<P> Devshirme ( Ottoman Turkish : دوشيرمه ‎ , devşirme , literally `` lifting '' or `` collecting '' ) , also known as the blood tax or tribute in blood , was chiefly the practice whereby the Ottoman Empire sent military officers to take boys , ages 8 to 18 , from their families in Eastern and Southeastern Europe in order that they be raised to serve the state . This tax of sons was imposed only on the Christian subjects of the empire , in the villages of the Balkans and Anatolia . </P>
<P> Devshirme ( Ottoman Turkish : دوشيرمه ‎ , devşirme , literally `` lifting '' or `` collecting '' ) , also known as the blood tax or tribute in blood , was chiefly the practice whereby the Ottoman Empire sent military officers to take boys , ages 8 to 18 , from their families in Eastern and Southeastern Europe in order that they be raised to serve the state . This tax of sons was imposed only on the Christian subjects of the empire , in the villages of the Balkans and Anatolia . </P>
the devshirme system was created in order to
the devshirme system was created in order to
to take boys , ages 8 to 18 , from their families in Eastern and Southeastern Europe in order that they be raised to serve the state
to take boys , ages 8 to 18 , from their families in Eastern and Southeastern Europe in order that they be raised to serve the state