The Ruling Institution contained certain component parts, which were capable of separate existence, and some of which at times tended to escape complete control. Among these the best-known, though not intrinsically the most important, was the body of permanent infantry known as the Janissaries. They represented the brute force of the system and its most dangerous element. Another component institution was the permanent cavalry, the _Spahis_ of the Porte.[79] These were more numerous than the Janissaries, but being better educated and encouraged by the presence of greater opportunities, they were not so dangerous. A third important sub-institution was the hierarchy of governing officials. Although these had great power, they could be dealt with individually; and the sword was never far from their necks. Subordinate bodies of a secondary influence were the _Ajem-oghlans_, or apprentice Janissaries, and the colleges of pages, which trained many of the _Spahis_ of the Porte and most of the officers of government. Each of these component parts will be dealt with in its proper place. Theoretically, and except at certain junctures practically, they were strictly subordinated to the main institution and yet fully incorporated with it. The Ruling Institution as a whole will be considered as a slave-family, a missionary institution, an educational system, an army, a court, a nobility, and a government. II. THE SLAVE-FAMILY Every one who belonged to the Ruling Institution in any capacity from gardener to grand vizier, save only the members of the royal family, bore the title of _kul_, or slave, of the sultan.[80] Nor was this title a mere form: with few exceptions, all members entered the system as actual slaves, and there was nowhere along the line of promotion any formal or real process of emancipation. The power of the sultan over the lives, persons, and property of the members of the institution, and his right to their absolute obedience, bear every mark of having been derived from the idea of slavery. The very word despot means by derivation the master of slaves, and it was only over his _kullar_ that the sultan’s power was despotic in the fullest sense.[81] Entrance to the system came by the door of slavery, which was open regularly only to Christian boys from ten to twenty years of age. It is an error, found in some writers even lately, to name eight years as the usual age.[82] The correct limits are given approximately by many contemporary writers.[83] It is probable that the preferred ages were between fourteen and eighteen, and that only in exceptional cases were boys taken before the age of twelve or after the age of twenty. METHODS OF RECRUITING