Ismail Pasha al-Azm was an Ottoman statesman who served as the governor of

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 ...

and ''

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 ...

'' in 1725–1730. Prior to this post he served as the '' agha'' (local commander) of

Ma'arrat al-Nu'man Maarat al-Numan (), also known as al-Ma'arra, is a city in northwestern Syria, south of Idlib and north of Hama, with a population of about 58,008 before the Civil War (2004 census). In 2017, it was estimated to have a population of 80,000, inc ...

and steadily moved up the ranks to become the governor of the districts of Ma'arrat al-Nu'man,

Hama Hama ( ', ) is a city on the banks of the Orontes River in west-central Syria. It is located north of Damascus and north of Homs. It is the provincial capital of the Hama Governorate. With a population of 996,000 (2023 census), Hama is one o ...

and

Homs Homs ( ; ), known in pre-Islamic times as Emesa ( ; ), is a city in western Syria and the capital of the Homs Governorate. It is Metres above sea level, above sea level and is located north of Damascus. Located on the Orontes River, Homs is ...

in 1719 and then governor of Tripoli in 1721 before being assigned to the Damascus governorship. His consistent promotion was attributed to his successes in restoring order to the

Syrian Syrians () are the majority inhabitants of Syria, indigenous to the Levant, most of whom have Arabic, especially its Levantine and Mesopotamian dialects, as a mother tongue. The cultural and linguistic heritage of the Syrian people is a blend ...

countryside after a period of high instability, protecting Syria's farmlands from

Bedouin The Bedouin, Beduin, or Bedu ( ; , singular ) are pastorally nomadic Arab tribes who have historically inhabited the desert regions in the Arabian Peninsula, North Africa, the Levant, and Mesopotamia (Iraq). The Bedouin originated in the Sy ...

raids and ensuring the safety of the annual

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 to

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 ...

. Although he was deposed from the governorship in 1730, he established his family, al-Azm, as a major political household in Syria whose members were frequently appointed as the governors of the Damascus, Tripoli and

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 ...

provinces and who often served longer than typical terms.

Early career in central Syria

Ismail was the son of a professional Ottoman soldier, Ibrahim al-'Azm, "a rural notable possibly of

Turkish Turkish may refer to: * Something related to Turkey ** Turkish language *** Turkish alphabet ** Turkish people, a Turkic ethnic group and nation *** Turkish citizen, a citizen of Turkey *** Turkish communities in the former Ottoman Empire * The w ...

stock", who was sent to Ma'arrat al-Nu'man to restore order in the mid-seventeenth century; Ismail was known as "Ibn al-Azm" (Son of al-Azm) and early in his career as "Ismail Agha". He is first mentioned in the history records in 1717, when, as the '' agha'' (local military commander) of Ma'arra, he sent wheat and barley provisions to

after that city faced a food shortage following an attack by

raiders. In 1719, he was appointed the '' mutasallim'' (district governor) of the Ma'arra, Homs and Hama ''

sanjak A sanjak or sancak (, , "flag, banner") was an administrative division of the Ottoman Empire. The Ottomans also sometimes called the sanjak a liva (, ) from the name's calque in Arabic and Persian. Banners were a common organization of nomad ...

s'' (districts); Ma'arra was part 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 ...

, while Homs and Hama were part 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 ...

. Ismail was charged with repopulating villages that had been abandoned due to Bedouin raids and restoring order in the districts. In late 1719, the central authorities commanded him to forcibly settle the nomadic and frequently rebellious Turkmen tribesmen of the region in villages in his territory.Douwes 2000, pp. 46–47. Al-Azm was able to bring order and peace to the districts through forming local alliances and with the support of Aleppo's ''

wali The term ''wali'' is most commonly used by Muslims to refer to a saint, or literally a "friend of God".John Renard, ''Friends of God: Islamic Images of Piety, Commitment, and Servanthood'' (Berkeley: University of California Press, 2008); John ...

