This essay is a contribution to the study of provincial janissaries through the case of Crete. After a brief survey of the history of the janissary corps as the wider framework within which the janissaries of Crete have to be studied, the essay focuses on them, resolving the confusion between janissaries and other military groups, discussing the differences between imperial and local janissaries, and offering an explanation as to why various sources exaggerate the number of janissaries while officially they were relatively few. Finally, it is argued that, from a socio-economic point of view, the janissaries must be seen as inclusive and expansive urban and rural networks that placed their members at an advantageous position over others through legal privilege and access to funds.

中文翻译：

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奥斯曼岛上的士兵：18 世纪至 19 世纪初期的克里特禁卫军

本文通过克里特岛的案例对省级禁卫军的研究做出了贡献。在简要回顾了禁卫军的历史作为必须研究克里特禁卫军的更广泛框架之后，本文将重点放在它们上，解决了禁卫军与其他军事团体之间的混淆，讨论了帝国和地方禁卫军之间的差异，并解释了为什么各种来源夸大了禁卫军的数量，而官方的数量却相对较少。最后，有人认为，从社会经济的角度来看，禁卫军必须被视为具有包容性和广泛性的城乡网络，通过法律特权和资金获取，使其成员处于相对于其他人的有利地位。