The Auspicious Incident (or Event) (Ottoman Turkish: Vaka-i Hayriye, "Fortunate Event" in Constantinople; Vaka-i Şerriyye, "Unfortunate Incident" in the Balkans) was the forced disbandment of the centuries-old Janissary corps by Sultan Mahmud II on 15 June 1826. Most of the 135,000 Janissaries revolted against Mahmud II, and after the rebellion was suppressed, most of them were executed, exiled or imprisoned. The disbanded Janissary corps was replaced with a more modern military force. Background The Janissaries were first created by the Ottoman Sultans in the late 14th century and were employed as household troops. Janissaries began as an elite corps made up through the devşirme system of child slavery, by which young Christian boys, notably Serbs, Albanians, Bosnians, Bulgarians, Croats, Greeks, Macedonians, Slovenians, and Romanians were taken from the Balkans, forcibly circumcised and forcibly converted to Islam, and incorporated into the Ottoman army. During the 15th and 16th centuries they were recognized as one of the best-trained and most effective military units in Europe. They became known for their discipline, morale and professionalism. They were paid regularly and were expected to be ready to enter battle at any time. By the 16th century, Janissaries were also recruited from ethnic Turks. However, by the early 17th century, the Janissary corps had ceased to function as an elite military force, and had become a privileged hereditary class, and their exemption from paying taxes made them highly unfavorable in the eyes of the rest of the population. The number of Janissaries grew from 20,000 in 1575 to 135,000 in 1826, about 250 years later. Many were not soldiers but still collected pay from the empire, as dictated by the corps since it held an effective veto over the state and contributed to the steady decline of the Ottoman Empire. Any sultan who tried to diminish its status or power was immediately either killed or deposed. As opportunities and power continued to rise within the Janissary corps, it began to undermine the empire. Over time it became clear that for the empire to restore its position as a major power of Europe, it needed to replace the Janissary corps with a modern army. Mutiny When Mahmud II began forming a new army and hiring European gunners, the Janissaries mutinied as usual and fought on the streets of the Ottoman capital, but the militarily superior Sipahis charged and forced them back into their barracks. Turkish historians