Abstract
On 15 June 1826, after some fierce though brief fighting in the streets of Istanbul, Sultan Mahmud II effectively crushed the last serious Janissary uprising in the history of the Ottoman Empire. The Janissaries had been the central element in the Ottoman military system, and the vacuum left by their suppression rendered the empire temporarily defenceless against foreign attack. The Ottoman social structure rested on a strongly entrenched military establishment with long-standing traditions. Senior officerships were reserved for those who came from a very particular social stratum. Non-commissioned and junior officers up to the rank of lieutenant were required to know the battalion school and the principles of administering the unit they were to command. The very composition of the Ottoman officer corps, the fact that its higher echelons were filled with courtiers and proteges of the most powerful personages in the empire, made it an arena for court politics and intrigues.