Janissary (Civ6)

Janissary
Melee unit of the Renaissance Era
Introduced in Gathering Storm
Unique to	Ottoman
Unique to	Ottoman
Replaces	Musketman
Replaces	Musketman
Unlocked by	Gunpowder
Resources
Resource	Niter
Resource	Niter
Cost
Production	120
Production	120
Gold	480
Gold	480
Maint.	4
Maint.	4
Stats
Movement	2
Movement	2
Melee	60
Melee	60
Sight	2
Sight	2
Notes
Ottoman unique Renaissance Era unit that replaces the Musketman. Starts with a free promotion. Stronger and cheaper than the Musketman. To train a Janissary, a city must have a population of at least 2. If a city is founded by the Ottomans and trains a Janissary it loses a population.

Back to the list of units

The Janissary is a unique melee unit of the Ottoman civilization (when led by Suleiman) in Civilization VI: Gathering Storm. It replaces the Musketman and requires Niter.

The Janissary also appears as a Barbarian unique unit in the Jadwiga's Legacy scenario of Civilization VI. In this scenario, it has 55 Strength, 2 Movement Movement, Production and Gold purchasing costs of 240, a maintenance cost of 2 Gold per turn, and heals after killing enemy units.

• Attributes:
  • Lower Production cost (120 vs. 240).
  • Higher Combat Strength (60 vs. 55).
  • Starts with a free promotion.
  • Can only be trained in cities with a Population of 2 or more.
  • If trained in a city that was founded by the Ottomans, subtracts 1 from its Population.
  • +10 Combat Strength vs. anti-cavalry units.

Strategy

Gathering Storm

The Janissary is stronger than a Musketman (both in terms of raw strength and its free promotion) and can be trained twice as fast, but will reduce the training city's Population by 1 if it was originally founded by the Ottomans. To offset this penalty, the Ottomans should turn any enemy cities that they capture in wartime into Janissary training centers, then continue pushing deeper into enemy territory for as long as their resources allow.

Jadwiga's Legacy

The Janissary is a deadly Ottoman unit that recovers HP with each kill. When fighting Janissaries, keep severely wounded units away from them and soften them up with ranged units before sending in melee units to finish the job.

Civilopedia entry

Gathering Storm

The elite infantry of the Ottoman Empire had a lasting cultural impact within the Ottoman Empire and on the military history of the world at large. The Janissaries embodied many aspects of the Ottoman Empire's systems of governance and warfare, and remain one of the most recognizable military forces in history. At the time they were created in the reign of Murad I, they were a revolutionary military force (the term Janissary literally means “New Soldier”) combining iron discipline, strong esprit de corps, and the latest military weapons.

The Ottoman Sultans were entitled to extract a fifth of the value of their territory. Often this took the form of levies of labor or manpower. Christian communities in the Balkans were compelled to provide boys to the Janissaries. The boys were taken from their families and communities, converted to Islam, and then raised in the strict discipline of the Janissary corps.

Janissaries were originally forbidden to marry (this stricture was relaxed later) or engage in trade, and swore loyalty to the Sultan himself. The Janissaries had their own distinctive marching bands—the mehter—which influenced European military marches in successive centuries. They were well-paid, and given the special attention of the Sultan, who would appear once a year among his Janissaries to draw his pay. The Janissary corps was strongly meritocratic, and a successful Janissary could retire with a pension and considerable cultural prestige. The Janissaries may have been the first infantry force to be predominately equipped with muskets. They wore uniforms at a time when the practice was still uncommon, with a distinctive high white hat with trailing flap.

The Janissaries became one of the most politically-powerful factions within the Ottoman Empire and comparisons to the Praetorian Guard of Rome are apt. However, they resisted most of the efforts to reform their organization, bringing them into conflict with later Sultans. In 1826, the Janissary corps mutinied in response to European-style infantry reforms. Sultan Mahmud II turned cannons on their barracks and executed any Janissary who survived the bombardment. This event was termed the “Auspicious Incident.”

The Janissaries were pivotal to the military power and successes of the Ottoman Empire, and they influenced the development of musket armies in Europe during the transition to the age of gunpowder. Their organization and history provides insight into the organization of the Ottoman world. Even their enemies respected their discipline and admired their panache.

Jadwiga's Legacy

The Ottomans take the children of their conquered lands and turn them into soldiers they call janissaries. They teach the children how to speak, to think, and to fight. Then they send them to conquer more lands—to take more children. A janissary's fearsome reputation comes in part from the muskets, which may as well be portable artillery. They will be the tip of the Ottoman spear thrust toward Austria's soft belly.

Vienna is the gateway to Poland. It must not fall. We cannot allow our children to suffer the same fate.

Gallery

Janissary concept art/render

Janissary in game