Asakir-i Mansure-i Muhammediye

The Mansure Army (, "The Victorious Soldiers of Muhammad") was an ''ocak'' (military unit) of the Ottoman army. It was established by who also disbanded the Janissary Corps.

After The Auspicious Incident and the disbandment of the Janissary Corps, Mahmud II established a new military ' and Agha Hussein Pasha was appointed to the command of the corps. Koca Hüsrev Mehmed Pasha served as their '. The foundations of the modern Turkish Army were laid during the reign of Sultan Mahmud II. After the Janissary Corps, which was outdated and could not adapt to the times, was abolished with the Auspicious Incident (June 15, 1826), Sultan Mahmud II ordered the establishment of Asakir-i Mansure-i Muhammediye (Victorious Soldiers of the Prophet Muhammad). By embarking on a rapid modernization effort that took the military and technical developments in Europe as an example, the new army decree was approved by Sultan Mahmud II on July 7, 1826, and the Asâkir-i Mansûre-i Muhammediyye Army, the modern army of the empire, was established. After this date, Sultan Mahmud II accelerated his reform efforts and started to establish schools and institutions to support the new army. The Seraskerlik institution, a high military command, was established by Mahmud II in 1826 to fulfill the duties of the commander-in-chief, and on 14 March 1827, Imperial Military School of Medicine, which is the basis of Turkey's first medical faculty and modern military hospital Gülhane Training and Research Hospital, was established to meet the army's need for physicians and surgeons. Harbiye Military School was later established in 1834 as a modern officer school modeled on the French and Prussian armies, taught by European instructors.

The name of the army was changed to Asâkir-i Nizâmiye-i Şâhâne (Royal Regular Soldiers) by Sultan Abdülmecid on 14 June 1843. From this date onwards, the army began to be known simply as the Nizami Ordu (Regular Army).

Mahmud II was not the first sultan who started the modernisation of the Ottoman army. Despite this, the Mansure Army became the main army corps of the Ottoman Empire until the World War One era. In 1912, the uniforms of the ''ocak'' were changed and finally in 1920, the Ottoman army joined the Turkish National Movement. After May 3, 1920, Mansure Army officers and soldiers began to join the Turkish Government of the Grand National Assembly. When the Republic was declared in 29 October 1923, the Mansure Army transformed into the modern Turkish Army.

Background

Before their abolition in 1826, the Janissary corps fiercely opposed attempts by the Sultan and the government to reform the military. This tension between the Janissaries and the state often resulted in violence. In Edirne incident of 1806, the government dispatched a small army to Edirne in order to establish the first headquarters of the New Order Troops in Tekfurdağı in Ottoman Europe (Rum).Şükrü Hanioğlu, A Brief History of the Late Ottoman Empire, Princeton University Press, 2010. Chapter 3. Pg. 65 This action provoked the Janissaries, local notables, and conservatives into rallying local troops against the New Order Troops, forcing the government’s soldiers to retreat back to Istanbul. This was followed by a rebellion in 1807, where the Janissaries marched into the capital. They demanded that Selim III abolish the New Order and then forced the Sultan to abdicate, installing the more conservative-minded Mustafa IV as Sultan and effectively ending that period of reform.Şükrü Hanioğlu, A Brief History of the Late Ottoman Empire, Princeton University Press, 2010. Chapter 3. Pg. 66

The reactionaries only held power for a short time before a rebellion led by a powerful notable Albanian Alemdar Mustafa Pasha, seized control of the capital in July 1808.Şükrü Hanioğlu, A Brief History of the Late Ottoman Empire, Princeton University Press, 2010. Chapter 4. Pg. 70 Alemdar Mustafa and his forces deposed Mustafa IV, executed many Janissaries, banished anti-reform leaders, and installed Mahmud II as the new sultan. Mahmud II made Alemdar Mustafa his Grand Vizier. Together they restarted the reform movement. Alemdar Mustafa oversaw the reformation of the new army, placed new regulations on the Janissaries, and sought to strengthen ties between the center and the periphery of the empire by requesting that notables obey the central government.Şükrü Hanioğlu, A Brief History of the Late Ottoman Empire, Princeton University Press, 2010. Chapter 4. Pg. 71

The Janissaries resistance, however, remained fierce. In November 1808, they revolted again. The Janissaries killed Alemdar Mustafa, lynched reformist leaders, and forced Mahmud II to abolish the new army.

Janissary resistance to reform finally came to an end following the Auspicious Incident in 1826 when Mahmud II obtained a fatwa sanctioning the slaughter of the Janissaries and the abolition of the corps.Şükrü Hanioğlu, A Brief History of the Late Ottoman Empire, Princeton University Press, 2010. Chapter 4. Pg. 72 The destruction of the Janissary corps opened the door to a new period of Ottoman military reform. The state began recruitment for a new European-style army, the Asakir-i Mansure-i Muhammediye (Victorious Troops of Muhammad). The state also began centralization of the military. In 1834, the state established reserve armies in the Anatolian and Rumelian provinces. In 1838, the government created a Military Council to oversee all of the empire’s military activity. Finally, they disbanded provincial armies, making the new army the only military organization in the empire.

Reform

The state planned to create an army based upon discipline and drill. The Ottomans invited many skilled officers from Europe to train recruits in European drill and maneuvers.Gultekin Yildiz, “Ottoman Military Organization 1800-1918”. The Encyclopedia of War, First Edition. Blackwell Publishing Ltd. 2012. In addition to infantry training, the new army developed regular cavalry squadrons which adopted the methods of Hungarian Hussars. Eventually the government devoted institutions to the study of military science and tactics. The Military School for Officers was inaugurated in 1836 and an artillery school opened soon after in 1837. In addition, the Ottomans sent cadets abroad to study at military institutions in Paris, London, Vienna, and Berlin.

See also

* Ottoman Army (1861–1922)

References

{{Reflist

1826 establishments in the Ottoman Empire
Military units and formations of the Ottoman Empire
Military units and formations established in 1826