Ahmed Muhtar Pasha ( ota, احمد مختار پاشا; 1 November 1839 – 21 January 1919) was a prominent
Ottoman field marshal and
Grand Vizier, who served in the
Crimean
Crimea, crh, Къырым, Qırım, grc, Κιμμερία / Ταυρική, translit=Kimmería / Taurikḗ ( ) is a peninsula in Ukraine, on the northern coast of the Black Sea, that has been occupied by Russia since 2014. It has a pop ...
and
Russo-Turkish wars. Ahmed Muhtar Pasha was appointed as Grand Vizier in July 1912 at age 72, largely due to his prestige as an old military hero.
Biography
Early life and military career
Ahmed Muhtar was born on 1 November 1839 to a
Turkish family in
Bursa in 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) ...
[İsmail Hâmi Danişmend, Osmanlı Devlet Erkânı, Türkiye Yayınevi, İstanbul, 1971 (Turkish)] and was educated in the
Ottoman Military College
The Ottoman Military College or Imperial Military Staff College or Ottoman Army War College ( ota, مكتب اركان حربيه شاهانه, Mekteb-i Erkân-ı Harbiyye-i Şâhâne or
اركان حربيه مكتب, romanized: ''Erkân-ı Har ...
in
Istanbul
)
, postal_code_type = Postal code
, postal_code = 34000 to 34990
, area_code = +90 212 (European side) +90 216 (Asian side)
, registration_plate = 34
, blank_name_sec2 = GeoTLD
, blank_i ...
. His father was merchant Halil Efendi. He eventually became professor and then governor of the school.
In 1856, he served as an
adjutant during the
Crimean War
The Crimean War, , was fought from October 1853 to February 1856 between Russia and an ultimately victorious alliance of the Ottoman Empire, France, the United Kingdom and Piedmont-Sardinia.
Geopolitical causes of the war included the ...
. In 1862, he was a staff officer in the disastrous
Montenegrin campaign. Between 1870 and 1871, he quelled rebellions in
Yemen
Yemen (; ar, ٱلْيَمَن, al-Yaman), officially the Republic of Yemen,, ) is a country in Western Asia. It is situated on the southern end of the Arabian Peninsula, and borders Saudi Arabia to the Saudi Arabia–Yemen border, north and ...
. He gained the titles of
Pasha
Pasha, Pacha or Paşa ( ota, پاشا; tr, paşa; sq, Pashë; ar, باشا), in older works sometimes anglicized as bashaw, was a higher rank in the Ottoman political and military system, typically granted to governors, generals, dignitar ...
and Marshal and, in 1873, was made commander of the
Second Army Corps, holding the position until 1876. During the
1875 uprisings in Bosnia and Herzegovina, he assumed control of the Turkish forces there. On the outbreak of the
Russo-Turkish War, 1877-1878, he was sent to take charge of operations in
Erzurum
Erzurum (; ) is a city in eastern Anatolia, Turkey. It is the largest city and capital of Erzurum Province and is 1,900 meters (6,233 feet) above sea level. Erzurum had a population of 367,250 in 2010.
The city uses the double-headed eagle as ...
. Although the
Russians
, native_name_lang = ru
, image =
, caption =
, population =
, popplace =
118 million Russians in the Russian Federation (2002 '' Winkler Prins'' estimate)
, region1 =
, pop1 ...
ultimately defeated the Ottomans in the war, Muhtar's victories against them in the eastern front won him the title ''
Gazi
A ''ghazi'' ( ar, غازي, , plural ''ġuzāt'') is an individual who participated in ''ghazw'' (, '' ''), meaning military expeditions or raiding. The latter term was applied in early Islamic literature to expeditions led by the Islamic prophe ...
'' ("The Victorious").
In 1879, Ahmed Muhtar Pasha was appointed the commander of the Ottoman Empire's frontier with
Greece
Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders ...
, before being sent in 1885 to serve as the Ottoman High Commissioner in
Egypt
Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Medit ...
.
Later life and premiership ("Great Cabinet")
Ahmed Muhtar Pasha was appointed as
Grand Vizier in July 1912 at age 72, largely due to his prestige as an old military hero. His premiership was a result of the
Savior Officers
Savior or Saviour may refer to:
*A person who helps people achieve salvation, or saves them from something
Religion
* Mahdi, the prophesied redeemer of Islam who will rule for seven, nine or nineteen years
* Maitreya
* Messiah, a saviour or li ...
( tr, Halâskâr Zâbitân) forcing the dissolution of the previous
Committee of Union and Progress
The Committee of Union and Progress (CUP) ( ota, اتحاد و ترقى جمعيتی, translit=İttihad ve Terakki Cemiyeti, script=Arab), later the Union and Progress Party ( ota, اتحاد و ترقى فرقهسی, translit=İttihad ve Tera ...
(CUP) government under Grand Vizier
Mehmed Said Pasha
Mehmed Said Pasha ( ota, محمد سعيد پاشا ; 1838–1914), also known as Küçük Said Pasha ("Said Pasha the Younger") or Şapur Çelebi or in his youth as Mabeyn Başkatibi Said Bey, was an Ottoman monarchist, senator, statesman ...
