New-York tribune., 1909-05-02
LAST OF SULTAN'S
FAITHFUL BODYGUARD
SUCCESSORS OF THE jan
TZARIES,
SriSS and OrientdlS FGUorite Pro
tectorS of Persons of European
MonarchS an Old Days.

Although the janizaries are declared by his
Merry TO have been exterminated some eighty
years ago by Sultan MahmOud II, they may be
said to have survived until last week For the
bodyguard Of Abdul Hamid. whose defence Of
the Yidiz Kiosk against the troops of the Con-
istitutionaI party at Constantinople has been
responsible for most OF the bloodshed that has
taken place in the capital during the recent dis
Aurbances were identical in race and also in
, urganization with those janizaries who for
nearly five hundred years may be said to have
played a dominant role in the history OF the
Turkish Empire. Recruited originally by Sultan
.Amurath I. in $780, from among his Christian
captives, and formed into his particular body
sasllard endowed by him and by his successors
with favors and prerogatives Of every kind, they
Hxere the principal source and foundation OF
Abe absolute power Of the Padishah. Yet at the
Aame time they furnished restraint upon his
kespotis1n- For while they defended him against
se1ery foe and against every danger from the
a1utside. IL he was inprudent enough 70 do any
shing calculated to offend them. they did not
hesitate &c remove him Indeed, OF the thirty
Sultans who reigned during the period extend
.sng from the first organization Of the Janiza-
.fsies in 1860. until their massacre in 1926. as
many as tvventy-seven are record as having
met With death at the hands OF those intrusted
with their safety-that is to say, the members
bt their bodyguard-
Before many years were passed however, the
ssn!zaries had been replaced by another body
guard perhaps less arrogant less imperious
+ and more subservient TO the Sultan's wishes.
sAt one moment the imperial bodyguard was
conposed largely Of Kurds. at another time Of
sSosnians Of Candiotes, and of Magyar rene
szades, while Abdul Eamid throughout the
shirty-fve years of his reign relied entirely
auBon the Albanians. Fe had a very large force
OF them in and around the Yildiz hiosk-several
thousands. in fact Their pay was far hlgher
shan that Of any other troops of tho Ottoman
army. and, moreover. was never IN arrears.
rTleir excesses were treated with indulgence by
she authorities and there have even been IN
stances Of the grossest outEages. such as mur-
ders perpetrated by their officers which the
sultan did not venture TO punish for fear OF
s7sspleasing them and of inpairing their devo-
1ion Il must be admitted that they mace a
brave fight for him against overwhelming ODDS
PROTOTYPES OF THE PREToRIANs.
In several instances detachments allowed
themselves to be shot down TO the last man
,a+f,er than TO surrender the post Of defence
.ha+ they had been instructed to hold They
seem 10 have fought, indeed. as CALAMITY FOR
The Sultan as the Switzers did for Louis XVI
a sn 1872 But their bravery was OF no avail
IL They have been wiped out Of existence 1t has
= -elreadv been decided that the ruler OF Turkey
shall never be permitted TO have a permanent
fsady OF his own again. 4eSL IL Stlould DC
come q danger TO the constitution; ana thus
.5,a-a 5issnpears an institution which may be
said TO have had its origin two thousand years
ago when Emperor Augustus formed his pre-
1orian coFort. Each Of his successors had his
sorDs Of pretorians. and when the seat or the
empire was transferred to Constantinople the
system was retained by the Byzantine ernper-
-orrs. who recruiting their guards partly from
ess4,e Morse pirates and largely from the Anglo
.fzxons and Cauls, entitled them Earangians-
after the surrender Of the capital Of the East
% the Turks the Varangian bodyguard OF En-
,oe-or Constantine was replaced by the Janlza-
-4es Of Mahomet Il
During all the history Of the sultans OF the
s5vnas+v of Osmansther bodyguards have never
1eeu composed Of full-fedged Turks. or even
Of Arabs; and In The same way the pretor1ans
IF the Roman Cassars and the picked soldiers
and Officers assigned TO the protection of the
BYZANTINE emperors were almost In every case
men Of races alien to that Of the imperial OBJ
sect Of their care. The very fact that this
should have been the case constituted an ad-
Emission that the actions and policy OF the mon
arch were frequently at variance with the
wishes and interests Of his people. 1t was
sbecsuse he felt that he could not rely upon the
mind obedience and loyalty OF his fellow coun-
s.rvuen that he deemed it necessary to sur
F.-ouud himself with defenders Of foreign origin
Ee feared that IL native were called upon to
sShe sovereign and his duty as a patriot to his
s.Sa,,rtrv II was the latter that would carry
,,,os+ weight whereas an alien would have no
Z. s.ncr conpunctions He appreciated a fact
sS.4scl, 81 is well. 10 remember in these modern
sir,es when II IS the fashion to derde everything
N the nature OF patriotisni-nanely, that there
Axra moments when its claims rise superior TO
-arv consideration Of personal advantage
Nowadays, when ernperors and kings no
songer claim TO reign by right divine. but admit
i4hat their rule depends upon the viii OF the
f1,reoule. TO whom they are compelled to defer.
Sshere is no such occasion for foreign bodyguards
81 as in the times when monarchical sway was OF
"a more absolute character and when the popu-
j1ation was ordinarily discontented and at odds
with its sovereign.
without barking back far as the story ac-
.rordirag 10 which Pontius PLATE was led by his
birth near Fortingall. in Scotland. to surround
"a himself afterward in Judea with a bodyguard Of
tecots would point out that most OF the ancient
sliuzs of France had Scottish corps d'elite, or
sranized and maintained for their personal pro-
1action. Later these Scotch guards, Of whom a
description VIII be found IN Sir Walter Scotts
- popular novel. Quentin Durwerd." were super
eeded by Irish guards. from one Of whom the
late Marshal AIaeAiahon lineal descendant
F3ut already some time before the Revolution
the piaces OF the Scotch and Irish at the French
court had been taken by Swiss regiments In
deed. down TO the middle OF the last century
Swiss bodyguards figured at a number Of Euro
mean courts Every student OF French history
recall 70 the gallant stand made by the