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Bashi-bazouk
Irregular soldier of the Ottoman army / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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For other uses, see Bashi-bazouk (disambiguation).
A bashi-bazouk (Ottoman Turkish: باشی بوزوق başıbozuk, IPA: [baʃɯboˈzuk], lit. 'one whose head is turned, damaged head, crazy-head', roughly "leaderless" or "disorderly") was an irregular soldier of the Ottoman army, raised in times of war. The army chiefly enlisted Albanians and Circassians as bashi-bazouks,[1] but recruits came from all ethnic groups of the Ottoman Empire, including slaves from Europe or Africa.[2] Bashi-bazouks had a reputation for being undisciplined and brutal, notorious for looting and preying on civilians as a result of a lack of regulation and of the expectation that they would support themselves off the land.[1][3]
Quick Facts Founded, Named after ...
![]() Albanian Bashi-Bazouk Chieftain by Jean-Léon Gérôme, 1881. | |
Founded | 17th century |
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Named after | Turkish word for crazy-head |
Founding location | Istanbul, Ottoman Empire |
Years active | Unknown |
Territory | Balkans, Eastern Europe |
Allies | |
Rivals |
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