Çandarlı II. Halil Pasha

Grave in Iznik

Çandarlı II. Halil Pasha († June 1, 1453 in Constantinople ) was Grand Vizier of the Ottoman Empire from 1439 under Murad II and Mehmed II until his execution . He came from the influential Çandarlı family, who had previously held the office of grand vizier three times. His term of office was marked by economic successes, which should enable the clear territorial expansion of the Ottoman Empire under Mehmed II, but also by power and directional struggles that finally ended with his execution.

Rise under Murad II.

After Halil Pascha had succeeded his predecessor Koca Mehmed Nizamüddin Pascha in the office of Grand Vizier in 1439 , the business of government under the reign of the politically comparatively disinterested Sultan Murad II was initially completely in his hands. Soon, however, a rivalry developed between him and some advisors to Crown Prince Mehmed II, especially with his teacher Akşemseddin , who wanted to significantly expand the borders of the empire, while Halil Pasha and Murad were more interested in maintaining the status quo Secure throne.

In 1444 Murad resigned after the conclusion of a peace treaty with Hungary in favor of his underage son Mehmed to ensure his successor, but soon took over the leadership again in order to be able to counter an attack by the Crusaders . Mehmed remained nominally on the throne, but was finally replaced by his father in 1446 at the urging of the Grand Vizier with the support of the Janissaries . The political leadership of Halil Pasha brought about a significant economic boom during this period, and cities like Bursa and Edirne developed rapidly.

Loss of power and execution under Mehmed II.

After Murad II's death in 1451, Mehmed II took over the throne again and prepared an attack against Constantinople against the resistance of Halil Pasha, who remained in office but had to surrender his influence to the advisers of the young sultan. After the conquest in 1453 he had finally gained enough prestige to finally get rid of his old opponent: Halil Pasha was accused of treason, convicted and, two days after the conquest of Constantinople, was the first Ottoman grand vizier to be publicly executed.

His son Çandarlı II. İbrahim Pasha escaped disgrace and was appointed grand vizier in 1498 as the last member of the Çandarlı family. However, the family never fully recovered from the shame; only a few of their descendants held influential posts after 1453.

literature

• Halil İnalcık : The Ottoman Empire. The Classical Age 1300-1600. Phoenix, London, 1973, pp. 17-26.

predecessor	Office	successor
Koca Mehmed Nizamüddin Pasha	Grand Vizier of the Ottoman Empire 1439–1453	Zagano's Pasha