Hadım Sinan Pasha ( ota, خادم سنان پاشا, tr, Hadım Sinan Paşa, ; sh, Sinan-paša Borovinić; died 22 January 1517) was
Bosnian-
Ottoman nobleman, politician and statesman. He served as the
Grand Vizier of the Ottoman Empire from 1516 to 1517. He was a
eunuch
A eunuch ( ) is a male who has been castrated. Throughout history, castration often served a specific social function.
The earliest records for intentional castration to produce eunuchs are from the Sumerian city of Lagash in the 2nd millenni ...
.
Life
Early life
Sinan Pasha was of
Bosnian descent. According to Ragusan documents the
Borovinić noble family were from the
Borovinići village near
Foča
Foča ( sr-Cyrl, Фоча, ) is a town and a municipality located in Republika Srpska in south-eastern Bosnia and Herzegovina, on the banks of Drina river. As of 2013, the town has a population of 12,234 inhabitants, while the municipality has 1 ...
.
His ancestor
Tvrtko Borovinić (fl. 1417–46) was a close relative of
Grand Dukes of Bosnia,
Radoslav Pavlović, whom he served as a vassal.
Sanjak-bey
From December 1496 he was
sanjak-bey of Bosnia. From 1504 to 1506, he was the
sanjak-bey of Herzegovina.
In 1507–08 he expanded the
Mostar
, settlement_type = City
, image_skyline = Mostar (collage image).jpg
, image_caption = From top, left to right: A panoramic view of the heritage town site and the Neretva river from Lučki Bridge, Koski Mehmed Pasha ...
mosque built in 1473 by an earlier Sinan Pasha who was the first sanjak-bey of Herzegovina.
Then he was the
sanjak-bey of Smederevo between 1506 and 1513.
Hadim Sinan was a
eunuch
A eunuch ( ) is a male who has been castrated. Throughout history, castration often served a specific social function.
The earliest records for intentional castration to produce eunuchs are from the Sumerian city of Lagash in the 2nd millenni ...
.
Beylerbey and Grand Vizier
In 1514, he was the
Beylerbey
''Beylerbey'' ( ota, بكلربكی, beylerbeyi, lit= bey of beys, meaning the 'commander of commanders' or 'lord of lords') was a high rank in the western Islamic world in the late Middle Ages and early modern period, from the Anatolian Selj ...
(high governor) of
Anatolia
Anatolia, tr, Anadolu Yarımadası), and the Anatolian plateau, also known as Asia Minor, is a large peninsula in Western Asia and the westernmost protrusion of the Asian continent. It constitutes the major part of modern-day Turkey. The re ...
. In the
battle of Chaldiran
The Battle of Chaldiran ( fa, جنگ چالدران; tr, Çaldıran Savaşı) took place on 23 August 1514 and ended with a decisive victory for the Ottoman Empire over the Safavid Empire. As a result, the Ottomans annexed Eastern Anatolia and ...
against
Safavid Persia
Safavid Iran or Safavid Persia (), also referred to as the Safavid Empire, '. was one of the greatest Iranian empires after the 7th-century Muslim conquest of Persia, which was ruled from 1501 to 1736 by the Safavid dynasty. It is often conside ...
he was in charge of right flank. After the battle he was appointed as the beylerbey of
Rumeli, a post more prestigious than his former post. His next mission was the conquest of the
Dulkadirids
The Anatolian beylik of Dulkadir (Modern Turkish: ''Dulkadiroğulları Beyliği''), was one of the frontier principalities established by the Turkoman clans Bayat, Afshar and Begdili after the decline of Seljuk Sultanate of Rûm.
Capitals
T ...
, a vassal of the Mameluks, in what is now South
Turkey
Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with a small portion on the Balkan Peninsula ...
. He defeated
Bozkurt of Dulkadir in the
Battle of Turnadağ. After the conquest of the beylik,
Selim I
Selim I ( ota, سليم الأول; tr, I. Selim; 10 October 1470 – 22 September 1520), known as Selim the Grim or Selim the Resolute ( tr, links=no, Yavuz Sultan Selim), was the Sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 1512 to 1520. Despite las ...
