Kara Murad Pasha

Kara Murad Pascha , also Kara Dev Murad Pascha , (born around 1596 ; died 1655 in Hama ) was an Ottoman statesman and officer. He served as Kapudan Pasha and was Grand Vizier of the Ottoman Empire. His nickname Kara means "black", the second nickname Dev the giant .

Life

Murad was of Ottoman origin. As a soldier he distinguished himself in the early phases of the war for Crete (1645–1669) between the Ottoman Empire and the Republic of Venice . In 1638 he accompanied Sultan Murad IV on his Baghdad campaign and stayed there for a while as Zağarcıbaşı . He then rose quickly in the Janissary Corps . He was promoted to commander of the Janissary Corps ( Yeniçeri ağası ) in 1644 Kul kethüdâsı , 1645 Sekbanba și and 1648 during the enthronement of Mehmed IV . When the Ottoman Navy was defeated by the Venetians in the Battle of Focchies on May 12, 1649 , the Grand Vizier Sofu Mehmed Pasha was made responsible for the defeat and Kara Murad Pasha was promoted to Grand Vizier on May 21. Murad had his predecessor exiled and then executed.

At the time of Murad's appointment as Grand Vizier, the Sultan was only seven years old and the two Valide Sultans , his mother Turhan Hatice and his grandmother Kösem Sultan , were regents but were embroiled in a power struggle. While Kösem supported Murad, Turhan Hatice was against him. In addition, the leaders of the Janissaries were also against him. Murad no longer felt safe and resigned on August 5, 1650. At his suggestion, he was replaced by Melek Ahmed Pascha .

After his resignation, Murad was appointed governor ( Beylerbey ) of Eyâlet Budin at his own request . In 1653 he returned to Istanbul and was appointed Kapudan Pasha (Grand Admiral). He was tasked with transporting reinforcements and ammunition by sea to Crete, where the Ottoman Empire was fighting the Republic of Venice. The Venetian Navy blocked the Dardanelles at this time , but Murad Pasha managed to defeat the Venetians and break their blockade in the first Battle of the Dardanelles (1654).

On May 11, 1655 Murad Pasha was again appointed Grand Vizier. His second term in office was very short: Due to economic problems and the opposition of the Janissaries, he had to resign on August 19, 1655. He became governor of Eyâlet Damascus , but on the journey to take office he fell ill in Ottoman Syria and eventually died. In the five years between his two terms as grand vizier, six different pashas were appointed to the office, an indication of the political instability of the empire in the mid-17th century.

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Kara Murad Pașa , İslâm Ansiklopedisi, Türk Diyanet Vakfı, accessed on May 5, 2020
2. ↑ ^{a b} Ayhan Buz: Osmanlı Sadrazamları . Neden Kitap, Istanbul 2009, ISBN 978-975-254-278-5 , pp. 105f.
3. ↑ ^{a b} Mehmet Süreyya: Sicill-i Osmanî . Türkiye Kültür Bakanlığı and Türkiye Ekonomik ve Toplumsal Tarih Vakfı, Istanbul 1996, p. 1116
4. ^ Yaşar Yüce, Ali Sevim: Türkiye tarihi . Volume III, AKDTYKTTK Yayınları, Istanbul 1991, pp. 103f.
5. ^ Ekkehard Eickhoff, Rudolf Eickhoff: Venice, Vienna and the Ottomans: Upheaval in Southeast Europe 1645-1700 . Klett-Cotta, Stuttgart 2009, p. 108f.

predecessor	Office	successor
Sofu Mehmed Pasha	Grand Vizier of the Ottoman Empire May 21, 1649 - August 5, 1650	Melek Ahmed Pasha
Ibşir Mustafa Pasha	Grand Vizier of the Ottoman Empire May 11, 1655 - August 19, 1655	Ermeni Suleyman Pasha