Czajkowski's Christian army of the Sultan : 1853-1870

In the mid-19th century, a Polish writer, political agent and renegade, called Michał Czajkowski (Sadık Paşa), managed to do something remarkable in the Ottoman Empire. After the beginning of the Crimean War in 1853, in that complex international and geopolitical situation on the Balkans and amidst the triangle of the great empires - the British, French and Russian - he created the first official regular Christian military unit within the Ottoman Empire. That "Christian army" was composed almost entirely by Christians. The official Christian character of that Ottoman military unit made them an unique instrument and representative of the modernization processes during the Tanzimat era. As an Ottoman general Michał Czajkowski (Sadık Paşa) commanded his Slavic Regiment for nearly 20 years from 1853 to 1870 throughout the Balkan provinces of the Ottoman Empire