İskender Çelebi (; died March 1535) was a long-serving ''

defterdar This is a list of the top officials in charge of the finances of the Ottoman Empire, called ( Turkish for bookkeepers; from the Persian , + ) between the 14th and 19th centuries and ''Maliye Naziri'' (Minister of Finance) between 19th and 20th ...

'' (finance secretary) of the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University) ...

during the reign of

Suleiman the Magnificent Suleiman I ( ota, سليمان اول, Süleyman-ı Evvel; tr, I. Süleyman; 6 November 14946 September 1566), commonly known as Suleiman the Magnificent in the West and Suleiman the Lawgiver ( ota, قانونى سلطان سليمان, Ḳ� ...

. Possibly the most notable events which befell him took place during the war of 1532–35 against the

Safavid Empire Safavid Iran or Safavid Persia (), also referred to as the Safavid Empire, '. was one of the greatest Iranian empires after the 7th-century Muslim conquest of Persia, which was ruled from 1501 to 1736 by the Safavid dynasty. It is often conside ...

. In October 1532, he was ordered to accompany the

Grand Vizier Grand vizier ( fa, وزيرِ اعظم, vazîr-i aʾzam; ota, صدر اعظم, sadr-ı aʾzam; tr, sadrazam) was the title of the effective head of government of many sovereign states in the Islamic world. The office of Grand Vizier was first ...

Pargalı Ibrahim Pasha Pargalı Ibrahim Pasha ("Ibrahim Pasha of Parga"; c. 1495 – 15 March 1536), also known as Frenk Ibrahim Pasha ("the Westerner"), Makbul Ibrahim Pasha ("the Favorite"), which later changed to Maktul Ibrahim Pasha ("the Executed") after his ex ...

, who was the general of the field army and was heading to the

Safavid Safavid Iran or Safavid Persia (), also referred to as the Safavid Empire, '. was one of the greatest Iranian empires after the 7th-century Muslim conquest of Persia, which was ruled from 1501 to 1736 by the Safavid dynasty. It is often conside ...

border from

Istanbul Istanbul ( , ; tr, İstanbul ), formerly known as Constantinople ( grc-gre, Κωνσταντινούπολις; la, Constantinopolis), is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, serving as the country's economic, ...

. Until the campaign, Pargalı Ibrahim Pasha had regarded İskender Çelebi as a father figure who could provide him with valuable knowledge about his craft. İskender Çelebi was in favour with the Sultan, who personally cautioned Pargalı Ibrahim Pasha not to go against him. Because of this İskender Çelebi became a dominant figure in the campaign. He was even able to order Pargalı Ibrahim Pasha, who had been moving from

Aleppo )), is an adjective which means "white-colored mixed with black". , motto = , image_map = , mapsize = , map_caption = , image_map1 = ...

Baghdad Baghdad (; ar, بَغْدَاد , ) is the capital of Iraq and the second-largest city in the Arab world after Cairo. It is located on the Tigris near the ruins of the ancient city of Babylon and the Sassanid Persian capital of Ctesiphon ...

, to go to

Azerbaijan Azerbaijan (, ; az, Azərbaycan ), officially the Republic of Azerbaijan, , also sometimes officially called the Azerbaijan Republic is a transcontinental country located at the boundary of Eastern Europe and Western Asia. It is a part of th ...

instead. Although this act went against Pargalı Ibrahim Pasha's wishes, he did not object, as İskender Çelebi was appointed by the Sultan, but it led to the cooling of relations between the two. Pargalı Ibrahim Pasha believed that he was being overruled when he himself was the supreme leader of the campaign (second only to the Sultan in his capacity as Grand Vizier). The second incident, which sealed İskender Çelebi's fate, was in fact in Azerbaijan, where he overruled Pargalı Ibrahim Pasha, saying "The army will stay put, it is the will of the Sultan". However, when Suleiman the Magnificent arrived in

Tabriz Tabriz ( fa, تبریز ; ) is a city in northwestern Iran, serving as the capital of East Azerbaijan Province. It is the List of largest cities of Iran, sixth-most-populous city in Iran. In the Quri Chay, Quru River valley in Iran's historic Aze ...

, he was astounded to see the field army in the middle of enemy territory. He would not tolerate any behavior which could endanger the army and ultimately himself. İskender Çelebi's response to this question was not satisfactory, and led to him falling out of favour with the Sultan and his ultimate execution in Baghdad, where he was hanged in March 1535.''The Great Ottoman History'', by Ord. Prof. Ismail Hakki Uzuncarsili, Vol. 2, p. 354 Pargalı Ibrahim Pasha would also fall out of favour with the Sultan soon afterwards, being executed as well in the next year. İskender Çelebi was known for owning a large number of

slaves Slavery and enslavement are both the state and the condition of being a slave—someone forbidden to quit one's service for an enslaver, and who is treated by the enslaver as property. Slavery typically involves slaves being made to perf ...

, approximately 6,000–7,000, far outnumbering those of even his rival Pargalı Ibrahim Pasha (despite the fact that the latter held the much more powerful office of Grand Vizier).

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Iskender Celebi 16th-century people from the Ottoman Empire Defterdar 1535 deaths Year of birth missing Ottoman people of the Ottoman–Persian Wars Suleiman the Magnificent 16th-century executions by the Ottoman Empire People executed by the Ottoman Empire by hanging Courtiers of the Ottoman Empire