Status Updates From Memoirs of a Janissary

Mentions that janissaries are not only recruited from Christian lands but Turkic ones as well. When a janissary misbehaves and is sentenced to death, they do so quietly so the others don’t revolt. 6000 people in the court. Ottomans became apprehensive towards battle after Mehmed dies as he warned them if they lost a battle all the Christian’s lands they took would revolt.

Mehmed holds council about the growing Christian rumours of war. He dies and is buried in Constantinople. There was a Turkish custom that didn’t allow bickering sons of a previous sultan to access the empires treasures until one of them is emperor unchallenged. Mauzel in the Turkish court are given a taken supplies from each other according to the emperors wishes. They have investigators of violence for provinces

Mehmed attacks Bosnia killing the king, but is retaken by Hungary and Konstantin is captured by king of Hungary matyas. Mehmed returns Bosnia but doesn’t conquer the fortress in jajce.

Schemes to overthrow a Tatar king north of the Black Sea but fails. Janissaries shine once again and Mehmed gives them high praise.
The Dracula that Mehmed faces is actually the originals son. Mehmed granted a janissary the right to pass on his property to whomever he likes after his death.

Highlights king valdislavs kindness and how the Turks benefited greatly from Christian bickering. Mehmed fails to capture Belgrade.
More conquest from Mehmed. They capture Trebizond. Janissaries carry out a very difficult task and have their wages increased.

Claims he was taken in Novo Brdo. He escaped them in Samokovo but was hunted and captured by the “whole region”, then beat tortured and dragged behind horses until they were eventually “forgiven”.
Describes how he and the janissaries caught, tortured, beheaded and buried boys that plotted to kill Mehmed.

Immediately after Constantinople, Mehmed marches on Despot Durad (who was under truce and made catching Constantinople easier).
Emphasis on Serbian bravery, he thinks if the armies were not scattered they could’ve beat the Turks.
Talks about Mehmed taking 320 boys from Novo Brdo and sending them to Anatolia to become janissaries.

Constantinople is under siege for 8 weeks. The janissaries breach the poorly manned walls and slaughter the soldiers and the Greek emperor, then Mehmed went around to the other cities and conquered them without resistance.

Mehmed builds for a fortress for 2 years with Greek permission just north of Constantinople. They think he is planning to raid karaman lands.
Builds ships on land and gets 1500 horses off despot of Serbia (who was unaware of his plans).
Mehmed orders raiders to attack Constantinople, which resulted in any Turks in the city being slaughtered.
He then releases 30 ships into the sea from land.

Hunyadi wanted to go against the Turks again, asking for the despot of Serbia’s help who rejected. He then lost at the plain of Kosovo and escaped once again.
Mehmed II comes into power and makes a truce with the despot and Greece, 1451 he annexes another Anatolian state.

Makes it John Hunyadi out to be a manipulator, who convinced to King Vladislav to charge the ottomans and ultimately get beheaded and shown as a trophy around ottoman cities. Hunyadi escapes and becomes voivode and the janissary that decapitated the Christian king was made a voivode.

Hungarians defeat the Turks in Bulgaria, forcing them to give up castles and prisoners.
Morat resigns to a nut job order. His son machomet succeeds but is too busy hunting to realise the Janissaries have not been paid twice, which caused them to revolt and reinstate Morat as emperor.

Constantine founds Byzantium. Romania is named after Rome.
The Great Khan demands tribute from Morat (son of Bayezid).
Prince Lazar dies and gives Belgrade to sigismund of the Roman Empire.
Emperor Morat is cruel and had eyes of prince lazars sons gauged out even with their sister as his wife.

Emperor bayezid captures Hungarian empire and has Belgrade established. Timur, Great Khan of Persia captures Bayezid, humiliates him by having his wife serve him food and drink, so Bayezid poisons himself to death with a deadly stone in one of his rings. Timur let everyone go back and ended the war with Turks and Tatars.

Serbian defeat at Adrionople . How emperor Morat defeated Uros the mad using his own brothers betrayal (they later get beheaded my Morat). Ottomans then take control of the Bulgarian empire easily.
Prince Lazar now leads the Serbian empire with an army. Morat marches to the battle of Kosovo. Many leaders are killed including Morat, but the ottomans come out victorious from Morats son Bayezit, taking Serbian empire.

Turks take control of Gallipoli. Greek emperor put Kantakuzenos in charge until the son comes of age. Ended up not giving up power and got stoned. Turks went on to capture Bulgarian fortresses.
Serbian king (Stefan Uros IV) blinded by his father and strangled by his son. He made peace with the Bulgarian empire in between these events, which his son ruined by capturing the emperor then killing him at dinner.

Aladin, grandson of Osman I, introduced the court infantry (yenikehaye or new chamberlain), wearing white caps. They were very poor and only paid in supplies.
Morat, son of Aladin introduced the azapi (infantrymen) who saw better pay than the yenikehaye).
Sultan Murad I, son of Morat, created the Janissaries.

Osman I took over his first castle after visiting it out of amusement and being publicly embarrassed. By pretenddung to sell sacks of grain, Osman and a small group of boys gained entry to the castle, dumped the grain and attacked anyone they could find. They through the “princess” who embarrassed him from the highest tower.

Islamic sermon describes the Islamic view of Christian’s. How brothers rob brothers, neighbours are sold out for money, wine is drunk and bread is eaten. Christians are unforgiving. Describes ideal Muslim treatment of slaves meaning they are given fair terms and are helped once term is finished.

Describes Muslims take about how Jesus will return on Judgement day, sending Christian’s to hell for calling him God and sending Jews to hell for attempting to capture and torture him.

Mosques and prayer 7 times a day. No shoes inside, fully carpeted. Priest uses a sword.

Talking about Mohammed and Ali, Ali’s sword zulfiqar.

Talking about “heathens” and their holidays. Christian chronicler breaking down Muslim traditions with bias.

His life is heavily debated (unsure of place of birth or what happened in his later life). A man with an uneducated understanding of world history so some chapters are historically inaccurate but are valuable for the way he views things. Took part in many campaigns for Mehmet II.