Serdar Ferhat Paşa (; ) was an Ottoman statesman of Albanian descent. He was twice

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 ...

of 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 ...

between 1 August 1591 and 4 April 1592 and between 16 February 1595 and 7 July 1595.İsmail Hâmi Danişmend, Osmanlı Devlet Erkânı, Türkiye Yayınevi, İstanbul, 1971 (Turkish)

Career

He became Agha of the Janissaries on 25 February 1582, but lost his position because of Koca Sinan Pasha. In 1582 he was appointed vizier by Grand Visier Siyavus Pasha and joined Ottoman forces during the Safewid wars where he soon became second commander (''serdar''). He made Tebriz his military base and captured Ganja. He attended peaceful negotiations with Shah Abbas I and turned Istanbul with Safewid embassy. The Treaty of Ferhad Pasha of 1590 ending the Ottoman–Safavid War (1578–1590) (also called the Treaty of Constantinople) was named for him. His successful campaign during the Safewid wars returned him to the position of Grand Vizier on 1 August 1591, but he lost his position on 4 April 1592 again by the intrigue of Koca Sinan Pasha. During his second term, he campaigned against

Michael the Brave Michael the Brave ( or ; 1558 – 9 August 1601), born as Mihai Pătrașcu, was the Prince of Wallachia (as Michael II, 1593–1601), Prince of Moldavia (1600) and ''de facto'' ruler of Principality of Transylvania (1570–1711), Transylvani ...

, the ruler who rebelled in

Wallachia Wallachia or Walachia (; ; : , : ) is a historical and geographical region of modern-day Romania. It is situated north of the Lower Danube and south of the Southern Carpathians. Wallachia was traditionally divided into two sections, Munteni ...

. He ordered a bridge be built between Ruse and Giurgiu across 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 ...

. During preparations, he faced a military uprising at the gate of Divan-ı Hümayun. More than 1000 '' kuloğulları'' requested ''ulufe'' (wages) from the grand vizier for their campaign during the Safewid wars but he rejected that claim. They infiltrated the troops and organized them against the Grand Vizier, saying, "We won't accept any ''ulufe'' until Ferhad Pasha is decapitated for insulting us." Ferhad Pasha blamed Koca Sinan Pasha and Cığalazade Yusuf Sinan Pasha for that provocation and ordered punishment for both. Later he relented and exiled Koca Sinan Pasha to Malkara and Cığalazade to Karahisar-ı Şarki. Ibrahim Pasha, the second vizier, who was appointed as

kaymakam Kaymakam, also known by #Names, many other romanizations, was a title used by various officials of the Ottoman Empire, including acting grand viziers, governors of provincial sanjaks, and administrators of district kazas. The title has been reta ...

to the Porte, incited Sultan

Murad III Murad III (; ; 4 July 1546 – 16 January 1595) was the sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 1574 until his death in 1595. His rule saw battles with the Habsburg monarchy, Habsburgs and exhausting wars with the Safavid Iran, Safavids. The long-inde ...

about the dismissal of Ferhad Pasha. On 7 July 1595, while Ferhad Pasha was trying to build a bridge in Ruse, again lost his position, and Koca Sinan Pasha became grand vizier again. Ferhâd Pasha had taken lessons from Ahmed Karahisari during his education in Enderûn-ı Hümâyûn. Karahisai was one of the important figures of the culture and art environments of the period. Whenever he had the opportunity, he would copy the mushâf-ı şerîf and would sell the Qur'an-i-kerîms he wrote. Two of the mushafs he wrote are in the Museum of Turkish and Islamic Arts and the Library of the Topkapı Palace Museum. According to some sourcesK. von Behr (1870). Genealogie der in Europa regierenden Fürstenhäuser nebst der Reihenfolge. p. 160. he was married to Hümaşah Sultan, a daughter of

References

Year of birth unknown Year of death unknown Devshirme Converts to Sunni Islam from Christianity 16th-century grand viziers of the Ottoman Empire Albanian grand viziers of the Ottoman Empire Albanian people from the Ottoman Empire Ottoman people of the Ottoman–Persian Wars 16th-century Albanian people 16th-century slaves in the Ottoman Empire {{Ottoman-bio-stub

Career

See also

References