i4 
T H E V E N o t’5 Travels 
Book III, 
Guides: they are dillinguHhed from other b^y 
their Caps, called Zamk’s, which being maoe like the 
Sleeves of a CafaiiMe, hang down behind, and have a 
CoT^n the For 4 'ead half| Foot long, gUt -h Silvev 
and embroidered. Their Pay is from two to fix Af- 
pres a Day, and a Piece of Clorh every Year. 
The Janizaries of the Port are 12000 in Nurnber, 
and live in two Inns or Colleges, containing one hun- 
dred and fixty Chambers, in everyone of ^^ich are 
thirty, forty, or fihy Soldiers. Every Chamber has 
three Officers, viz. the Chohargi, or Captain ; Oda- 
Balha, the Chief •, and the Vikil Bardge, 1. e. the Stew- 
ard. Over thefe is the Kiaya-Bey, or Laeutenant-Oene- 
ral of the Janizaries ; and over all, the Aga, or General, 
who is always a Muteferaca, or Perfon of Quality. He 
has not Power to punifli any Soldiers by himfelf, but up- 
on Complaint he delivers him to the Oda-Eafha to be 
puniffied, which can be done only in the Night, for 
Soldiers can neither be beaten or put to Death in Pub- 
lick. They are beaten on the Soals of the Feet for 
ordinary Crimes, and if they deferve Death, they are 
ftrangled, and thrown into the Sea in a Sack, a Can- 
non being difcharged for every one that luffers. T. he 
other lower Orders of Infantry are Aza'pes^ or Pioneers j 
DgekgiX or Men at Arms j T’opidgi^s, or Gunners and 
others. , . 1 • 
The Grand Signior’s Cavalry are the CJnaux *, their 
Employment is very honourable, for they execute moft 
of the Commands of the Grand Signior and his Bajha^s, 
and are fent on Embaffies to Foreign' Princes : Their 
Caps are a Foot in Diameter, and are long and flat 
above : The Grand Signior and his Bajha’s wear 
them. The Mutefaracd's are all Perfons of Quality, and 
their Captain is the Grand Signior himfelf, and there- 
fore they never go out to War but when the Grand 
Signior goes in Perfon. 
24. The Spahds are the ordinary Troopers, or Light- 
Horfe, and are of two Sorts, Some receive their Pay 
every two Months, which is from fifteen to forty Ai- 
pres. They are divided into fix Regiments, and have 
each a feveral Commander^ called Buliik-Agafi.^ and dif- 
ferent Colours. The others have, inflead of Pay, a 
or Penfion, from the conquer’d Territories, 
where they refide ufually, and obey the Sangiac-Bey^ or 
Lord of the Mannor, that rules that Quarter. They 
are very numerous, being difperfed all over_ the Em- 
pire, and, being required by the Grand Signior, bring 
him many Horfe to his Wars. The Grand Signior is 
Heir to all in his Pay, if they die without Children *, 
but he takes but two Thirds, if any leave Daughters. 
Things being thus fettled, it is eafy for the Grand 
Signior to raife an Army of two or three hundred thou- 
fand Men in a very little Time, by fending his Orders 
to the Bajha^s and Sangiacs only, who come in with 
their Servants, Soldiers of their Governments, and Ji- 
mar-SpahPs inflantly. Nor is he at more Charge in 
War than Peace, for all maintain themfdves and Ser- 
vants and fo good Order is kept in their Camps, that 
Vv'here-ever they are they draw a Market, becaufe they 
pay exactly for what they h 3 .ve ; nay, Merchants travel 
fecurely by or through them, without Fear of being 
plundered. All their Soldiers are both flrong and cou- 
ragious. They live on a fmall Matter, and are fo har- 
dy as never to be wearied whth Travel, or long Marches. 
They fight like Lions, chufing rather to be cut in 
Pieces than retreat, iinlefs ohe Enemy exceed them much 
in Number. That which makes them fo couragious, is 
the Confidence they have in Deftiny, believing, that 
they can’t die before their Time is come, though an 
hundred thoufand Men feek their Lives, and if they die 
in the Field, they fhould alfo have died at Home, 
which makes them fearlefs of all Diieafes and Dangers. 
They are alfo fo zealous for their Religion, that they 
will chearfully die in Fighting againft the Enemnes of 
their Law, believing that they die Martyrs, and fhall, 
after Death, enjoy the Delights t.hat Mahomet hath pro- 
inifed them. 
