Ahmad ibn Ridwan ( ar, أحمد بن رضوان ) (died 1607), better known as Ahmad Pasha, was the governor of the

Damascus Eyalet ota, ایالت شام , conventional_long_name = Damascus Eyalet , common_name = Damascus Eyalet , subdivision = Eyalet , nation = the Ottoman Empire , year_start = 1516 , year_end ...

in the early 17th century. Before that, he was governor of the

Gaza Sanjak Gaza Sanjak ( ar, سنجق غزة) was a sanjak of the Damascus Eyalet, Ottoman Empire centered in Gaza. In the 16th century it was divided into ''nawahi'' (singular: ''nahiya''; third-level subdivisions): Gaza in the south and Ramla in the north ...

, a subprovince of Damascus, for nearly 30 years.

Governor of Gaza

Ahmad Pasha was the son of Ridwan ibn Mustafa Pasha, who founded the

Ridwan dynasty The Ridwan dynasty (also spelled ''Radwan''; tr, RizvanZe'evi, 2012, p39/ref>) was the most prominent pasha family in Palestine (region), Palestine, ruling the southwestern districts of the Damascus Eyalet ("Province of Damascus") in the 16th an ...

, which governed southern

Palestine __NOTOC__ Palestine may refer to: * State of Palestine, a state in Western Asia * Palestine (region), a geographic region in Western Asia * Palestinian territories, territories occupied by Israel since 1967, namely the West Bank (including East ...

for nearly two centuries. Ahmad acquired the governorship of Gaza Sanjak in 1585, following the death of Ridwan Pasha in

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 ...

. Ahmad chose Gaza to be the center of the Ridwan dynasty. He continued his relatively autonomous rule of the district—which at times included

Jerusalem Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...

and

Nablus Nablus ( ; ar, نابلس, Nābulus ; he, שכם, Šəḵem, ISO 259-3: ; Samaritan Hebrew: , romanized: ; el, Νεάπολις, Νeápolis) is a Palestinian city in the West Bank, located approximately north of Jerusalem, with a populati ...

in central Palestine—until 1605. During this period, he was also given the prestigious role of '' amir al-hajj'' by the Ottoman state.Ze'evi, 1996, p.40 The Arabic biographer

Muhammad al-Muhibbi Muhammad al-Amin ibn Fadlallah ibn Muhiballah ibn Muhibb al-Din al-Dimashqi, commonly known as al-Muhibbi was an Ottoman historian based in Damascus. He is best known for voluminous dictionary of biographies of 17th-century Muslim notables. Biogra ...

described Ahmad Pasha as a "courageous" and "brilliant" man with a great understanding of history and science. Poets of the time wrote songs praising his knowledge. During his rule as Gaza's governor, the city became a regional cultural center. Its religious significance was boosted by Ahmad Pasha's scholarly pursuits in

Islamic theology Schools of Islamic theology are various Islamic schools and branches in different schools of thought regarding ''ʿaqīdah'' (creed). The main schools of Islamic Theology include the Qadariyah, Falasifa, Jahmiyya, Murji'ah, Muʿtazila, Bati ...

and by the influence of his close friend and adviser

Khayr al-Din al-Ramli Khayr al-Din ibn Ahmad ibn Nur al-Din Ali ibn Zayn al-Din ibn Abd al-Wahab al-Ayubi al-Farooqui (1585–1671), better known as Khayr al-Din al-Ramli ( ar, خير الدين الرملي), was a 17th-century Islamic jurist, teacher and writer in t ...

, an important

Islamic jurist Islam (; ar, ۘالِإسلَام, , ) is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion centred primarily around the Quran, a religious text considered by Muslims to be the direct word of God (or ''Allah'') as it was revealed to Muhammad, the main ...

in the region who he befriended in 1603.Ze'evi, 1996, p.53

Governor of Damascus

Unlike his father, Ahmad Pasha had to lobby for the position of ''

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 ...

