and the Müri’t­Tevârih are
invalid. Besides, it is not reasonable that the recruitment of Potur sons
resulted from their superficial Islamization. In addition, it is more
appropriate to evaluate this question in view of political and military
needs instead of trying to explain it by means of the sharia law.
We do not know whether there was a previous case before 1515 or
not. Although there are numerous examples in the Mühimme Defters
about the collection of Muslim boys from 1565 to 1609 in the sandjaks
of Bosnia, Herzegovina and Klis, unfortunately there is no indication
about the time this practice started, except for the statements such as: as
usual, as before, as in the past, as customary etc. In addition, these
documents are silent about the reason for collecting them.59 I think that
after the conquest, devshirme agents started to collect Christian Slav
55
M. Imamović, Historija Bošnjaka, Bošnjačka zajednica kulture, Sarajevo 1997,
142, 143.
56
D. Bašić, op.cit., 306, 308.
57
K. Beydilli, Yeniçeri, DİA, Vol. 43, İstanbul 2013, 451.
58
Y. H. Erdem, Osmanlıda Köleliğin Sonu, 1800–1909, Tr. by B. Tırnakçı, Kitapyayınevi,
İstanbul 2004, 17, 18.
59
See above notes 21 to 29.

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Kavânin­i Yeniçeriyân and the Recruitment of Bosnian Muslim Boys as Devshirme Reconsidered

boys as acemioglan in Bosnia and Herzegovina as in the other places of

the Balkans and, as claimed by Nenad Moačanin, after the acceleration
of the Islamization process at the end of the 15th century and at the
beginning of the 16th century, the authorities did not give up recruiting
them, probably due to their ability and successful performance until that
time.60 The observations of Benedikt Kuripešić cannot be ignored either.
As far as the origin of acemioglans is concerned, I believe the Ottomans
made no difference in terms of whether they were sons of infidels or
Potur sons in Bosnia. It seems that the main criterion was their being
convenient for becoming janissary (yeniçeriliğe yarar) or not, as stated
in the orders given to the kadis in the sandjaks of Bosnia, Herzegovina
and Klis and to the Beylerbey of Bosnia from 1565 to 1609.61 On the
other hand, we have to remind that there is no record about giving
priority to the volunteers for recruitment or Bosnian Muslim families
gave willingly their children to the yayabaşı. Last but not least, as most
devshirme boys were of Slavic origin, the Ottoman statesmen might
have thought that the sons of already converted Slavs would be more
loyal to the state. Therefore, the sons of Bosnian Poturs (Muslim Slavs)

60
N. Moačanin, Mass Islamization of Peasants in Bosnia, 354; Idem, Osmanlı
Bosnası, 401.
61
In the orders we read: “…şimdiye değin alınu geldüği üzre kadimi yerlü olan
sünnetlü oğlanlardan yararların cemʻ itdiresin” (1565) BOA, A.DVNS.MHM.d.
No. 5, Order 220, p. 96, 13 Safer 973 (9 September 1565); A. Refik, op.cit., 2; İ. H.
Uzunçarşılı, Kapıkulu Ocakları, 108. “…Acemi oğlanı eğer kefereden ve eğer Potur
taifesindendir, cemʻ itdirüb kefere oğullarından değildür deyu müşarünileyhe taaruz
olmayasın ve sünnet olmuştur deyu yarar oğlanları vermekte inat ittirmeyesin.”
BOA, A.DVNSMHM.d. No. 22, Order 590, p. 299, 26 Rebiülahir 981 (25 August
1573); İ. H. Uzunçarşılı, Kapıkulu Ocakları, 103. “…Bosna vilâyetinden dahi üslûb­
u kadim üzre alınan Poturoğulları sünnetlü olanın amma Türkçe bilmeyüp acemi
oğlan gibileri alup Poturoğludur deyu emrime muhalif ahardan oğlan karışmadan
begayet içtinap eyleyesin, bu bapta ihtimam idüp himayet ile acemi oğlanlığa yararın
alıkoyup yaramazın cemʻ itmeden ve hilâfı emir Türkleşmiş oğlan alınmaktan ihtiyat
eyleyesin, amma bu bahane ile bir ferdten celp ve ahz olunmaktan dahi sakınasın.
(1589)” İ. H. Uzunçarşılı, Kapıkulu Ocakları, 108, 109. “hükm­ü hümayunum
mucibince acemi oğlanı cemʻ itdirüb ve Poturoğludur ve sünnetlüdür deyu mütearrız
olmayasın yeniçeriliğe yarar eğer kefere evladıdır ve eğer Poturoğullarındandır
müşarünileyhe cemʻ itdirüb kimesne mani olmasın…” BOA, A.DVNS.MHM.d, No.
78, Order 1470, p. 572, 17 Ramazan 1018 (14 December 1609).

