Iliaș Colceag ( fl. before 1710 – 1743) was a Moldovan mercenary and military commander in the Ottoman and

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the Russian monarchy from 1721 to 1917, ruling across large parts of Eurasia. It succeeded the Tsardom of Russia following the Treaty of Nystad, which ended the Great Northern War. ...

Biography

According to some sources, Colceag was born in southern Bessarabia (

Budjak Budjak or Budzhak ( Bulgarian and Ukrainian: Буджак; ro, Bugeac; Gagauz and Turkish: ''Bucak''), historically part of Bessarabia until 1812, is a historical region in Ukraine and Moldova. Lying along the Black Sea between the Danube ...

), at a time when Moldavia was a vassal state to 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) ...

. He entered the

Ottoman army The military of the Ottoman Empire ( tr, Osmanlı İmparatorluğu'nun silahlı kuvvetleri) was the armed forces of the Ottoman Empire. Army The military of the Ottoman Empire can be divided in five main periods. The foundation era covers the ...

and was first posted in Bosnia. Here, he converted to Islam and took the name of ''Hussein''. He distinguished himself during the Russo-Turkish War of 1710–1711, being promoted bölükbaşı. In 1717 Sultan Ahmed III awarded him the title of

pasha Pasha, Pacha or Paşa ( ota, پاشا; tr, paşa; sq, Pashë; ar, باشا), in older works sometimes anglicized as bashaw, was a higher rank in the Ottoman political and military system, typically granted to governors, generals, dignitar ...

and named him commander of

Khotyn Fortress The Khotyn Fortress ( uk, Хотинська фортеця, pl, twierdza w Chocimiu, tr, Hotin Kalesi, ro, Cetatea Hotinului) is a fortification complex located on the right bank of the Dniester River in Khotyn, Chernivtsi Oblast (province) ...

. Colceag kept this position for 22 years. In Turkish

historiography Historiography is the study of the methods of historians in developing history as an academic discipline, and by extension is any body of historical work on a particular subject. The historiography of a specific topic covers how historians ha ...

he is also known as Kolchak-Pasha. In 1734 (according to other sources 1736) he was appointed

vizier A vizier (; ar, وزير, wazīr; fa, وزیر, vazīr), or wazir, is a high-ranking political advisor or minister in the near east. The Abbasid caliphs gave the title ''wazir'' to a minister formerly called '' katib'' (secretary), who was ...

, but held this position only for a short time. During the Russo-Turkish War of 1735–1739, Colceag was appointed commander in chief of the Ottoman armed forces of the Moldavian front. He did not see any major action, as the main battles were fought primarily on the

Crimean Peninsula 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 ...

. However, in 1738, when the main hostilities moved to the Southern Bug, the command of the Ottoman army was taken over by Veli-Paşa while Colceag kept his position of commander of the Khotyn Fortress. After defeating the Turks in the

Battle of Stavuchany The Battle of Stavuchany was a battle between the Russian and Ottoman armies, which took place on August 17(28) of 1739 during the Russo-Turkish War of 1735-1739. Prelude Stavuchany ( Moldovan Stăuceni) is a small moldavian village some 12&nb ...

, Russian General Burkhard Christoph von Münnich besieged the Khotyn Fortress. Colceag had only 900 men to face the over 60,000 strong Russian army. General von Münnich offered Colceag honorable conditions of surrender following which, on 19 August 1739 the pasha capitulated. Colceag and his son Mahmet-bey were taken to

Saint Petersburg Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...

and stayed there as prisoners of war. They were freed by Empress

Anna of Russia Anna Ioannovna (russian: Анна Иоанновна; ), also russified as Anna Ivanovna and sometimes anglicized as Anne, served as regent of the duchy of Courland from 1711 until 1730 and then ruled as Empress of Russia from 1730 to 1740. Much ...

on 15 February 1740. After the peace treaty was signed, Colceag decided to return 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 ...

. On his way he was informed that Sultan Mahmud I had decided to decapitate him, considering the surrender of Khotyn an act of

treason Treason is the crime of attacking a state authority to which one owes allegiance. This typically includes acts such as participating in a war against one's native country, attempting to overthrow its government, spying on its military, its diplo ...

. Colceag entered into service with the Kiev

voivode Voivode (, also spelled ''voievod'', ''voevod'', ''voivoda'', ''vojvoda'' or ''wojewoda'') is a title denoting a military leader or warlord in Central, Southeastern and Eastern Europe since the Early Middle Ages. It primarily referred to the ...

, the

Polish Polish may refer to: * Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe * Polish language * Poles Poles,, ; singular masculine: ''Polak'', singular feminine: ''Polka'' or Polish people, are a West Slavic nation and ethnic group, w ...

count

Józef Potocki Józef Potocki (; 1673–1751) was a Polish nobleman ( szlachcic), magnate, Great Hetman of the Crown. Józef was considered as the richest magnate in Poland at that time. He was Voivode of Kijów Voivodship (Kyiv, also Kiev) from 1702 to 1744, ...

. He settled in

Żytomierz Zhytomyr ( uk, Жито́мир, translit=Zhytomyr ; russian: Жито́мир, Zhitomir ; pl, Żytomierz ; yi, זשיטאָמיר, Zhitomir; german: Schytomyr ) is a city in the north of the western half of Ukraine. It is the administrative ...

, where he died in 1743. His son entered into Russian service and converted to

Orthodox Christianity Orthodoxy (from Greek: ) is adherence to correct or accepted creeds, especially in religion. Orthodoxy within Christianity refers to acceptance of the doctrines defined by various creeds and ecumenical councils in Antiquity, but different Chur ...

.Камша, Вера (27 January 2000)
"Я служу родине. Колчаки: из истории одной военной династии."
''Независимая газета.'' Retrieved on 29 March 2009. Under Empress

Elizabeth of Russia Elizabeth Petrovna (russian: Елизаве́та (Елисаве́та) Петро́вна) (), also known as Yelisaveta or Elizaveta, reigned as Empress of Russia from 1741 until her death in 1762. She remains one of the most popular List of ...

the Kolchak family achieved aristocratic status and became landowners. Most of Colceag’s descendants followed military careers. The most famous of Colceag’s descendants is Admiral Alexander Kolchak.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Colceag, Ilias Year of birth uncertain 1743 deaths 18th-century Romanian people 18th-century Ottoman military personnel 18th-century military personnel from the Russian Empire Military personnel of the Ottoman Empire Romanian Muslims Converts to Islam Russian people of Romanian descent Romanian nobility 18th-century soldiers