Skip to content

“To take lads for the Janissaries”: Making Sense of the Devşirme

A discussion of teaching the Ottoman practice of the devşirme in world history classes.

Bram Hubbell
Bram Hubbell
7 min read
“To take lads for the Janissaries”: Making Sense of the Devşirme

In my last post, I focused on the Ottomans in the sixteenth century as a genuinely Afroeurasian empire. The choice meant that I didn’t talk about what might be the most common sixteenth-century image from the Süleymanname in world history textbooks: the devşirme. In most textbooks, it’s spelled “devshirme” to help students (and teachers) make sense of that funky ş. I try to keep words in this original language rather than westernizing them. I chose the picture of the execution by an elephant since it was a lesser-known image, and I thought it did a better job at highlighting the Afroeurasian links of the Ottomans.

This post is a little bonus post to reflect on this popular topic in world history classes when it comes to the Ottomans. It seems like every world history textbook focuses on the devşirme (the “Collection.”) Some even have special boxed sections. Given that many of our students are about the same age as the recruits, it’s not surprising that this topic resonates with them. The challenge is how we can help our students analyze the Collection. We want to avoid oversimplifying the issue and emphasize placing the Collection in its relevant historical context.

Part of the boxed text from Strayer and Nelson's Ways of the World.

Related Posts

Members Public

“Indirect Ways of Expressing our Patriotism”: Centering Women in Teaching Anticolonialism in the 1920s and 1930s

Discussion of teaching women’s anticolonialism in the 1920s and 1930s

“Indirect Ways of Expressing our Patriotism”: Centering Women in Teaching Anticolonialism in the 1920s and 1930s
Members Public

Monthly Digest: November 2023

Monthly Digest for November 2023

Monthly Digest: November 2023
Members Public

“The World Will Be Reconstructed”: Four Visions of Anticolonialism in 1920

Discussion of how to teach the various anticolonial strategies of 1920.

“The World Will Be Reconstructed”: Four Visions of Anticolonialism in 1920