They will blindly obey the Orders of their Com- 
manders, running into the greateft Dangers of War 
:as chearfully as to a Eeaft j and befides, they are 
well armed with a good Musket, and a handfome 
Sword, with other fuitable Habits and Accoutre men ts^ 
infomuch, that it is not to be thought ffrange, if they 
are very ftrong by Land, and bring almofi; every Thing 
to pafs that they undertake. 
25. But though the Turks are fo potent by Land, 
and fucceed well in their Wars there, yet are they nei- 
ther fortunate nor ffout by Sea, and always vrorfted, 
unlefs they be fix to one ; and the Reafon is, becaufe 
they have neither good Ships nor good Men. They 
are very unskilful in Building their Ships, and when 
they have done, they not only want good Sea-Officers 
to manage them, but Soldiers to man them j for even 
thofe Janizaries.^ who know not what it is to give 
Ground on Shore, always go to Sea againft their Wills, 
and if they can get off for Money, never fail to do it ; 
and no Wonder, if their Navy can never be vidforious, 
when all Things are fo unfit for Battle. And hence it 
is, that the Venetians gain great Advantages over them, 
and particularly in 1656. gave them fuch a fignal De- 
feat at the Dardanelles., where they loft twenty feven 
Ships, thirty feven Galleys, and eight Maones, that all 
the Turks were put into Confternation by fo great an 
Ovenhrow, and imagined themfelves to be Slaves to 
the Venetians^ who, had they purfued their Vidlory^ 
would certainly have driven the Turks out of Conjianti- 
nople., and, perhaps, out of Europe ; for the Grand 
Signior was preparing to flie into Afia, and the Turks 
believing that God had decreed that Time for their 
Expulfion out of Europe, as one of their Imans had 
foretold, would eafily have departed ; but the Venetians 
negledting the Advantage, fuffered the Turks to refume 
their Courage, and thereupon they grew more terrible 
to the Chriftians, whom they could not fee without Re- 
gret, and threafned 'them with Deftrudion at their next 
Bairam, according to their natural Infolence. 
But as the Janizaries, when obedient to the Grand 
Signior, render him one of the moft formidable Princes 
upon Earth, fo they ftrangely limit his Power when 
they lofe that Refped to him, and revolt, which they 
pretty often do -, and then, flighting all Commands, 
they follow the Didates of their own furious Paffions, 
and run down all that comes in their Way, for they 
have ftrangled feveral Grand Signiors, and among others 
Sultan Ofman, becaufe they fmelt out his Refolution of 
diffolving their Body, as the only Curb to his unlimited 
Power, and fet up his Uncle Muftapha in his Place j 
and in the next Succeffion Sultan Ibrahim, his Brother, 
and Father of Mahomet, who reign’d in the Year 1655. 
And this Prince they reduced to fuch'Streights, that he 
was forced to grant them all that they demanded, and 
put many of the chief Officers of the Court to Death 
to appeafe them •, but whoever they attempt againft, 
yet they always fo refped the Royal Blood, and have 
fo great a Veneration for the Race of Ottoman, that they 
never fo much as dream of altering the Succeffion from 
that Family. 
26. The Subjeds of the Grand Signior who are not 
Mujfulmen, are either Chriftians or Jews. The Greeks 
are the chief of the Chriftians. I'hey wear the fame 
Habit with the Turks, except that they may not wear 
green og any Part of their Bodies, without Danger of 
being foundly baftinado’d and fined, nor a Turbant all 
white, left they be forced to turn Turks, or die for it ; 
but all other Colours they may wear, though it be bet- 
ter not to ufe all red or all yellow, for Fear of offend- 
ing the Soldiery. The Papa’s, or Greek Priefts, are 
always clad in Black, but their Cap has . a Lift of 
white. They wear long Hair, and fo do their 
Monks. 
As for their Religion, they differ from tbe Church 
of Rome in thefe Points: i. They maintain that the 
Holy Ghoft proceeds only from the Faither, and not 
from the Son, but at moft by the Son j yet they be- 
lieve him to be God, and the Spirit of the Son. 2. 
They deny the Pope to be Head of the Church, and 
have four Patriarchs of equal Authority, to whom they 
fubmit in their feveral Jurifdidions, viz. Confiantinople, 
Antioch, Alexandria and Jerufalem \ but they are all rai- 
fed by Bribery to their Dignities by the Grand Signior, 
and 