(the Inflexible) appointed him as the grand vizier on April 25, 1516. Sinan was Selim's favorite grand vizier. He was active in the conquest of
Syria
Syria ( ar, سُورِيَا or سُورِيَة, translit=Sūriyā), officially the Syrian Arab Republic ( ar, الجمهورية العربية السورية, al-Jumhūrīyah al-ʻArabīyah as-Sūrīyah), is a Western Asian country loc ...
and
Egypt
Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning the North Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via a land bridg ...
. He defeated and subdued the independent
Kurdish emirate of
Baban
Baban () was a Kurdish principality existing from the 16th century to 1850, centered around Sulaymaniyah. The Baban principality played an active role in the Ottoman-Safavid conflict and gave significant military support to the Ottomans. They were ...
, making them an Ottoman vassal. On October 28, 1516, he defeated an
Egyptian Mameluke army in
Khan Yunis
Khan Yunis ( ar, خان يونس, also spelled Khan Younis or Khan Yunus; translation: ''Caravansary fJonah'') is a city in the southern Gaza Strip. According to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics, Khan Yunis had a population of 142,6 ...
, near
Gazza,
Palestine. Next year, he fought in the
Battle of Ridaniya
The Battle of Ridaniya or Battle of Ridanieh ( tr, Ridaniye Muharebesi; ar, معركة الريدانية) was fought on January 22, 1517, in Egypt. The Ottoman forces of Selim I defeated the Mamluk forces under Al-Ashraf Tuman bay II. The T ...
in Egypt on January 22, 1517. In Ottoman battle tradition, the sultan was almost always in the central headquarters. But battle of Ridaniya was an exception. Selim I decided to encircle the Mameluks personally and assigned Sinan in the central headquarters. The plot was successful and the Mameluks were defeated. However, before the battle was over, Mameluk cavalry (including
Tuman bay II
Al-Ashraf Abu Al-Nasr Tuman bay ( ar, الأشرف أبو النصر طومان باي), better known as Tuman bay II ( ar, طومان باي), (c. 1476 – 15 April 1517) was the last Sultan of Egypt before the country's conquest by the Ottoman ...
, the Egyptian sultan) raided the Ottoman headquarters and killed Sinan, thinking he was the sultan.
[Prof. Yaşar Yüce-Prof. Ali Sevim: ''Türkiye tarihi Cilt II'', AKDTYKTTK Yayınları, İstanbul, 1991 p 248-249] After the battle sultan Selim expressed his sorrow, saying, "We won the battle, but we lost Sinan."
Personal life
According to some sources, Sinan was married to the full-sister of Sultan
Bayezid II
Bayezid II ( ota, بايزيد ثانى, Bāyezīd-i s̱ānī, 3 December 1447 – 26 May 1512, Turkish: ''II. Bayezid'') was the eldest son and successor of Mehmed II, ruling as Sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 1481 to 1512. During his reign, B ...
. It has been speculated that this sister was
Gevherhan Hatun
Gevherhan Hatun ( ota, کوھرخان خاتون "''Gem of the Khan''") was an Ottoman princess, the daughter of Mehmed the Conqueror (reign 1444–46 and 1451–81) and Gülbahar Hatun. She was the sister of Sultan Bayezid II (reign 1481–151 ...
, Bayezid's only known full sister. Some historians have disputed this, arguing that Sinan may also have married one of
Bayezid's half-sisters, or that Bayezid had an unknown second full-sister.
See also
*
List of Ottoman Grand Viziers
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sinan Pasha, Hadim
16th-century Grand Viziers of the Ottoman Empire
Grand Viziers of Selim I
Ottoman governors of Anatolia
Ottoman governors of Rumelia
Ottoman governors of Bosnia
Sanjak of Herzegovina
Year of birth unknown
1517 deaths
Eunuchs from the Ottoman Empire
Ottoman military personnel killed in action
Pashas
Devshirme
Ottoman Bosnian nobility
People from the Ottoman Empire of Bosnian descent
Bosnian Muslims from the Ottoman Empire
Slavs from the Ottoman Empire
1510s in the Ottoman Empire
16th century in Bosnia and Herzegovina
Ottoman people of the Ottoman–Persian Wars