yamak
Sign in to saveYamaks () were auxiliary troops of the army of the Ottoman Empire raised from the local Muslim population. Initially they were non-military members of Ottoman forces who in later periods of the empire evolved into newly recruited janissary troops and eventually became ill-trained and ill-paid garrison guards.
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Yamaks () were auxiliary troops of the army of the Ottoman Empire raised from the local Muslim population. Initially they were non-military members of Ottoman forces who in later periods of the empire evolved into newly recruited janissary troops and eventually became ill-trained and ill-paid garrison guards.
The Turkish word yamak means "assistant" or "friend". This word is also used to denote a paid assistant of the craftsman. The Bosniak surname Jamaković is derived from the Ottoman term for "janissary recruit".
Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “yamak” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.