Sultanzade Şemsi Ahmed Pasha, known simply as Şemsi Pasha ( ota, شمسي أحمد پاشا; d. 5 March 1580), was a distinguished Ottoman nobleman and ''

beylerbey ''Beylerbey'' ( ota, بكلربكی, beylerbeyi, lit=bey of beys, meaning the 'commander of commanders' or 'lord of lords') was a high rank in the western Islamic world in the late Middle Ages and early modern period, from the Anatolian Seljuks ...

'' who occupied several high-ranking posts, serving at various stages as the Ottoman governor-general of the ''beylerbeyliks'' of

Damascus )), is an adjective which means "spacious". , motto = , image_flag = Flag of Damascus.svg , image_seal = Emblem of Damascus.svg , seal_type = Seal , map_caption = , ...

Anatolia Anatolia, tr, Anadolu Yarımadası), and the Anatolian plateau, also known as Asia Minor, is a large peninsula in Western Asia and the westernmost protrusion of the Asian continent. It constitutes the major part of modern-day Turkey. The re ...

and

Rumeli Rumelia ( ota, روم ايلى, Rum İli; tr, Rumeli; el, Ρωμυλία), etymologically "Land of the Romans", at the time meaning Eastern Orthodox Christians and more specifically Christians from the Byzantine rite, was the name of a histo ...

Ancestry

Born in

Bolu Bolu is a city in Turkey, and administrative center of the Bolu Province. The population is 131,264 (2012 census). The city has been governed by mayor Tanju Özcan ( CHP) since local elections in 2019. It was the site of Ancient Claudiopolis a ...

, in the Ottoman

Eyalet of Anatolia The Eyalet of Anatolia ( ota, ایالت آناطولی, Eyālet-i Anaṭolı) was one of the two core provinces (Rumelia being the other) in the early years of the Ottoman Empire. It was established in 1393. By Gábor Ágoston, Bruce Alan Masters ...

, Şemsi Pasha was the son of Mirza Mehmed Pasha, of the princely ''Candaroğulları'' dynasty that reigned in the

principality A principality (or sometimes princedom) can either be a monarchical feudatory or a sovereign state, ruled or reigned over by a regnant-monarch with the title of prince and/or princess, or by a monarch with another title considered to fall under ...

Eflani Eflani is a town and district of Karabük Province in the Black Sea region of Turkey. Eflani is located at 100 km south of the Black Sea. 46 km away from, and to the east of Karabük, it is settled on a plateau divided by small rivers amo ...

Kastamonu Kastamonu is the capital district of the Kastamonu Province, Turkey. According to the 2000 census, population of the district is 102,059 of which 64,606 live in the urban center of Kastamonu. (Population of the urban center in 2010 is 91,012.) The ...

and Sinop, and a descendant of Şemseddin Yaman Candar Bey, the dynasty's eponymous founder and first ''bey.'' His paternal grandfather was Kyzyl Ahmed Bey, son of Ibrahim II of Candar and unknown consort. Later, Ibrahim married

Selçuk Hatun Selçuk Hatun ( ota, سلچوق خاتون ; "''eloquent''"; 140725 October 1485) was an Ottoman princess, the daughter of Ottoman Sultan Mehmed I and his Kumru Hatun. She was the half-sister of Murad II. Early life Selçuk Hatun was born in 1 ...

, daughter of Mehmed I. His mother was Şahnisa Sultan of the Ottoman dynasty, youngest daughter of

Şehzade Abdullah Şehzade Abdullah (c. 1523–1526) was an Ottoman prince (şehzade), as the son of Ottoman Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent. He is generally understood to be the son of Hurrem Sultan, as Suleiman and Hurrem were in a monogamous relationship by the ...

, son of Sultan

Bayezid II Bayezid II ( ota, بايزيد ثانى, Bāyezīd-i s̱ānī, 3 December 1447 – 26 May 1512, Turkish: ''II. Bayezid'') was the eldest son and successor of Mehmed II, ruling as Sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 1481 to 1512. During his reign, ...

, making Şemsi Pasha the great-grandson of

Mehmed the Conqueror Mehmed II ( ota, محمد ثانى, translit=Meḥmed-i s̱ānī; tr, II. Mehmed, ; 30 March 14323 May 1481), commonly known as Mehmed the Conqueror ( ota, ابو الفتح, Ebū'l-fetḥ, lit=the Father of Conquest, links=no; tr, Fâtih Su ...

''.''

Life

Raised in the

imperial Imperial is that which relates to an empire, emperor, or imperialism. Imperial or The Imperial may also refer to: Places United States * Imperial, California * Imperial, Missouri * Imperial, Nebraska * Imperial, Pennsylvania * Imperial, Texa ...

residence of the period,

Topkapı Palace The Topkapı Palace ( tr, Topkapı Sarayı; ota, طوپقپو سرايى, ṭopḳapu sarāyı, lit=cannon gate palace), or the Seraglio A seraglio, serail, seray or saray (from fa, سرای, sarāy, palace, via Turkish and Italian) i ...

