Abdurrahman Abdi Pasha the Albanian (; 1616–1686) was an Ottoman politician and military leader of

Albanian Albanian may refer to: *Pertaining to Albania in Southeast Europe; in particular: **Albanians, an ethnic group native to the Balkans **Albanian language **Albanian culture **Demographics of Albania, includes other ethnic groups within the country ...

descent, who served as the last governor of the province of Budin.

Life

Early life

Abdurrahman Abdi Arnavud Pasha was born in the village of Çopani near Peqin,

Albania Albania ( ; or ), officially the Republic of Albania (), is a country in Southeast Europe. It is located in the Balkans, on the Adriatic Sea, Adriatic and Ionian Seas within the Mediterranean Sea, and shares land borders with Montenegro to ...

. He joined the Ottoman army and became

Agha of the Janissaries The Agha of the Janissaries or Janissary Agha (; ) was a top Ottoman Empire, Ottoman military official and courtier, and the commander of the Janissary corps. Apart from the commander-general of the entire corps, the title of "Agha of the Janissar ...

in 1667. He gained experience during the

siege of Candia The siege of Candia (now Heraklion, Crete) was a military conflict in which Ottoman forces besieged the Venetian-ruled capital city of the Kingdom of Candia. It lasted from 1648 to 1669 (a total of 21 years) and is one of the longest sieges in ...

, which the Venetians had to surrender in 1669. In 1672, he led the janissaries in the conquest of Kamieniec. In 1673, he became the governor of

Baghdad Baghdad ( or ; , ) is the capital and List of largest cities of Iraq, largest city of Iraq, located along the Tigris in the central part of the country. With a population exceeding 7 million, it ranks among the List of largest cities in the A ...

. He was made governor of

Egypt Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...

in 1676 and of

Bosnia Bosnia and Herzegovina, sometimes known as Bosnia-Herzegovina and informally as Bosnia, is a country in Southeast Europe. Situated on the Balkans, Balkan Peninsula, it borders Serbia to the east, Montenegro to the southeast, and Croatia to th ...

in 1680.

Military leadership

He took over the military leadership of

Buda Buda (, ) is the part of Budapest, the capital city of Hungary, that lies on the western bank of the Danube. Historically, “Buda” referred only to the royal walled city on Castle Hill (), which was constructed by Béla IV between 1247 and ...

in 1682 and became the governor of Ottoman-occupied

Hungary Hungary is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning much of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia and ...

in 1684. In 1684, the

Holy League Commencing in 1332, the numerous Holy Leagues were a new manifestation of the Crusading movement in the form of temporary alliances between interested Christian powers. Successful campaigns included the capture of Smyrna in 1344, at the Battle of ...

was established with the objective of ending the Ottoman threat to

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

by ousting the Ottomans from Hungary, which they had been ruling for 145 years. On the initiative and financial support of

Pope Innocent XI Pope Innocent XI (; ; 16 May 1611 – 12 August 1689), born Benedetto Odescalchi, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 21 September 1676 until his death on 12 August 1689. Political and religious tensions with ...

, the

Holy Roman Emperor The Holy Roman Emperor, originally and officially the Emperor of the Romans (disambiguation), Emperor of the Romans (; ) during the Middle Ages, and also known as the Roman-German Emperor since the early modern period (; ), was the ruler and h ...

, the King of

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

and the

Republic of Venice The Republic of Venice, officially the Most Serene Republic of Venice and traditionally known as La Serenissima, was a sovereign state and Maritime republics, maritime republic with its capital in Venice. Founded, according to tradition, in 697 ...

sent 80,000 troops into

, and Hungary. The army was composed of

Saxon The Saxons, sometimes called the Old Saxons or Continental Saxons, were a Germanic people of early medieval "Old" Saxony () which became a Carolingian " stem duchy" in 804, in what is now northern Germany. Many of their neighbours were, like th ...

Bavaria Bavaria, officially the Free State of Bavaria, is a States of Germany, state in the southeast of Germany. With an area of , it is the list of German states by area, largest German state by land area, comprising approximately 1/5 of the total l ...

Brandenburg Brandenburg, officially the State of Brandenburg, is a States of Germany, state in northeastern Germany. Brandenburg borders Poland and the states of Berlin, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Lower Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt, and Saxony. It is the List of Ger ...

and

Swedish Swedish or ' may refer to: Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically: * Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland ** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...

troops, with lesser numbers of

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

France 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 ...

and

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

, and some 15,000 Hungarians. The armies were led by

Prince Charles of Lorraine Prince Charles Alexander Emanuel of Lorraine (; ; 12 December 1712 in Lunéville – 4 July 1780 in Tervuren) was a Lorraine-born Austrian general and soldier, field marshal of the Imperial Army, and governor of the Austrian Netherlands. Earl ...

, Bavarian Elector

Maximilian II Emanuel Maximilian II (11 July 1662 – 26 February 1726), also known as Max Emanuel or Maximilian Emanuel, was a Wittelsbach ruler of Bavaria and a prince-elector of the Holy Roman Empire. He was also the last governor of the Spanish Netherlands and Duke ...

, Margrave of Baden Louis William and

Prince Eugene of Savoy Prince Eugene Francis of Savoy-Carignano (18 October 1663 – 21 April 1736), better known as Prince Eugene, was a distinguished Generalfeldmarschall, field marshal in the Army of the Holy Roman Empire and of the Austrian Habsburg dynasty durin ...

, all eminent military leaders of the time. In June, 1686, the

Christian A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...

army laid

siege A siege () . is a military blockade of a city, or fortress, with the intent of conquering by attrition, or by well-prepared assault. Siege warfare (also called siegecrafts or poliorcetics) is a form of constant, low-intensity conflict charact ...

to Buda. The city was well stocked with food, water and

gunpowder Gunpowder, also commonly known as black powder to distinguish it from modern smokeless powder, is the earliest known chemical explosive. It consists of a mixture of sulfur, charcoal (which is mostly carbon), and potassium nitrate, potassium ni ...

, but only 8000 soldiers were garrisoned within; although the Ottomans had promised 50,000 troops, they had not yet arrived.

Death

The relief forces of Grand Vizier Suleiman never arrived to support the troops within

. After more than 2 months of bombardment and a series of unsuccessful attacks, the city was reduced to ashes in the first days of September 1686. 3000 of his troops survived, but Abdurrahman Pasha himself was killed in the first lines when on September 2, the troops of the

Habsburg The House of Habsburg (; ), also known as the House of Austria, was one of the most powerful dynasties in the history of Europe and Western civilization. They were best known for their inbreeding and for ruling vast realms throughout Europe d ...

emperor breached the northern walls ending 145 years of Ottoman rule over Buda. A memorial to the late commander, the last

vizier A vizier (; ; ) is a high-ranking political advisor or Minister (government), minister in the Near East. The Abbasids, Abbasid caliphs gave the title ''wazir'' to a minister formerly called ''katib'' (secretary), who was at first merely a help ...

of Buda, stands on the Anjou bastion of the Buda castle, halfway between the Military History Museum and the

Vienna Gate The Vienna Gate (Hungarian:Bécsi kapu (IPA be:tʃɪ 'kɔpʊ; in English ) is located at the , Buda Castle, in 1st District, Budapest, Hungary. As the name suggests, it was the port connecting the Castle with the highway to Vienna. History ...

. The memorial was erected in 1932 by the descendants of

György Szabó György () is a Hungarian version of the name '' George''. Some notable people with this given name: * György Alexits (1899–1978), Hungarian mathematician * György Almásy (1867–1933), Hungarian asiologist, traveler, zoologist and ethnog ...

, who was a Hungarian soldier of the liberating army and also fell on this spot on September 2. The inscription, in Hungarian and Turkish, says: “The last governor of the 145 year Turkish sovereignty Abdurrahman Abdi Arnavut Pasha died near this place in the afternoon of the 2nd of September 1686, in the 70th year of his life. He was a heroic enemy, may he rest in peace!"

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Abdurrahman Abdi Pasha the Albanian 1616 births 1686 deaths 17th-century Ottoman governors of Egypt 17th-century Albanian people Medieval Albanian generals Albanian people from the Ottoman Empire Ottoman governors of Egypt Ottoman governors of Bosnia Albanian Pashas

Life

Early life

Military leadership

Death

See also

References