Podcasts · The Ottoman Empire: How It Ruled Three Continents for 600 Years — Fexingo History
The Janissary's Last Stand: Mahmud II's Bloodless Coup
· 9:44 · S6 E274
Episode The Janissary's Last Stand: Mahmud II's Bloodless Coup
In 1826, Sultan Mahmud II faced an existential threat from the very soldiers who had built the Ottoman Empire. For centuries, the Yeniçeri corps had grown from elite slave-soldiers into a powerful political faction that deposed sultans and blocked modernization. When Mahmud attempted to create a new European-style army, the Janissaries mutinied in what became known as the Vaka-i Hayriye, or Auspicious Incident. This episode explores the tense weeks leading up to the uprising in Istanbul, the secret negotiations with the religious establishment, and the dramatic final day when the Sultan used artillery against his own troops in the At Meydanı. We examine how Mahmud II dismantled the corps without triggering a civil war, ending six hundred years of Janissary dominance and paving the way for the Tanzimat reforms. Through letters, court records, and eyewitness accounts, we reconstruct the strategy behind one of the most calculated power grabs in imperial history.
#OttomanEmpire #MahmudII #Janissaries #Yeniçeri #VakayiHayriye #AuspiciousIncident #IstanbulHistory #TopkapiPalace #MilitaryHistory #OttomanReforms #Tanzimat #AtMeydani #Sultanate #19thCentury #IslamicHistory #MiddleEastHistory #FexingoHistory #History
Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo
Links in the notes 1
Transcript
Shows are listed from Apple Podcasts' charts and directory, and Podcast Index where it is used. Every show and episode belongs to its publisher and plays from the publisher's own feed; this site hosts none of them. Explicit shows are for adult profiles only, and children’s profiles hear only children’s shows. More about this list.