The Ottoman Gendarmerie (Turkish: Jandarma), also known as zaptı or subaşı, was a security forces and public order organization (a precursor to law enforcement) in the 19th-century Ottoman Empire.
Since the term Gendarmerie was noticed only in the Assignment Decrees published in the years following the declaration of Tanzimat in 1839, it is assumed that the Gendarmerie organization was founded after that year, but the exact date of foundation has not yet been determined.
[1] After 1877–1878 Russo-Turkish War, Ottoman prime minister Mehmed Said Pasha decided to bring some officers from Britain and France to establish a modern law enforcement organization.
After the Young Turk Revolution in 1908, the Gendarmerie achieved great successes, particularly in Rumelia.
Gendarmerie units both sustained their internal security duties and took part in the national defence at various fronts as a part of the Armed Forces during the World War I and the Turkish War of Independence.