115. The Janissaries Briefly Break the Truce, December 24, 1522, Rhodes

This famous miniature depicting a Janissary troop attacking at the Siege of Rhodes is from Süleymannâme (The Book of Suleiman), which gives the history of the first 35 years of Suleiman’s reign. Suleiman is going to win this seige, and the Hospitalers will end up on Malta. (The artist is one of five unnamed artists; the original manuscript is in Istanbul, at the Topkapi Palace Museum.)

The Knights Hospitaler and the Ottoman Troops of Suleiman the Magnificent were well matched, with state-of-the-art cannonry and defenses, but it was Suleiman who commanded the Janissaries, the formidable household infantry troops loyal to the Sultan. Occasionally, though, they got out of hand; briefly, during the second truce after the second Siege of Rhodes, they entered the city and did things that Suleiman had promised wouldn’t happen, such as plundering, smashing things in churches, and assaulting women. It was just for a little bit of a day, though, and then they were sorry. Which they showed by saying other troops did it. Anne is fascinated by the Janissaries, and Michelle is very gratified to explain to us all the standardization of gunpowder and cannon material, which is actually much more exciting than this sentence made it sound. Also she found the first opera ever written in English. Of course she did.

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