Devşirme in the Ottoman Palace School The primary objective of the Palace School was to train the ablest children for leadership positions, either as military leaders or as high administrators to serve the Devlet. Although there are many resemblances between Enderûn and other palace schools of the previous civilizations, such as those of the Abbasids, and Seljuks or the contemporary European palace schools, Enderûn was unique with respect to the background of the student body and its meritocratic system. In the strict draft phase (Devşirme), students were taken forcefully from the Christian population of the Empire (although some Christian millets, such as the Armenians, have been traditionally thought to be exempted from it) and were converted to Islam; Jews and Gypsies were exempted fro