Kasım Pasha or Kasim Pasha (; 1442–43) was an Ottoman general and governor, the ''

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 ...

'' of

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 ...

and one of the commanders of the Ottoman forces during the

Crusade of Varna The Crusade of Varna was an unsuccessful military campaign mounted by several European leaders to check the expansion of the Ottoman Empire into Central Europe, specifically the Balkans between 1443 and 1444. It was called by Pope Eugene IV ...

(1443–44). When Rumelian beylerbey and vizier

Hadım Şehabeddin Hadım Şehabeddin Pasha (Old Turkish: Şihābüddīn; 1436–53), also called Kula Şahin Pasha, was an Ottoman Empire, Ottoman general and governor that served Sultan Mehmed II (r. 1444–46; 1451–81). Brought to the Ottoman court at a young ...

was defeated by

John Hunyadi John Hunyadi (; ; ; ; ; – 11 August 1456) was a leading Kingdom of Hungary, Hungarian military and political figure during the 15th century, who served as Regent of Hungary, regent of the Kingdom of Hungary (1301–1526), Kingdom of Hungary ...

in 1442, he was replaced by Kasım Pasha at both positions.

Crusade of Varna

At the beginning of the Crusade of Varna

crossed the

Danube The Danube ( ; see also #Names and etymology, other names) is the List of rivers of Europe#Longest rivers, second-longest river in Europe, after the Volga in Russia. It flows through Central and Southeastern Europe, from the Black Forest sou ...

and rushed south along the river Morava to attack forces of Kasım Pasha before he could mobilize his complete army. The cavalry forces of 12,000 commanded by Kasım Pasha were defeated near

Aleksinac Aleksinac ( sr-Cyrl, Алексинац) is a town and municipality located in the Nišava District of Southern and Eastern Serbia, southern Serbia. According to 2022 census, the municipality has a population of 43,258 inhabitants. History Preh ...

during the Battle of Niš in 1443. After an Ottoman defeat, the retreating forces of Kasım Pasha and Turahan Bey burned all villages between Niš and

Sofia Sofia is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Bulgaria, largest city of Bulgaria. It is situated in the Sofia Valley at the foot of the Vitosha mountain, in the western part of the country. The city is built west of the Is ...

. Turakhan Bey and Kasım Pasha met each other again in Sofia from where Kasım sent the messenger to

Edirne Edirne (; ), historically known as Orestias, Adrianople, is a city in Turkey, in the northwestern part of the Edirne Province, province of Edirne in Eastern Thrace. Situated from the Greek and from the Bulgarian borders, Edirne was the second c ...

to alert Sultan. Kasım Pasha commanded Ottoman forces that chased Christian army after the Battle of Zlatica held at the end of 1443. His army was defeated on 24 December 1444 on Melštica near Sofija and many Ottoman officers were captured by Christian army. There was a big mutual animosity between Kasım and Turahan and some Ottoman sources blame Turahan for Kasım's defeat at Melštica claiming that Serbian Despot Branković bribed Turahan not to participate in the battle which ended with the defeat of his rival, Kasım. When the Sultan banished Turahan Bey to a prison, Kasım allegedly complained to Çandarlı Halil Pasha that Turahan Bey's subordinated officers should be banished too. When his complaint was refused, Kasım resigned from the position of

References

Sources

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Kasim Pasha Muslims of the Crusade of Varna 14th-century Ottoman military personnel 14th-century generals 15th-century Ottoman military personnel 15th-century generals 14th-century births 15th-century deaths Year of death unknown Ottoman governors of Rumelia 15th-century governors