Alemdar Mustafa Pasha
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Mustafa | |
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بیراقدار مصطفی پاشا | |
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Grand Vizier of the Ottoman Empire | |
In office 29 July 1808 – 15 November 1808 | |
Monarch | Mahmud II |
Preceded by | Çelebi Mustafa Pasha |
Succeeded by | Çavuşbaşı Memiş Pasha |
Personal details | |
Born | c.1755 |
Died | 15 November 1808 Constantinople,Ottoman Empire(modern Istanbul,Turkey) | (aged 57–58)
Alemdar Mustafa Pasha(also calledBayraktar Mustafa Pasha;1755 – 15 November 1808) was anOttomanmilitary commander andgrand vizier.
He was born into the family of ajanissary,possibly in Rusçuk (modern-dayRuse, Bulgaria), although varying information exists about his birthplace. He received the epithetbayraktaroralemdar,both meaning 'flag-bearer' and probably referring to his military rank in the janissary corps, during theRusso-Turkish War of 1768–1774.After the war, he left the corps and eventually became a powerful notable and military commander inRumelia.He became a strong supporter ofSelim III'sreforms and became a rallying point for opponents of the new regime after Selim's deposition in 1807. In July 1808, he took power in a military coup, replacing SultanMustafa IVwithMahmud IIand becoming grand vizier. He attempted to revive Selim's reform program, but he himself was killed only months later in a rebellion by the janissaries.[1][2]
Alemdar Mustafa Pasha is often regarded as a pioneering figure who recognized the need for a modern army. He was instrumental in setting up theFrench military mission in 1796.
Early career
[edit]Alemdar Mustafa is believed to have been born in about 1750[1]or 1765[2][3]in Rusçuk (modern-dayRuse, Bulgaria) into the family of a prosperousjanissary.[1][2]According to some sources, he was of Albanian origin[4][verification needed]and hailed from the village ofGoskovënearKorçë.[5]According to Kemal Beydilli, he was born inHotin(modern-day Khotyn, Ukraine), although his father was a janissary from Rusçuk named Hacı Hasan Ağa.[3]He rose to power through the janissary corps, and, having been promoted to commandership, took part in the wars againstAustriaand theRussian Empire.It was during his service in theRusso-Turkish War of 1768–1774that he acquired the epithetbayraktaroralemdar,[1]both meaning 'flag-bearer' and probably referring to his military rank in the janissary corps,[2]although another source suggests that he received it later.[3]He left the janissaries after theRusso-Turkish War of 1787–1792and became a large-scale cattle-dealer and agriculturalist, living near Rusçuk. He became a close associate of Ismail Ağa Tirseniklioğlu, the leader of Rusçuk and a powerful provincial notable in the Ottoman Balkans (Rumelia). Mustafa showed his military prowess in his battles against the rebelOsman Pazvantoğlu.[2]In 1803, Ismail Ağa appointed Mustafa theayan(in this period, a semi-official local leadership position)[1]ofHezargrad,near Rusçuk.[2]After Ismail Ağa's death in 1806, Mustafa replaced him and became the most powerful leader in present-day eastern Bulgaria.[2]
The deposition of the reformingSultanSelim IIIin 1807, and his replacement with the reactionaryMustafa IVby theJanissariesand other opponents ofreform,provoked Alemdar Mustafa Pasha to lead his army ofAlbaniansandBosnianstoConstantinoplein an attempt to reinstateSelim IIIand restore his reforms. After Alemdar's arrival,Mustafa IVordered the killing of Selim III andMahmud II,succeeding in the former case. Seeing Selim III dead, Alemdar offered fealty to Mahmud II (Selim's cousin), who was instated as sultan, with Alemdar as hisgrand vizier.
As grand vizier, Alemdar purged the soldiers who had rebelled against Selim, removed conservatives from government positions and replaced them with men sympathetic to reform. He modernised the army and navy and attempted to reform theJanissaries,but Mahmud, fearing a political backlash by the elite corps, halted these changes. Alemdar's power and influence and his arrogance in wielding it caused a rebellion against him. In November 1808, the Janissaries attacked thePorteand laid siege to the stone powdermagazinewhere he and his personal guard had taken refuge. As the Janissaries were about to break in, the powder barrels exploded, killing Alemdar, his guard, and several hundred Janissaries.
Alemdar Incident
[edit]Alemdar Mustafa Pasha had always been a keen supporter ofSultan Selim III.With Mustafa IV on the throne and rebels commanded byKabakçı Mustafain command of the Ottoman capital, Alemdar summoned a council in Rusçuk and decided to take action.
