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NAME ______________________________________ DATE _______________ CLASS _________
Visual Literacy Activity
netw rks
The Muslim Empires
Science and Technology: Janissaries
The Ottoman Empire was a “gunpowder empire.” Its success in conquering neighboring
regions was largely due to its mastery of gunpowder weapons, from large cannons to
hand-held firearms. By understanding how mastery of a technology can create a superior
military force, you can better understand how a nation or empire can establish and expand
its power.
Directions: The masters of firearm technology in the Ottoman military were the elite
infantry force known as janissaries. The images below depict janissaries and the weapons
they carried. Look closely at the two works, analyze them, and answer the questions below.
Caption: A janissary, part of the
infantry unit that formed the
Ottoman Sultan's household
troops and bodyguard.
Background
By the fourteenth century, the Ottomans had successfully used siege cannons and early
firearms to expand their empire. The earliest firearms did not have triggers; they had to be
held under the arm and required two people as it was difficult to aim and fire one of these
cumbersome and inaccurate weapons. In the fifteenth century, however, two new inventions
paved the way for the first mechanical firearms. First came the “slow match”—a cord soaked
in a combustible solution and then dried. Next came the matchlock mechanism, a mechanical
trigger device that used a slow match to ignite gunpowder and set off a gun’s explosive.
Copyright © The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Permission is granted to reproduce for classroom use.
© The Trustees of the British Museum / Art Resource, NY
© Topham / The Image Works
Caption: Seated Janissary,
Gentile Bellini, 1479–81.
The British Museum, London.
NAME ______________________________________ DATE _______________ CLASS _________
Visual Literacy Activity
Cont.
netw rks
The Muslim Empires
These innovations led to the invention of the matchlock, a musket that freed a user’s arms
and allowed for a more accurate aim. It was, however, slow to load and fire. The slow match
had to be kept burning at all times, despite rain or wind, and the glow of the cords could
reveal soldiers’ nighttime positions. Still, janissaries became master musketeers and
continued to use matchlocks even after Europeans had adopted the faster-loading flintlock,
which did not require a slow match. Early flintlocks did not work as well in the dust and grit
of the desert environment, so the matchlock remained the janissaries’ weapon of choice.
In the eighteenth century, janissaries did begin to use flintlock muskets, pistols, and
blunderbusses, or short shotguns.
One illustration shows a janissary wearing the distinctive tall, white-plumed janissary hat
called a börk. He also wears the traditional yatağan, or reverse-curved Turkish sword. The
janissary carries Ottoman-style matchlock muskets, with a longer length and wider barrel
than similar European weapons.
Before they adopted firearms, the janissaries were, like other Ottomans, master archers.
The second drawing shows a fifteenth-century janissary with traditional Ottoman weapons:
a bow, a quiver of arrows, and the Turkish sword. The drawing is by Gentile Bernini
(c. 1429–1507), an Italian Renaissance painter known for exquisitely detailed portraits and
scenes of Venice. In 1479, Bellini was sent to Constantinople, the capital of the Ottoman
Empire, to become a court painter for Sultan Mehmed II.
1.
Describing What main similarities and differences do you notice between the
janissaries shown in each of these two images?
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2.
Interpreting In the picture of the standing janissary, notice the cord that he has
wrapped around his wrist. What do you think these cord might be?
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Copyright © The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Permission is granted to reproduce for classroom use.
Practicing the Skill
NAME ______________________________________ DATE _______________ CLASS _________
Visual Literacy Activity
Cont.
netw rks
The Muslim Empires
3.
Explaining What were some disadvantages of the matchlock musket? Why did the
janissaries keep using them after the invention of the flintlock?
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Go a Step Further
4.
Speculating What technologies today or scientific breakthroughs in the near future do
you think could change the balance of power in the world?
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Copyright © The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Permission is granted to reproduce for classroom use.
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