Osman Pazvantoğlu (; 1758 – January 27, 1807 in

Vidin Vidin (, ) is a port city on the southern bank of the Danube in north-western Bulgaria. It is close to the borders with Romania and Serbia, and is also the administrative centre of Vidin Province, as well as of the Metropolitan of Vidin (since ...

) was an Ottoman Bosnian soldier, governor of

after 1794, and a rebel against Ottoman rule. He is also remembered as the friend of

Rigas Feraios Rigas Feraios ( , sometimes ''Rhegas Pheraeos''; ) or Velestinlis (Βελεστινλής , also transliterated ''Velestinles''); 1757 – 24 June 1798), born as Antonios Rigas Velestinlis (), was a Greek writer, political thinker and revo ...

, a

Greek Greek may refer to: Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor of all kno ...

revolutionary poet, whom he tried to rescue from the Ottoman authorities in

Belgrade Belgrade is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Serbia, largest city of Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers and at the crossroads of the Pannonian Basin, Pannonian Plain and the Balkan Peninsula. T ...

. His father was a janissary agha of the 31st janissary orta. Krastata Kazarma 01

Biography

His grandfather was originally from the

Eyalet of Bosnia The Eyalet of Bosnia (; By Gábor Ágoston, Bruce Alan Masters ; ), was an eyalet (administrative division, also known as a ''beylerbeylik'') of the Ottoman Empire, mostly based on the territory of the present-day state of Bosnia and Herzegovina. ...

, and part of the guards of the city of

Sofia Sofia is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Bulgaria, largest city of Bulgaria. It is situated in the Sofia Valley at the foot of the Vitosha mountain, in the western part of the country. The city is built west of the Is ...

, hence Osman's name: ''pasban-oğlu'', "son of the guard".Ionescu, p.242 Initially a mercenary in service to the Wallachian prince Nicholas Mavrogenes, Osman Pazvantoğlu disobeyed the latter on one occasion, and was saved from reprisals through Feraios' intervention. Having gathered a large army of mercenaries, he rebelled against the

Ottoman sultan The sultans of the Ottoman Empire (), who were all members of the Ottoman dynasty (House of Osman), ruled over the Boundaries between the continents, transcontinental empire from its perceived inception in 1299 to Dissolution of the Ottoman Em ...

Selim III Selim III (; ; was the sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 1789 to 1807. Regarded as an enlightened ruler, he was eventually deposed and imprisoned by the Janissaries, who placed his cousin Mustafa on the throne as Mustafa IV (). A group of a ...

, and, acting as an independent ruler, he minted his own coins and had diplomatic relations with foreign states (including the

French Republic France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

). In 1798, he held territories which spread from the Danube to the

Balkan Mountains The Balkan mountain range is located in the eastern part of the Balkan peninsula in Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe. It is conventionally taken to begin at the peak of Vrashka Chuka on the border between Bulgaria and Serbia. It then runs f ...

and from Belgrade to Varna. In 1793, he undertook a military expedition to the

Sanjak of Smederevo The Sanjak of Smederevo (, ), also known in historiography as the Pashalik of Belgrade (, ), was an Ottoman Empire, Ottoman administrative unit (sanjak) centered on Smederevo, that existed between the 15th and the outset of the 19th centuries. It ...

but was soundly defeated by the Serbs in Ottoman service at the Battle of Kolari. Osman_Pazvantoglu_camii_mezarlik

The 1797-8 military expedition of Hüseyin Küçük (having 100,000 soldiers) failed in its goal to conquer

and capture Pazvantoğlu partially due to the

French invasion of Egypt The French invasion of Egypt and Syria (1798–1801) was a military expedition led by Napoleon Bonaparte during the French Revolutionary Wars. The campaign aimed to undermine British trade routes, expand French influence, and establish a ...

, and indirectly resulted in the fall and execution of Prince

Constantine Hangerli Constantine Hangerli (, ''Konstantinos Chatzeris''; c. 1760 – 18 February 1799), also written as Constantin Hangerliu, was a Prince of Wallachia between 1797 and the time of his death. He was the brother of Alexander Hangerli, who served as P ...

, after Küçük accused him of not having provided the

Ottoman Army The Military of the Ottoman Empire () was the armed forces of the Ottoman Empire. It was founded in 1299 and dissolved in 1922. Army The Military of the Ottoman Empire can be divided in five main periods. The foundation era covers the years ...

with enough funds. His power had grown to the point that

Napoleon Napoleon Bonaparte (born Napoleone di Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French general and statesman who rose to prominence during the French Revolution and led Military career ...

and Talleyrand had hoped to have him become the Ottoman Sultan under French Protection. He also attempted to annex the

but was stopped by Stanko Arambašić and his 16,000 Serbian soldiers in Ottoman service. In 1799, the Ottoman sultan forgave Pazvantoğlu's rebellion and agreed to make him a

pasha Pasha (; ; ) was a high rank in the Ottoman Empire, Ottoman political and military system, typically granted to governors, generals, dignitary, dignitaries, and others. ''Pasha'' was also one of the highest titles in the 20th-century Kingdom of ...

