Ibrahim Pasha Qataraghasi
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Ibrahim Pasha Qatarağasi ( nisba also spelled ''Qattar Aghasi'' or ''Qataraghasi'') was an Ottoman statesman who served as ''wali'' (governor) of the
Aleppo Aleppo is a city in Syria, which serves as the capital of the Aleppo Governorate, the most populous Governorates of Syria, governorate of Syria. With an estimated population of 2,098,000 residents it is Syria's largest city by urban area, and ...
,
Damascus Damascus ( , ; ) is the capital and List of largest cities in the Levant region by population, largest city of Syria. It is the oldest capital in the world and, according to some, the fourth Holiest sites in Islam, holiest city in Islam. Kno ...
, Diyarbekir and
Tripoli Tripoli or Tripolis (from , meaning "three cities") may refer to: Places Greece *Tripolis (region of Arcadia), a district in ancient Arcadia, Greece * Tripolis (Larisaia), an ancient Greek city in the Pelasgiotis district, Thessaly, near Larissa ...
''
eyalet Eyalets (, , ), also known as beylerbeyliks or pashaliks, were the primary administrative divisions of the Ottoman Empire. From 1453 to the beginning of the nineteenth century the Ottoman local government was loosely structured. The empire was a ...
s'' (provinces) in the early 19th century.


Early career

Most likely of Turkish origin, there is scarce information about Ibrahim Pasha's early life. However, in the 1770s and 1780s,Meriwether, p. 97. he served as a trusted
retainer Retainer may refer to: * Retainer (orthodontics), devices for teeth * RFA Retainer (A329), RFA ''Retainer'' (A329), a ship * Retainers in early China, a social group in early China Employment * Retainer agreement, a contract in which an employer p ...
of Muhammad Taha (Mehmed Effeni Tahazade), the ''
naqib al-ashraf Naqib al-ashraf () (plural: ''nuqaba'' or ''niqabat'') was a governmental post in various Muslim empires denoting the head or supervisor of the descendants of the Islamic prophet Muhammad.Damurdashi, ed. Muhammad, p. 43. The descendants of Muhammad ...
'' (head of the order of
Muhammad Muhammad (8 June 632 CE) was an Arab religious and political leader and the founder of Islam. Muhammad in Islam, According to Islam, he was a prophet who was divinely inspired to preach and confirm the tawhid, monotheistic teachings of A ...
's descendants) of
Aleppo Aleppo is a city in Syria, which serves as the capital of the Aleppo Governorate, the most populous Governorates of Syria, governorate of Syria. With an estimated population of 2,098,000 residents it is Syria's largest city by urban area, and ...
.Meriwether, p. 61. Muhammad Taha served the office for 25 years (in 1747–1767 and 1782–1786), and was able to unify the city's ''
ashraf Sharīf or Sherif (, 'noble', 'highborn'), also spelled shareef, feminine sharīfa (), plural ashrāf (), shurafāʾ (), or (in the Maghreb) shurfāʾ, is a title used to designate a person descended, or claiming to be descended, from the famil ...
'' into a political and military force that confronted Aleppo's powerful
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 ...
faction.Hathaway and Barbir, p. 93. Taha tasked Ibrahim Pasha (then known as "Ibrahim Agha") with collecting taxes in Aleppo's rural hinterland (Taha owned several tax farms in this area), enabling him to accumulate significant wealth. During his career, Ibrahim Pasha commanded the armed guard of Aleppo's
Hajj Hajj (; ; also spelled Hadj, Haj or Haji) is an annual Islamic pilgrimage to Mecca, Saudi Arabia, the holiest city for Muslims. Hajj is a mandatory religious duty for capable Muslims that must be carried out at least once in their lifetim ...
pilgrim caravan, known as the ''qatar'', which connected with the much larger
Damascus Damascus ( , ; ) is the capital and List of largest cities in the Levant region by population, largest city of Syria. It is the oldest capital in the world and, according to some, the fourth Holiest sites in Islam, holiest city in Islam. Kno ...
caravan before its departure for
Mecca Mecca, officially Makkah al-Mukarramah, is the capital of Mecca Province in the Hejaz region of western Saudi Arabia; it is the Holiest sites in Islam, holiest city in Islam. It is inland from Jeddah on the Red Sea, in a narrow valley above ...
. He was thus given the '' nisba'' ''Qataraghasi'' ('' agha'' of the ''qatar''). Following Taha's death in 1786, Ibrahim Pasha succeeded him as the virtual leader of Aleppo's ''ashraf'' faction, but not as ''naqib al-ashraf''. Between 1788 and 1798, he served as '' mutasallim'' (chief tax collector, district governor) of Aleppo. In 1799, he served a brief assignment as ''wali'' (governor) of
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 ...
. That year, he also led a contingent of Aleppan ''ashraf'' forces against the French invasion of the empire's Egyptian and Syrian lands.


