The children of Christian subjects were organized by the protogeros and eventually chosen to be soldiers based on important qualities, as well as the requirement for children to be of an older age at seven years old. After being chosen, they were finally divided into two different classes. Those sent to Anatolia were “trained in agricultural work and educated in the Muslim faith” or employed in public buildings, gardens or boats. The others were placed in menageries, where they learned to read and write. Those in the first group, who had been subjected to forced labor, became Janissaries. The others, who were educated in the seraglios, became state officials. The advantage of having these positions occupied by prisoners is that it ties the sultan to the cities that have been captured. Because the Janissaries were indoctrinated into Ottoman beliefs at an early age, it is likely that their original family ties were completely forgotten or abandoned in the first place. The person this tale comes from likely belonged to elite status at the time or had personal experience training Janissaries, simply recording the events that occur during the training of these young soldiers. Once you understood the meticulous training these slave armies had experienced, you could understand why the army instilled fear in its neighbors