“The devshirme system, where Christian families were required to send their eldest son to the Ottomans, often gets mischaracterized as slavery. Yes, these children were taken, converted to Islam, and integrated into the Ottoman military or bureaucracy. At first glance, it sounds cruel—taking children from their families, forcing them to convert, and making them soldiers. But it’s essential to understand this in context.

The world at the time was violent. The Mongols took slaves, Christian states enslaved one another, and warfare was brutal. The Ottomans, in their own way, tried to avoid replicating the barbarism of other empires. In places that resisted Ottoman rule, instead of punishing everyone as other empires would have, the Ottomans offered a choice: give one child from every 40 households to the empire. It wasn’t ideal, but it was better than complete devastation. The children sent to serve in the Ottoman system received education and had opportunities to rise through the ranks—sometimes even to positions of immense power, like the renowned architect Mimar Sinan, who was Christian by birth.

The key difference here was integration. The Ottomans didn’t force conversions or humiliation; they took children and turned them into loyal servants of the empire. It wasn’t an ideal system, but for many communities, it may have been a more tolerable alternative to the violence and forced conversions of other conquerors. This was a world where survival often meant navigating the brutal realities of empire-building, and the Ottomans were pragmatic in their approach.

In short, the devshirme was a strategy born of necessity, not cruelty. It was a way to integrate conquered peoples without resorting to the total destruction other empires were known for. The practice was complex—harsh yet offering opportunities—and should be understood within the broader context of its time.”

Ottoman historian Yakoob Ahmed: