Ahmad ibn Ridwan ( ) (died 1607), better known as Ahmad Pasha, was the governor of the

Damascus Eyalet Damascus Eyalet (; ) was an eyalet of the Ottoman Empire. Its reported area in the 19th century was . It became an eyalet after the Ottomans took it from the Mamluks following the 1516–1517 Ottoman–Mamluk War. By Gábor Ágoston, Bruce Alan ...

in the early 17th century. Before that, he was governor of the

Gaza Sanjak Gaza Sanjak (), known in Arabic as Bilād Ghazza (the Land of Gaza), was a sanjak of the Damascus Eyalet of the Ottoman Empire centered in Gaza, and spread northwards up to the Yarkon River. In the 16th century it was divided into ''nawahi'' ...

, a subprovince of Damascus, for nearly 30 years.

Governor of Gaza

Ahmad Pasha was the son of Ridwan ibn Mustafa Pasha, who founded the

Ridwan dynasty The Ridwan dynasty (also spelled ''Radwan''; Ze'evi, 2012, p39/ref>) was the most prominent pasha family in Palestine, ruling the southwestern districts of the Damascus Eyalet ("Province of Damascus") in the 16th and 17th centuries under Ottoma ...

, which governed southern

Palestine Palestine, officially the State of Palestine, is a country in West Asia. Recognized by International recognition of Palestine, 147 of the UN's 193 member states, it encompasses the Israeli-occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and th ...

for nearly two centuries. Ahmad acquired the governorship of Gaza Sanjak in 1585, following the death of Ridwan Pasha in

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 ...

. Ahmad chose Gaza to be the center of the Ridwan dynasty. He continued his relatively autonomous rule of the district—which at times included

Jerusalem Jerusalem is a city in the Southern Levant, on a plateau in the Judaean Mountains between the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean and the Dead Sea. It is one of the List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest cities in the world, and ...

and

Nablus Nablus ( ; , ) is a State of Palestine, Palestinian city in the West Bank, located approximately north of Jerusalem, with a population of 156,906. Located between Mount Ebal and Mount Gerizim, it is the capital of the Nablus Governorate and a ...

in central Palestine—until 1605. During this period, he was also given the prestigious role of ''

amir al-hajj ''Amir al-hajj'' ( or ; plural: ) was the position and title given to the commander of the annual Hajj pilgrim caravan by successive Muslim empires, from the 7th century until the 20th century. Since the Abbasid Caliphate, Abbasid period, there w ...

'' by the Ottoman state.Ze'evi, 1996, p.40 The Arabic biographer Muhammad al-Muhibbi described Ahmad Pasha as a "courageous" and "brilliant" man with a great understanding of history and science. Poets of the time wrote songs praising his knowledge. During his rule as Gaza's governor, the city became a regional cultural center. Its religious significance was boosted by Ahmad Pasha's scholarly pursuits in

Islamic theology Schools of Islamic theology are various Islamic schools and branches in different schools of thought regarding creed. The main schools of Islamic theology include the extant Mu'tazili, Ash'ari, Maturidi, and Athari schools; the extinct ones ...

and by the influence of his close friend and adviser

Khayr al-Din al-Ramli Khayr al-Din ibn Ahmad ibn Nur al-Din Ali ibn Zayn al-Din ibn Abd al-Wahab al-Ayubi al-Farooqui (1585–1671), better known as Khayr al-Din al-Ramli (), was a 17th-century Islamic jurist, teacher and writer in then Ottoman-ruled Palestine. He is ...

, an important

Islamic jurist Islam is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the Quran, and the teachings of Muhammad. Adherents of Islam are called Muslims, who are estimated to number 2 billion worldwide and are the world's second-largest religious populatio ...

in the region who he befriended in 1603.Ze'evi, 1996, p.53

Governor of Damascus

Unlike his father, Ahmad Pasha had to lobby for the position of ''

beylerbey ''Beylerbey'' (, meaning the 'commander of commanders' or 'lord of lords’, sometimes rendered governor-general) was a high rank in the western Islamic world in the late Middle Ages and early modern period, from the Anatolian Seljuks and the I ...

'' ("provincial governor") of the Damascus Eyalet. According to Arab historian Rifaat Abu al-Haj, Ahmad Pasha had to send to gifts and large sums of money to "countless vezirs and bureaucrats" in the Ottoman capital

Istanbul Istanbul is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, constituting the country's economic, cultural, and historical heart. With Demographics of Istanbul, a population over , it is home to 18% of the Demographics ...

before being awarded the province in 1601. During his rule, Ahmad Pasha became a

patron Patronage is the support, encouragement, privilege, or financial aid that an organization or individual bestows on another. In the history of art, art patronage refers to the support that princes, popes, and other wealthy and influential people ...

of Muslim jurists and is known to have regularly consulted the

ulema In Islam, the ''ulama'' ( ; also spelled ''ulema''; ; singular ; feminine singular , plural ) are scholars of Islamic doctrine and law. They are considered the guardians, transmitters, and interpreters of religious knowledge in Islam. "Ulama ...

'', high-ranking Muslim scholars, on provincial affairs. Abu al-Haj wrote that by the time Ahmad Pasha had gained the governorship of Damascus, Ahmad had grown old. He died, while still in power, in 1607. Following his death, Ahmad's son Hasan "'Arab" Pasha inherited the governorship of Gaza and took part in putting down the revolt of

Fakhr-al-Din II Fakhr al-Din Ma'n (; 6 August 1572 13 April 1635), commonly known as Fakhr al-Din II or Fakhreddine II (), was the paramount Druze emir of Mount Lebanon from the Ma'n dynasty, an Ottoman governor of Sidon-Beirut and Safed, and the strongman ...

in modern-day

Lebanon Lebanon, officially the Republic of Lebanon, is a country in the Levant region of West Asia. Situated at the crossroads of the Mediterranean Basin and the Arabian Peninsula, it is bordered by Syria to the north and east, Israel to the south ...

Legacy

In the al-Aqsa Compound, there are three khalwas (chambers for spiritual retreat) near the

Dome of the Rock The Dome of the Rock () is an Islamic shrine at the center of the Al-Aqsa mosque compound on the Temple Mount in the Old City (Jerusalem), Old City of Jerusalem. It is the world's oldest surviving work of Islamic architecture, the List_of_the_ol ...

that are named after him: the Western Khalwa of Aḥmad Pasha, Eastern Khalwa of Aḥmad Pasha and Eastern Khalwa (al-Aḥmadiyya Madrasa), being plus the nisba suffix. In addition, he also likely was a mediator in the construction of the al-Junblāṭiyya Khalwa, also in the al-Aqsa Compound.

References

Bibliography

* * {{refend Ottoman governors of Damascus Ottoman governors of Gaza Year of birth unknown 1607 deaths

Ahmad Ahmad () is an Arabic male given name common in most parts of the Muslim world. Other English spellings of the name include Ahmed. It is also used as a surname. Etymology The word derives from the root ( ḥ-m-d), from the Arabic (), from ...

People from the Ottoman Empire of Bosnian descent Political people from the Ottoman Empire People from Gaza City 17th-century governors of the Ottoman Empire

Governor of Gaza

Governor of Damascus

Legacy

See also

References

Bibliography