Gradually, the
major cities, situated along the trade routes, became Moslem.
Skopje, Sarajevo and Sofia all had sizeable Moslem minorities.
Thus, at the beginning of the sixteenth century, the picture that
emerges is one of an uneasy co-habitation in the cities and a
Christian rural landscape. The elites of the Balkan - church,
noblemen, warriors - all defected and collaborated with the former
"enemy". The local populace was the victim of usurious taxes,
coercively applied. The central administration shared the loot with
its local representatives and with the indigenous elites - the
church and the feudal landed gentry. It was a cosy and pragmatic
arrangement that lasted for centuries.
Yet, the seeds of Ottoman bestiality and future rebellion were sown
from the very inception of this empire-extending conquest. The
"devsirme" tax was an example of the fragility of the Turkish veneer
of humanity and enlightened rule. Christian sons were kidnapped,
forcibly converted to Islam and trained as fighters in the fearsome
Janiccary Corps (the palace Guards). They were never to see their
families and friends again.
Exemptions from this barbarous practice were offered only to select
communities which somehow contributed to Ottoman rule in the Balkan.
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