Alemdar Mustafa Pasha (also called Bayraktar Mustafa Pasha; 1755 – 15 November 1808) was an Ottoman military commander and

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 ...

. He was born into the family of a

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 ...

, possibly in Rusçuk (modern-day Ruse, Bulgaria), although varying information exists about his birthplace. He received the epithet ''bayraktar'' or ''alemdar'', both meaning 'flag-bearer' and probably referring to his military rank in the janissary corps, during the Russo-Turkish War of 1768–1774. After the war, he left the corps and eventually became a powerful notable and military commander in

Rumelia Rumelia (; ; ) was a historical region in Southeastern Europe that was administered by the Ottoman Empire, roughly corresponding to the Balkans. In its wider sense, it was used to refer to all Ottoman possessions and Vassal state, vassals in E ...

. He became a strong supporter of Selim III's reforms and became a rallying point for opponents of the new regime after Selim's deposition in 1807. In July 1808, he took power in a military coup, replacing Sultan Mustafa IV with

Mahmud II Mahmud II (, ; 20 July 1785 – 1 July 1839) was the sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 1808 until his death in 1839. Often described as the "Peter the Great of Turkey", Mahmud instituted extensive administrative, military, and fiscal reforms ...

and becoming grand vizier. He attempted to revive Selim's reform program, but he himself was killed only months later in a rebellion by the janissaries. Alemdar Mustafa Pasha is often regarded as a pioneering figure who recognized the need for a modern army. He was instrumental in setting up the French military mission in 1796.

Early career

Alemdar Mustafa is believed to have been born in about 1750 or 1765 in Rusçuk (modern-day Ruse, Bulgaria) into the family of a prosperous

. He was of Albanian origin and hailed from the village of Goskovë near

Korçë Korçë (; sq-definite, Korça) is the List of cities and towns in Albania, eighth most populous city of Albania and the seat of Korçë County and Korçë Municipality. The total population of the city is 51,152 and 75,994 of Korçë municipal ...

. He rose to power through the janissary corps, and, having been promoted to commandership, took part in the wars against

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and the

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire that spanned most of northern Eurasia from its establishment in November 1721 until the proclamation of the Russian Republic in September 1917. At its height in the late 19th century, it covered about , roughl ...

. It was during his service in the Russo-Turkish War of 1768–1774 that he acquired the epithet ''bayraktar'' or ''alemdar'', both meaning 'flag-bearer' and probably referring to his military rank in the janissary corps, although another source suggests that he received it later. He left the janissaries after the Russo-Turkish War of 1787–1792 and became a large-scale cattle-dealer and agriculturalist, living near Rusçuk. He became a close associate of Ismail Ağa Tirseniklioğlu, the leader of Rusçuk and a powerful provincial notable in the Ottoman Balkans (

). Mustafa showed his military prowess in his battles against the rebel Osman Pazvantoğlu. In 1803, Ismail Ağa appointed Mustafa the ''ayan'' (in this period, a semi-official local leadership position) of Hezargrad, near Rusçuk. After Ismail Ağa's death in 1806, Mustafa replaced him and became the most powerful leader in present-day eastern Bulgaria. The deposition of the reforming

Sultan Sultan (; ', ) is a position with several historical meanings. Originally, it was an Arabic abstract noun meaning "strength", "authority", "rulership", derived from the verbal noun ', meaning "authority" or "power". Later, it came to be use ...

Selim III in 1807, and his replacement with the reactionary Mustafa IV by the Janissaries and other opponents of

reform Reform refers to the improvement or amendment of what is wrong, corrupt, unsatisfactory, etc. The modern usage of the word emerged in the late 18th century and is believed to have originated from Christopher Wyvill's Association movement, which ...

