Gazi Huseyin Pasha

Gazi Hüseyin Pasha (also Deli Hüseyin Pasha ("the crazy one"), Sarı Hüseyin Pasha ("the blonde") or Baltaoğlu Hüseyin Pasha ; * in the 16th or 17th century in Yenişehir ; † 1659 in Istanbul ) was an Ottoman officer and Statesman. He was Wālī (provincial governor) of Egypt (1635-1637), Kapudan Pasha (1630s) and in 1656 briefly Grand Vizier of the Ottoman Empire . The nickname Gazi is an honorary title that means fighter .

Life

Origin and first offices

Hüseyin was of Turkish origin and was born in Yenişehir near Bursa in northwestern Anatolia. Little is known about his childhood and youth. He probably attended the Enderun School . During the reign of Sultan Murat IV , he was part of the palace's staff. The Shah of Iran had given Murat IV a bow that was considered unstretchable. Hüseyin attracted attention as he drew the bow with ease. After he won the sultan's recognition, he was promoted to various posts and took part with the sultan in the campaigns to Baghdad and Yerevan.

From 1632 to 1635 he was Kapudan Pasha, the highest naval commander of the Ottoman Navy.

Governor of Egypt

Hüseyin Pascha succeeded Bakırcı Ahmed Pascha in 1635 in the office of Wālī of the Ottoman Eyâlet Egypt and remained in this position until 1637. He was reportedly a cruel and violent governor. From the first day he arrived in Egypt, when he confiscated the makeshift tents of his finance minister and his advisors, Hüseyin Pasha made himself unpopular with the local population. He brought a large number of Druze with him to Egypt who were robbing the capital, Cairo, and extorting money from the locals for a festival to celebrate the arrival of the Pasha. Hüseyin was also involved in stealing the inheritance of wealthy locals, so it was a reliable way to get revenge on an enemy by reporting to the Pasha that he or she had received an inheritance from a relative. He reportedly rode through crowds or herds of animals for diversion with a swinging sword, killing indiscriminately. Every month he forced the locals to exchange their gold coins for contaminated metals. During his reign, he also had over 1,200 people executed.

Despite his cruelty, Hüseyin Pasha was considered a capable commander and leader of the local troops, which was a particularly difficult task in rebellious Egypt. He paid close attention to government decrees from the divan and successfully reduced crime in Egypt.

After his dismissal from office in 1637, Sultan Murad IV asked him to examine the Egyptian provincial treasury and public revenues, and to pay his debts to the state treasury. When he refused, the kaymakam who replaced him until his successor arrived locked Hüseyin and did not let him go until he paid a large sum. Nevertheless, he quickly regained the rank of vizier and was again Kapudan Pasha from 1639 to 1641. During this tenure, he mainly had to fight Russian pirates in the Black Sea, who hindered maritime trade.

During the reign of İbrahim , he served as governor in several European provinces, including Bosnia and Buda .

Cretan War

The conquest of the Aegean island of Crete by the Republic of Venice was an unusual attempt for the Ottoman Empire. While the Turkish Empire stagnated, military and naval technology was on the rise in Europe. Although Chania , a large Cretan city, was conquered in 1645, the rest of the island, particularly Heraklion , was able to withstand the Ottomans. The Ottoman Empire was unable to send reinforcements to Crete because the Dardanelles was blocked by the Venetian Navy. With that the Ottoman army was alone in Crete. Nevertheless, as the second vizier and commander in chief of the fleet, Hüseyin conquered several fortresses in the region, including Rethymno and besieged Heraklion. In 1646 he became governor of Eyâlet Chania , renovated many buildings and the fortress of Chania. He also built Inâdiye fortress in a few months.

On February 28, 1656, Sultan Mehmet IV appointed him Grand Vizier. However, he never held the office. Before Hüseyin returned to Istanbul, the Sultan changed his mind and appointed Hüseyin's rival Zurnazen Mustafa Pasha on March 6, 1656 as Grand Vizier. However, he was only in office for four hours until Abaza Siyavuş Pasha was appointed.

Late years

Hüseyin was installed as governor of the Eyâlet Rumelien , a post that was inferior to that of the grand vizier, but was one of the most important Beylerbeys. Nevertheless, the new Grand Vizier Köprülü Mehmet Pascha was afraid of Hüseyin's reputation. He called Hüseyin to Istanbul and persuaded the sultan to put Hüseyin in prison and to be executed in 1659.

Individual evidence

1. ↑ ^{a b} Mehmet Süreyya: Sicill-i Osmanî . Kültür Bakanlığı Ile Türkiye Ekonomik Ve Toplumsal Tarih Vakfı'nın Ortak Yayınıdır, Istanbul 1996, p. 720
2. ↑ ^{a b} Yılmaz Öztuna: Büyük Osmanlı Tarihi: Osmanlı Devleti'nin siyasî, medenî, kältür, teşkilât ve san'at tarihi . Volume 10, Ötüken Neşriyat AS, Istanbul 1994, ISBN 975-437-141-5 , pp. 412-416
3. ↑ İsmail Hâmi Danişmend: Osmanlı Devlet Erkânı . Türkiye Yayınevi, Istanbul 1971, p. 41
4. ↑ ^{a b c d e f g h} Hüseyin Paşa, Deli , İslâm Ansiklopedisi, Türkiye Diyanet Vakfı, accessed on May 4, 2020
5. ↑ Tascilar, Muhammet: Hüseyin Paşa (Gazi, Deli) ( tr ) In: Türk Tarihi . Retrieved February 21, 2007.
6. ↑ ^{a b} P. M. Holt: The Exalted Lineage of Ridwān Bey: Some Observations on a Seventeenth-Century Mamluk Genealogy . In: Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies . Volume 22, No. 2 (2009), p. 221, ISSN 0041-977X ( doi : 10.1017 / S0041977X00068671 )
7. ^ ^{A b c} Accounts and Extracts of the Manuscripts in the Library of the King of France . Volume 2, R. Faulder, 1789, p. 83
8. ↑ ^{a b c d} Accounts and Extracts of the Manuscripts in the Library of the King of France . Volume 2, R. Faulder, 1789, p. 84
9. ^ Accounts and Extracts of the Manuscripts in the Library of the King of France . Volume 2, R. Faulder, 1789, pp. 84f.
10. ^ ^{A b c} Accounts and Extracts of the Manuscripts in the Library of the King of France . Volume 2, 1789, R. Faulder, p. 85
11. ↑ Joseph von Hammer: Osmanlı Tarihi . Volume 2, Milliyet yayınları, Istanbul, p. 238
12. ^ Yaşar Yüce, Ali Sevim: Türkiye tarihi . Volume III, AKDTYKTTK Yayınları, Istanbul 1991, pp. 139-145
13. ↑ Mevlüt Uluğtekin Yılmaz: Osmanlı'nın Arka Bahçesi , MUY Yayınları, Ankara, ISBN 975-94405-0-4 , pp. 162-164

predecessor	Office	successor
Ermeni Suleyman Pasha	Grand Vizier of the Ottoman Empire February 28, 1656 - March 5, 1656	Zurnazen Mustafa Pascha