Mercenari otomani în oştile Ţărilor Române (secolele al XVI-lea – al XVIII-lea)
Ottoman Mercenaries in the Armies of the Romanian Principalities during the XVIth – XVIIIth century

Summary/Abstract: One of the negative consequences of the reinforcement of the Ottoman domination over the Romanian Principalities was the presence, in Bucharest and Iaşi, starting from the first half of the XVIth century, of several Ottoman mercenary corps having the role to keep under control the Romanian population and to prevent a revolt against the Ottoman Empire. At the beginning, the payment of these mercenaries was taken from the annual debts paid to the Ottoman Empire. Starting with Michael the Brave, the local population had to pay the mercenaries from their own resources. The Ottoman mercenaries, named „beslii” or „delii”, were used against the nobility who revolted from time to time and especially against the Ottomans merchants who were committing abuses and didn’t comply with the laws settled by the Empire regarding the trade in the Romanian Principalities. The Phannar rulers made use of the mercenaries to the highest extent, especially after the abolition of the old Romanian military corps, during the rule of Constantine Mavrocordato.

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