Yamaks

Yamaks were auxiliary troops of the army of Ottoman Empire consisting of local Muslim population. Initially they were non-military members of Ottoman forces who in later periods of the empire evolved into newly recruited janissary troops and eventually became ill trained and ill paid garrison guards.

Etimology
Yamak is a word derived from Turkish language. It means an assistant or a friend. This word is also used to denote a paid assistant of the craftsman. The surname Jamaković is derived from the name of this auxiliary units.

History
Initially, Yamaks were civilians who were mobilized for different tasks during the war or volunteers who wanted to be recruited as janissaries. The Ottoman Empire had practice to assign janissary forces to garrisson borderland fortressess. Local craftsman who associated with janissaries were referred to as yamaks because they assisted janissaries. Eventually they became poorly paid and trained Muslim garisson guards, in particular of garrisons at Bosphorus, Black Sea and Danube. That is why in some sources they are referred to as janissary border guard. At the end of the 18th and beginning of the 19th century they became a source of unrest and resistance to reforms. There was a pattern which was repeated in the provincial garrisons. The number of yamaks who assisted few active janissaries was growing because of the business opportunities this position provided. Soon their number would became too big for garrison to support them, so many of them would move to a countryside to cause misery to peasants and landlords by instituting a reign of terror. Such yamaks followed their leaders called dahis and disobeyed the orders of the state officials and even the orders of the sultan.

This was basically the situation in Serbia at the beginning of the 19th century that led to the First Serbian Uprising. The Sanjak of Smederevo (in modern-day Serbia) was governed by four Yamak commanders (dahi) and by commander of janissary troops.