[1] They were somewhat similar to another Ottoman organization, the Voynuks, recruited in South Slavic territories, initially tasked with the defense and security, then later used as auxiliary transportation units.
[3] Predominantly recruited from the Balkans, they were chosen from the land-owning Orthodox Christians, who retaining their religion, entered the askeri caste.
[1] The Cuman-Kipchak tribes, who fled to the Balkans from the Mongols in 1241, were settled in Bithynia and border regions such as Phrygia and Paphlagonia by the Nicaea Empire.
One of the inferences is that in this period, especially in the region called Bithynia, in the light of the Ottoman foundation sources, some of the Cuman-Kipchaks were included in the Martolos Organization.
It is also known that these Turks, mentioned among the Ottoman Empire's who approached religious issues with tolerance, lived in their own settlements while preserving their customs and culture.
[1] To northwestern Bosnia and parts of Croatia (sanjak of Klis and Lika) Ottomans settled Serbs and Vlachs which were incorporated into hereditary Christian groups of martolos and voynuks.