From Conservapedia Jump to: navigation, search  Devshirme is
from Turkish, meaning "gathering". Devshirme was a system that
took place under the Ottoman Empire. The system of devshirme was
introduced under Sultan Murad 2 in the 1420's. The sultan would
collect Christian boys from the Balkans and turn them into his
slaves. Usually the boys were around the ages of 8 or 10 but
sometimes even as old as 20. The purpose of this was to ensure
that the sultan would have loyal troops and civil servants. The
devshirme collection was performed by a higher Janissary officer
(who often would themselves be of devshirme origin.) Normally
around the age of 20, when they were finished training, the boys
would be placed in the army or civil service and could become
landowners. A few would become governors or viziers after
receiving an education in the palace school. The devshirme never
were granted total freedom.