Ancient discovery or mystery,The Janissary Power and the Shadows of Decline (1807–1808)

The conglomerate had survived innumerous storms in its long history, but the early nineteenth century brought one of the most dangerous turning points. The grand trial of Selim III, the Nizam- ı Cedid, had offered a vision of renewal through discipline, European- style training, and ultramodern administration. Yet as with all reform in the Ottoman world, it had collided with the guardians of the old order. By 1807, the Janissaries — formerly the most elite army in the world, now a turbulent mob of crafters, dealers, and heritable dogfaces —