In "Mamelukes in Paris: Fashionable Trophies of Failed Napoleonic Conquest", Grigsby talks about how Napoleon brought Mameluke soldiers back to France to be able to cover up his failure in his Egyptian campaign. Grigsby, furthermore, talks about how Mameluke slaves were regarded as fierce soldiers and how they displayed in the society as figure of strength. Taking all Grigsby's points into consideration, we can assume that Gérôme was not trying to paint this picture to portray a slave. Moreover, we can say that Gérôme wanted to paint a fierce and reckless individual who was oriental looking. However, instead of going for the traditional route and painting Mamelukes who were really popular in the French culture back then, Gérôme painted an ottoman soldier. Bashi- Bozouk translates into English as headless. Bashi- Bozouks were soldiers in Ottoman Empire who made their living by plundering for the Ottomans. They were not paid a salary so their only source of income was plundering. Moreover, they did not have tight disciplinary system like Mamelukes. They were very fierce fighters from whom the society was scared of.
   Looking at this picture, one might think that Gérôme was trying to paint a slave in fancy clothes because it was popular thing to do. However, what Gérôme was really doing is to paint a oriental figure that could symbolize strength and fear for ordinary people in France. I believe that  Gérôme picked Ottomans because he did not want to paint a Mameluke solider who was symbol of fashion and glory in France society back then. He wanted to capture a feeling of uncivilized strength and he also wanted to make people afraid. In my opinion, since Ottomans were regarded as barbarians in western civilizations, he picked one of the most barbaric and reckless soldier types in the Ottoman Empire. That way he could capture the feelings he wanted.
  Even though, the individual in this picture looks very independent and empowered, it is very important to note that most of the soldiers in the did not have the power to do whatever they wanted. They were usually assigned to a specific general in Turkish army by their leaders. For that matter, bashi bozouks were just irregular soldiers in the Turkish army who served as mercenaries. However, instead of being paid, they were allowed to plunder and keep whatever they could get to themselves.
  In my opinion, Gérôme chose bashi bozouks over Mamelukes for his work because he wanted experiment with a concept that was not very well known to the French society. As, Grigsby outlined in his work, Mamelukes were like war therapies who were brought back to France in order to be displayed in the society. Mamelukes could be considered as exotic weapons instead of human beings. They were part of every parade and mainstream fashion designs. I think that Gérôme wanted to avoid being mainstream and he wanted to convey a raw concept like bash bozouks who were fierce mercenaries in the Ottoman empire who were essentially uncontrollable.


Reference:

Grigsby, Darcy Grimaldo. (1996). Mamelukes in Paris: Fashionable Trophies of Failed Napoleonic Conquest. UC Berkeley Library.

"Catalogue Entry." Bashi- Bozouk. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1 Jan. 2014. Web. <http://www.metmuseum.org/collection/the-collection-online/search/440723?=&imgno=0&tabname=object-information>.