anner of Mahommed) was taken from the
seraglio to accompany the army. This gathering, the object of which
was to ascertain the number of men who could be levied in case of
extremity for the defence of the capital, was first ordained by Mourad
IV.,[31] before his march against Bagdad in 1638; when, according to
Evliya Effendi, 200,000 men fit to bear arms passed in review--and the
last muster was in the reign of Mustapha III., at the commencement of
the disastrous war with Russia in 1769. Its subsequent discontinuance
is said to have been owing to an insult then offered by the guild of
_emirs_ (or descendants of the Prophet) to the Austrian Internuncio,
who was detected in witnessing incognito the procession of the
Sandjak-Shereef, deemed too sacred for the eyes of an infidel--and a
tumult ensued, in which many Christians were maltreated and murdered,
and which had nearly led to a rupture with the court of Vienna. On
this occasion the number of guilds was forty-six, subdivided into 554
minor sections; and, excepting the disappearance of those more
immediately connected with the janissaries, it is probable that little
or no change has since taken place. These guilds included not only the
handicraft and other trades, but the physicians and other learned
professions, and even the _Oolemah_ and imams, and others connected
with the mosques. Each marched with its own badges and ensigns, headed
by its own officers, of whom there were seven of the first grade, with
their deputies and subordinates, all elected by the crafts, and
entrusted with the control of its affairs, subject to the approbation
of a council of delegates: while the property of these corporations is
invariably secured by being made _wakoof_, the nature of which has
been already explained. The shoemakers', saddlers', and tanners'
guilds are among the strongest in point of numbers, and from them were
drawn the _elite_ of the janissaries stationed in the capital, after
the cruel system of seizing Christian children for recruits had been
discontinued; the tailors are also a numerous and resolute craft,
generally well affected to government, to which they rendered
important services in the overthrow of the janissaries in 1826, when
the Sandjak-Shereef[32] was displayed in pursuance of the _Fethwa_ of
the mufti excommunicating the sons of Hadji-Bektash, and the guilds
mustered in arms by thousands for the support of the Sheikh al Islam
and the Commander of the Faithful