Abaza Mehmed Pasha ( tr, Abaza Mehmed Paşa, ab, Меҳмеҭ Росҭом-иԥа Лакырба, ма Кыржәаа); 1576 – August 23, 1634) was a statesman and military commander 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) ...

, the namesake of the Abaza rebellion. He was the

beylerbey ''Beylerbey'' ( ota, بكلربكی, beylerbeyi, lit=bey of beys, meaning the 'commander of commanders' or 'lord of lords') was a high rank in the western Islamic world in the late Middle Ages and early modern period, from the Anatolian Seljuks ...

of the

Bosnia Eyalet The Eyalet of Bosnia ( ota, ایالت بوسنه ,Eyālet-i Bōsnâ; By Gábor Ágoston, Bruce Alan Masters ; sh, Bosanski pašaluk), was an eyalet (administrative division, also known as a ''beylerbeylik'') of the Ottoman Empire, mostly based o ...

in 1628–1631. He was executed by sultan

Murat IV Murad IV ( ota, مراد رابع, ''Murād-ı Rābiʿ''; tr, IV. Murad, was the Sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 1623 to 1640, known both for restoring the authority of the state and for the brutality of his methods. Murad IV was born in Cons ...

in 1634. He was involved in the Abaza and Celali rebellions.

Early life

Abaza was originally a slave of Abkhaz origin. The Family Lakrba is a Amista ( Lord )

Biography

Treasurer of Aleppo

He started his career as the treasurer of

Ali Janbulad Ali Janbulad Pasha (transliterated in Turkish as Canbolatoğlu Ali Paşa; died 1 March 1610) was a Kurds, Kurdish tribal chief from Kilis and a rebel Ottoman Empire, Ottoman governor of Aleppo Eyalet, Aleppo who wielded practical supremacy over ...

, Pasha of

Aleppo )), is an adjective which means "white-colored mixed with black". , motto = , image_map = , mapsize = , map_caption = , image_map1 = ...

Janbulad Rebellion

In 1607, he was captured for his role in Janbulad rebellion by

Grand Vizier Grand vizier ( fa, وزيرِ اعظم, vazîr-i aʾzam; ota, صدر اعظم, sadr-ı aʾzam; tr, sadrazam) was the title of the effective head of government of many sovereign states in the Islamic world. The office of Grand Vizier was first ...

Kuyucu Murad Pasha Kuyucu Murad Pasha (Ottoman Turkish for "Murad Pasha the Well-digger", i.e. "Gravedigger"; sh, Murat-paša Kujudžić; 1535 – 1611) was an Ottoman statesman who served as Grand Vizier of the Ottoman Empire during the reign of Ahmed I bet ...

on the Amik plain. However the timely intervention of Agha

Damat Halil Pasha Damat Halil Pasha (died 1629, Istanbul), also known as Khalil Pasha, was an Ottoman Armenian statesman. He was grand vizier of the Ottoman Empire in 1616–1619 and 1626–1628.İsmail Hâmi Danişmend, Osmanlı Devlet Erkânı, Türkiye Yay� ...

saved his life.

Under
Grand Vizier Grand vizier ( fa, وزيرِ اعظم, vazîr-i aʾzam; ota, صدر اعظم, sadr-ı aʾzam; tr, sadrazam) was the title of the effective head of government of many sovereign states in the Islamic world. The office of Grand Vizier was first ...

Damat Halil Pasha Damat Halil Pasha (died 1629, Istanbul), also known as Khalil Pasha, was an Ottoman Armenian statesman. He was grand vizier of the Ottoman Empire in 1616–1619 and 1626–1628.İsmail Hâmi Danişmend, Osmanlı Devlet Erkânı, Türkiye Yay� ...
Agha

Abaza rose through ranks becoming Governor of Aleppo and Marash. He was later reported of becoming Governor of Erzurum. In 1617, his sponsor Damat Halil Pasha was appointed Grand Vizier, thus opening several closed doors upon him.

Celali rebellion

Due to the constant state of war over Eastern Anatolia,

Janissaries A Janissary ( ota, یڭیچری, yeŋiçeri, , ) was a member of the elite infantry units that formed the Ottoman Sultan's household troops and the first modern standing army in Europe. The corps was most likely established under sultan Orhan ( ...

swelled up over the entire region. This coupled with the friction between native and Janissaries; and assassination of

Osman II Osman II ( ota, عثمان ثانى ''‘Osmān-i sānī''; tr, II. Osman; 3 November 1604 – 20 May 1622), also known as Osman the Young ( tr, Genç Osman), was Sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 26 February 1618 until his regicide on 20 May 162 ...

