"Janissary coat /trouser colours" Topic

Hi all,
For the 16th and 16th centuries, could someone give me an idea of Janissary coat and trouser colours? I've seen drawings and painted figures in light blue, light green and red. Were there different colours for different units, or was the whole Corp a uniform colour?

Bryan

All Janissaries tended to wear the same basic uniform style, but each Orta had a different color scheme. With 130+ Ortas, just about any color schemes will probably work. Although, one usually sees a prevelance of Dark Blue, Light Blue and Green for miniatures.

This may provide some ideas:

link

It would be pretty much uniform within an ortah, but the precise colors would be up to the ortah leadership. Blue seems to have been the most common color, but others were used. Sash color denoted rank, and the Benluk ortahs (Istanbul garrison) were distiguished from the Jemaats (provincial and border garrisons) by boot color – red and yellow, respectively.

…yeah what he said.

OOPS. that should be reversed. Yellow boots for the Benluks, red for the Jemaats. Proofread first, submit second!

As part of their annual subsistance, Janissaries were supposed to be issued every year enough 'Salonika blue' cloth to make up a coat. It was fairly common, but far from universal, to see Janissaries in blue coats. Ortas in Istanbul tended to get the issue more regularly than units in the provinces. Many men sold the issued cloth for money and wore what they liked. Some ortas might have been issued cloth in different colors, sometimes as regulation, sometimes for a special occasion, such as a campaign or a parade. Many old paintings show groups of Janissaries wearing coats of similar cut, but in a wide variety of rich colors and patterns.

'Salonika blue' seems to have been a middling darkish shade, darker than 'royal blue', lighter than Prussian or Navy blue. It probably faded with wear.

As Zippy Said, a dark blue was the official coat color. However, it is clear from the artwork that any number of colors were in use. Janissary Marines, for example, seem to have worn Green. The boot color, if I remember correctly, of red or yellow, depended on whether they were in garrison or the field and those in Consantinople wore garrison colors all the time.

I would say the color could differ from unit to unit. If I would have to guess, I would say it would be uniform within a regiment even if it wasn't blue.

Okay. Everyone's been very helpful. My specific question is whether Candarli Halil Pasha, vizier to Mehmet II at fall of Constantinople had his own flag/banner? Anyone have any idea?
thanks again