TPG178696 A Janissary officer recruiting devsirme for Sultan Suleyman I (1495-1566), from the \'Suleymanname\' (Mss Hazine. 1517 f.31v), 1558 (ink & gold leaf on vellum) by Ali Amir Beg (fl. 1558); Topkapi Palace Museum, Istanbul, Turkey; (add.info.: system of recruitment for the Sultan\'s army and household; child gathering; boys from Christian families to be trained and enrolled in either the Palace, the Scribes, the Religious or the Military; converting to Islam was mandatory to stay in the system. Ottoman Empire took sons from the Balkan Christian subjects every year. These children were then converted to Islam with the primary objective of selecting and training the ablest children for the military or civil service of the Empire. Started by Murad I); Turkish, out of copyright.