Editing Janissary (section)

==Corps strength==
Even though the Janissaries were part of the royal army and personal guards of the sultan, the corps was not the main force of the Ottoman military. In the classical period, Janissaries were only one-tenth of the overall Ottoman army, while the traditional Turkish cavalry made up the rest of the main battle force. According to [[David Nicolle]], the number of Janissaries in the 14th century was 1,000 and about 6,000 in 1475. The same source estimates the number of [[Sipahi|Timarli Sipahi]], the provincial cavalry which constituted the main force of the army at 40,000.{{sfn|Nicolle|1983|pp=9–10}}

Beginning in the 1530s, the size of the Janissary corps began to dramatically expand, a result of the rapid conquests the Ottomans were carrying out during those years. Janissaries were used extensively to garrison fortresses and for siege warfare, which was becoming increasingly important for the Ottoman military. The pace of expansion increased after the 1570s, due to the initiation of a series of wars with the [[Safavid Empire]] and, after 1593, with the [[Habsburg monarchy]]. By 1609, the size of the corps had stabilized at approximately 40,000 men, but increased again later in the century, during the period of the [[Cretan War (1645–1669)|Cretan War]] (1645–1669) and particularly the [[Great Turkish War|War of the Holy League]] (1683–1699).{{sfn|Ágoston|2014|pp=112–116}}

{|class="wikitable" style="text-align:center; margin:1em auto 1em auto;"
|+'''Paper strength of the Janissary corps'''
|-
! Year !! 1400 !! 1484 !! 1523 !! 1530 !! 1547 !! 1574 !! 1582 !! 1592 !! 1609 !! 1654 !! 1666–67 !! 1687–88 !! 1699 !! 1710–71
|-
! Strength
|<1,000{{sfn|Nicolle|1983|pp=9–10}} || 7,841{{sfn|Ágoston|2014|p=113}} || 7,164{{sfn|Ágoston|2014|p=113}} || 8,407{{sfn|Ágoston|2014|p=113}} || 12,131{{sfn|Ágoston|2014|p=113}} || 13,599{{sfn|Ágoston|2014|p=113}} || 16,905{{sfn|Ágoston|2014|p=113}} || 23,232{{sfn|Ágoston|2014|p=113}} || 37,627{{sfn|Ágoston|2014|p=113}} || 51,047{{sfn|Ágoston|2014|p=113}} || 47,233{{sfn|Ágoston|2014|p=113}} || 62,826{{sfn|Ágoston|2014|p=113}} || 67,729{{sfn|Ágoston|2014|p=113}} || 43,562{{sfn|Ágoston|2014|p=113}}
|}