The Ottoman government had been an army before it was anything else. Like the Turkish nations of the steppe lands, the Ottoman nation was “born of war and organized for conquest.”[282] Fighting was originally the first business of the state and governing the second. As time went on, and particularly after the capture of Constantinople, the necessity of administering immense territories transferred the preponderance to the governmental aspect; but even in Suleiman’s time the two great functions of the Ruling Institution were very closely united. War carried practically the whole government into the field.[283] Of course substitute officials had to be left behind to attend to what public business was absolutely necessary, but these were paralleled by, and indeed were usually identical with, the officers and soldiers who had to be left behind to preserve public order. So completely was the government an army, that the more important judges, who did not belong directly to the Ruling Institution, were taken into the field. Suleiman on his last campaign had 48,316 men under pay.[284] Acceptance of the sultan’s pay by ordinary usage signified that the recipient was a _kul_.[285] Evidently, then, almost the entire personnel of the Ruling Institution, except the younger pages and the _Ajem-oghlans_ who were as yet unfit, accompanied the master to war.[286] In fact, army and government were one. War was the external purpose, government the internal purpose, of one institution, composed of one body of men. On the military side, this institution carried on war abroad, repressed revolt at home, kept itself in power, and preserved sufficient order in the empire to allow a busy and varied economic and social activity. On the governmental side, it supplied itself with funds, regulated its own workings,—which was no small task,—kept the operations of the other institutions of the empire in order, and enforced the law. The high officials of government held high command in war. The generals of the army had extensive administrative duties in regard to the affairs of the troops under them, the management of departments of state, or the government of provinces.