Abdülkerim Nâdir Pasha (1807–1883), also known as Çırpanlı Abdi Pasha or Abdul Kerim Pasha, son of Ahmed Pasha, was an Ottoman military commander.

Early years

Abdülkerim Nadir was born in Çırpan of Eski Zağra,

Ottoman Bulgaria The history of Ottoman Bulgaria spans nearly 500 years, beginning in the late 14th century, with the Bulgarian–Ottoman Wars, Ottoman conquest of smaller kingdoms from the disintegrating Second Bulgarian Empire. In the late 19th century, Bulgar ...

in 1807. At a young age, he moved to

Constantinople Constantinople (#Names of Constantinople, see other names) was a historical city located on the Bosporus that served as the capital of the Roman Empire, Roman, Byzantine Empire, Byzantine, Latin Empire, Latin, and Ottoman Empire, Ottoman empire ...

(today Istanbul), and entered the newly established military academy (), and graduated in the rank of a first lieutenant. After the establishment of the Imperial Army War Academy, he was assigned as an officer to the school battalion. For further military education, he was sent to

Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...

, Austrian Empire in 1836.Candan Badem, ''The Ottoman Crimean War (1853-1856)'', Brill, 2010
p. 143.
''The Ottoman Anatolian army was in a much neglected state in comparison with the Rumelian army. The Anatolian army was under the command of Müşir Abdülkerim Nadir Pasha (better known as Çırpanlı Abdi Pasha, 1807-1883) and this army was deployed in Erzurum, Kars, Ardahan and Bayezid.''

Career

After five years in Vienna, he returned home in 1841, and was appointed Chief of the General Staff in the rank of a colonel. With the support of the notables of the

Tanzimat The (, , lit. 'Reorganization') was a period of liberal reforms in the Ottoman Empire that began with the Edict of Gülhane of 1839 and ended with the First Constitutional Era in 1876. Driven by reformist statesmen such as Mustafa Reşid Pash ...

period, he rose in ranks in a short time. In 1846, he was promoted to the rank of a lieutenant general, and appointe as a member of the Military Council () and Chief of the Military School (). The next year, he was promoted to the rank of a marshal, and was appointedd to the Sixth Army headquartered in

Baghdad Baghdad ( or ; , ) is the capital and List of largest cities of Iraq, largest city of Iraq, located along the Tigris in the central part of the country. With a population exceeding 7 million, it ranks among the List of largest cities in the A ...

, Ottoman Iraq. During the reign of Sultan

Abdulaziz Abdulaziz (; ; 8 February 18304 June 1876) was the sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 25 June 1861 to 30 May 1876, when he was overthrown in a government coup. He was a son of Sultan Mahmud II and succeeded his brother Abdulmejid I in 1861. Ab ...

(), he served as army commander, governor, Chief of the General Staff, Minister of Navy and supreme commander. During the

Russo-Turkish War (1877–1878) The Russo-Turkish War (1877–1878) was a conflict between the Ottoman Empire and a coalition led by the Russian Empire which included United Principalities of Moldavia and Wallachia, Romania, Principality of Serbia, Serbia, and Principality of ...

, which broke out in the early years of the reign of

Abdul Hamid II Abdulhamid II or Abdul Hamid II (; ; 21 September 184210 February 1918) was the 34th sultan of the Ottoman Empire, from 1876 to 1909, and the last sultan to exert effective control over the fracturing state. He oversaw a Decline and modernizati ...

(), he became commander of the Rumelian army. He was not able to show success in the war, and could not prevent the Russian forces spreading to the Balkans. He was removed from his post by the sultan, and sent to the martial court together with another army commander. He was reinstated to his post When it was understood at the end of the trial that he was not solely responsible for the Russian defeat, and that the military council in Istanbul also had a share in this. But, ne was sent to exile on

Mytilene Mytilene (; ) is the capital city, capital of the Greece, Greek island of Lesbos, and its port. It is also the capital and administrative center of the North Aegean Region, and hosts the headquarters of the University of the Aegean. It was fo ...

. Later, he was transferrred to

Rhodes Rhodes (; ) is the largest of the Dodecanese islands of Greece and is their historical capital; it is the List of islands in the Mediterranean#By area, ninth largest island in the Mediterranean Sea. Administratively, the island forms a separ ...

, where he died in 1883. He was buried in the tomb of Murad Reis there.

Legacy

Due to his close relationship with

Hüseyin Avni Pasha Hüseyin Avni Pasha (; 1820 – 15 June 1876) was an Ottoman Empire, Ottoman Turkish people, Turkish governor-general and politician, statesman. He was Grand Vizier of the Ottoman Empire from 15 February 1874 to 26 April 1875. He was killed b ...

(182–1876), his name is also mentioned among those who are claimed to have played a role in the death of Sultan Abdulaziz. Although he was an honest and brave soldier, Abdülkerim Nadir Pasha could not show the success expected of him, but on the other hand, together with Mehmed Namık Pasha (1804–1892), he made important contributions in the organization of the army in a European style.

References

External links

Abdülkerim Nadir Pasha in the Turkish HistoryOfficial website of the Turkish History Association
{{DEFAULTSORT:Abdulkerim Nadir Pasha 1807 births 1883 deaths People from Chirpan Ottoman Army generals Pashas 19th-century Ottoman military personnel