(from Turkish yeni cheri, ‘new troops’) An élite corps of slave soldiers, bound to the service of the Ottoman sultans. They were originally raised from prisoners of war, but from the time of Bayezid I (1389–1403) they were largely recruited by means of the devshirme (‘gathering’), a levy of the fittest youths among the sultan’s non-Muslim subjects. Having been converted to Islam, most, after intensive training, served as foot soldiers, while the ablest passed into civil administration. Decimation in the great wars against Persia and Austria (1578–1606) lowered the traditionally high quality of the intake and opened the corps to Muslims. They exercised a powerful role in political life until their abolition in 1826.