The
Janissaries ( , meaning "new soldier") were elite
infantry units that formed the
Ottoman Sultan's household troops and
bodyguards. Sultan
Murad I created the force in 1383. The number of Janissaries grew from 20,000 in 1575, to 49,000 (1591), dropped to a low of 17,000 (1648), then rebounded to 135,000 in 1826.