'' (provincial governor). The latter used his influence to persuade 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) to send Ismail imperial troops to rein in the nomadic Turkmen and

Mawali ''Mawlā'' (, plural ''mawālī'' ), is a polysemous Arabic word, whose meaning varied in different periods and contexts.A.J. Wensinck, Encyclopedia of Islam 2nd ed, Brill. "Mawlā", vol. 6, p. 874. Before the Islamic prophet Muhammad, the te ...

tribes. The Sublime Porte also granted Ismail and his family certain privileges that guaranteed them significant income. Ismail's restoration of order amid instability marked by frequent Bedouin raids, infighting among various military forces and the brutality of local administrators, gained him a "reputation as a resolute but just and even generous ruler", according to historian Dick Douwes. The 18th-century Homs-based chronicler Muhammad al-Makki praised Ismail's rule and prayed that "God give him strength and make him stand firm and prolong his rule and deliver him and his troops from his enemies". Although his appointment was for seven years, by his second year in office, in 1721, Ismail was promoted as ''wali'' of Tripoli Eyalet, and was thereafter known as "Ismail Pasha". During his term, he successfully protected Muslim pilgrim convoys on their way to Damascus, from where they would begin their departure to

to perform the

. Ismail Pasha also ensured that the towns of Tripoli Eyalet had sufficient food supplies and he protected the province's farmlands from harvest thieves.Douwes 2000, p. 48. This contrasted with the other governors of Tripoli, who typically neglected their duties in the Homs and Hama districts due to the challenge posed in those regions by frequent Bedouin depredations. During Ismail Pasha's time in office, the central authorities granted him a ''

malikâne Malikâne was a form of tax farming introduced in the Ottoman empire in 1695. It was intended as an improvement on the Iltizam system, in which a tax-farmer was responsible for a single year. Malikâne contracts were for life; this provided more se ...

'' (leasehold for life) over the ''sanjak'' of Hama, while the town of Hama became the countryside headquarters of the

al-Azm family Al-Azm family ( , ) is a prominent Damascus, Damascene family. Their political influence in Ottoman Syria began in the 18th century when members of the family administered Maarrat al-Nu'man and Hama. A scion of the family, Ismail Pasha al-Azm, wa ...

after they moved there from Ma'arra.Douwes 2000, p. 49.

Wali of Damascus

Ismail Pasha was transferred to the governorship 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 ...

in 1725, after a revolt in the city against Wali

Çerkes Osman Pasha Çerkes Küçük Osman Pasha, also known as Uthman Pasha Abu Tawq (died 1727), was an Ottoman statesman. He served as the ''wali'' (governor) of the Sidon and Damascus ''eyalets'' (provinces) in the early 18th century. Biography In Damascus, Osma ...

. He was replaced by his brother

Sulayman Pasha al-Azm Sulayman Pasha al-Azm (; ; died August 1743) was the governor of Sidon Eyalet (1727–33), Damascus Eyalet (1733–38, 1741–43), and Egypt Eyalet (1739–40) under the Ottoman Empire. He belonged to the prominent Al-Azm family and was the un ...

in Tripoli, while one of his sons was appointed ''mutasallim'' of Hama. As ''wali'' of Damascus, he was tasked with bringing order to the Syrian interior from Ma'arra in the north to the

eastern bank Eastern Bank is a bank based in Boston, Massachusetts. Before Demutualization, de-mutualizing in 2020, it was the oldest and largest Mutual savings bank, mutual bank in the United States and the largest community bank in Massachusetts. With 95 b ...

of the

Jordan River The Jordan River or River Jordan (, ''Nahr al-ʾUrdunn''; , ''Nəhar hayYardēn''), also known as ''Nahr Al-Sharieat'' (), is a endorheic river in the Levant that flows roughly north to south through the Sea of Galilee and drains to the Dead ...

in the south. He was also concurrently appointed ''

