Family composition among the Ottoman soldiery and commoners (1626–1826)

This article aims to examine the family composition of the janissaries and other members of the Ottoman military in a long-term and comparative perspective. We study the soldiery in six cities in three regions in Anatolia and the Central Balkans from 1626 to 1826 and compare their families with those of the local commoners. The main question we explore is ‘diversity versus uniformity’ across classes/occupations and regions. It is informed by the debates on historical family formations and their relationship with transitions to modernity, for example, in terms of fertility behavior, human capital formation and growth, which have lately found new life as an outgrowth of the ‘Divergence’ discussions.