Öküz Mehmed Pascha

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Statue of Öküz Mehmed Pasha in Kuşadası

Öküz Mehmed Pascha (German Mehmed Pascha, the ox ; * in the 16th century in Constantinople ; † December 23, 1619 ), also known as Kara Mehmed Pascha ("the black one") or Kul Kıran Mehmed Pascha ("the slave breaker") , was an Ottoman statesman and military commander who served from October 17, 1614 to November 17, 1616 (under the reign of Ahmed I ) and from January 18, 1619 to December 23, 1619 (under the reign of Osman II. ) Was Grand Vizier of the Ottoman Empire . He was also governor of Eyâlet Egypt from 1607 to 1611 .

Life

Mehmed's date of birth is unknown. He attended an Enderun school from 1583 before holding government positions. So he was silâhdar , a high position in the Sultan's guard. He married the Princess Gevherhan Sultan , a daughter of Sultan Ahmed I and Kösem Sultan .

Governor of Egypt

In 1607 the Sultan appointed Mehmed Pasha Beylerbey des Eyâlet Egypt . In 1604, three years before Mehmed Pasha took office, the Ottoman governor of Egypt Maktul Hacı Ibrahim Pasha was murdered by mutinous Sipahi soldiers from his own troops. This event led to a phase of instability in Egypt, which even the two predecessors of Mehmed Pasha, Hadım Mehmed Pasha and Yemenli Hasan Pasha , could not change.

Mehmed Pasha suppressed the rebellion of the Sipahis with a hard hand and abolished the "protection tax" illegally introduced by the soldiers for the rural population. Upon arriving in Alexandria , he ensured the goodwill of the population by visiting the graves of local figures, treating the Mamluks well and repairing buildings and roads. He also executed numerous district governors who had authorized the Sipahis to collect their protection taxes and warned others not to support the rebellious soldiers.

Tensions escalated in February 1609 when the rebels met at the tomb of the popular mystic Ahmad al-Badawī in the city of Tanta to swear opposition to Mehmed Pasha's actions. Then they ransacked villages to gather supplies. Mehmed Pasha then assembled his troops, but at the same time accepted a suggestion from his officers to talk to the rebels. He sent the Mufti Altıparmak Mehmed Efendi and an officer to negotiate with the insurgent soldiers. The Mufti advised the rebels to give in to the “authorities” and when they refused, Mehmed Pasha began mobilizing his forces. These met the rebels north of Cairo, who were quickly defeated in the clashes. Mehmed Pasha had over 250 of them executed; others were exiled to Eyâlet Yemen.

After these events, Mehmed Pasha received the epithet Kul Kıran (Eng. Slave breaker ) for his subjugation of the Mamluks and the insurgent troops . He went on to strengthen the public sector and tried to reform the fiscal and military organization of the Egyptian eyâlets by reducing the number of beys to twelve. In 1611 he was ordered back to the capital Constantinople by the Sultan.

Grand Vizier

Mehmed Pasha was Grand Vizier of the Ottoman Empire from October 17, 1614 to November 17, 1616 and from January 18, 1619 to December 23, 1619. During his tenure he was nicknamed Öküz ( ox ) because of his compact stature and the occupation of his father, who had an ox farm in the Constantinople district of Karagümrük or worked as a blacksmith for oxen.

During his time as Grand Vizier, accompanied by only 47 soldiers, he launched an attack on Vienna without having informed the Sultan or any other authority in the Ottoman capital. The attack failed miserably and almost "cost" the Grand Vizier his head. However, some historians consider his foray to be the third siege of Vienna by the Ottoman Empire, alongside the siege by Suleyman I in 1529 and the siege by the Grand Vizier Kara Mustafa Pascha in 1683.

The peace between the Ottoman Empire and the Persian Safavids , which had been sealed with the Treaty of Nasuh Pasha since 1612, was fragile. Again and again there were hostile actions and when Shah Abbas I refused to deliver the silk fabrics he had promised, the conflict flared up again. In 1616, Öküz Mehmed Pasha marched into Persian territory as commander-in-chief of the armed forces and came from Aleppo to Kars. He then besieged Yerevan , but failed and had to withdraw.

