Cyprus-Forum.com

[londoner]

It is clear from historical research that in the early Ottoman period that some 25,000 Christians (Catholic and Orthodox) converted to Islam in order to change their tax status and that this tapered off after around 1637. Additionally, there were very large numbers of mixed marriages between Muslim men and Orthodox women which had to be registered.

I wonder what percentage of the TC and GC population are of mixed race?

DNA testing could help provide some understanding of our past joint heritage and promote a more reasoned look at the future.

[YFred]

Have you heard of Linobambaki?

[londoner]

There is much debate about the Linobambaki, a so called sect who were said to combine Christian and Muslim practices, however, the phenomenon was common in many parts of the Ottoman empire. The practice was not only a means of escaping tax but was, at a time when peasants did not see the religions as two mutually exclusive belief systems, seen rather two ways of appeasing supernatural forces.

[YFred]

There is much debate about the Linobambaki, a so called sect who were said to combine Christian and Muslim practices, however, the phenomenon was common in many parts of the Ottoman empire. The practice was not only a means of escaping tax but was, at a time when peasants did not see the religions as two mutually exclusive belief systems, seen rather two ways of appeasing supernatural forces.

Wasn't that what Yenicheris were based on?

[londoner]

Whats a Yenicheri?

[YFred]

Whats a Yenicheri?

Janicery - The Otoman army recruited from the empire with no turkish soldiers.

[EricSeans]

Whats a Yenicheri?

Janicery - The Otoman army recruited from the empire with no turkish soldiers.

I'm no authority on this but purely anecdotal, my TC joiner in Kyrenia was quite big on all that saying how the Ottoman soldiers were often European and had European wives. He always pointed out his fair hair and blue eyes and said TCs "looked different" from Turks. I've also seen green eyes among kids in the Karpass - Saracan roots maybe?

[Gasman]

And I've just been reading about the Jannisaries (or Yeniceri)

The famous Janissaries were the elite of the Ottoman Army and for centuries were ranked among the finest infantry in Europe. They were originally recruited exclusively from the products of a system whereby Christian boys of between about eight and I5 years of age were selected from the conquered territories as 'tribute children'. They were trained in Turkish speech and customs and converted (often willingly) to Islam. After a period of intense physical training they were drafted into either the army or government posts according to their abilities. In the former case they filled the ranks of the Janissaries, whose status as 'slave soldiers' is totally misleading in view of the higb office that was open to them and the immense trust placed in them.

[EPSILON]

Have you heard of Linobambaki?

Have you ever look the faces of the most of generals in Ankara? Do they look like Turks origin?

[fwnh]

consider just how many occupiers have passed from cyprus in the centuries past and its easy to realise why we call ourselves a bastard race, which in my opinion is awsome!! if people with common dna keep multiplying between them they will have more and more health problems with every generation. Franks, venetians, egyptians, turkish, greek, english, they all left there trace of dna in our people

I believe it's been more than 2 years (at least) that a study published in some newspapers and broadcasted over some tv channels showed that TC's and GC's share something like 97% of their DNA wheres GC's and Greeks dna did not come from the same source.... now i know this will hurt some peoples pride (or whatever) but i didn't make the dna tests, i didn't publish them and i didn't invent sience so if you wanna attack someone make it towards James D. Watson and Francis Crick