Bayezid Pasha or Beyazid Pasha (also known as
Amasya
Amasya () is a city in northern Turkey and is the capital of Amasya Province, in the Black Sea Region. It was called Amaseia or Amasia in antiquity."Amasya" in ''The New Encyclopædia Britannica''. Chicago: Encyclopædia Britannica Inc., 15th ...
lı Beyazid Pasha; died July 1421) was an
Ottoman Albanian
Albanian may refer to:
*Pertaining to Albania in Southeast Europe; in particular:
**Albanians, an ethnic group native to the Balkans
**Albanian language
**Albanian culture
**Demographics of Albania, includes other ethnic groups within the country ...
statesman
A statesman or stateswoman typically is a politician who has had a long and respected political career at the national or international level.
Statesman or Statesmen may also refer to:
Newspapers United States
* ''The Statesman'' (Oregon), a n ...
who served as
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 ...
of the Ottoman Empire from 1413 to 1421.
[İsmail Hâmi Danişmend, Osmanlı Devlet Erkânı, Türkiye Yayınevi, İstanbul, 1971, p. 9. (Turkish)] He was the first Albanian and first Muslim from Balkans to become Grand Vizier of the Ottoman state.
Biography
Bayezid was born in
Amasya
Amasya () is a city in northern Turkey and is the capital of Amasya Province, in the Black Sea Region. It was called Amaseia or Amasia in antiquity."Amasya" in ''The New Encyclopædia Britannica''. Chicago: Encyclopædia Britannica Inc., 15th ...
as the son of Amasyalı Yahşi Bey, earning him the epithet ''Amasyalı'', meaning "from Amasya." He was of
Albanian
Albanian may refer to:
*Pertaining to Albania in Southeast Europe; in particular:
**Albanians, an ethnic group native to the Balkans
**Albanian language
**Albanian culture
**Demographics of Albania, includes other ethnic groups within the country ...
origin.
He was raised in the imperial palace. While
Bayezid I
Bayezid I ( ota, بايزيد اول, tr, I. Bayezid), also known as Bayezid the Thunderbolt ( ota, link=no, یلدیرم بايزيد, tr, Yıldırım Bayezid, link=no; – 8 March 1403) was the Ottoman Sultan from 1389 to 1402. He adopted ...
was sultan, he served in various military positions. When Bayezid I's son, the future sultan
Mehmed I
Mehmed I ( 1386 – 26 May 1421), also known as Mehmed Çelebi ( ota, چلبی محمد, "the noble-born") or Kirişçi ( el, Κυριτζής, Kyritzis, "lord's son"), was the Ottoman sultan from 1413 to 1421. The fourth son of Sultan Bayezid ...
(then known as Mehmed Çelebi), was a provincial governor, Bayezid Pasha served as one of his head advisers.
After the disastrous
Battle of Ankara
The Battle of Ankara or Angora was fought on 20 July 1402 at the Çubuk plain near Ankara, between the forces of the Ottoman Sultan Bayezid I and the Emir of the Timurid Empire, Timur. The battle was a major victory for Timur, and it led to the ...
in 1402, when
Tamerlane
Timur ; chg, ''Aqsaq Temür'', 'Timur the Lame') or as ''Sahib-i-Qiran'' ( 'Lord of the Auspicious Conjunction'), his epithet. ( chg, ''Temür'', 'Iron'; 9 April 133617–19 February 1405), later Timūr Gurkānī ( chg, ''Temür Kür ...
defeated the Ottoman Empire and took sultan Bayezid I prisoner, Bayezid Pasha rescued the 15-year-old Mehmed Çelebi from Tamerlane's forces and brought him to his hometown of Amasya. After the subsequent
Ottoman Interregnum
The Ottoman Interregnum, or the Ottoman Civil War ( 20 July 1402 – 5 July 1413; tr, Fetret Devri, , Interregnum Period), was a civil war in the Ottoman Empire between the sons of Sultan Bayezid I following the defeat of their father at the B ...
in 1413, when Mehmed Çelebi finally defeated his brothers' claims to the throne, Bayezid Pasha became the official
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 ...
under the now-sultan
Mehmed I
Mehmed I ( 1386 – 26 May 1421), also known as Mehmed Çelebi ( ota, چلبی محمد, "the noble-born") or Kirişçi ( el, Κυριτζής, Kyritzis, "lord's son"), was the Ottoman sultan from 1413 to 1421. The fourth son of Sultan Bayezid ...
