Özdemiroğlu Osman Pasha ( ota, اوزدمیر اوغلی عثمان‌ پاشا, lit=Osman Pasha, the son of Özdemir; 1526 – 29 October 1585) was an Ottoman statesman and military commander who also held the office of grand vizier for one year.

Origin

After the

Ottoman conquest of Egypt Ottoman is the Turkish spelling of the Arabic masculine given name Uthman ( ar, عُثْمان, ‘uthmān). It may refer to: Governments and dynasties * Ottoman Caliphate, an Islamic caliphate from 1517 to 1924 * Ottoman Empire, in existence fro ...

in 1517, the former Egyptian soldier had accepted the Ottoman dominance and became part of Ottoman bureaucracy and military. After the Ottoman naval expeditions in the Indian Ocean, he was appointed as the beylerbey (high governor) of

Habesh Eyalet , common_name = Habesh Eyalet , subdivision = Eyalet , nation = the Ottoman Empire , year_start = 1554 , year_end = 1872 , life_span = , date_start = ...

(modern

Ethiopia Ethiopia, , om, Itiyoophiyaa, so, Itoobiya, ti, ኢትዮጵያ, Ítiyop'iya, aa, Itiyoppiya officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country in the Horn of Africa. It shares borders with Eritrea to the ...

, but actually only the coastal strip of Eritrea and Sudan). Osman was born in 1526 in

Cairo Cairo ( ; ar, القاهرة, al-Qāhirah, ) is the Capital city, capital of Egypt and its largest city, home to 10 million people. It is also part of the List of urban agglomerations in Africa, largest urban agglomeration in Africa, List of ...

, a part of

Egypt Eyalet The Eyalet of Egypt (, ) operated as an administrative division of the Ottoman Empire from 1517 to 1867. It originated as a result of the conquest of Mamluk Egypt by the Ottomans in 1517, following the Ottoman–Mamluk War (1516–17) and the a ...

(province) of the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University) ...

Early years

Osman was appointed to various posts in Egypt by the porte. After his father's death in 1561, Osman continued as the governor of

Habesh Eyalet , common_name = Habesh Eyalet , subdivision = Eyalet , nation = the Ottoman Empire , year_start = 1554 , year_end = 1872 , life_span = , date_start = ...

for 7 years. In 1569, he was appointed as the governor of

Yemen Yemen (; ar, ٱلْيَمَن, al-Yaman), officially the Republic of Yemen,, ) is a country in Western Asia. It is situated on the southern end of the Arabian Peninsula, and borders Saudi Arabia to the Saudi Arabia–Yemen border, north and ...

and in 1573, as the governor of

Diyarbekir Eyalet Eyālet-i Diyār-i Bekr , common_name = Eyalet of Diyarbekir , subdivision = Eyalet , nation = the Ottoman Empire , year_start = 1515 , year_end = 1846 , date_start = Nov ...

(modern

Diyarbakır Diyarbakır (; ; ; ) is the largest Kurdish-majority city in Turkey. It is the administrative center of Diyarbakır Province. Situated around a high plateau by the banks of the Tigris river on which stands the historic Diyarbakır Fortress, ...

Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with a small portion on the Balkan Peninsula in ...

Battles

While in Diyarbekir, he was assigned to join the army during the Ottoman–Safavid War (1578–1590). His troops fought well and contributed much to the victory during the Battle of Çıldır. After the battle, he was assigned to organize the newly conquered territories in the

Caucasus The Caucasus () or Caucasia (), is a region between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea, mainly comprising Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia (country), Georgia, and parts of Southern Russia. The Caucasus Mountains, including the Greater Caucasus range ...

. While establishing an effective Ottoman administration, he also had to fight against

Persia Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...

ns who were trying to regain their losses. In 1583, he fought against a Persian army in Baştepe a location in North Caucasus (modern Dagestan Republic of

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eig ...

) in a three-day clash named Battle of Torches, (named so because the battle continued into the night). He defeated the Persian army and secured Ottoman presence in the

. His next mission was dethroning the Crimean khan

Mehmed II Giray Mehmed II Giray, the Fat (1532–1584, reigned 1577–1584) was khan of the Crimean Khanate. During his reign he made at least three campaigns against Persia in the service of the Ottomans. He was overthrown by the Ottoman Empire for refusing ano ...

, who was an unreliable vassal, and enthroning a new khan, in which he was also successful. Then, from

Crimea Crimea, crh, Къырым, Qırım, grc, Κιμμερία / Ταυρική, translit=Kimmería / Taurikḗ ( ) is a peninsula in Ukraine, on the northern coast of the Black Sea, that has been occupied by Russia since 2014. It has a pop ...

he sailed to

Istanbul ) , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = 34000 to 34990 , area_code = +90 212 (European side) +90 216 (Asian side) , registration_plate = 34 , blank_name_sec2 = GeoTLD , blank_i ...

, the capital, where he was praised by the sultan

Murat III Murad III ( ota, مراد ثالث, Murād-i sālis; tr, III. Murad; 4 July 1546 – 16 January 1595) was Sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 1574 until his death in 1595. His rule saw battles with the Habsburgs and exhausting wars with the Saf ...

.Joseph von Hammer: ''Osmanlı Tarihi Vol II'' (condensation: Abdülkadir Karahan), Milliyet yayınları, İstanbul. p 100-101. ?Hammar-Purgstall's works date from 1840 and 1856. More modern sources say his attempt failed and that Mehmed was overthrown after Osman left.

Last years

On 28 May 1584, he was promoted to be the grand vizier, also keeping the title of high commander of the army ( tr,

serdar Serdar may refer to * Serdar (given name) * Serdar (surname) * SERDAR, a stabilized remote-controlled Ukrainian weapon station * Serdar (city) in Turkmenistan, the capital of Serdar District * Serdar (Ottoman rank), a military and noble rank of t ...

). Next year, he was again at the battle front. He conquered Tebriz, West Iran. However, a few weeks later on 29 October 1585, he fell ill and died. He was buried in Diyarbekir.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Osman, Ozdemiroglu 16th-century Grand Viziers of the Ottoman Empire Pashas People from the Ottoman Empire of Circassian descent 1526 births 1585 deaths Ottoman governors of Yemen Ottoman people of the Ottoman–Persian Wars

Origin

Early years

Battles

Last years

See also

References