. Pazvantoğlu often made violent raids in

Wallachia Wallachia or Walachia (; ; : , : ) is a historical and geographical region of modern-day Romania. It is situated north of the Lower Danube and south of the Southern Carpathians. Wallachia was traditionally divided into two sections, Munteni ...

, where he often set on fire the cities which he plundered. In 1800, his troops, colloquially known as ''pasvangii'', set on fire a large portion of the city of

Craiova Craiova (, also , ) is the largest city in southwestern Romania, List of Romanian cities, the seventh largest city in the country and the capital of Dolj County, situated near the east bank of the river Jiu River, Jiu in central Oltenia. It i ...

: out of 7,000 houses, only around 300 were still standing after the fire stopped. This caused Prince Alexander Mourousis to hand in his resignation to Sultan Selim, a rare statement of defeat in the context of Phanariote reigns. In late January 1802,

Bucharest Bucharest ( , ; ) is the capital and largest city of Romania. The metropolis stands on the River Dâmbovița (river), Dâmbovița in south-eastern Romania. Its population is officially estimated at 1.76 million residents within a greater Buc ...

was gripped by panic after rumors spread that the pasha had sent his army in its direction. Prince Michael Soutzos left the city and ordered its defense by the remaining garrison of

Albanians The Albanians are an ethnic group native to the Balkan Peninsula who share a common Albanian ancestry, Albanian culture, culture, Albanian history, history and Albanian language, language. They are the main ethnic group of Albania and Kosovo, ...

, but disagreements over payment owed led the troops themselves to discard the place; the city soon fell to widespread disorder and the brief rule of beggars and vagabonds (who apparently mimicked a

coronation A coronation ceremony marks the formal investiture of a monarch with regal power using a crown. In addition to the crowning, this ceremony may include the presentation of other items of regalia, and other rituals such as the taking of special v ...

ceremony)—this episode was ended by the violent intervention of Ottoman troops stationed in the vicinity, and ultimately led to Soutzos' deposition.Djuvara, p.283 In 1809, retaliation campaign of

Oltenia Oltenia (), also called Lesser Wallachia in antiquated versions – with the alternative Latin names , , and between 1718 and 1739 – is a historical province and geographical region of Romania in western Wallachia. It is situated between the Da ...

n ''

hajduk A hajduk (, plural of ) is a type of Irregular military, irregular infantry found in Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and parts of Southeast Europe from the late 16th to mid 19th centuries, especially from Hajdú–Bihar Count ...

s'' led by

Iancu Jianu Iancu Jianu (; 1787 – 14 December 1842), also Ioniță Jianu, was a Wallachian Romanian hajduk. Biography Born in Caracal, Oltenia, Wallachia, in 1787, to the Jianu boyar family, as the youngest of four brothers. His father, Costache Jianu, w ...

culminated in the attack and partial destruction of Turnu Măgurele (which was officially administered as an Ottoman ''

kaza A kaza (, "judgment" or "jurisdiction") was an administrative divisions of the Ottoman Empire, administrative division of the Ottoman Empire. It is also discussed in English under the names district, subdistrict, and juridical district. Kazas co ...

'', but had become a base for the rebellion leader). Pazvantoğlu's incursions soon became infamous in all of Wallachia. The expression "as in the time of ''Pazvante Chioru' ''", rather common in Romanian, was meant to indicate a time of trouble and ill-government; in time, it simply came to mean "extremely old".

Legacy

In Vidin,

Bulgaria Bulgaria, officially the Republic of Bulgaria, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern portion of the Balkans directly south of the Danube river and west of the Black Sea. Bulgaria is bordered by Greece and Turkey t ...

, the capital of Pazvantoğlu's domain, there are several landmarks built during his rule that still stand today. These include the military facility Krastata Kazarma (from Bulgarian: Cross-shaped Barracks), built in 1801, and a mosque (1801–1802) with a library building (1802–1803), dedicated to the pasha's father. All of them are classed as monuments of culture. The mosque-library compound is thought to have also included a

madrasah Madrasa (, also , ; Arabic: مدرسة , ), sometimes romanized as madrasah or madrassa, is the Arabic word for any type of educational institution, secular or religious (of any religion), whether for elementary education or higher learning ...

(

Islam Islam is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the Quran, and the teachings of Muhammad. Adherents of Islam are called Muslims, who are estimated to number Islam by country, 2 billion worldwide and are the world ...

ic school) and a small Muslim cloister, both of which have not survived until today.

Notes

References

* Neagu Djuvara, ''Între Orient și Occident. Țările române la începutul epocii moderne'' ("Between Orient and Occident. The Romanian Lands at the beginning of the modern era"), Humanitas,

, 1995 *Ștefan Ionescu, ''Bucureștii în vremea fanarioților'' ("Bucharest in the Time of the Phanariotes"), Editura Dacia, Cluj, 1974
Povestea lui Pazvante ChioruPazvantoglu.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pazvantoglu, Osman 1758 births 1807 deaths 18th-century Ottoman military personnel 19th-century Ottoman military personnel People from the Ottoman Empire of Bosnian descent Rebels from the Ottoman Empire Mercenaries from the Ottoman Empire Pashas Ottoman period in the history of Bulgaria Ottoman period in Romania History of Wallachia People from Vidin History of Vidin Rigas Feraios Kirdzhalis