The institution decayed from the very danger it was designed to prevent: weak sultans allowed the soldiers' sons to succeed their fathers in office, whereupon the soldiers' loyalty reverted to their families instead of the state.
Colonial institutions decay, hedges become overgrown and then are cut down.
"The Great Degeneration: How Institutions Decay and Economies Die" is his latest book.
If there was a link it would only be seen much later, strung together with hindsight and metaphor: the failing of trusted institutions, decay of infrastructure, the sudden plunge from riding high to submerged.
As imperial powers became more concentrated, republican institutions decayed; the importance of imperial officials grew, while the authority of urban magistrates declined.
They were eager to break out of the old mold, to revive a decaying institution.
Public and private funding has not been available to stop many of the country's greatest Victorian buildings, and with them many relevant institutions, falling into decay and disrepair.
And yet it was in this institution that the seeds of decay and disintegration took root; for most of the army's commanders were drawn from the great landowners of Anatolia, who had acquired their riches and their status by undermining the social and economic structure on which its recruitment depended.
"Routine, responsibility, decay of institutions, corruption: this is all the world closing in.
He welcomed Easter by sitting on a golden throne and denouncing the "disobedience" of Catholic priests who want the decaying, ingrown institution that sheltered so many abusive priests to let in some fresh air and allow female and married priests, as well as Holy Communion for Catholics who have remarried without an annulment.