'' ("provincial governor") of the Damascus Eyalet. According to Arab historian Rifaat Abu al-Haj, Ahmad Pasha had to send to gifts and large sums of money to "countless

vezir A vizier (; ar, وزير, wazīr; fa, وزیر, vazīr), or wazir, is a high-ranking political advisor or minister in the near east. The Abbasid caliphs gave the title ''wazir'' to a minister formerly called '' katib'' (secretary), who was ...

s and bureaucrats" in the Ottoman capital

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, ...

before being awarded the province in 1601. During his rule, Ahmad Pasha became a

patron Patronage is the support, encouragement, privilege, or financial aid that an organization or individual bestows on another. In the history of art, arts patronage refers to the support that kings, popes, and the wealthy have provided to artists su ...

of Muslim jurists and is known to have regularly consulted the

ulema In Islam, the ''ulama'' (; ar, علماء ', singular ', "scholar", literally "the learned ones", also spelled ''ulema''; feminine: ''alimah'' ingularand ''aalimath'' lural are the guardians, transmitters, and interpreters of religious ...

'', high-ranking Muslim scholars, on provincial affairs. Abu al-Haj wrote that by the time Ahmad Pasha had gained the governorship of Damascus, Ahmad had grown old. He died, while still in power, in 1607. Following his death, Ahmad's son Hasan "'Arab" Pasha inherited the governorship of Gaza and took part in putting down the revolt of

Fakhr-al-Din II Fakhr al-Din ibn Qurqumaz Ma'n ( ar, فَخْر ٱلدِّين بِن قُرْقُمَاز مَعْن, Fakhr al-Dīn ibn Qurqumaz Maʿn; – March or April 1635), commonly known as Fakhr al-Din II or Fakhreddine II ( ar, فخر الدين ال ...

in modern-day

Lebanon Lebanon ( , ar, لُبْنَان, translit=lubnān, ), officially the Republic of Lebanon () or the Lebanese Republic, is a country in Western Asia. It is located between Syria to the north and east and Israel to the south, while Cyprus li ...

Legacy

In the al-Aqsa Compound, there are three

khalwa Khalwa (Arabic, also khalwat; lit., "solitude"; pronounced in Iran, "khalvat"; spelling in Turkish, ''halvet'') has several meanings in Sufism, Islamic jurisprudence, and the Druze religion, which in some way derive from the concept of being alone ...

s (chambers for spiritual retreat) near the

Dome of the Rock The Dome of the Rock ( ar, قبة الصخرة, Qubbat aṣ-Ṣakhra) is an Islamic shrine located on the Temple Mount in the Old City of Jerusalem, a site also known to Muslims as the ''al-Haram al-Sharif'' or the Al-Aqsa Compound. Its initial ...

that are named after him: the Western Khalwa of Aḥmad Pasha, Eastern Khalwa of Aḥmad Pasha and Eastern Khalwa (al-Aḥmadiyya Madrasa), being plus the

nisba The Arabic word nisba (; also transcribed as ''nisbah'' or ''nisbat'') may refer to: * Nisba, a suffix used to form adjectives in Arabic grammar, or the adjective resulting from this formation **comparatively, in Afro-Asiatic: see Afroasiatic_lang ...

suffix. In addition, he also likely was a mediator in the construction of the al-Junblāṭiyya Khalwa, also in the al-Aqsa Compound.

References

Bibliography

* * {{refend Ottoman governors of Damascus Ottoman governors of Gaza Year of birth unknown 1607 deaths

Ahmad Ahmad ( ar, أحمد, ʾAḥmad) is an Arabic male given name common in most parts of the Muslim world. Other spellings of the name include Ahmed and Ahmet. Etymology The word derives from the root (ḥ-m-d), from the Arabic (), from the ve ...

People from the Ottoman Empire of Bosnian descent Political people from the Ottoman Empire People from Gaza City 17th century in Ottoman Syria 17th-century people from the Ottoman Empire

Governor of Gaza

Governor of Damascus

Legacy

See also

References

Bibliography