The history of formation and development of Ottoman Empire is closely connected with the formation and development of its military system. The Ottoman Turks permanently were at invasive warfare, but at the beginning they did not have enough military strength being minority in the occupied areas. To use the military strength of their Christian subjects and to meet increasing needs of their troops, Sultans began to impose a special tax called devshirme – human tax. Moreover the so called penjek was imposed on war prisoners according to which one of each five from subject peoples had to be conscripted into the Ottoman army. The Ottoman rulers continually conscripted strong and healthy boys and teenagers who after being converted into Islam were sent to ajemi (inexperienced, unpracticed) troops, where they got military training and the strongest and battle-worthy ones were included in the yenicheri troops.

The yenicheri troops were created in 1361-1363 during the reign of Sultan Murad I and mainly were formed of Christians who were converted into Islam forcibly. Many generations of Armenian children were taken away from their native places to serve for the interests of the Ottoman state.

Although the conscription of non-Muslims into the Army of Faith was against the principles of sharia, the Ottoman authorities, taking into account the state interests, often ignored their religious norms, using the Christians in their troops(yaya-infantry, lağımjı-trench digger, mezarcı-grave digger and in other troops). The Armenians also served in the Ottoman navy as mercenaries.

For centuries Armenian craftsmen served in the Ottoman land forces and in navy. Saddlers, tailors, especially gunsmiths and other craftsmen were highly estimated in the Ottoman army.

The carpenters of the Ottoman navy were mainly drafted from Armenians and Greeks. The chief smith’s position of Admiralty of the Empire in XVII-XIX centuries was given to the Armenian Demirjibashian family. And the imperial gunpowder industry was controlled by famous Dadian amira family for about a century.

The main provision suppliers of the Ottoman army were Armenian merchants who for centuries met the needs of the army and filled its food reserves. For several centuries such provision suppliers, as Hovhannes bey Khanazat, Abraham Chelebi Aproian, Haji Ohan Yaghechian and others provided their services to the Ottoman Army.

Apart from serving in different spheres of the Ottoman state system, Armenians also held high positions at the Military (War) and Navy ministries. Most of them received high military ranks. Yosep Vardanian (Vardan pasha), Karapet pasha Tavutian, Hovhannes pasha Guyumjian were distinguished for their professional abilities.

On November 9, 1839, in Gülhane royal palace sultan Abdul Mejid I declared the first manifesto of Ottoman reforms - Hatt-ı Şerif, known as Tanzimat.

Thanks to the opportunities given by Tanzimat and due to the lack of Turkish doctors in army, the Armenian doctors educated in European universities were allowed to serve in the Ottoman army. Since 1841 non-Muslims were given a chance to study at the Imperial Military Medical College, (IMMC), which was established by the initiation of Mahmud II’s personal doctor Manuel Shashian in 1838. Most of the Armenian Military doctors taught in IMMC. Later the Imperial Medical Company was founded by them. Most of the Armenian military doctors received the titles of pasha and bey for their distinguished service provided to the Empire. Among them were Gabriel pasha Sevan, the first Armenian doctor of the Ottoman Navy, Anton pasha Nafielian, Tiran pasha Papazian, Hakob bey Tavutian, Gaspar bey Sinapian and others.

Apart from military doctors, a great number of Armenian pharmacologists and veterinarians served in different detachments of the Ottoman army.

Even after Tanzimat the Sublime Porte refused the idea of general conscription of Christians and continued the taxation of the conscription; first - iyane-i askeriye (support to the army), then bedel-i askeriye (for having no military conscription). Nevertheless, when the Ottoman army was fighting against the Kurdish self ruling tribesmen in the Eastern provinces of the country, the Armenians were conscripted for a short time by the government in 1847.

In 1864 the Harbiye Military College was founded in Istanbul. By the order of Sultan Abdul Aziz five Armenian teenagers (Gabriel Eknaian, Karapet Barzamian, Simon Tatian, Hovian, Sinarian) entered the college. But they weren’t allowed to get a rank higher than captain (yüzbaşi).

In 1908, after the re-proclamation of the Constitution the Armenians with other Christians demanded for the right to be recruited and to serve with equal rights in the Ottoman army. According to the law, adopted by the Ottoman parliament in 1910, all nationalities of the Ottoman Empire were to be conscripted. The orders of conscription that were published in August and September of 1910 were admitted by the Armenian youth with great enthusiasm. A lot of Armenian teenagers entered the Harbiye – Ottoman military college and showed their abilities in military service. Most of them received high military ranks. During both Balkan Wars and World War I Armenian soldiers fulfilled their military duties and responsibilities, at the same time showing exceptional abilities and bravery in service.

On August 1, 1914 World War I started. All the men in the Empire from 18 to 45 were conscripted to the army, among them also 60 thousand Armenian men, who joined those already serving in the Ottoman army. In spite of bad conditions for the Armenian soldiers in the army they did their duty with great responsibility. Armenian soldiers saved the Military minister Enver pasha from being taken as war prisoner in the Sarikamish front, who on that occasion sent a letter of gratitude to Zaven Ter-Yeghiayan, Armenian Patriarch of Constantinople.

The defeat at Sarikamish became a pretext to blame Armenian soldiers for treachery. On February 12, 1915 by the order of the same Enver pasha the disarmament of the Armenian soldiers of Ottoman army started, then amele taburi-es (labor battalions) and hamal taburi-es (cargo transportation battalions) were formed with the involvement of disarmed Armenian soldiers. At the same time the isolation and arrest of Armenian officers started. This was followed by the order of Enver, Military (War) minister, about the annihilation of Armenian soldiers serving in the Ottoman army. Thousands of Armenian soldiers and army suppliers were cruelly killed by their Turkish companions-in-arms.

Since the first days of the war most of the Armenian doctors serving in the military hospitals fell victims to the war. Some of them died while doing their duty looking after Turkish soldiers infected by typhus. And many others were killed just for being Armenian. The main reason of for survival of some of the Armenian doctors was the lack of the Turkish doctors at the front.

The conscription and service of tens of thousands of young Armenians in the Ottoman army during the World War I once more confirms the inconsistency of the statements of the supporters of Turkish denial that Armenians joined foreign armies creating danger in the rear of the Ottoman army.

The disarmament and annihilation of Armenian soldiers in the Ottoman army was the first stage of the genocide committed against the Armenian population of the Ottoman Empire. The Ottoman Empire annihilated Armenian men to leave no chances for the self-defense and for efficient realization of the premeditated plans of deportation and extermination of the Armenian population.