The early Ottoman chroniclers including Aşıkpaşazade, Neşri, Kemal, Oruç, and
the anonymous chronicles agree that the Janissary Corps was established by Murad I after the conquest of Edirne (1361) . Kavanin-i Yeniçeriyan (The Book of the Laws of
Janissaries ) also favors that view. A man from Karaman, Kara Rüstem arrives to the
Ottoman lands and seeing the livelihood of the activities of akıncıs (Raiders of the Frontier) raiding into the depths of lands of Serf (Serbia), Ungurus (Hungary) and İflak (Wallachia) via the uc (marches) in Rum İli and returning with incredible numbers of captives in their custody, he was astonished. Possibly, he could not believe his eyes when he saw that all the captives were sold by their new masters and the money was accrued by the akıncıs themselves. There was no authority to tax, no customs duty, no order but
chaos. He must have thought that an order was needed and he could have benefited
by offering his services to the local ruler. He finds his way to Çandarlı Halil who
was the kadı of Bilecik and pronounces for the first time the necessity to tax the
akıncı in favor of the sultanate.
“Again he (sc. Murad I) sent Lala Şahin to Zagora and Philippopolis. He gave
him a raid. The gazis conquered the part round İpsala, each one of those Begs
became in his own place an Uç-Beg. Finally they conquered Ipsala. It was in
the year of the Hijra 763. And there was a danişmend called Kara Rustem ; he
had come from Karaman. He came to Çandarlı Kara Halil who was Kadı’asker.
He said to him, “ My Lord, as to this booty which there is, coming from the
raid, why dost thou not seize it for the chieftainship? Thou art causing loss.”
The Kadı’asker said, “Indeed! What should we do?” Kara Rustem said, “These
prisoners that the ghazis bring, according to the commandment of God onefifth
should go to the king: why dost thou not take it?” The Kadı’asker said to
Murad Khan Gazi, “Oh! King, since it is the commandment of God, why
shouldst thou not take it?” Said he “Take”, and so gave command. They went
and put Kara Rustem over the Akıncıs. “Since it is the commandment of God,
so be it”, they said. Kara Rustem set himself at Gallipoli. He took 25 akches
per prisoner. This innovation was through these two persons. They charged Evrenos Beg also that he should take 25 akches per prisoner coming from a
raid and one prisoner out of five. Thus they arranged it and carried it out. They
collected the youths and divided them among the Turkish folk in Anatolia:
they set them to ploughing and to menial tasks, and they learnt Turkish. After
three or four years had passed, they brought them back and made them at the
Court into Yeniçeri and made them wear the white cap. This was the original
foundation of the Yeniçeri: since that time they gave them the name Yeniçeri.”
(Palmer, J.A.B., The Origin of Janissaries, John Rylands Library Journal, pp.448-481, Oruç Bey, p.41-42; Aşıkpaşazade, pp.382-83)
