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Since 1658 The Yeniceri Corps, established in 1324, had corrupted and
turned out to be a centre of revolts. The Yeniceris revolted perpetually, dethroned the
Sultans or dismissed the statesmen acted against their will. Sometimes drunken yeniceri soldiers showed improper
behaviours, they began to harm the people. So they obtained the public hatred. They
insulted the ulema (doctors of Muslim theology). As the hatred against the corps had
increased, Sultan
Mahmut II began to take some precautions against this corrupted institution. He
thought that yeniceris should have been trained as the European soldiers. For this reason,
he ordered to be established a new military unit called as “Eskinci”.
The Yeniceris opposed this modern training, they gathered in At Meydani and they protested
the Sultan and his statesmen. They attacked Bab-i Ali and they had stolen 6000 purses of
money. Grand vizier Selim Pasha convened viziers, doctors of Islam, the artillery troop,
engineer troops, and the Navy; and he declared a war against the Yeniceri Corps with
unfurling the flag. He warned the supporters of the corps and he distributed weapons to
people. As he finished his preparations, he took Sultan Ahmed Mosque as the headquarters.
When the fight began the yeniceris
held Beyazit and Divanyolu and they withdrew to At Meydani Barracks and closed the door.
Grand vizier Selim Pasha fired the guns and broke the gate of the barracks. The yeniceris
escaped to the dervish lounge but as a result of gun fires, the barracks was burnt, the
leaders of the corpse was caught and judged by the grand vizier and he was strangled.
During this struggle, 6000 people were killed and 20.000 were exiled. Later,
Mahmut II announced the abolishment of the Yeniceri Corps to the public by issuing a
decree (ferman). The abolishment of this corrupted military institution was called as Vaka-i Hayriye (Auspicious Incident). |
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