Governorship of Aleppo and Damascus

In 1802, he was appointed as ''wali'' of
Aleppo Eyalet Aleppo Eyalet (; ) was an eyalet of the Ottoman Empire. After the Ottoman conquest it was governed from Damascus, but by 1534 Aleppo was made the capital of a new eyalet. By Gábor Ágoston, Bruce Alan Masters Its reported area in the 19th centur ...
by 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 ...
(Ottoman imperial government). In 1804, while the longtime ''wali'' of
Sidon Sidon ( ) or better known as Saida ( ; ) is the third-largest city in Lebanon. It is located on the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean coast in the South Governorate, Lebanon, South Governorate, of which it is the capital. Tyre, Lebanon, Tyre, t ...
and Damascus,
Jazzar Pasha Ahmed Pasha al-Jazzar (, c. 1720–30s7 May 1804) was the Acre-based Bosniak Ottoman governor of Sidon Eyalet from 1776 until his death in 1804 and the simultaneous governor of Damascus Eyalet in 1785–1786, 1790–1795, 1798–1799, and 1803 ...
, was on his deathbed, the Porte quietly appointed Ibrahim Pasha as his successor in both provinces. Jazzar Pasha died in April–May 1804, and Ibrahim Pasha subsequently entered Damascus to assume office there.Philipp 2001, p. 78. He then besieged Jazzar Pasha's headquarters in
Acre The acre ( ) is a Unit of measurement, unit of land area used in the Imperial units, British imperial and the United States customary units#Area, United States customary systems. It is traditionally defined as the area of one Chain (unit), ch ...
, where an officer named Isma'il Pasha barricaded himself as governor of the city in defiance of the Porte. Ibrahim Pasha could not continue the siege himself because he had to begin a tax collection tour in the Syrian districts to fund the upcoming Hajj caravan. Instead, he entrusted the siege to Jazzar Pasha's senior
mamluk Mamluk or Mamaluk (; (singular), , ''mamālīk'' (plural); translated as "one who is owned", meaning "slave") were non-Arab, ethnically diverse (mostly Turkic, Caucasian, Eastern and Southeastern European) enslaved mercenaries, slave-so ...
, Sulayman Pasha, who was subsequently appointed ''wali'' of Sidon and ultimately defeated Isma'il Pasha. As ''wali'' of Damascus, Ibrahim Pasha was also ''
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 ...
'' (commander of the Hajj caravan) and led the caravan to Mecca in January 1805. While Ibrahim Pasha was serving his Damascus assignment, he was still ''wali'' of Aleppo and installed his son Muhammad (Hameed) pasha to administer the province's affairs on his behalf. However, a revolt in Aleppo in 1804 by the Janissaries, the ''ashraf'' and the
Christians A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the world. The words '' Christ'' and ''C ...
against his son's heavy-handed rule. The rebels ousted Ibrahim Pasha's son, who returned two months later but with only ceremonial leadership. In 1805, Ibrahim Pasha rallied the ''ashraf'' to his side and entered into heavy street battles with the Janissaries for a week before being dismissed from the governorship. Ibrahim Pasha's first term in Damascus was relatively short and was succeeded by Abdullah Pasha al-Azm later, in 1805. He then served assignments as ''wali'' of
Tripoli Eyalet Tripoli Eyalet (; ) was an eyalet of the Ottoman Empire. The capital was in Tripoli, Lebanon. Its reported area in the 19th century was . It extended along the coast, from the southern limits of the Amanus mountains in the north, to the gorge o ...
and
Diyarbekir Eyalet The Eyalet of Diyarbekir (; ) was an eyalet of the Ottoman Empire. Its reported area in the 19th century was , slightly larger than the original Abbasid province in Upper Mesopotamia. In 1846 it was succeeded by the Kurdistan Eyalet. Government ...
, until being reappointed to Aleppo, from 1807 to 1808. Sultan
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 ...
came to power in July 1808 and dismissed Ibrahim Pasha from Aleppo.


Later life and legacy

Thereafter, Ibrahim Pasha retired or was speculatively forced to retire from politics. Ibrahim Pasha's dismissal paved the way for the Janissaries' domination of Aleppan politics until 1813, when their commanders were trapped and massacred by Aleppo's wali at the time, Jelal al-Din Pasha. Ibrahim Pasha's descendants, known as the "Qatarghasi Zade", became a prominent political family in Ottoman Aleppo.Meriwether, p. 67.


References


Bibliography

* * * {{S-end 18th-century people from the Ottoman Empire 19th-century people from the Ottoman Empire Turks from the Ottoman Empire Ottoman governors of Damascus Ottoman governors of Aleppo Ottoman governors of Tripoli, Lebanon