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were collected as devshirme, whether they were circumcised or not, but

ignorant of Turkish. Besides, as stated in Revan 1320 and St. Petersburg
copies of Kavânin­i Yeniçeriyân, there was no law not to collect them
or, in other words, law did not prevent their collection in principle.62 So
they were collected from time to time, whenever necessary.
By the beginning of the 17th century, the ranks of the Janissaries had
become so swollen with Muslim­born “intruders” that frequent
recruitments by devshirme were no longer necessary and during the 17th
century, devshirme was carried out more sporadically.63 In my opinion,
it was not until the 17th century that the Ottomans gave priority to the
volunteers, while collecting devshirme. However, at that time, they gave
opportunity not only to the boys of Muslims, but also to non­Muslim lads
who were willing to become janissaries. For example, in a document from
1666, it was ordered that the children of Bosniak (sic.) and Albanian
Muslims should be taken as devshirme if they wanted to do so voluntarily
and on condition that they were 16–20 years of age. In the same document
it was also ordered to collect non­Muslim boys aged 16–25 and
volunteers first, if there were any.64 From the middle of the century, in the
land of Bulgaria, newly converted peasants in the intensively Islamized
regions were enrolled as janissaries, but stayed in their villages. Besides,
new converts also started to apply to become janissaries.65

Conclusion

Although the Muslim reaya were exempted from devshirme in the

classical period, Bosnian Muslim boys were extraordinarily recruited into
the Janissary Corps as acemioglan. According to Kavânin­i Yeniçeriyân,

62
Relying on the St. Petersburg copy, Moačanin pointed out for the first time that
there were no obsacles to collect them. See N. Moačanin, Mass Islamization of
Peasants in Bosnia, 354; Idem, Osmanlı Bosnası, 401.
63
V. L. Ménage, Devshirme, 212.
64
A. Matkovski, Prilog pitanju devširme, Prilozi za orijentalnu filologiju 14–15
(1964–1965) 1969, 276, 301–303.
65
E. Radushev, ‘Peasant’ Janissaries?, Journal of Social History 42/2 (2008) 447–467.
See also A. Matkovski, op.cit., 306.

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Kavânin­i Yeniçeriyân and the Recruitment of Bosnian Muslim Boys as Devshirme Reconsidered

only Muslim boys were collected from Bosnia and it was a reward given
to them by Sultan Mehmed the Conqueror himself, in return for their
massive Islamization at once and on their own request. Müri’t­Tevârih
also recounts a similar story. The narrative of Kavânin­i Yeniçeriyân
was used to support the Bogomil theory claiming that as the Bosnian
Church was Bogomil and Bosnian people had a separate identity, they
at once accepted Islam en masse after the conquest of Bosnia in 1463.
However, neither the narrative of Kavânin­i Yeniçeriyân nor of Müri’t­
Tevârih is compatible with the historical facts. Namely, tahrir defters
apparently show that the Islamization of Bosnia was not in fact an
instantaneous, but a gradual process. Therefore, the Bogomil theory is
not sufficient itself to explain the spreading of Islam in Bosnia.
Moreover, Islamization was a common phenomenon among the local
Catholic and Orthodox people too. This means that the mass conversion
claim of Kavânin­i Yeniçeriyân was nothing else but a romantic myth
and, of course, the reason for the recruitment of Bosnian Muslim boys
is completely fictitious. There are different views about the reason and
the starting time of the collection of Bosnian Muslim boys. I think it
started after the spread of Islam gained speed, probably at the end of the
15th century or in the early years of the 16th century. I am of the opinion
that the main criterion was their being convenient for becoming
janissaries or not, as seen in the orders given to the kadis in the sandjaks
of Bosnia, Herzegovina and Klis and to the Beylerbey of Bosnia from
1565 to 1609. Besides, as most of devshirme boys were of Slavic origin,
the Ottoman statesmen might have thought that the sons of Muslim Slavs
would be more loyal to the state. Moreover, as stated in Revan 1320 and
St. Petersburg copies of Kavânin­i Yeniçeriyân, there was no law not to
collect them or, in other words, law did not prevent their collection in
principle. So the Ottomans collected Muslim boys from Bosnia and
Herzegovina, whenever needed.