'' and was thus responsible for the safety and provisioning of the annual Hajj caravan from Damascus to Mecca. In his first four years (1725–1729) as ''amir al-hajj'', Ismail Pasha successfully countered four attempted Bedouin raids against the caravan. Throughout his term in Damascus, Ismail Pasha appointed members of his family or their close associates as the ''mutasallims'' of Hama, Homs and Ma'arra. He established lucrative monopolies as governor,Burns 2005, p. 240.Bidwell 1998, p. 58. including on sheep from Hama, and was responsible for a number of building works in the city of

. Ismail Pasha was dismissed from the governorship in late 1730 when the Sublime Porte accused him of embezzling money slated for provisioning the Hajj caravan. However, this charge was deemed "dubious" by historian Karl Barbir.Barbir 1980, p. 157. Ismail Pasha was likely dismissed due to the ousting of Sultan

Ahmed III Ahmed III (, ''Aḥmed-i sālis''; was sultan of the Ottoman Empire and a son of sultan Mehmed IV (r. 1648–1687). His mother was Gülnuş Sultan, originally named Evmania Voria, who was an ethnic Greek. He was born at Hacıoğlu Pazarcık, ...

in a coup and the consequent dismissal of provincial governors appointed under Ahmed's administration. In addition to his imprisonment in the

Citadel of Damascus The Citadel of Damascus () is a large medieval fortified palace and citadel in Damascus, Syria. It is part of the Old city of Damascus, Ancient City of Damascus, which was listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1979. The location of the curr ...

, Ismail Pasha's properties were seized by the authorities, while his brother Sulayman Pasha was dismissed from the Tripoli governorship. However, in 1731, Ismail Pasha and Sulayman Pasha were pardoned.Douwes 2000, p. 50. Ismail Pasha was appointed ''wali'' of

Crete Eyalet The island of Crete () was declared an Ottoman province (eyalet) in 1646, after the Ottomans managed to conquer the western part of the island as part of the Cretan War, but the Venetians maintained their hold on the capital Candia, until 1669 ...

in 1731 and served until 1732. Sulayman Pasha would later succeed Ismail as ''wali'' of Damascus in 1734.

Legacy

Ismail Pasha established the foundations of the al-Azm family's prominence in Syria as the most powerful political household in the provinces of Damascus,

and Tripoli in the 18th century. Between 1725 and 1757, the al-Azm family nearly monopolized the offices of ''wali'' of Damascus and ''amir al-hajj''.Douwes 2000, pp. 48–49. The frequent and consecutive appointments of al-Azm members to Damascus contrasted with the traditionally short, typically one-year-long, terms that most governors of Damascus served. The fact that the al-Azms were from Syria also differed from the mostly non-Syrian officials who traditionally filled the post of ''wali'' of Damascus.Abi-Mershed 2010, p. 43. During those years, the al-Azm family was able to prevent Bedouin raids against Syrian villages and maintained the protection of grain harvests and the grain supply to Damascus. Among the al-Azm governors that succeeded Ismail Pasha was his son

As'ad Pasha al-Azm As'ad Pasha al-Azm ( ; 1706 – March 1758) was the governor of Damascus under Ottoman rule from 1743 to his deposition in 1757. He was responsible for the construction of several architectural works in the city and other places in Syria. Backg ...

, who ruled longer than any other ''wali'' of Damascus, serving for 14 consecutive years.

References

Bibliography

* * * * * {{S-end 17th-century births 18th-century people from the Ottoman Empire

Ismail In the biblical Book of Genesis, Ishmael (; ; ; ) is the first son of Abraham. His mother was Hagar, the handmaiden of Abraham's wife Sarah. He died at the age of 137. Traditionally, he is seen as the ancestor of the Arabs. Within Islam, Ish ...

Ottoman governors of Damascus People from Maarat al-Numan Year of death missing Ottoman governors of Tripoli, Lebanon Turks from the Ottoman Empire