.
Under Mehmed I, Bayezid Pasha crushed the rebellion of
Sheikh Bedreddin
Sheikh Bedreddin (1359–1420) ( ota, شیخ بدرالدین), full name Sheikh Bedreddin Mahmud bin Israel bin Abdulaziz was an influential mystic, scholar, theologian, and revolutionary. He is best known for his role in a 1416 revolt against t ...
in 1420.
After Mehmed I's death on May 26, 1421, upon Mehmed's request, Bayezid Pasha kept the sultan's death a secret for the 40 days it took his son and successor
Murad II
Murad II ( ota, مراد ثانى, Murād-ı sānī, tr, II. Murad, 16 June 1404 – 3 February 1451) was the sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 1421 to 1444 and again from 1446 to 1451.
Murad II's reign was a period of important economic deve ...
to arrive in the capital to ascend the throne. This move was in order to avoid a civil war in an empire still reeling from that of the
Ottoman Interregnum
The Ottoman Interregnum, or the Ottoman Civil War ( 20 July 1402 – 5 July 1413; tr, Fetret Devri, , Interregnum Period), was a civil war in the Ottoman Empire between the sons of Sultan Bayezid I following the defeat of their father at the B ...
.
In July 1421, only two months after Murad II's coronation, Bayezid Pasha, still grand vizier, was sent to lead an army against the rebellion of
Mustafa Çelebi
Mustafa Çelebi (d. May 1422), also called Mustafa the Impostor ( tr, Düzmece Mustafa or ''Düzme Mustafa''), was an Ottoman prince who struggled to gain the throne of the Ottoman Empire in the early 15th century. He was the Sultan of Rumelia ...
, Murad II's uncle. Bayezid's forces met with Mustafa in the area of the future village of Sazlıdere in
Keşan
Keşan is the name of a district of Edirne Province, Turkey, and also the name of the largest in the district town of Keşan ( bg, Кешан; gr, Κεσσάνη, Byzantine Greek: Ρουσιον, ''Rusion'') In 2010 Keşan had a permanent populat ...
,
Edirne
Edirne (, ), formerly known as Adrianople or Hadrianopolis (Greek: Άδριανούπολις), is a city in Turkey, in the northwestern part of the province of Edirne in Eastern Thrace. Situated from the Greek and from the Bulgarian borders, ...
in central
Thrace
Thrace (; el, Θράκη, Thráki; bg, Тракия, Trakiya; tr, Trakya) or Thrake is a geographical and historical region in Southeast Europe, now split among Bulgaria, Greece, and Turkey, which is bounded by the Balkan Mountains to t ...
. In the midst of battle, Bayezid Pasha's forces deserted him and joined Mustafa Çelebi's forces, forcing him to surrender to Mustafa. Mustafa's ally
Junayd of Aydın
Juneyd or Junayd Bey ( tr, İzmiroğlu Cüneyd; ) was the last ruler (bey) of the Aydınid principality in what is now central western Turkey. His exact relationship with the Aydınid dynasty is unclear. His father was a long-time and popular gov ...
, distrustful of Bayezid, urged Mustafa to execute him, which Mustafa did promptly by beheading him. Junayd spared Bayezid's brother
Hamza Bey
Hamza Bey (died 1460) was a 15th-century Ottoman admiral of Albanian origin, related to the Kastrioti family.İsmail Hâmi Danişmend, Osmanlı Devlet Erkânı, Türkiye Yayınevi, İstanbul, 1971, p. 9. (Turkish)
Biography
Hamza Bey first appea ...
, however, who in 1425 would be the one to avenge him by having Junayd and his family executed. Bayezid Pasha's grave is at the site in Sazlıdere.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bayezid Pasha
14th-century births
1421 deaths
15th-century executions by the Ottoman Empire
15th-century Grand Viziers of the Ottoman Empire
Albanian Grand Viziers of the Ottoman Empire
Deaths by decapitation
Lalas (title)
Albanians from the Ottoman Empire
People of the Ottoman Interregnum
People from Amasya
Year of birth unknown