Semiz Mehmed Pasha (1596 – July 1646) was an Ottoman

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 ...

and a Great great grandson of

Suleiman the Magnificent Suleiman I (; , ; 6 November 14946 September 1566), commonly known as Suleiman the Magnificent in the Western world and as Suleiman the Lawgiver () in his own realm, was the List of sultans of the Ottoman Empire, Ottoman sultan between 1520 a ...

Biography

He was born in 1596. His father, Sultanzade Abdurrahman Bey, was a son of

Ayşe Hümaşah Sultan Ayşe Hümaşah SultanPeirce, L. (2018). ''Empress of the East: How a Slave Girl Became Queen of the Ottoman Empire''. Regno Unito: Icon Books. ( and 'Şah's phoenix'; 1541 – 1598/1604) was an Ottoman princess, the only daughter of Mihrimah Su ...

, daughter of Rustem Pasha and Mihrimah Sultan. His mother was Ayşe Hanım, daughter of Saliha Hanımsultan, sister of Abdurrahman, and

Cığalazade Yusuf Sinan Pasha Cığalazade Yusuf Sinan Pasha (also known as ''Cağaloğlu Yusuf Sinan Pasha''; 1545–1605), his epithet meaning "son of Cicala", was an Ottoman Italian statesman who held the office of Grand Vizier for forty days between 27 October to 5 De ...

. He was a great-great-grandson of Suleiman the Magnificent and

Hurrem Sultan Hürrem Sultan (; , "''the joyful one''"; 1505– 15 April 1558), also known as Roxelana (), was the chief consort, the first Haseki Sultan of the Ottoman Empire and the legal wife of the Ottoman Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent, and the mother ...

. For this, he was nicknamed '' Sultanzade'' (lit. ''Sultan's descendant''), although he had not really right to the title, since it was reserved for the sons of the Sultan's daughters or the sons of the

Şehzade ''Şehzade'' () is the Ottoman form of the Persian title ''Shah#Shahzadeh, Shahzadeh'', and refers to the male Osmanoğlu family, descendants of an Ottoman sovereign in the male line. This title is equivalent to "prince du sang, prince of the bloo ...

princes' daughters.

Early years

In 1637, he was appointed as the governor of

Egypt Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...

. Three years later, during the reign of Ibrahim, he returned to

Istanbul Istanbul is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, constituting the country's economic, cultural, and historical heart. With Demographics of Istanbul, a population over , it is home to 18% of the Demographics ...

as a

vizier A vizier (; ; ) is a high-ranking political advisor or Minister (government), minister in the Near East. The Abbasids, Abbasid caliphs gave the title ''wazir'' to a minister formerly called ''katib'' (secretary), who was at first merely a help ...

in the Ottoman

divan A divan or diwan (, ''dīvān''; from Sumerian ''dub'', clay tablet) was a high government ministry in various Islamic states, or its chief official (see ''dewan''). Etymology The word, recorded in English since 1586, meaning "Oriental cou ...

. In 1641, he was appointed as the governor of Özü (modern

Ochakiv Ochakiv (, ), also known as Ochakov (; ; or, archaically, ) and Alektor (), is a small city in Mykolaiv Raion, Mykolaiv Oblast (region) of southern Ukraine. It hosts the administration of Ochakiv urban hromada, one of the hromadas of Ukraine. ...

Ukraine Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the List of European countries by area, second-largest country in Europe after Russia, which Russia–Ukraine border, borders it to the east and northeast. Ukraine also borders Belarus to the nor ...

) and tasked with capturing the fort of Azak (modern

Azov Azov (, ), previously known as Azak ( Turki/ Kypchak: ), is a town in Rostov Oblast, Russia, situated on the Don River just from the Sea of Azov, which derives its name from the town. The population is History Early settlements in the vici ...

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

), which had recently been lost to the

Cossack The Cossacks are a predominantly East Slavic Eastern Christian people originating in the Pontic–Caspian steppe of eastern Ukraine and southern Russia. Cossacks played an important role in defending the southern borders of Ukraine and Rus ...

s. He was successful in recapturing the fort. In 1643, he was appointed 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 ...

(in modern

Syria Syria, officially the Syrian Arab Republic, is a country in West Asia located in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Levant. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the west, Turkey to Syria–Turkey border, the north, Iraq to Iraq–Syria border, t ...

). This appointment was probably due to the secret power struggle between him and the grand vizier, Kemankeş Mustafa Pasha.Ayhan Buz: ''Osmanlı Sadrazamları'', Neden Kitap, İstanbul, 2009,

Grand Vizier

In 1644, he succeeded the grand vizier Kemankeş Mustafa Pasha, who was executed. Kemankeş Mustafa Pasha was a victim of palace intrigues and a

hodja Khawaja () is an honorific title used across the Middle East, South Asia, Southeast Asia and Central Asia, particularly towards Sufi teachers. It is also used by Kashmiri Muslims and Mizrahi Jews—particularly Kurdish Jew, Kurdish Jews. The na ...

quack named

Djindji Khodja Cinci Hoca (literally "hoca of jinn") is the epithet of Karabaşzade Hüseyin Efendi, a 17th-century Ottoman spiritualist whose influence on the sultan caused many problems in the empire. Life He was born in Safranbolu (in modern province of ...

. Well aware of the hodja's influence on the sultan and the tragedy of the previous grand vizier, he was too cautious in governance and became an ineffective grand vizier. He became a yes man of the sultan. According to Lord Kinross, one day the sultan asked why he never opposed any opinion, to which he replied, "''Every opinion of the sultan has a deep aphorism even if subjects are unable to understand''." Although he was against declaring war on the

Republic of Venice The Republic of Venice, officially the Most Serene Republic of Venice and traditionally known as La Serenissima, was a sovereign state and Maritime republics, maritime republic with its capital in Venice. Founded, according to tradition, in 697 ...

,Prof. Yaşar Yüce-Prof. Ali Sevim: ''Türkiye tarihi'' Cilt III, AKDTYKTTK Yayınları, İstanbul, 1991 p. 90 his cautious objections were not taken into consideration and the

Cretan War (1645–1669) The Cretan War (; ), also known as the War of Candia () or the fifth Ottoman–Venetian war, was a conflict between the Republic of Venice and her allies (chief among them the Knights of Malta, the Papal States and France) against the Ottoman ...

soon began in 1645, which was financially disastrous to both sides.

Later years

Sultan Ibrahim deposed him in 1645 and sent him to

Crete Crete ( ; , Modern Greek, Modern: , Ancient Greek, Ancient: ) is the largest and most populous of the Greek islands, the List of islands by area, 88th largest island in the world and the List of islands in the Mediterranean#By area, fifth la ...

, the theatre of the recently started war, as the commander of the army (). Shortly thereafter he died of natural causes.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sultanzade Mehmed Pasha 1646 deaths 17th-century grand viziers of the Ottoman Empire 17th-century Ottoman governors of Egypt Pashas Ottoman princes 1596 births

Biography

Early years

Grand Vizier

Later years

See also

References