an order of infantry in the Turkish armies; reputed the grand seignior's foot guards. Voitius derives the word from genizors, which in the Turkish... Janizaries Turkish language signifies novi homines or militae. D'Herbelot tells us, that jenichteri signifies a new band, or troop; and that the name was first given by Amurath I. called the Conqueror, who choosing out one fifth part of the Christian prisoners whom he had taken from the Greeks, and instructing them in the discipline of war and the doctrines of their religion, sent them to Hagi Bektafsche (a person whose pretended piety rendered him extremely revered among the Turks), to the end that he might confer his blessing on them, and at the same time give them some mark to distinguish them from the rest of the troops.—Bektafsche, after blessing them in his manner, cut off one of the sleeves of the fur-gown which he had on, and put it on the head of the leader of this new militia; from which time, viz. the year of Christ 1361, they have still retained the name jenichteri, and the fur-cap.

As, in the Turkish army, the European troops are distinguished from those of Asia; the janizaries are also distinguished into janizaries of Constantinople, and of Damacus. Their pay is from two aspers to twelve per diem; for when they have a child, or do any signal piece of service, their pay is augmented.—Their dress consists of a dolman, or long gown, with short sleeves, which is given them annually by the grand seignior on the first day of Ramazan. They wear no turban; but, in lieu of that, a kind of cap, which they call zarola, and a long hood of the same stuff hanging on their shoulders. On solemn days they are adorned with feathers, which are stuck in a little case on the fore-part of the bonnet.—Their arms, in Europe, in time of war, are a sabre, a carbine or musket, and a cartouch-box hanging on the left side. At Constantinople, in time of peace, they wear only a long staff in their hand. In Asia, where powder and firearms are more uncommon, they wear a bow and arrows, with a poingard, which they call haniare.—Though the janizaries are not prohibited marriage, yet they rarely marry, nor then but with the consent of their officers; as imagining a married man to make a worse soldier than a bachelor.—It was Osman, or Ottoman, or, as others will have it, Amurath, who first instituted the order of janizaries. They were at first called jaja, that is, footmen, to distinguish them from the other Turks, the troops whereof consisted mostly of cavalry. The number of janizaries is generally above 40,000; divided into 162 companies or chambers called edais, in which they live together at Constantinople as in a convent. They are of a superior rank to all other soldiers, and are also more arrogant and factious, and it is by them that the public tranquillity is mostly disturbed. The government may therefore be said to be in the hands of the janizaries. They have, however, some good qualities: they are employed to escort travellers, and especially ambassadors and persons of high rank, on the road; in which case, they behave with the utmost zeal and fidelity.

Janizaries, at Rome, are officers or pensioners of the pope, called also participantes, on account of certain rites or duties which they enjoy in the annates, bulls, or expeditions, and the Roman chancery.—Most authors are mistaken in the nature of their office: the truth is, they are officers of the third bench or college of the Roman chancery. The first bench consists of writers, the second of abbreviators, and the third of janizaries; who are a kind of correctors and revisors of the pope's bulls.

Jansen (Cornelius), bishop of Ypres, one of the most learned divines of the 17th century, and principal of the sect called from his name Jansenists. He was born in Holland of Catholic parents, and studied at Louvain. Being sent to transact some business of consequence relating to the university, into Spain, the Catholic king, viewing with a jealous eye the intriguing policy of France, engaged him to write a book to expose the French to the pope as no good Catholics, since they made no scruple of forming alliances with Protestant states. Jansen performed this task in his Mars Gallicus; and was rewarded with a mitre, being promoted to the see of Ypres in 1635. He had, among other writings, before this, maintained a controversy against the Protestants upon the points of grace and predestination; but his Augustinus was the principal labour of his life, on which he spent above 20 years. See the next article.