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 Aşkın Koyuncu

APPENDIXES

1. Kavânin­i Zümre­i Bektaşiyân, Topkapı Sarayı Müzesi Kütüphanesi,

Revan Kitaplığı, No. 1320, f. 8b, 9a.

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Kavânin­i Yeniçeriyân and the Recruitment of Bosnian Muslim Boys as Devshirme Reconsidered

307
 Aşkın Koyuncu

2. Kavânin­i Zümre­i Bektaşiyân, Topkapı Sarayı Müzesi Kütüphanesi,

Revan Kitaplığı, No. 1319, f. 12a, 12b.

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Kavânin­i Yeniçeriyân and the Recruitment of Bosnian Muslim Boys as Devshirme Reconsidered

309
 Aşkın Koyuncu

3. Yeniçeri Kanunnamesi, Univerzitná knižnica v Bratislave, Bašagićova

zbierka islamských rukopisov (University Library in Bratislava, Bašagić
collection of Islamic Manuscripts), No. TE 47, Poradové číslo: 439, f. 8a, 8b.

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Kavânin­i Yeniçeriyân and the Recruitment of Bosnian Muslim Boys as Devshirme Reconsidered

311
 Aşkın Koyuncu

4. Kavânin­i Yeniçeriyân, Beyazıt Devlet Kütüphanesi, Veliyüddin

Efendi Kütüphanesi Bölümü, No. 1973, f. 10b, 11a.

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Kavânin­i Yeniçeriyân and the Recruitment of Bosnian Muslim Boys as Devshirme Reconsidered

313
 Aşkın Koyuncu

Aşkın KOYUNCU

KAVÂNIN­I YENIÇERIYÂN VE BOSNALI MÜSLÜMAN

ÇOCUKLARININ DEVŞIRILMESI MESELESININ GÖZDEN
GEÇIRILMESI

Özet

Kavânin­i Yeniçeriyân, Yeniçeri Ocağı ve devşirme tarihinin en

önemli kaynaklarından biridir. 1606 yılında yazılan Kavânin­i
Yeniçeriyân’ın orijinal metni günümüze ulaşmamıştır. Bu çalışmada
Kavânin­i Yeniçeriyân’ın İstanbul, St. Petersburg ve Bratislava’da
bulunan yedi kopyasını kullandık. Klasik dönemde Müslümanlardan
devşirme alınmadığı halde, Osmanlı kaynaklarında Poturnakoğulları ve
çoğunlukla Poturoğulları şeklinde tanımlanan Bosna Müslümanlarından
istisnai olarak acemi oğlanı toplanmıştır. Bunun sebebi ve başlangıcı
hakkında Kavânin­i Yeniçeriyan’ın benzersiz bir anlatısı vardır.
Kavânin­i Yeniçeriyân’a göre Bosna’dan yalnızca Müslüman çocukları
devşirilmektedir. Bunun sebebi ise Bosna ahalisinin 1463 yılında fetihle
birlikte topluca ihtida etmesi ve Fatih Sultan Mehmed’den çocuklarının
devşirilmesini rica etmeleridir. Bunun üzerine Sultan, Bosnalı
Müslüman çocuklarından acemi oğlanı alınmasını kanun kılmıştır. Bu
anlatım devşirme konusunda Bosna Müslümanlarına özel bir imtiyaz
verildiği efsanesi yaratmıştır. Bazı tarihçiler Kavânin­i Yeniçeriyan’daki
bu anlatıyı Bosna Kilisesi’nin Bogomil olduğu ve bu sebeple
Boşnakların topluca ihtida ettiklerini savunan Bogomil tezini
desteklemek için kullanmışlar ve Boşnakların gönüllü olarak çocuklarını
devşirme olarak verdiklerini ileri sürmüşlerdir. Ancak, tarihi hakikatler
Kavânin­i Yeniçeriyân’ın anlatısının gerçek olmadığını göstermektedir.
Bosna, Hersek ve Kilis sancaklarında hem Müslüman, hem de Hristiyan
Slav çocukları devşirildiği gibi, tahrir defterleri de Bosna’da
İslamlaşmanın birden bire olmadığını ve İslamın tedricen yayıldığını
göstermektedir. Ayrıca, bölgedeki Katolik ve Ortodokslar arasında da
İslamlaşmanın yaygın bir hadise olduğu görülmektedir. Bu sebeple,
Fatih Sultan Mehmed ve Bosnalılar arasında Kavânin­i Yeniçeriyân’da
anlatıldığı gibi bir anlaşmanın yapılmış olması muhtemel değildir.

