Deli Hüsrev Paşa ( sh, Deli Husrev Paša, tr, Deli Hüsrev Paşa, ) (c. 1495 - 1544) was an Ottoman and Bosnian statesman from the

Sanjak of Bosnia Sanjak of Bosnia ( tr, Bosna Sancağı, sh, Bosanski sandžak / Босански санџак) was one of the sanjaks of the Ottoman Empire established in 1463 when the lands conquered from the Bosnian Kingdom were transformed into a sanjak and ...

. His epithet "deli" means "crazy" in Ottoman Turkish, which was ascribed to him because of his quick temper.

Biography

He was born in 1495 as one of the early members of the Serb

Sokolović family In the Ottoman period, in the 16th century, there was an influential Sokolović family in the Sanjak of Bosnia that had two branches, one that was Eastern Orthodox Christian and was dominant in the Serbian Orthodox Church, while the other became I ...

(which would go on to spawn some of the greatest statesmen of the Empire). His exact birthplace is unknown. Some historians place it near the Glasinac Plateau near

Sarajevo Sarajevo ( ; cyrl, Сарајево, ; ''see Names of European cities in different languages (Q–T)#S, names in other languages'') is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Bosnia and Herzegovina, with a population of 275,524 in its a ...

, while others put it more eastward, to the

Podrinje Podrinje ( Serbian Cyrillic: Подриње) is the Slavic name of the Drina river basin, known in English as the Drina Valley. The Drina basin is shared between Bosnia and Herzegovina and Serbia, with majority of its territory being located in ...

region of Bosnia. His younger brother was

Lala Kara Mustafa Pasha Lala Mustafa Pasha ( – 7 August 1580), also known by the additional epithet ''Kara'', was an Ottoman Bosnian general and Grand Vizier from the Sanjak of Bosnia. Life He was born around 1500, near the Glasinac in Sokolac Plateau in Bosnia ...

. He was appointed sanjak-bey of

Konya Konya () is a major city in central Turkey, on the southwestern edge of the Central Anatolian Plateau, and is the capital of Konya Province. During antiquity and into Seljuk times it was known as Iconium (), although the Seljuks also called it D ...

in 1516. He participated in the

Ottoman–Mamluk War (1516–17) Ottoman–Mamluk War may refer to: * Ottoman–Mamluk War (1485–91) * Ottoman–Mamluk War (1516–17) {{disambiguation ...

and personally fought in the siege of the city of Harput. He also attended the expedition to

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 Mediter ...

shortly after. In 1520, he took part in the suppression of the Qizilbash uprising. In 1521, he was appointed beylerbey of the

Diyarbekir Eyalet Eyālet-i Diyār-i Bekr , common_name = Eyalet of Diyarbekir , subdivision = Eyalet , nation = the Ottoman Empire , year_start = 1515 , year_end = 1846 , date_start = Nov ...

, following the death of its former governor, Sakalli Mehmed Pasha, only to suppress a local rebellion in his eyalet in 1526. During his governorship of the province, he was accused of bribery and even money falsification by an unknown statesman, but the charges were never investigated. In 1531, a

Safavid Empire Safavid Iran or Safavid Persia (), also referred to as the Safavid Empire, '. was one of the greatest Iranian empires after the 7th-century Muslim conquest of Persia, which was ruled from 1501 to 1736 by the Safavid dynasty. It is often conside ...

statesman named Ulama Pasha defected to the Ottomans, however, Husrev was suspicious of his true intentions and had a conflict with him. As a result, he was deposed from his position. In 1532, he personally came to Istanbul and visited Sultan Suleyman bearing gifts with him. The Sultan brought Husrev with him during the military campaign on Austria the same year. Immediately after his return, he was named beylerbey of

Aleppo )), is an adjective which means "white-colored mixed with black". , motto = , image_map = , mapsize = , map_caption = , image_map1 = ...

. In 1534, he became beylerbey 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 = , ...

, and, in 1535 governor of

. During his service in Egypt, the province saw such an economic blossoming that it even became suspicious to some. It is speculated that Husrev Pasha increased local taxes without notifying his superiors, although this too was never proved. He was named third vizier in 1536/37 and later second vizier in 1538. When the grand vizier

Lütfi Pasha Lütfi Pasha ( ota, لطفى پاشا, ''Luṭfī Paşa''; Modern Turkish: ''Lütfi Paşa'', more fully ''Damat Çelebi Lütfi Paşa''; 1488 – 27 March 1564, Didymoteicho) was an Ottoman Albanian statesman, general, and Grand Vizier of the O ...

was deposed in 1541, Husrev, as second vizier expected the post for himself. He was surprised when the third vizier, Hadım Suleiman Pasha was chosen instead. When the latter died in 1544, Husrev was again expecting to get his post. However, during a divan meeting, he apparently drew a dagger and threatened then-third vizier

Rüstem Pasha Rüstem Pasha (; ota, رستم پاشا; 1505 – 10 July 1561) was an Ottoman statesman who served as Grand Vizier to Sultan Süleyman the Magnificent. Rüstem Pasha is also known as Damat Rüstem Pasha (the epithet '' damat'' meaning 'son ...

. After the Sultan heard of this, he appointed Rüstem Pasha as Grand Vizier instead. Husrev was apparently so disappointed and depressed with being skipped for the post a second time, that he didn't eat or drink for days (some sources even say weeks). As a result, he soon got ill and died. He was apparently married to the Sultan's sister, Hatice Sultan, being her third husband, but was widowed by her death in 1538.

Legacy

Mimar Sinan erected a tomb for Husrev Pasha in 1545. During his career, Husrev Pasha built several mosques, schools, fountains and other important buildings in the areas he governed, mostly Egypt, Aleppo and Damascus.

References

{{reflist 16th-century people from the Ottoman Empire Ottoman governors of Bosnia Ottoman generals Bosnia and Herzegovina generals Bosnian Muslims from the Ottoman Empire 1544 deaths