Ottoman era After the
abolition of the
Janissary corps of the
Ottoman Empire in 1826, military organizations called
Asâkir-i Muntazâma-i Mansûre,
Asâkir-i Muntazâma-i Hâssa, and, in 1834,
Asâkir-i Redîfe were established for security and public order in
Anatolia and in some provinces of
Rumelia. As the first use of the term Gendarmerie was in the Assignment Decrees published in the years following the 1839
Edict of Gülhane, it is assumed that the Gendarmerie organization was founded after that year, but the exact date of foundation has not yet been determined. Therefore, the date on which the name
Asâkir-i Zaptiye Nizâmnâmesi was adopted, June 14, 1839, is usually considered the foundation date of the Turkish Gendarmerie. After the
1877–1878 Russo-Turkish War, Ottoman prime minister
Mehmed Said Pasha decided to bring police officers from Britain and France to establish a modern law enforcement organization. The Gendarmerie was used to great effect after the 1908
Young Turk Revolution, particularly in Rumelia. In 1909, the Gendarmerie was affiliated with the Ministry of War, and its name was changed to the Gendarmerie General Command (). Gendarmerie units continued their internal security duties as well as taking part in the conflict at various fronts as a part of the Armed Forces during
World War I and the
Turkish War of Independence.
Republic of Turkey 20th century gendarme on guard at
Topkapı Palace in
Istanbul The Gendarmerie organization achieved its current legal status on June 10, 1930. In 1939, the Gendarmerie organization was restructured, having three groups: Fixed Gendarmerie Units, Mobile Gendarmerie Units, and Gendarmerie Training Units and Schools. In 1956, the Gendarmerie General Command was assigned the duties of protecting borders, coasts and territorial waters, and fighting smuggling, which had been previously carried out by the
Gümrük Umum Kumandanlığı, under the Ministry of Customs and Monopoly. In 1957, Gendarmerie Border Units were transformed into brigades, and Gendarmerie Training Brigades were established. In 1961, Gendarmerie Regional Commands were established. In 1968, the first Gendarmerie Aviation Unit was established in
Diyarbakır under the name of Light Helicopter Company Command. In 1974, Gendarmerie Commando Units and Gendarmerie Aviation Units took part in the
Turkish military operations in Cyprus. In 1988, the duty of protecting the land borders and ensuring their security was assigned to the Land Forces Command, but Gendarmerie General Command still holds the responsibility for some parts of the Iranian and Syrian borders and the whole Iraqi border. The Gendarmerie Criminal Department was founded in
Ankara in 1993 and from 1994, Gendarmerie Regional Criminal Laboratory Superiorities were founded. Crime Scene Examination Teams, Explosive Material Disposal Units, Fingerprints and Palm Prints Branches and Crime Scene Examination Units were also established.
21st century In 2016, the Gendarmerie General Command was affiliated to the
Ministry of Interior. In 2018,
Gendarmerie Special Operations participated in
Operation Olive Branch, part of the
Turkish involvement in the Syrian Civil War. According to the Syrian Observatory of Human Rights, Turkish Gendarmerie killed 500 Syrian civilians at the Turkish-Syrian border. The Gendarmerie General Command currently has a total of 3,600 units, including 3,056 Internal Security Units, 218 Commando Units, 162 Prison Units, 160 Protection Units and four Aviation Units. == Duties ==