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Kavânin­i Yeniçeriyân and the Recruitment of Bosnian Muslim Boys as Devshirme Reconsidered

Bununla birlikte, Kavânin­i Yeniçeriyân’ın anlatısı Türk tarihçiler

arasında popülerliğini korumaktadır. Bu çalışmada Kavânin­i
Yeniçeriyân nüshalarında Bosna hakkındaki pasajı karşılaştırdıktan
sonra, diğer Osmanlı kaynakları ışığında onun anlatısını gözden
geçireceğiz. Son olarak Osmanlıların klasik dönemde neden yalnızca
Bosnalı Müslüman çocuklarını devşirdiğini ve bu uygulamanın ne
zaman başladığını açıklamaya çalışacağız.
Anahtar Kelimeler: Kavânin­i Yeniçeriyân, Bosna, islamlaşma,
devşirme, Yeniçeriler, Poturoğulları.

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 Aşkın Koyuncu

Ашкин КОЈУНЏУ

„ЗАКОНИ О ЈАНИЧАРИМА“ (KAVÂNIN­I YENIÇERIYÂN)

И РАЗМАТРАЊЕ ПРОБЛЕМА ДЕВШИРМЕ
БОСАНСКЕ МУСЛИМАНСКЕ ДЕЦЕ

Резиме

„Закони о јаничарима“ (Kavânin­i Yeniçeriyân) су један од

најважнијих извора за проучавање историје јаничарског корпуса и
девширме. Оригинални текст Закона о јаничарима који је написан
1606. године није сачуван. У овом раду смо користили седам копија
Закона о јаничарима које се налазе у Истанбулу, Санкт Петерсбургу
и Братислави. Иако у класичном периоду девширма није узимана
од муслимана, аџеми оглани су, као изузетак, прикупљани од
босанских муслимана који су у османским изворима били познати
под изразом Poturnakoğulları и, у већини случајева, као
Poturoğulları (Потурице). Закони о јаничарима садрже јединствену
приповест о узроку и настанку такве праксе. Према Законима о
јаничарима, из Босне су за девширму била узимана само
муслиманска деца. Разлог томе је да је становништво Босне
приликом освајања 1463. колективно прешло у ислам и да су
султана Мехмеда Освајача замолили да се само њихова деца
узимају у девширму. На основу тога, султан је донео закон да се
босанска муслиманска деца узимају за аџеми оглане. Ова приповест
је створила легенду о томе како је босанским муслиманима дата
посебна привилегија по питању девширме. Неки историчари су ову
приповест из Закона о јаничарима користили да подрже
богумилску тезу која је тврдила да је разлог за масовну
исламизацију Босне био у томе што је босанска црква била
богумилска и да су Бошњаци добровољно давали своју децу за
девширму. Међутим, историјске чињенице показују да приповест
из Закона о јаничарима није била истинита. Пописни дефтери
указују, поред тога што су и хришћанска и муслиманска деца
узимана у девширму у Босанском, Херцеговачком и Клишком
санџаку, да се исламизација у Босни није одиграла одједном већ да

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Kavânin­i Yeniçeriyân and the Recruitment of Bosnian Muslim Boys as Devshirme Reconsidered

је процес ширења ислама текао постепено. Додатно, уочено је да је

исламизација била раширена појава и међу локалним католицима и
православцима. Из тог разлога, није могуће да је био састављен
један такав споразум између султана Мехмеда Освајача и босанског
становништва као што је то описано у Законима о јаничарима.
Ипак, приповест из Закона о јаничарима штити њена популарност
међу турским историчарима. У овом раду ћемо упоредити одломке
о Босни из различитих рукописа Закона о јаничарима, а затим ћемо
проучити поменуту приповест у светлу других османских извора.
На крају, настојаћемо да објаснимо зашто су Османлије у
класичном добу узимале само босанску муслиманску децу у
девширму и да одредимо од када је ова пракса почела.
Кључне речи: Kavânin­i Yeniçeriyân, Босна, исламизација,
девширма, јаничари, Потурице.

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