On 21 June 1808, Alemdar and his army of about 15,000 men arrived inConstantinoplein an event that came to be known as the Alemdar Incident (Turkish:Alemdar Vakası).They easily took control, and Alemdar ordered the rebels to be killed or exiled.[6]
After Mustafa IV learned of these events, he decided to have his uncle, Selim III, and his younger brother, Prince Mahmud, killed so that he should be the only surviving member of the imperial family. The executioners first arrived in Selim III's room in the palace. Selim III, who was playing a reed flute and had no weapons, resisted with his flute, but his efforts proved futile and he was strangled. His dead body was brought to Alemdar who wept, thinking that he had failed in all his objectives.
His men warned him that Mustafa IV's men planned to kill Prince Mahmud as well. The executioners had raided the prince's room, but the servants hid him on the roof. Alemdar and his men broke down the palace doors, killed the rebels and eventually saved the prince.
Alemdar Mustafa Pasha declared Mahmud the new sultan (Mahmud II), and became his grand vizier.
In the service of Sultan Mahmud II
[edit]But differences of opinion soon emerged between the new sultan and Alemdar. First of all, Alemdar made an agreement with the rebel representative fromAnatolianlands, which was called theCharter of Alliance(Sened-i Ittifak). Sultan Mahmud thought that this agreement his authority and withdrew his support for the pasha.
Secondly, he re-establishedthe army ofNizam-i Djedid('New Order'), calling it theSekban-I Cedid Army.TheNizam-ı Cedid Armywas a hated rival to the Janissaries so the new name has been interpreted as an effort to appease them. Furthermore, Alemdar conducted an investigation into the Janissary corps and fired men who were not actually Janissaries but receiving Janissary salaries all the same.
Death
[edit]Alemdar's measures laid the ground for later reforms in the Ottoman Empire. But meanwhile, the ruling elite resented him. On 15 November 1808, about a thousand Janissaries raided Alemdar Mustafa Pasha's house. Realising he could not survive the assault, he ignited the gunpowder reserves in the cellar of his house, killing himself and approximately 400 Janissaries in the ensuing explosion. He was buried in the courtyard of theZeynep Sultan MosqueinIstanbul.
A street inIstanbulnear theSublime Porteis named after Alemdar Mustafa Pasha., a plaque there stating that his father was a Janissary fromRuscuk.
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^abcdeKramers, J.H.; Bosworth, C.E. "Muṣṭafa Pas̲h̲a, Bayraḳdār". In Bearman, P.; Bianquis, Th.; Bosworth, C.E.; van Donzel, E.; Heinrichs, W.P. (eds.).Encyclopaedia of Islam, Second Edition.Retrieved1 February2024– via Brill Reference Online.
- ^abcdefgGradeva, Rossitsa (2009). "Alemdar Mustafa Pasha (Alemdar Bayraktar) (b. 1765-d. 1808)". In Ágoston, Gábor; Masters, Bruce Alan (eds.).Encyclopedia of the Ottoman Empire.New York, NY: Facts On File. pp. 29–30.ISBN9780816062591.
- ^abcBeydi̇lli̇, Kemal (1989)."Alemdar Mustafa Paşa".İslâm Ansiklopedisi(in Turkish). Vol. 2. Üsküdar: Türkiye Diyanet Vakfı. pp. 364–365.
- ^Danişmend, İsmail Hâmi (1971).Osmanlı Devlet Erkânı, Sadr-ı-A’zamlar (Vezir-i-A’zamlar), Şeyh-ül-İslamlar, Kapdan-ı-Deryalar, Baş-Defterdarlar, Reis-ül-Küttablar.Istanbul: Türkiye Yayınevi. p. 70.
- ^Mitko, Thimi(1981). Haxhihasani, Qemal (ed.).Vepra.Tirana:Academy of Sciences of the P.S.R. of Albania,Instituti i Kulturës Popullore.p. 261.OCLC17071963.
Mustafa Bajraktari, me origjinë prej fshatit Goskovë te Korçës, qeveritar i Rusçukut[…]
. - ^"Istanbul During the Events of 1807 and 1808 | History of Istanbul".istanbultarihi.ist.Retrieved2022-08-27.
General references
[edit]- Shaw, S. J.;Shaw, E. Z. (1997) [1977].History of the Ottoman Empire.Vol. 2. Cambridge University Press.
- Ortayli, İlber(1983).İmparatorluğun En Uzun Yüzyılı[Longest century of the empire] (in Turkish). Istanbul: Hil Yayinlari.(English translation:Ortayli, İlber(2021).The Empire's Longest Century.Translated by Ross, Jonathan. Istanbul: Kronik.ISBN9786257631266.)