, provoked Alemdar Mustafa Pasha to lead his army of

Albanians The Albanians are an ethnic group native to the Balkan Peninsula who share a common Albanian ancestry, Albanian culture, culture, Albanian history, history and Albanian language, language. They are the main ethnic group of Albania and Kosovo, ...

and

Bosnians Bosnians (Serbo-Croatian language, Serbo-Croatian: / ; / , / ) are people native to the country of Bosnia and Herzegovina, especially the region of Bosnia (region), Bosnia. The term ''Bosnian'' refers to all inhabitants/citizens of the coun ...

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 ...

in an attempt to reinstate Selim III and restore his reforms. After Alemdar's arrival, Mustafa IV ordered the killing of Selim III and

, succeeding in the former case. Seeing Selim III dead, Alemdar offered fealty to Mahmud II (Selim's cousin), who was instated as sultan, with Alemdar as his

. As grand vizier, Alemdar purged the soldiers who had rebelled against Selim, removed conservatives from government positions and replaced them with men sympathetic to reform. He modernised the army and navy and attempted to reform the Janissaries, but Mahmud, fearing a political backlash by the elite corps, halted these changes. Alemdar's power and influence and his arrogance in wielding it caused a rebellion against him . In November 1808, the Janissaries attacked the Porte and laid siege to the stone powder

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where he and his personal guard had taken refuge. As the Janissaries were about to break in, the powder barrels exploded, killing Alemdar, his guard, and several hundred Janissaries.

Alemdar Incident

Alemdar Mustafa Pasha had always been a keen supporter of Sultan Selim III. With Mustafa IV on the throne and rebels commanded by Kabakçı Mustafa in command of the Ottoman capital, Alemdar summoned a council in Rusçuk and decided to take action. On 21 June 1808, Alemdar and his army of about 15,000 men arrived in

in an event that came to be known as the Alemdar Incident ( Turkish: ''Alemdar Vakası)''. They easily took control, and Alemdar ordered the rebels to be killed or exiled. After Mustafa IV learned of these events, he decided to have his uncle, Selim III, and his younger brother, Prince Mahmud, killed so that he should be the only surviving member of the imperial family. The executioners first arrived in Selim III's room in the palace. Selim III, who was playing a reed flute and had no weapons, resisted with his flute, but his efforts proved futile and he was strangled to death. His dead body was brought to Alemdar who wept, thinking that he had failed in all his objectives. His men warned him that Mustafa IV's men planned to kill Prince Mahmud as well. The executioners had raided the prince's room, but the servants hid him on the roof. Alemdar and his men broke down the palace doors, killed the rebels and eventually saved the prince. Alemdar Mustafa Pasha declared Mahmud the new sultan (

), and became his grand vizier.

In the service of Sultan Mahmud II

But differences of opinion soon emerged between the new sultan

and Alemdar. First of all, Alemdar made an agreement with the rebel representative from

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 ...

n lands, which was called the Charter of Alliance (''Sened-i Ittifak''). Sultan Mahmud thought that this agreement threatened his authority and withdrew his support for the

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 ...

. Secondly, he re-established the army of Nizam-i Djedid ('New Order'), calling it the Sekban-I Cedid Army. The Nizam-ı Cedid Army was a hated rival to the Janissaries so the new name has been interpreted as an effort to appease them. Furthermore, Alemdar conducted an investigation into the Janissary corps and fired men who were not actually Janissaries but receiving Janissary salaries all the same.

Death

Alemdar's measures laid the ground for later reforms 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 ...

. But meanwhile, the ruling elite resented him. On 15 November 1808, about a thousand Janissaries raided Alemdar Mustafa Pasha's house. Realising he could not survive the assault, he ignited the gunpowder reserves in the cellar of his house, killing himself and approximately 400 Janissaries in the ensuing explosion. He was buried in the courtyard of the Zeynep Sultan Mosque in

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 ...

. A street in

near the

Sublime 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 buildi ...

is named after Alemdar Mustafa Pasha. A plaque there stating that his father was a Janissary from Ruscuk.

References

General references