The Ottoman Empire lasted for over 600 years and stretched across Europe, Asia, and Africa. But behind the glory of its palaces, armies, and mosques was a system built on human lives. Millions of people were enslaved under Ottoman rule. Slavic men and women, Greeks, Armenians, Arabs, Africans — no group was safe. Even Christian boys were taken from their families in a system called the Devshirme, known as the “child tax.” These boys were forced to convert to Islam and trained for the empire’s ne