The reforms made in the Artillery Corps during the reign of Selim III

This study aims to reveal the effects of the Artillery Corps Law, which was included in the Nizâm-ı Cedîd Laws during the reign of Selim III, on the Artillery Corps. The scope of the study is basically limited to the reign of Selim III (1789-1807). Ottoman archival documents were used as the main source for the study. Realizing that a strong state was only possible with a strong army, the Ottomans made many military reforms. In this context, one of the military reforms made during the reign of Selim III was undoubtedly related to the Artillery Corps. In order to better analyze the Artillery Corps during the reign of Selim III, this study is organized in three parts. The first part deals with the establishment and development of the Artillery Corps. Thus, the structure of the Artillery Corps in the period before Selim III was tried to be determined. In the second part, the reform bills in the context of the Nizâm-ı Cedîd movement were analyzed and the general structure of the Artillery Corps during the reign of Sultan Selim III was tried to be revealed. Then, based on the Law on the Artillery Corps promulgated by the Sultan, the reforms aimed to be made in this period were analyzed. In the last part of the study, the implementation of the promulgated code during the reign of Selim III is discussed. Thus, it is tried to determine to what extent the planned reforms in the Artillery Corps were successful. The most important finding of the study conducted under these three headings is that a new order was introduced to the Artillery Corps during the reign of Selim III and that this new order made a significant contribution to Ottoman artillery, even though it was later disrupted.