Video - The Downfall of the Janissaries: Rise of the People

"The people did not believe that the Janissaries could be eliminated. But they were so intimidated by these vagabonds that they were sure to explode with the slightest spark. Shops, pasha mansions and even poor houses lived in fear of being plundered and raided 24 hours a day. In the streets of Istanbul, that mighty Ottoman sultan Rather, the Janissary officers and men were representing the state, or rather their own interests. They had become the vessels that filled the state's revenue fountains, running away and even piling up at the doors of foreign embassies. The Janissaries were now helpless. The people had overflowed like the waters behind the dams. The roles had changed. The Janissaries, who were once feared for their shouts in the streets, were now running away from the civilians, soldiers, mullahs and even women who threw flower pots from their wooden houses. When they were caught, they begged, but before they even had time to pray, they would throw their heads on the pavement with a sword blow..."