, Şemsi Pasha attended the prestigious Ottoman

Enderun School The Enderun School ( ota, اندرون مکتب, Enderûn Mektebi) was a palace school and boarding school within Topkapi Palace. It was mostly for Princes of the court and the Janissaries of the Ottoman Empire. Students here were primarily recru ...

, and in the family tradition, participated in various Ottoman military campaigns, notably the

Siege of Szigetvár The siege of Szigetvár or the Battle of Szigeth (pronunciation: �siɡɛtvaːr hu, Szigetvár ostroma, hr, Bitka kod Sigeta; Sigetska bitka, tr, Zigetvar Kuşatması) was a siege of the fortress of Szigetvár, Kingdom of Hungary, that block ...

in 1566 alongside Suleiman the Magnificent in his capacity as ''

Beylerbey ''Beylerbey'' ( ota, بكلربكی, beylerbeyi, lit=bey of beys, meaning the 'commander of commanders' or 'lord of lords') was a high rank in the western Islamic world in the late Middle Ages and early modern period, from the Anatolian Seljuks ...

'' of

, in addition to the conquest of several fortresses across Europe. During the reign of Suleiman I, Şemsi Pasha served as ''

''. Widely renowned as a hunter of distinction, Şemsi Pasha was appointed hunting companion to

Sultan Sultan (; ar, سلطان ', ) is a position with several historical meanings. Originally, it was an Arabic abstract noun meaning "strength", "authority", "rulership", derived from the verbal noun ', meaning "authority" or "power". Later, it ...

Murad III Murad III ( ota, مراد ثالث, Murād-i sālis; tr, III. Murad; 4 July 1546 – 16 January 1595) was Sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 1574 until his death in 1595. His rule saw battles with the Habsburgs and exhausting wars with the Saf ...

. Following his service, he charged pre-eminent Ottoman imperial architect

Mimar Sinan Mimar Sinan ( ota, معمار سينان, translit=Mi'mâr Sinân, , ) ( 1488–1490 – 17 July 1588) also known as Koca Mi'mâr Sinân Âğâ, ("Sinan Agha (title), Agha the Grand Architect" or "Grand Sinan") was the chief Ottoman Empir ...

with the task of building a mosque and adjoining complex near his main seat, the Şemsi Pasha Palace on the

Bosphorus The Bosporus Strait (; grc, Βόσπορος ; tr, İstanbul Boğazı 'Istanbul strait', colloquially ''Boğaz'') or Bosphorus Strait is a natural strait and an internationally significant waterway located in Istanbul in northwestern Tu ...

shoreline in Constaninople. The

Şemsi Pasha Mosque The Şemsi Pasha Mosque ( tr, Şemsi Paşa Camii, also spelled ''Chamsi-Pasha'') is an Ottoman mosque located in the large and densely populated district of Üsküdar, in Istanbul, Turkey. History The Şemsi Pasha Mosque was designed by Ottom ...

is one of the smallest mosques of Mimar Sinan's works in the city, yet is one of the most well-known due to a combination of its miniature dimensions and waterfront location. It is mentioned as a chief example of Mimar Sinan's skill in organically blending

architecture Architecture is the art and technique of designing and building, as distinguished from the skills associated with construction. It is both the process and the product of sketching, conceiving, planning, designing, and constructing building ...

with the

natural Nature, in the broadest sense, is the physical world or universe. "Nature" can refer to the phenomena of the physical world, and also to life in general. The study of nature is a large, if not the only, part of science. Although humans are p ...

landscape.

Issue

Şemsi Pasha had one daughter and two sons: * Fahrünnisa Hatun * Mahmud Pasha * Mustafa Bey

References

Sources

* Kuran, Aptullah. 1986. Mimar Sinan. Istanbul: Hürriyet Vakfı Yayınları, p. 193–196. * Gültekin, Gülbin. 1994. "Semsi Pasa Külliyesi." In Dünden Bugüne Istanbul Ansiklopedisi. Istanbul: Tarih Vakfi, VII, p. 158–159. * Necipoglu, Gülru. 2005. The Age of Sinan: Architectural Culture in the Ottoman Empire. London: Reaktion Books, p. 452–498. {{DEFAULTSORT:Semsi Pasha Pashas 1580 deaths Military personnel of the Ottoman Empire 16th-century Ottoman military personnel Candaroğlu Isfendiyarids Ottoman governors of Damascus Ottoman governors of Anatolia Ottoman governors of Rumelia

Ancestry

Life

Issue

See also

References

Sources