The Abaza rebellion was a group of uprisings that occurred in the 17th century in the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empire, was an empire, imperial realm that controlled much of Southeast Europe, West Asia, and North Africa from the 14th to early 20th centuries; it also controlled parts of southeastern Centr ...

during the reigns of

Mustafa I Mustafa I (; ‎; ; 1600/1602 – 20 January 1639) was twice the sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 22 November 1617 to 26 February 1618, and from 20 May 1622 to 10 September 1623. He was the son of sultan Mehmed III and Halime Sultan. Earl ...

(1622–23) and

Murat IV Murad IV (, ''Murād-ı Rābiʿ''; , 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 Constantinople, the son of Sul ...

(1623–40). The name of the rebellion refers to Abaza Mehmet (or Abaza for short), an Ottoman

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 ...

of Abkhazian origin. Sometimes, this event is considered as a part of the

Jelali revolts The Celali rebellions () were a series of rebellions in Anatolia of irregular troops led by bandit chiefs and provincial officials known as ''celalî'', ''celâli'', or ''jelālī'', against the authority of the Ottoman Empire in the late 16th and ...

. But unlike the other Jelali revolts the principal reason of the Abaza rebellion was the resentment towards the

janissary A janissary (, , ) was a member of the elite infantry units that formed the Ottoman sultan's household troops. They were the first modern standing army, and perhaps the first infantry force in the world to be equipped with firearms, adopted dur ...

corps.

Background

The Ottoman sultan

Osman II Osman II ( ''‘Osmān-i sānī''; ; 3 November 1604 – 20 May 1622), also known as Osman the Young (), was the sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 26 February 1618 until his regicide on 20 May 1622. Early life Osman II was born at Topkapı Pa ...

(1618–1622), who laid a siege on

Khotyn Khotyn (, ; , ; see #Name, other names) is a List of cities in Ukraine, city in Dnistrovskyi Raion, Chernivtsi Oblast of western Ukraine, located south-west of Kamianets-Podilskyi. It hosts the administration of Khotyn urban hromada, one of th ...

(in modern

Ukraine Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the List of European countries by area, second-largest country in Europe after Russia, which Russia–Ukraine border, borders it to the east and northeast. Ukraine also borders Belarus to the nor ...

, then a part of

Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth The Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, also referred to as Poland–Lithuania or the First Polish Republic (), was a federation, federative real union between the Crown of the Kingdom of Poland, Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania ...

), could not capture the city. He blamed the unruly janissaries for the failure. The janissaries, once elite troops of the Ottoman Empire, had been corrupted during the stagnation era of the empire. Osman planned to create a new army based on

Turkmens Turkmens (, , , ) are a Turkic ethnic group native to Central Asia, living mainly in Turkmenistan, northern and northeastern regions of Iran and north-western Afghanistan. Sizeable groups of Turkmens are found also in Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, ...

Anatolia Anatolia (), also known as Asia Minor, is a peninsula in West Asia that makes up the majority of the land area of Turkey. It is the westernmost protrusion of Asia and is geographically bounded by the Mediterranean Sea to the south, the Aegean ...

. Energetic but young and inexperienced, Osman II revealed his intent. This caused a janissary revolt in the capital

Constantinople Constantinople (#Names of Constantinople, see other names) was a historical city located on the Bosporus that served as the capital of the Roman Empire, Roman, Byzantine Empire, Byzantine, Latin Empire, Latin, and Ottoman Empire, Ottoman empire ...

. Osman was imprisoned and later assassinated by the janissary partizans on 20 May 1622. This assassination caused a great shock in the Ottoman lands.

First rebellion

Abaza Mehmet was the governor of

Erzurum Erzurum (; ) is a List of cities in Turkey, 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. It is the site of an ...