Governor of Aydin

Öküz Mehmet Paşa Kervansarayı in Kuşadası .

Between his two terms as Grand Vizier he was governor of Vilâyet Aydın , which at that time was one of the largest provinces in Western Anatolia. During this time, the large caravanserai was built in Kuşadası , which was later named after him Öküz Mehmet Paşa Kervansarayı . This was supposed to attract international trade from the port, which was currently shifting heavily to the port of Izmir because European traders preferred the city. He also built a caravanserai in Ulukışla when he was with his army on the way to the war against the Safavids .

death

Mehmed Pasha was strangled by a young Janissary in 1619.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c d e f M. W. Daly, Carl F. Petry: Modern Egypt from 1517 to the end of the twentieth century . (= Volume 2 of The Cambridge History of Egypt ), Cambridge University Press, Cambridge 1998, ISBN 978-0-521-47211-1 , p. 18 ( online at Google Books )
  2. ↑ a b A. Zuhuri Danışman: Osmanlı İmparatorluğu tarihi . Z. Danışman Yayınevi, 1965, p. 243
  3. ↑ a b Jane Hathaway, Karl K. Barbir: The Arab lands under Ottoman rule, 1516-1800 . Pearson Longman, 2008, ISBN 978-0-582-41899-8 , pp. 63, 255
  4. ↑ Michael Winter: Egyptian Society Under Ottoman Rule, 1517-1798 . Taylor & Francis, ISBN 978-0-203-16923-0 , page 47, ( online at Google Books )
  5. ^ Turkish Studies Association Bulletin . Turkish Studies Association, 2000, pp. 93, 95
  6. ↑ Michael Winter: Egyptian Society Under Ottoman Rule, 1517-1798 . Taylor & Francis, ISBN 978-0-203-16923-0 , pp. 45, 96 ( [1] )
  7. ^ MW Daly, Carl F. Petry (1998), p. 40 ( online at Google Books )
  8. ↑ Michael A. Cook, Asad Ahmed, Behnam Sadeghi, Michael Bonner: The Islamic Scholarly Tradition: Studies in History, Law, and Thought in Honor of Professor Michael Allan Cook . BRILL, ISBN 978-90-04-19435-9 , p. 154 ( online at Google Books )
  9. ↑ a b c d e M. W. Daly, Carl F. Petry (1998), p. 19 ( [2] )
  10. ↑ Casim Avcı: Mehmed Paşa (Öküz, Damat) . In: Yaşamları ve Yapıtlarıyla Osmanlılar Ansiklopedisi . Volume 2, Yapı Kredi Kültür Sanat Yayıncılık, Istanbul 1999, ISBN 975-08-0072-9 , p. 164
  11. ↑ İsmail Hakkı Uzunçarşılı: v . (= Osmanlı Tarihi Volume 3, Part 2), Ankara: Türk Tarih Kurumu, Ankara 2011, ISBN 978-975-16-0010-3 , pp. 367-370
  12. ↑ Colin Imber: The Ottoman Empire, 1300-1650: The Structure of Power . Red Globe Press, London 2019, ISBN 978-1-352-00496-0 , p. 54
  13. ^ Yaşar Yücel, Ali Sevim: Türkiye tarihi . Volume III, AKDTYKTTK Yayınları, Istanbul 1991, pp. 43f.


predecessor Office successor
Gümülcineli Damat Nasuh Pasha Grand Vizier of the Ottoman Empire
October 17, 1614 - November 17, 1616 		Damat Halil Pasha
Damat Halil Pasha Grand Vizier of the Ottoman Empire
January 18, 1619 - December 23, 1619 		Güzelce Ali Pasha
personal data
SURNAME Öküz Mehmed Pascha
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Kara Mehmed Pasha; Kul Kıran Mehmed Pasha
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Ottoman statesman and Grand Vizier of the Ottoman Empire
DATE OF BIRTH 16th Century
PLACE OF BIRTH Constantinople
DATE OF DEATH December 23, 1619