Djanbazan

Djanbazan (Persian plural of donbaz, see previous article) — the name of a military corps in the Ottoman Empire. It is not known exactly when the corps was founded, although it may have been during the reign of Orkhan Ghazi [q.v.]. The donbazan served only in times of war, akin to the azab [q.v.], gharibdan, and cerekhor ("territorial" miners and sappers). Grzegorzewski (Z dziejów Rumelii w epoce wyprawy wiedeńskiej, Lwow 1912, 53 ff.) believes, however, that they were organized in 844/1440 by Murad II [q.v.] to confront the first Balkan expedition of John Hunyady and that they participated in the battle of Varna. The donbazan served in the vanguard and were entrusted with perilous tasks. This led Hammer (Staatsverwaltung, index) to classify them with the irregulars known as serden-gecti (lit. "mad or wild adventurers"), gonullu ("volunteers") and deli ("madmen" [q.v.]). Grzegorzewski, followed by Babar (Zur wirtschaftlichen Grundlage des Feldzuges der Turken gegen Wien im Jahre 1683, Vienna/Leipzig 1916, 29 ff.), held, however, that they constituted the personal bodyguard of Beglerbegis [q.v.] and sandjak beys, similar to the janissaries, while D'Ohsson (Tableau general, vii, 309) proposed that, like the gharibdan, the donbazan served as coastal militia in Anatolia.

The donbazan later merged with the yuruks ("nomads" [q.v.]) and Tatars as well as the yayas ("infantry") and musellems ("sappers") to form support forces for the Janissaries (cf. Djelal-zade Nishandji, Tabakat al-mumalik fi dar al-adalet, Fatih Library MS 4467, f. 8; I. Hakki Uzuncarsili, Osmanli devleti teskilatinda kapi kulu ocaklari, Ankara 1943, 2). A kanunname dating back to the middle of the 10th/16th century exists regarding the donbazan of Rumelia. It states that 10 donbazan formed an odiak, with only one serving at a time, while the remaining nine paid 50 akces each as *avdrid-i diwaniyye [see AWDARID]. The kanunname describes the donbazan as nomads, subject to taxes (badi-i hane resumu) to their own officers (Subashi). The relatives and dependents of the donbazan were assimilated into the corps, which could also be joined by outsiders, related by marriage, and converts. The donbazan of Rumelia were considered part of the yuruk settlement of Vize; they were subject to the same penal, taxation, and other rules, and seem, therefore, to have largely originated from the same stock. However, they were subject to a more intricate system of avdrid services (Kanunname-i Donbazan, Basvekalet Arsivi, Tapu Defterleri, no. 226). The Kanunname-yi Ali-i Osman (v. TOPKAPI) states that donbazan on active duty should be regarded as soldiers and that the "estate duty" (resm-i kismet) for any killed in war exceeding 100 akces should be paid to the kadi asker, and in other cases to the kadis of wildyets.

Later, however, all donbazan were considered soldiers, and all duties became payable to the kadi Bashir of Rumelia. In 950/1543, the corps (taife) of donbazan numbered 39, and in 964/1557, it reached 41 odiaks. Ayin-i Ali (Kavanin-i Ali-i Osman, 45) gives their strength together with that of azabs as 1280, of whom one-tenth served at any given time. The corps was disbanded toward the end of the 16th century (according to D'Ohsson under Selim II) alongside those of the yayas and musellems. The donbazan were cavalry troops and also bred horses for the army. After their dissolution, their name persisted in the form "at donbazı" meaning "horse broker." (M. TAYYIB GOKBILGIN)