, drew the populace at odds with the Janissaries. This led Abaza to fight against the Janissaries. In 1624, he joined the Celali rebellion, and exterminated several janissaries. He further set his army towards

Istanbul Istanbul ( , ; tr, İstanbul ), formerly known as Constantinople ( grc-gre, Κωνσταντινούπολις; la, Constantinopolis), is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, serving as the country's economic, ...

, to complete the objective. With a force of 30000 commoners, he captured

Sivas Sivas (Latin and Greek: ''Sebastia'', ''Sebastea'', Σεβάστεια, Σεβαστή, ) is a city in central Turkey and the seat of Sivas Province. The city, which lies at an elevation of in the broad valley of the Kızılırmak river, is a ...

. He besieged

Ankara Ankara ( , ; ), historically known as Ancyra and Angora, is the capital of Turkey. Located in the central part of Anatolia, the city has a population of 5.1 million in its urban center and over 5.7 million in Ankara Province, maki ...

and

Bursa ( grc-gre, Προῦσα, Proûsa, Latin: Prusa, ota, بورسه, Arabic:بورصة) is a city in northwestern Turkey and the administrative center of Bursa Province. The fourth-most populous city in Turkey and second-most populous in the ...

, while he wasn't much successful in the latter. He retreated to

Niğde Niğde (; grc, Νίγδη; Hittite: Nahita, Naxita) is a city and the capital of Niğde province in the Central Anatolia region of Turkey at an elevation of 1,299 m. In 2017 the city population was 141,010 people. The city is small with plenty ...

. He then utilised

Erzurum Erzurum (; ) is a city in eastern Anatolia, Turkey. It is the largest city and capital of Erzurum Province and is 1,900 meters (6,233 feet) above sea level. Erzurum had a population of 367,250 in 2010. The city uses the double-headed eagle as ...

as headquarters for the rebels. On 16 September 1628, the new Grand Vizier

Gazi Hüsrev Pasha Gazi Hüsrev Pasha (died March 1632), also called Boşnak Hüsrev Pasha ("Hüsrev Pasha the Bosnian") or Ekrem Hüsrev Pasha ("Hüsrev Pasha the Kind"), was an Ottoman Grand Vizier of Bosnian descent during the reign of Murad IV. Early life ...

besieged the Erzurum castle. Within a fortnight, Abaza was forced to surrender.

Capture

After his defeat Abaza was expected to be executed upon return to Istanbul. However his intelligence and courage impressed

Murad IV Murad IV ( ota, مراد رابع, ''Murād-ı Rābiʿ''; tr, IV. Murad, was the Sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 1623 to 1640, known both for restoring the authority of the state and for the brutality of his methods. Murad IV was born in Cons ...

and he was pardoned.

Governorship of Bosnia

He was given the governorship of

Ottoman Bosnia The Ottoman Empire era of rule in Bosnia and Herzegovina (first as a ''sanjak'', then as an ''eyalet'') and Herzegovina (also as a ''sanjak'', then ''eyalet'') lasted from 1463/1482 to 1878 ''de facto'', and until 1908 ''de jure''. Ottoman ...

(Bosna Eyalet) on 22 September 1628.

Polish Campaign

In 1633, Murad IV ordered Abaza to invade

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...

, when Poles didn't comply with terms of the treaty. He met with troops from Crimea, Wallachia and Moldavia in Vidin (in present day Bulgaria). The Polish envoy Trebzinski asked for peace and agreex for annual tribute to the

Porte Porte may refer to: *Sublime Porte, the central government of the Ottoman empire *Porte, Piedmont, a municipality in the Piedmont region of Italy *John Cyril Porte, British/Irish aviator *Richie Porte, Australian professional cyclist who competes ...

and demolishment of the forts of

Dniester River The Dniester, ; rus, Дне́стр, links=1, Dnéstr, ˈdⁿʲestr; ro, Nistru; grc, Τύρᾱς, Tyrās, ; la, Tyrās, la, Danaster, label=none, ) ( ,) is a transboundary river in Eastern Europe. It runs first through Ukraine and th ...

Execution

Despite his achievements the Sultan suspected him to be a rebel. In a dispute between Greeks and Armenians, he was executed on grounds that he took bribes from the Armenians and provided them with interest. He was buried at the tomb of

Legacy

Abaza was famous for his clothing and envied/looked upon by even the Sultan.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Abaza Mehmed Pasha 1576 births 1634 deaths 17th-century Ottoman military personnel Military personnel of the Ottoman Empire Abkhaz people People from the Ottoman Empire of Abkhazian descent Ottoman governors of Bosnia