. According to historian Joseph von Hammer-Purgstall, he was a consultant of Osman II in his efforts to abolish the janissaries. Shortly after hearing the news about the assassination, he began expelling and even killing the janissaries on duty in his province. Although he was formally dismissed by the

Ottoman Porte The Sublime Porte, also known as the Ottoman Porte or High Porte ( or ''Babıali''; ), was a synecdoche or metaphor used to refer collectively to the central government of the Ottoman Empire in Istanbul. It is particularly referred to the buildin ...

(government) on 17 November 1622, he continued to stay in Erzurum and claimed that he was loyal to the Porte but he was trying to punish those who were responsible for the assassination. The Turkmen people of Central Anatolia, who were also accusing the janissaries, readily accepted his cause and soon he began controlling most of Eastern and Central Anatolia. In 1624, finally the Porte decided to fight against Abaza's forces. Commander () of the army was Hafız Ahmet Pasha. The clash took place in the plains near

Kayseri Kayseri () is a large List of cities in Turkey, city in Central Anatolia, Turkey, and the capital of Kayseri Province, Kayseri province. Historically known as Caesarea (Mazaca), Caesarea, it has been the historical capital of Cappadocia since anc ...

on 16 August 1624. During the battle, some troops in Abaza's army changed sides and Abaza's forces were defeated. Abaza escaped to Erzurum, and during the ensuing talks he was able to convince the Porte of his good intentions. Thus he continued as the governor.

Second rebellion

During the

Ottoman–Safavid War (1623–1639) The Ottoman–Safavid War of 1623–1639 was a conflict fought between the Ottoman Empire and Safavid Iran, then the two major powers of Western Asia, over control of Mesopotamia. After initial Safavid success in recapturing Baghdad and most of ...

, the

Safavid The Guarded Domains of Iran, commonly called Safavid Iran, Safavid Persia or the Safavid Empire, was one of the largest and longest-lasting Iranian empires. It was ruled from 1501 to 1736 by the Safavid dynasty. It is often considered the begi ...

(Persian) army was threatening the Ottoman city Ahıska (modern

Akhaltsikhe Akhaltsikhe ( ka, ახალციხე ), formerly known as Lomsia ( ka, ლომსია ), is a small city in Georgia's southwestern region () of Samtskhe–Javakheti. It is the administrative center of the Akhaltsikhe Municipality and ...

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States Georgia may also refer to: People and fictional characters * Georgia (name), a list of pe ...

) in August 1627. Abaza was ordered to support the Ottoman army. Although Abaza asked for the commandship of the army, he was refused. He began to move his troops to the battleground. However, instead of supporting the army, he waited for a suitable moment to raid the Ottoman army. The raid was successful. In addition to janissaries, many Ottoman pashas were killed. Upon this humiliating defeat, the

Grand vizier Grand vizier (; ; ) was the title of the effective head of government of many sovereign states in the Islamic world. It was first held by officials in the later Abbasid Caliphate. It was then held in the Ottoman Empire, the Mughal Empire, the Soko ...

Halil Pasha Halil Pasha () was an Ottoman Empire, Ottoman statesman who served as the List of Ottoman governors of Egypt, governor of Egypt Eyalet, Ottoman Egypt from 1631 to 1633. He was known for his "gentle, impartial, and prosperous administration"d'Avenn ...

was dismissed. The new grand vizier became

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 lif ...

. In September 1628, Hüsrev Pasha laid a siege on Erzurum. He had cannons at his disposal. On 18 September 1628, Abaza decided to give up. Hüsrev Pasha accepted his terms. Thus, he was not punished; but he was assigned to govern in one of the European provinces of the Empire, where he had no local support.Prof.Yaşar Yücel-Prof Ali Sevim: ''Türkiye Tarihi III'', AKDTYKTTK Yayınları, 1991, p 69

References

{{Rebellions in the Ottoman Empire Rebellions in the Ottoman Empire 17th century in the Ottoman Empire Conflicts in 1624 Conflicts in 1628 Military history of Erzurum 1624 in the Ottoman Empire 1628 in the Ottoman Empire

Background

First rebellion

Second rebellion

See also

References