. The Savior Officers were partisans of the opposition
Freedom and Accord Party (also known as the Liberal Union or Entente) who felt cheated after the infamous 1912 elections, known as the "Election of Clubs" ( tr, links=no, Sopalı Seçimler), in which the CUP had employed electoral fraud and violence to gain 269 of the 275 seats in the
Chamber of Deputies ( tr, links=no, Meclis-i Mebusan, the popularly elected lower house of the national
General Assembly
A general assembly or general meeting is a meeting of all the members of an organization or shareholders of a company.
Specific examples of general assembly include:
Churches
* General Assembly (presbyterian church), the highest court of presb ...
) while leaving only 6 to the opposition.
The non-party, independent
cabinet formed by Ahmed Muhtar Pasha was known as the "Great Cabinet" ( tr, links=no, Büyuk Kabine) because it included three former Grand Viziers as ministers and sometimes as the "Father-Son Cabinet" ( tr, links=no, Baba-Oğul Kabinesi) because it included Ahmed Muhtar Pasha's son,
Mahmud Muhtar Pasha, as Minister of the Navy. Because the Great Cabinet did not include any members of the CUP, rumors began to spread that the government would dissolve the Chamber of Deputies, which was dominated by CUP after the fraudulent 1912 elections. A few days after Ahmed Muhtar Pasha took office, the Savior Officers sent a letter of threat to the President of the Chamber of Deputies (and CUP member),
Halil Bey, demanding that the Chamber be dissolved for new elections within 48 hours. The CUP members in the Chamber condemned and censured this threat. However, thanks to a law he had passed through the
Senate, Ahmed Muhtar Pasha was able, with the sultan's support, to
dissolve the Chamber with ease on 5 August.
After the dissolution of the Chamber, the
First Balkan War
The First Balkan War ( sr, Први балкански рат, ''Prvi balkanski rat''; bg, Балканска война; el, Αʹ Βαλκανικός πόλεμος; tr, Birinci Balkan Savaşı) lasted from October 1912 to May 1913 and invo ...
erupted early in October 1912, catching Ahmed Muhtar Pasha's administration off-guard.
Martial law
Martial law is the imposition of direct military control of normal civil functions or suspension of civil law by a government, especially in response to an emergency where civil forces are overwhelmed, or in an occupied territory.
Use
Marti ...
was declared, and Ahmed Muhtar Pasha resigned as Grand Vizier on 29 October after just four months in the premier's office.
Death
Ahmed Muhtar Pasha died in
Istanbul
)
, postal_code_type = Postal code
, postal_code = 34000 to 34990
, area_code = +90 212 (European side) +90 216 (Asian side)
, registration_plate = 34
, blank_name_sec2 = GeoTLD
, blank_i ...
on 21 January 1919 at the age of 79. His son
Mahmud Muhtar Pasha was also a high-ranking commander in the
Ottoman Army
The military of the Ottoman Empire ( tr, Osmanlı İmparatorluğu'nun silahlı kuvvetleri) was the armed forces of the Ottoman Empire.
Army
The military of the Ottoman Empire can be divided in five main periods. The foundation era covers the ...
and the Minister of the
Navy
A navy, naval force, or maritime force is the branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral, or ocean-borne combat operations and related functions. It in ...
in Ahmed Muhtar Pasha's own government. After the proclamation of the
Republic of Turkey, the Turkish government published a postage stamp with his image to honor his legacy.
[http://i.colnect.net/f/2577/061/Gazi-Ahmet-Muhtar-Pa%C5%9Fa-1839-1918-commander.jpg ]
See also
*
Savior Officers
Savior or Saviour may refer to:
*A person who helps people achieve salvation, or saves them from something
Religion
* Mahdi, the prophesied redeemer of Islam who will rule for seven, nine or nineteen years
* Maitreya
* Messiah, a saviour or li ...
*
1912 Ottoman general election
Early general elections were held in the Ottoman Empire in April 1912. Due to electoral fraud and brutal electioneering, which earned the elections the nickname Sopalı Seçimler ("Election of Clubs"), the ruling Committee of Union and Progress wo ...
*
List of Ottoman grand viziers
References
Notes
Sources
*
*
External links
*
PDF version
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ahmed Muhtar Pasha
1839 births
1919 deaths
Ottoman Military Academy alumni
Ottoman Military College alumni
Ottoman Army generals
Pashas
Ottoman military personnel of the Russo-Turkish War (1877–1878)
Ottoman military personnel of the Crimean War
Ottoman governors of Crete
Field marshals of the Ottoman Empire
Ottoman people of the Italo-Turkish War
Ottoman people of the Balkan Wars
20th-century Grand Viziers of the Ottoman Empire
Astronomers from the Ottoman Empire
19th-century astronomers
20th-century astronomers
Honorary Knights Grand Cross of the Order of St Michael and St George